Free · No signup · Built on 600+ project quotes

The independent website cost estimate.

We don’t build websites, so we have no reason to inflate the number.

Pick what you’re making — we simulate the build against 600+ project quotes and public rate benchmarks and hand you a defensible number.

What are you building?

Auth, subscriptions, dashboards, and third-party integrations.

Live estimateSaaS · representative build
Realistic cost
$45,500
$31,850$63,700
BudgetPremium
Where it goes292 hrs

Build

$39,450

Buffer

$5,900

Content + extras

$150

Custom Development (React/Next.js/Node)10.5 weeksHigh risk

Real engine output for a representative saas build — targets ±18% of real market quotes. Tune every detail in the calculator.

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Email me this estimate — your reference when the quotes come in

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Chapter 01 · The problem

One brief. Three prices. Who’s right?

We sent the same one-page brief to three agencies and got back $4,000, $11,000, and $18,000. That spread isn’t dishonesty — it’s the fog. Without a reference number, you can’t tell a fair quote from a padded one.

Agency A

$4,000

Template, offshore team, thin scope

Agency B

$11,000

Mid-tier studio, "it depends"

Agency C

$18,000

Full custom, padded for unknowns

Founder’s documented example — the same real brief, three real agency quotes. Your project’s spread is exactly what the estimator is built to collapse.

Don't get overcharged

Compare any quote against real market data from six regions.

Know what you pay for

See exactly where every dollar goes — build, features, platform, content.

Pick the right platform

WordPress, Shopify, Magento, or custom — the engine recommends the fit.

Know what your website should cost — with our free website cost calculator

A website costs $300 (landing page) to $50,000+ (custom web app) in 2026 — a basic 5-10 page business site runs $1,200-$5,000 with a freelancer or $3,000-$12,000 with an agency, and an ecommerce store runs $2,500-$15,000 to $35,000+. Project Cost Estimator analyzes 30+ features across 9 calculation engines to give you instant website price estimates for WordPress, Shopify, Magento, and custom builds, based on 600+ project quotes and public rate benchmarks across 6 geographic markets. We don't build websites, so we have no reason to inflate the number.

Common cost questions

How much does a website cost in 2026?

A website costs $300 (landing page) to $50,000+ (custom web app) in 2026, depending on platform, project type, and market. A basic 5-10 page business site runs $1,200-$5,000 with a freelancer or $3,000-$12,000 with an agency.

Freelancer vs agency — what is the price difference?

Agencies typically charge 2-3x more than freelancers because of overhead — office, project managers, QA teams. A $5,000 freelancer project often costs $10,000-$15,000 at an agency.

How much does an ecommerce store cost to build?

Ecommerce stores range from $2,500-$15,000 with a freelancer to $6,000-$35,000 with an agency, depending on product count, payment gateways, and features like filtering or wishlists.

What should be included in a web development quote?

A good quote itemizes discovery/planning, design (mockups and revisions), development, content migration, testing/QA, launch, and post-launch support. If it is just a single number with no breakdown, ask for details.

Are cheap websites worth it?

Websites under $500 typically use basic templates with minimal customization and no strategy. They work for personal projects but rarely generate ROI for businesses — investing $2,000-$5,000 gets a professional site that converts.

How do developer rates vary by country?

US/UK developers charge $75-$200/hour, Western Europe $50-$150/hour, Eastern Europe $30-$80/hour, and South Asia $15-$50/hour. Quality varies within every region.

Chapter 02 · The simulation

Nine engines. One number.

When you pick a project, nine models reason about it at once — platform fit, complexity, pricing, risk, timeline, ROI. Watch a representative e-commerce build resolve, line by line, into a defensible number.

How the number is built
$23,850
Shopify · 8 weeks · calibrated on 600+ project quotes · ±18%
+$8,950
Base build
+$6,150
Feature engineering
+$2,250
Risk buffer
+$4,400
Content + strategy
+$2,100
Warranty + revisions
Engine clusterreasoning
Platform

Shopify

Complexity

77/100

High

Pricing

$23,850

Risk

Medium

Timeline

8 wks

ROI

14 mo

break-even

Confidence

Medium

Health

Excellent

Insights

4

flags raised

Representative build · e-commerce, premium design, 50–200 products, US market. Every figure is a live engine output — not a fixed sample.

The estimate assembles

Base build

144 hrs × $105/hr

$8,950

Feature engineering

auth · search · payments · shipping

$6,150

Risk buffer

15% contingency

$2,250

Content + strategy

copywriting · imagery

$4,400

Warranty + revisions

90-day warranty · 2 rounds

$2,100

Defensible total±18% of market
$0

Shopify · 8 weeks · calibrated on 600+ project quotes and public rate benchmarks.

Run this on your own project

Chapter 03 · Why the number holds

Transparent hours × real market rates. Not guesswork.

Every estimate is hours the work actually takes, multiplied by real rates — calibrated against 600+ project quotes and public rate benchmarks across six markets. Because we don’t sell the build, the number has no reason to drift up.

Platform-specific pricing

WordPress, Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, Custom

30+ feature analysis

Non-linear scaling catches real complexity

6 market regions

South Asia to US — adjusted for local rates

ROI projections

Break-even analysis with 3 scenarios

Risk modeling

12-factor risk engine catches red flags

Smart insights

Data-backed recommendations that save money

Built by a freelancer, not a marketing team

Florin Florea

Founder & lead engineer · 10+ years scoping web work

“I’ve scoped Magento, WordPress, Shopify, and Next.js projects for a decade. Every formula in this calculator came from a quote I wrote or got burned by. If a number looks off, hit reply on any email and I’ll look personally.”

9

Engines

30+

Features

6

Markets

Read more about me

Three steps to clarity

Professional project estimates in minutes, not days.

01

Configure

Select project type, features, and design level through the 5-step wizard. Under two minutes.

02

Calculate

9 engines analyze platform fit, pricing, complexity, risk, timeline, and ROI — in real time.

03

Decide

Get actionable estimates with smart recommendations and a professional PDF breakdown.

Got a developer quote? Check if it's fair.

Paste any Upwork bid, agency proposal, or freelancer email. Our 9 engines compare it against real market data.

What type of project is the quote for?

Developer's market

Paste the quote or proposal

Works with Upwork bids, emails, PDF text

Knowing the number is free. Winning the negotiation is what we sell.

Everything the estimator computes stays free, forever. What you pay for is the part that happens after — when a real quote lands in your inbox and you have to answer it.

Want a person instead of an engine? A senior developer reads your scope and quotes and writes back inside 24 hours — Expert Review, $99.

Building sites rather than buying one? Put this calculator on your own site — Embed Pro, $290 one-time · or get listed in front of these buyers, free.

What projects actually cost

Live engine outputs for representative builds — click any card to open it in the calculator.

Representative configurations · live calculate() output · targets ±18% of real market quotes.

Cost Calculators by Type

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