What a Website Should Actually Cost a Tradie in 2026

Short answer: a proper website for a trade business should cost somewhere between $500 and $1,600, depending on how many pages and features you need, not the $3,000-$10,000+ that traditional agencies charge.

If you've asked around and gotten quotes all over the place, or worse, no straight answer at all, here's what you should actually expect to pay and what you get for it.

Why the quotes you've had so far are all over the place

Ask three agencies what a website costs and you'll get three different answers, none of them straight. That's because agency pricing is built around scope creep, a sales process, and overheads you're indirectly paying for, not the actual cost of building a site for a five-person trade business.

You don't need a discovery workshop. You don't need a project manager. You need a site that shows what you do, where you work, and how to reach you. That job doesn't cost thousands.

What a tradie website should actually cost

Here's realistic pricing for a trade business website, broken down by what you actually get:

Basic — around $500

Up to 5 pages, mobile-responsive, a contact form, basic SEO setup. Enough for a sparky or plumber who just needs to exist online and stop losing leads to competitors who show up first.

Professional — around $1,000 (most tradies land here)

Everything in Basic, plus up to 8 pages, more advanced SEO, a proper lead capture form, and basic analytics so you can see where your traffic's coming from.

Premium — around $1,600

Up to 12 pages, a complete SEO package, analytics and reporting, professional copywriting so you're not stuck writing it yourself, custom email, social integration, and a month of support after launch.

That's the range. If a quote lands well outside it, ask exactly what you're paying for.

What should be included, no matter the price

Regardless of the package, a proper tradie website should come with the following:

• Mobile-responsive design (most of your traffic will be on a phone)
• A working contact method — form, click-to-call, or both
• Basic on-page SEO so Google can actually find and rank you
• No lock-in contract that traps you if the service isn't good
• A clear, fixed price up front, not "it depends"

If any of those are missing from a quote, that's a red flag, not a discount.

What it costs beyond the build

A website is the base. Most tradies eventually add one or two of these, depending on what they're trying to fix:

Local Visibility Package (around $600)

Local keyword targeting, Google Business Profile setup, Maps ranking, and getting your first few reviews. This is usually the highest-impact add-on because it's what gets you showing up in the local map pack, not just ranking on page one.

Brand Starter Package (around $450)

Logo concepts, revisions, final files, custom email. Useful if you're still running off a personal Gmail and a logo someone's cousin made.

Google Ads Setup (around $500 + ad spend)

For when you want leads faster than organic SEO delivers, on top of ad spend billed separately.

Monthly maintenance (around $150/mo)

Keeps the site updated, running, and secure so it's not something you have to think about.

Growth Plan (around $300/mo, plus a minimum $300/mo ad spend)

Ongoing SEO and ad management if you want to keep growing past the initial launch.

None of these are compulsory. Plenty of tradies get a website built once and leave it alone for years. They're there for when you're ready to push further, not a way to pad the invoice.

What it shouldn't cost

You shouldn't be paying for any of the following.

• Thousands of dollars for a five-page site with a contact form
• A monthly fee just to "unlock" your own website
• Setup fees on top of the build price with no explanation
• Anything if you're locked into a 12-month contract with an exit fee

If a provider's pricing model depends on you not being able to leave, that tells you what they think of their own work. For comparison, my pricing is listed in full up front — $499, $999 or $1,599, no monthly lock-in.