Building a Website — 2026 Pricing Guide. What Do You Get for 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 PLN?
Real website build pricing for businesses in 2026. Scope comparisons, timelines, guarantees. Gross prices, no surprises.
Building a Website — 2026 Pricing Guide
One of the most frequently searched questions in Google is: “how much does it cost to build a website.” The problem is that the answers you find are usually either too vague (“anywhere from 500 to 50,000 PLN”) or end with “individual quote — call us.” This article works differently. We give real price ranges, explain what each amount covers, and show what you’re actually paying for — or not getting — when commissioning a website in 2026.
What Does Building a Website Really Cost?
The website build market in 2026 is extraordinarily varied. The same service — a “business website” — can cost 800 PLN from a student on a freelance platform and 35,000 PLN from a reputable software house. Both projects will be delivered. The question is: what do you get in return?
Before we get to numbers, it’s worth establishing one technical fact that directly translates into the business value of a website: every additional second of page load time reduces conversion by 4.42%. This is Google data from the “Think with Google” project, repeatedly confirmed by independent research. A site that loads in 4 seconds instead of 2 loses nearly 9% of potential clients before they’ve even read the first paragraph. Speed is not an option — it’s a factor in the quote.
Real price ranges for 2026:
- 800–2,500 PLN gross — freelancer or ready-made template, minimum functionality
- 3,000–8,000 PLN gross — small agencies and experienced freelancers, good scope
- 8,000–20,000 PLN gross — mid-size agencies and software houses, full project
- 25,000–100,000+ PLN gross — advanced deployments with integrations, e-commerce, SaaS
Below we break down the three main price brackets in which business websites are typically commissioned.
What Do You Get for 1,500 PLN?
For 1,500 PLN gross in 2026, you can get a website — but you need to know what to expect. It will typically be:
- A ready-made WordPress or Webflow template — selected from a library of thousands of themes, lightly customised with colours and logo
- 5–7 subpages — homepage, about us, services, contact, possibly a blog
- Responsive design — the template is usually responsive out of the box, but mobile quality varies
- Basic on-page SEO — meta tags filled in, titles, possibly a sitemap
- Build time: 1–3 weeks
What is typically not included at this price:
- Copywriting — you must supply the text yourself or pay extra
- Graphic design — the layout comes from the template
- Performance optimisation — Core Web Vitals often untested
- Deadline guarantee with any consequences for delays
- Post-launch support — one phone call or email, then you’re on your own
This price makes sense for a company that needs “anything online” urgently and has only a token budget. Don’t expect such a site to attract organic traffic or load quickly.
What Do You Get for 3,000–5,000 PLN?
This bracket is the most common choice for small and medium-sized businesses. This is where the real value proposition begins. For 3,000–5,000 PLN gross you can expect:
- An individually customised or heavily personalised template — adapted to the company’s branding, colours and typography, not just a swapped logo
- 8–12 subpages — full structure: homepage, services, blog, contact, FAQ, policies
- Basic copywriting — at least the homepage and services page written or edited by the developer
- Performance optimisation — Core Web Vitals tested, image compression, fast hosting
- Technical SEO — schema.org, Open Graph, robots.txt, XML sitemap
- Contact form with integration — email or CRM
- Build time: 3–6 weeks
- Deadline guarantee: in better offers — yes, in others — unfortunately rare
At this price it’s worth verifying the developer’s portfolio and checking whether they understand Core Web Vitals. The difference between a freelancer at 3,500 PLN who knows the subject and an agency at 5,000 PLN doing a template job can be enormous.
A well-executed site in this price range can realistically appear in Google and convert traffic. A poorly executed one will look decent but deliver no results.
What Do You Get for 7,000–10,000 PLN?
For 7,000–10,000 PLN gross you’re entering the scope of a professional project from a software house or experienced agency specialising in business websites. Here the standard includes:
- Custom UX/UI design — wireframes, mockups, Figma design, approved by the client before build
- Full copywriting — all subpages written by an SEO copywriter, optimised for target keywords
- Advanced optimisation — Lighthouse ≥ 90 across all categories, optimised LCP, CLS, INP
- Integrations — contact form, Google Analytics/Plausible, Hotjar or heatmaps, optionally CRM
- Blog with CMS — ability to add content independently without technical knowledge
- Privacy policy and GDPR — documents prepared or integration with a GDPR provider
- CMS training — 1–2 hours so you can manage content independently
- Deadline guarantee — with contractual consequences for delays caused by the developer
- Build time: 5–9 weeks
- Post-launch support: 30–90 days
In this bracket you receive a product that genuinely works for the business — it generates organic traffic, converts visitors into enquiries and doesn’t require constant external agency attention. Full code ownership — project files and copyright must transfer to you in their entirety.
Scope Comparison Table
| Gross price | Scope | Build time | Deadline guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800–2,500 PLN | Template + 5–7 subpages, no copywriting, basic SEO | 1–3 weeks | Typically none |
| 3,000–5,000 PLN | Personalised template + 8–12 subpages, basic copywriting, performance optimisation | 3–6 weeks | Rarely, depends on developer |
| 7,000–10,000 PLN | Custom UX/UI + full SEO copywriting + Lighthouse ≥90 + integrations + CMS + training | 5–9 weeks | Yes, with contractual consequences |
| 15,000–35,000 PLN | Advanced project, multiple integrations, e-commerce, custom backend, SLA | 10–20 weeks | Yes, detailed contract provisions |
Why 90% of Agencies Quote Net Prices — What Will You Actually Pay?
This is one of the biggest sources of confusion in the web services market. You see an offer: “business website from 4,200 PLN.” You sign the contract, receive the invoice — and suddenly 4,200 PLN becomes 5,166 PLN.
The difference is 23% and it’s entirely legal — that’s VAT. Agencies and freelancers registered for VAT quote net prices because in B2B transactions the buyer can usually reclaim VAT. The problem arises when:
- You’re buying as a company exempt from VAT or not registered for VAT
- You’re commissioning privately (without a company)
- You simply didn’t check whether the price was net or gross
How to verify? Always ask directly: “Is this price net or gross?” At QA10 all our prices are quoted gross — no surprises on the invoice. This is a standard to expect from any developer.
An additional trap: the build price is often not the full cost. Add VAT to the net price, and to the whole amount — maintenance costs (hosting, domains, premium plugins). More on that below.
Hidden Costs After Launch
A website build is a one-time cost. Website maintenance is a monthly or annual cost that many companies don’t plan for when placing their order.
Hosting: from 20 PLN/month for the cheapest shared hosting to 150–400 PLN/month for a VPS with good performance. Cheap hosting directly affects page speed and Core Web Vitals.
Domain: 40–120 PLN/year for a .pl or .com domain.
SSL certificate: usually free (Let’s Encrypt), but can be paid on the cheapest hosting plans.
Premium plugins (for WordPress): contact form, SEO plugin, cache — 100–600 PLN/year combined.
Updates and maintenance: WordPress requires regular updates to core, theme and plugins. This can be done in-house or outsourced to an agency — 100–500 PLN/month.
New content: blog posts, case studies, offer updates. Copywriting costs 100–300 PLN per article.
Total maintenance costs: 150–1,000 PLN/month, depending on the complexity of the site and the extent of outsourcing.
A project for 4,000 PLN net can cost you 8,000–12,000 PLN over the first 2 years once you factor in hosting, maintenance and content updates. That’s not a problem — but you must plan for it.
When It’s Worth Paying More — Elements That Genuinely Pay Back
Many website clients try to cut costs on elements that directly affect results. Here are the elements where saving is short-sighted:
SEO copywriting — text written by a copywriter with SEO experience is one of the most important ranking factors. A technically excellent site with poor copy will never appear in Google for valuable phrases. Professional copywriting in a project typically costs 1,000–3,500 PLN — for the ability to appear in Google on phrases that bring clients.
Custom UX/UI design — a ready template saves time but doesn’t build brand uniqueness. If your site looks like 40 other companies in the same sector, you lose the chance to stand out. A custom design, approved stage by stage in Figma, costs 1,500–4,000 PLN extra, but delivers a product that can’t be confused with the competition.
Good hosting — cheap shared hosting at 20 PLN/month can destroy a website investment worth 8,000 PLN. Load time exceeding 3 seconds dramatically reduces conversion and Google positions. A VPS or premium managed hosting costs 80–200 PLN/month — several times more, but proportionate to the importance of speed for results.
Post-launch support — the first weeks after launch are a period of intensive adjustments: text to correct, images to replace, minor layout changes. Without purchased support, every change is a new quote and a new wait.
When a Website Doesn’t Work — Most Common Reasons for Poor Results
It sometimes happens that a company commissions a site, spends a few thousand PLN, and sees no results from Google after a year. Here are the most common reasons why sites don’t deliver results:
No content after launch. A site without regular updates is “frozen.” Google favours sites that are actively developed. One blog article per month is the minimum that distinguishes an active site from a static business card.
Poor hosting. A site hosted on a server with a response time above 500ms will never achieve a good Core Web Vitals score, even if the code is perfect. Hosting is the foundation of performance.
Optimised site, but no links. SEO isn’t only about a technically correct site. Google also evaluates domain authority — built by links from other sites. Directory listings, expert articles, mentions in trade media — these all build positioning.
Poor information architecture. A site where clients can’t quickly find the answer to their question generates high bounce rates. Google interprets this as a signal that the site doesn’t answer the user’s query.
No local SEO. For locally operating businesses — Google Business Profile, local phrases in content and building Google reviews are often more important than advanced technical SEO.
How QA10 Quotes Websites — What’s Always Included
At QA10 website pricing is transparent and always includes — without extra charges — the following elements:
Design and build:
- Custom UX/UI design in Figma, approved by the client before build
- Full SEO copywriting for all subpages
- Build on a fast, modern technology stack (Astro or Next.js)
- Lighthouse ≥ 90 across all categories — guaranteed by test before handover
- Responsiveness and WCAG 2.2 AA compliance
Ownership and security:
- Full code ownership — all economic copyright transfers to the client
- HTTPS and SSL certificate
- Privacy policy and basic GDPR compliance
Support:
- CMS management training (up to 2 hours)
- 60 days post-launch support included
- Deadline guarantee with a contractual penalty for delays on our side
Financing: If the budget is tight, we offer financing through Pragma Pay — a modern BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) system that allows spreading payments over 3–12 instalments without interest. Minimal paperwork, fast decision. Ask about this option when requesting a quote.
All prices are quoted gross — what you see in the offer is what you pay.
FAQ
Is a cheaper site always a worse site?
Not necessarily. A freelancer specialising in a particular industry at 3,500 PLN gross can deliver better results than an agency at 8,000 PLN that doesn’t understand your market. What matters is the portfolio and references — not just the price. Check whether the developer knows Core Web Vitals, understands technical SEO and has regular clients from a similar sector.
How long does building a website take?
Depends on scope. A simple business card site — 2–3 weeks. A business site with a blog and full copywriting — 5–8 weeks. Advanced projects with integrations — 10–20 weeks. Time runs from the moment all client materials are gathered — copy, photos, logo. Timely delivery of those materials by the client is the most common cause of delays.
What is a deadline guarantee and why does it matter?
A deadline guarantee is a contract clause committing the developer to deliver the project by a specific date — and imposing financial consequences if they fail (e.g., a discount or penalty). Most agencies don’t offer this. QA10 guarantees deadlines with a penalty — because we’re confident in our process.
Can I pay in instalments for a website?
Yes. QA10 offers financing through Pragma Pay — a modern BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) system enabling payment spread over 3–12 instalments. Formalities are minimal, decisions fast. Ask about this option when requesting a quote.
What information do I need to get a quote?
Basic information is enough: what the company does, how many subpages you need, whether you want a blog, what integrations are needed (form, map, shop?) and a rough delivery timeframe. You don’t need ready copy — we can prepare everything from scratch.
Summary
The cost of building a website in 2026 ranges from 1,500 PLN gross for the minimum to 100,000+ PLN for advanced projects. For most companies with 5–50 employees the optimal range is 5,000–12,000 PLN gross — and at that amount you should receive a product ready to work: fast, SEO-optimised, with full ownership and support.
Remember two things: first, always ask whether the price is net or gross. Second, every second of page load delay costs −4.42% conversion — technical speed is not a luxury, it’s the foundation.
If you want to know exactly what your website would cost — without vague answers, with specific numbers and scope — check our offer.