What Does a Website Cost per Month?
Domain, hosting, email, builder subscription, maintenance: what a website for your business costs every month, with real provider prices (as of October 2026).
A simple, static website often costs only the domain to run: at IONOS €1.30 a month at the regular price, so around €16 a year. With a website builder, by contrast, you pay a subscription, about €7 to €50 a month depending on the provider and plan. A WordPress website needs hosting from about €5 a month, plus regular maintenance. An email mailbox and tools such as a booking tool can come on top. All prices come from the providers’ pricing pages, as of October 2026.
This article goes through each item: what it costs, whether you need it, and how to keep the running costs low.
The items at a glance
| Item | What it costs | Do you need it? |
|---|---|---|
| Domain (.de) | at IONOS €1.30 a month, less in the first year | always |
| Hosting for a static website | free at Cloudflare | for custom-built websites |
| Hosting for WordPress | at IONOS €5 to €20 a month | only with WordPress |
| Website builder | about €7 to €50 a month, hosting included | only with a builder |
| Email mailbox | depends on the provider, included in some plans | usually |
| Maintenance | your time or a service provider | mainly with WordPress |
| Tools | such as a booking tool or a chatbot | only if you use them |
As of October 2026, regular prices after introductory offers. The providers can change them at any time.
Domain: your address on the web
The domain is your address, such as your-business.de. You need it with every solution. A .de domain at IONOS costs €0.08 a month in the first year, then €1.30. Many builders include a domain: Wix for the first year, the STRATO website builder permanently.
More important than the price is who owns the domain. Register it in your own account. Then you can change providers without losing your address.
Hosting: where the website lives
Hosting is the space on a server from which your website is delivered. What it costs depends on how the website is built.
A static website is made of finished pages without a database. Cloudflare, for example, delivers such files free of charge and without a volume limit. That is what I recommend for the websites I build, and it is how this website runs too.
WordPress, by contrast, needs hosting with a database. At IONOS the WordPress plans cost €5 to €20 a month at the regular price, less in the first 6 or 12 months. With a builder, the hosting is part of the subscription.
Website builder: everything in one subscription
A builder bundles hosting, templates and updates into one subscription. According to the pricing pages, that costs per month:
- IONOS: €12 to €33, cheaper in the first months.
- STRATO: €7 to €18 with a 12-month term.
- Jimdo: €12 to €50 with a 12-month term.
- Wix: from around €17 with an annual subscription, large plans considerably more.
The subscription runs for as long as the website is online. Over five years that quickly adds up to several hundred euros. In return you save the setup, and you change everything yourself. When a builder is the right choice is shown in the comparison WordPress, a website builder or a custom website.
Email: a mailbox with your domain
An address such as info@your-business.de needs a mailbox with a provider. What it costs depends on the provider and the storage. Some plans include it, the STRATO website builder for example two mailboxes. When comparing, check whether a mailbox is included or costs extra.
Maintenance: time or money
A static website keeps running without changes as long as the host changes nothing. It rarely needs a maintenance contract. If you change something, you pay the effort for that one change.
WordPress, by contrast, has to be updated regularly: the system itself, the design and every extension. That costs your time or a service provider. Why it matters so much is explained in the section on maintenance in the comparison of the systems. With a builder, the provider takes care of maintenance; it is part of the subscription.
Tools that can come on top
Some businesses use services with a fee of their own. A ready-made booking tool often costs a fee per user per month, and sometimes it is already included in your Microsoft or Google plan. What the common tools cost is compared in the article Appointment Request or Online Appointment Booking.
I offer an AI Chatbot that answers your visitors’ questions from your documents as an add-on for about €20 to €25 a month. Such costs only arise if you really use the tool.
How to keep running costs low
- Register the domain in your own account.
- Calculate with the regular price, not the introductory offer. The low prices often apply for only 6 or 12 months.
- Watch the term: many monthly prices apply only with a 12-month contract or with annual payment in advance.
- Book only the tools you really use.
- Check whether your website needs a database. Without one, hosting and maintenance are often almost free.
And what does the website cost once?
That depends mainly on the number of pages and on the features. With me, a website for your business starts at €400 for one page, plus the contact page, legal notice and privacy policy. Each extra page costs €150, and you know the fixed price up front. There is no monthly fee to me. What else a website needs is summed up in the overview Website for Businesses.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay for a website every month?
For the domain, yes: it costs €1.30 a month at IONOS at the regular price. Everything else depends on the solution: a static website can run free of charge at Cloudflare, while a builder and WordPress hosting cost money every month.
Is free hosting reputable?
For static websites, yes: Cloudflare delivers such files in its regular free plan. As with any provider, the terms can change. Because a static website consists of simple files, it can then be moved without much effort.
Why are introductory prices so low?
Because they are meant to win new customers. After 6 or 12 months the regular price applies, often many times higher. So always calculate with the regular price.
Conclusion
The running costs of a website range from around €16 a year for the domain to a subscription of €50 a month and more. The cheapest option is a static website with the domain in your own account. A builder costs more but saves you work. WordPress costs hosting and maintenance but can do a great deal. What matters is what your business really needs.