Quick answer: In 2026, a website in India costs about ₹10,000–₹40,000 for a simple 1–8 page site from a freelancer, ₹25,000–₹1,50,000 for a custom business website from an agency, ₹50,000–₹3,00,000 for an online store, and ₹3,00,000 or more for a custom web application. On top of the build, budget ₹5,000–₹25,000 a year for domain, hosting and upkeep, plus 18% GST if your developer is GST-registered.
Those ranges are wide because “a website” can mean a one-page brochure or a booking platform. This guide breaks the price down by website type, platform and who builds it. It also shows three sample first-year budgets and lists what a fair quote should include. Digital Arka’s own website development packages are listed near the end, so you have a real price to compare against.
Website development cost in India at a glance
| Website type | Typical scope | Freelancer | Agency | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-page / landing page | 1 page, enquiry form, WhatsApp button | ₹5,000–₹15,000 | ₹15,000–₹40,000 | 3–10 days |
| Small business website | 5–8 pages, CMS, basic SEO setup | ₹10,000–₹40,000 | ₹25,000–₹80,000 | 2–6 weeks |
| Corporate / large business website | 15–40 pages, custom design, blog, integrations | ₹40,000–₹1,00,000 | ₹80,000–₹3,00,000 | 5–10 weeks |
| E-commerce store | Up to ~100 products, payments, shipping | ₹25,000–₹80,000 | ₹50,000–₹3,00,000 | 6–10 weeks |
| Custom web app / portal | Logins, dashboards, custom database | Rarely suitable | ₹3,00,000–₹20,00,000+ | 2–6 months |
All figures exclude GST. They are planning ranges built from the prices Indian agencies and freelancers publish for this search (November 2026), with outliers removed. Your quote will depend on the factors below.
What decides the price
Two quotes for “a 10-page website” can differ by 5x. Usually that’s because they describe different work. These eight factors explain most of the gap.
- Unique page layouts, not page count. Designers price by templates. A 20-page site built from 4 layouts (home, service, about, contact) can cost less than a 10-page site where every page is designed from scratch.
- Design approach. A ready-made theme is cheapest. A customised theme sits in the middle. A fully custom design, wireframed and mocked up in a tool like Figma before development, costs the most but gives you a site that doesn’t look like your competitor’s.
- Platform. WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce and custom code have very different build and running costs (see the next section).
- Features and integrations. Each one adds development and testing time: payment gateways (Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree), appointment booking, CRM or WhatsApp Business API connections, Hindi/English versions, and ERP or Tally sync.
- Content. Many quotes assume you’ll supply the text and photos. If the agency writes the copy and arranges photography, that’s extra work, and it should be a separate line item.
- Speed and SEO setup. Core Web Vitals tuning, schema markup, XML sitemaps and redirect mapping during a redesign take skilled hours. Cheap builds often skip them, and the cost shows up later in lost rankings. Our SEO services page lists what a proper setup includes.
- Who builds it. DIY, freelancer and agency pricing is compared below.
- Deadline. A rushed launch means overtime or extra developers, and quotes reflect that.
Website cost by platform
| Platform | Typical agency build cost | Ongoing platform cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | ₹20,000–₹1,50,000 | Hosting plus any premium theme or plugin licences | Service businesses, content-heavy sites, blogs |
| WooCommerce (WordPress store) | ₹40,000–₹2,00,000 | Hosting plus payment gateway fees; no platform fee | Stores that want full ownership and flexibility |
| Shopify | ₹30,000–₹2,00,000 setup and design | Plan fee plus Shopify’s third-party payment fee (below) | D2C brands that want fast setup and a managed platform |
| Custom code (React/Next.js, Laravel, Node) | ₹1,50,000 and up | Hosting and developer support | Web apps, portals, performance-critical sites |
| DIY website builders | Your own time | Monthly subscription | Very early-stage businesses testing an idea |
Not sure which stack fits? See which language is best for an SEO-friendly website.
Shopify plan prices in India (Shopify’s India pricing page, November 2026, per month):
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Fee when you use a third-party payment provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | ₹1,499 | ₹1,994 | 2% |
| Grow | ₹5,599 | ₹7,447 | 1% |
| Advanced | ₹22,680 | ₹30,164 | 0.6% |
The payment fee is the cost people miss. Most Indian stores use a third-party gateway such as Razorpay. On the Basic plan, Shopify takes 2% of every order on top of the gateway’s own charge. At ₹3,00,000 of monthly sales, that’s ₹6,000 a month, or ₹72,000 a year. That can be more than the store cost to build. If you expect steady sales, compare the Grow plan or WooCommerce before you commit.
DIY vs freelancer vs agency
| Option | Typical cost | Works well when | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY (builder or WordPress yourself) | Subscription or hosting only, plus your time | You need something live this week and can write your own copy | Slow, generic sites; SEO basics often missed |
| Freelancer | ₹5,000–₹1,00,000 | Scope is small and clear, and you can manage the project yourself | Availability after launch; quality varies widely |
| Agency | ₹25,000–₹3,00,000+ | You want design, development, SEO setup and support from one team | Higher price; check the agency builds in-house rather than outsourcing |
A freelancer can be the right call for a five-page site. For a store or a site that has to generate leads, the cost of a slow, poorly structured build tends to outweigh the savings.
Running costs: what you pay every year
The build is usually a one-time payment. These costs repeat every year.
| Item | Typical yearly cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domain (.in or .com) | ₹500–₹1,500 | Premium or short names cost more. Check the renewal price, not just the first-year offer. |
| Shared hosting | ₹1,000–₹3,000 | Fine for small brochure sites. |
| VPS / cloud hosting | ₹16,000–₹30,000+ | Needed for busy stores and heavier sites. |
| SSL certificate | Usually free | Most hosts include a free SSL. Paid certificates are rarely needed for small businesses. |
| Business email | Per user, per month | Google Workspace and Zoho Mail both charge per user. |
| Premium theme / plugin / app licences | ₹0–₹15,000+ | Make sure they’re registered in your name. |
| Maintenance (updates, backups, fixes) | 15–20% of the build cost | A common rule of thumb for budgeting. |
First-year cost: three sample budgets
These examples show what businesses actually spend in year one, which is the number most guides leave out. All figures exclude GST.
1. Local clinic: 6-page WordPress site
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Design and build | ₹25,000–₹40,000 |
| Domain | ~₹1,000 |
| Hosting | ₹3,000–₹6,000 |
| Maintenance after the free support period | ₹5,000–₹10,000 |
| First-year total | ₹34,000–₹57,000 |
2. D2C brand: 50-product Shopify store, ₹3 lakh monthly sales
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Store setup and design | ₹60,000–₹1,20,000 |
| Shopify Basic, billed yearly (₹1,499 × 12) | ₹17,988 |
| Paid apps (reviews, WhatsApp, shipping) | ₹10,000–₹30,000 |
| Shopify’s 2% third-party payment fee (₹6,000 × 12) | ₹72,000 |
| First-year total | ₹1,59,988–₹2,39,988 |
3. Manufacturer or exporter: 25-page corporate site with product catalogue
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Custom design and build | ₹1,00,000–₹2,50,000 |
| Domain | ~₹1,000 |
| Managed / VPS hosting | ₹10,000–₹20,000 |
| Maintenance (15% of build) | ₹15,000–₹37,500 |
| First-year total | ₹1,26,000–₹3,08,500 |
The store example is the useful warning. Platform and payment fees add up to more than the build itself. Always ask for a first-year estimate, not just a build price.
Hidden costs to ask about before you sign
- GST. Website development is taxed at 18% GST when the developer is GST-registered. If your business is GST-registered too, you can usually claim it back as input tax credit. Confirm with your CA.
- Content and photography. Find out who writes the copy and supplies the images, and what it costs if the agency does it.
- Licences. Ask which premium themes, plugins or apps are included, and whose name they’re registered in.
- Revisions. Ask how many design rounds are included, and the rate after that.
- Redesign extras. Moving an existing site needs 301 redirects and URL mapping, or you can lose your Google rankings. Ask whether it’s included.
- Hosting renewals. Introductory hosting prices often double at renewal.
- Ownership. The domain should be registered in your name, and you should get full admin access and the source code.
- Support after launch. Ask how long bug fixes are free, and what support costs after that.
How to compare two website quotes
A fair quote states each of the following in writing. If two quotes leave out different items, they aren’t priced on the same scope, so you can’t compare them yet.
- ☐ Number of pages and number of unique page layouts
- ☐ Design approach (theme, customised theme or custom design) and the number of revision rounds
- ☐ Platform, and who owns the licences
- ☐ Feature list: forms, payment gateway, booking, integrations, languages
- ☐ Who supplies content and images
- ☐ What “SEO-ready” includes (titles, schema, sitemap, speed targets, redirects)
- ☐ Timeline with milestones and the payment schedule
- ☐ Support period after launch, and maintenance pricing after it ends
- ☐ Domain, hosting, admin access and source code ownership
- ☐ Whether the price includes or excludes GST
Red flags: a fully custom e-commerce site for under ₹10,000; no written scope; the domain registered in the agency’s name; “lifetime free hosting”; or no staging site where you can review the work before it goes live.
Digital Arka’s website development pricing
Digital Arka builds websites at a fixed price agreed against a written scope of work. You own the full source code, with no licensing fee or vendor lock-in.
| Package | Price | What’s included | Post-launch support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | ₹25,000 | Up to 6 pages, custom design, mobile-first build, basic SEO setup (schema, sitemap), contact form | 30 days |
| Growth | ₹60,000 | Up to 15 pages or an e-commerce store with up to 50 products, payment gateway, Core Web Vitals guarantee (90+ score), CMS training | 60 days |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Unlimited pages or products, custom web applications, React/Next.js or headless builds, API integrations | 90 days plus a maintenance plan |
Typical timelines are 4–6 weeks for a business website and 6–10 weeks for an e-commerce store. Every build includes Search Console and GA4 setup at launch. All prices exclude 18% GST.
Get a fixed-price website quote →
How to lower the cost without cutting corners
- Have your content ready. Waiting on copy and photos is the most common reason projects overrun and get re-quoted.
- Reuse layouts. Ask for one service-page layout used across all services instead of a unique design for each.
- Launch in phases. Go live with the pages that bring enquiries, then add the blog, extra languages or advanced features later.
- Use proven plugins and apps for standard features like forms, reviews and booking. Pay for custom code only where it gives you an edge.
- Pay hosting yearly and check the renewal price before you sign.
- Skip what you won’t use. A multilingual site you never translate is wasted budget.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to make a website in India? Most small businesses spend ₹25,000–₹80,000 for a professionally built 5–15 page website, before GST. A one-page site can cost under ₹15,000. Online stores and custom web apps cost more.
What does a website cost per month in India? For a small business site, running costs (hosting, domain, email and basic maintenance) usually come to ₹500–₹2,500 a month. Shopify stores also pay a plan fee, from ₹1,499 a month on the Basic plan billed yearly, plus payment fees.
How much does a WordPress website cost in India? A WordPress business website typically costs ₹20,000–₹1,50,000 from an agency, depending on design and features. A WooCommerce store usually starts around ₹40,000.
Is GST charged on website development in India? Yes. Website design and development services are taxed at 18% GST when the developer is GST-registered. GST-registered businesses can generally claim it as input tax credit.
How long does it take to build a website? A small business website takes about 2–6 weeks, an e-commerce store 6–10 weeks, and a custom web application 2–6 months. Delays in content and approvals are the most common reason timelines slip.
Why are website quotes in India so different from each other? Usually because the quotes cover different scopes: different numbers of layouts, a template versus a custom design, content included or not, and different support periods. Use the checklist above to put them on the same footing.
Planning a new site or a redesign? Tell us what you need, and Digital Arka will send a fixed-price quote with a written scope. Request your website quote.