A monthly plan is the better fit when
- You want someone else to make every change
- Cash flow matters more than the three-year total
- You'd rather not deal with hosting or updates
- You change your site every month
Website cost guide · Australia · 2026
How much does a small business website cost in Australia? (2026)
Real ranges for builders, pay-monthly plans, freelancers and agencies in Australian dollars, what drives the price, GST and ongoing costs, and a quick estimator you can use before you talk to anyone.
Estimator
Estimate your website cost
Pick a page count, who writes the words and the features you need. You get a typical market range and the SIX9 package that matches. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
Typical market range, not a quote
- Freelancer
- A$800 – A$5,000
- Agency
- A$5,000 – A$15,000
Rough one-time build ranges based on the published figures cited below. Domain, hosting, apps and ongoing work are extra. Real quotes vary widely with scope.
The matching SIX9 path
- Growth websiteUp to 5 pages
- A$299
- Listed price, once
- A$299
Domain and hosting are separate for website packages. Your written scope confirms the total before any work starts, and no payment is taken with a brief.
Start with Growth websiteBy build type
What each type of website costs
The same “five-page website” can mean a DIY template, a monthly subscription, a freelancer project or an agency engagement. They are different products, so compare what each includes, not only the headline number.
| Option | One-time cost | Ongoing cost | Who does the work | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder | Your time | Plan fees; Hostinger's AU builder starts at A$4.39 a month on a 48-month term, then renews higher | You | Testing an idea on a very tight budget |
| Pay-monthly website | Often no upfront fee | From A$49 a month (Netbound) to from A$299 a month (Localsearch) | The provider | Owners who want hosting and edits bundled |
| Freelancer or marketplace | A$300–A$5,000 per project (Airtasker's guide) | Hosting, plus hourly changes | One person | Small, well-defined jobs |
| Published small-business package | A$250–A$1,895 (Melbourne providers we checked) | Varies; some include a year of hosting | A small studio | A standard site with a set page count |
| Agency | From about A$5,000; one agency cites A$1,500–A$100,000+ | Hosting and often a maintenance plan | A team | Strategy, copywriting and complex builds |
| SIX9 fixed-scope build | A$169–A$449 once | Your own hosting and domain (we budget A$15 a month and A$25 a year) | SIX9, from your supplied content | A custom site with a clear page count and content ready |
DIY builders have the lowest cash cost and the highest time cost. You plan the pages, write the words, choose images, set up forms and keep everything current. That suits a new idea or a very small budget. It suits a busy owner less well, because the hours add up and an unfinished builder site does not win work.
Pay-monthly websites spread the cost and bundle hosting, security and a set amount of edits. Read the minimum term, what happens to the site and domain if you cancel, and whether the monthly price can rise at renewal.
Freelancers range from template setups to fully custom builds, which is why the published range is so wide. A good freelancer with a clear brief is often the best value; the risk is scope that grows without a written agreement, and a single point of failure if they become unavailable.
Agencies cost more because they sell more: discovery, strategy, copywriting, project management, a larger team and ongoing support. That is worth paying for on a complex site with many stakeholders. It is overkill for a small business that needs a few clear pages and a working enquiry form.
Fixed-scope studios like SIX9 sit between a freelancer and an agency: a published price for a defined page count, a set number of revision rounds, and a written scope before any work starts. The trade-off is that you supply the content and anything outside the package is quoted separately.
Cost drivers
What actually drives the price
Two quotes for “a small business website” can differ by ten times. Almost all of that gap comes from the six things below. Decide them before you ask for prices and your quotes become comparable.
- Number of pagesEvery page is planned, designed, filled and tested. Count the pages a visitor can open: home, about, each service, contact. SIX9 packages cover up to 3, 5 or 8 pages, and extra pages are A$20 each.
- Who supplies the contentWriting and photography are often the biggest hidden cost. If you supply finished text and images, the build is faster and cheaper. Professional copywriting and photography are separate trades and are priced separately almost everywhere, including at SIX9.
- Custom features such as bookingA contact form is simple. Booking and scheduling, member areas, calculators and quote forms take longer to design and test, and some rely on a paid tool with its own monthly fee. Name the features you need up front.
- An online storeProducts, cart, checkout, shipping, tax settings and order emails add a lot of work, and payment processing adds a fee per sale. SIX9 builds custom online stores as separate packages from A$279; see online stores.
- Integrations and automationConnecting your site to a CRM, accounting software, email marketing or an AI workflow means working with someone else's system. It is priced after the systems are reviewed, never guessed. At SIX9 it is a custom quote after a free review.
- Brand and logoIf you have no logo or visual identity yet, design it before or with the website. SIX9's Brand Launch combines a logo suite, a website and a social kit from A$599, with first-year domain and hosting included.
One-time vs monthly
Think in three-year totals
A monthly plan looks cheaper on day one. A one-time build usually costs less over three years, as long as your site doesn't need constant changes. Compare the total, then decide how much the included edits and support are worth to you.
| Option | Basis | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-monthly from A$49 | A$49 a month, no upfront fee (Netbound's entry price) | A$1,764 |
| Pay-monthly from A$299 | A$299 a month (Localsearch's entry price) | A$10,764 |
| SIX9 Launch + hosting and domain | A$169 once, plus our hosting assumption | A$784 |
| SIX9 Growth + hosting and domain | A$299 once, plus our hosting assumption | A$914 |
A one-time build is the better fit when
- Your pages won't change much after launch
- You want to own the finished site once it's paid
- You're comfortable arranging hosting and a domain
- You'd rather pay for changes only when you need them
After launch
Ongoing costs to budget for
The build is a one-time cost; these are not. They are paid to third parties (your registrar, host, email provider and app vendors), not to SIX9. We don't sell hosting or maintenance plans: changes after launch are quoted when you need them.
| Cost | Typical basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | We budget A$25 a year | A .com.au needs an Australian presence, such as an ABN, and a name connected to your business. |
| Hosting | We budget A$15 a month for a small site | Our planning assumption, on the high side for a small business site. Yours may be lower. |
| Business email | Per user, per month | Charged by your email provider. It runs on separate DNS records, so it isn't tied to the website build. |
| Apps and tools | Monthly, per tool | Booking tools, form services, newsletter software and store apps each carry their own plan. |
| Payment processing | A fee per transaction | Set by your payment provider, such as Stripe or Square. Relevant if you take bookings or sell online. |
| Changes and maintenance | Per change, or a monthly plan | One Melbourne studio we checked publishes maintenance from A$99 a month. Many small sites only need occasional paid changes. |
Australia
Australia-specific costs: GST, .com.au and accessibility
A few things change the budget for Australian businesses in particular. None of this is legal or tax advice.
- GSTGST in Australia is 10%. Many providers quote prices excluding GST, so check before you compare. SIX9 Design isn't registered for GST, so no GST is added to SIX9's prices.
- A .com.au domainA .com.au needs an Australian presence, such as an ABN or ACN, and the name must match or be closely connected to your business. Registrars set their own yearly fees, so compare renewal prices.
- AccessibilityClear headings, readable contrast, labelled forms, keyboard access and alt text make a site usable for more people. They cost far less to build in at the start than to retrofit later.
- Local or remoteSIX9 is a Melbourne studio, and most projects run by email and shared links wherever you are in Australia. See our Melbourne web design page or the Australia-wide overview.
By industry
Website cost by industry
SIX9's Launch, Growth and Advanced prices are the same in every industry (A$169–A$449). What changes is the page plan: a clinic needs treatment and team pages, a restaurant needs menus and bookings. Each page below shows the pages we plan for that industry.
Professional services and small brandsConsultants, agencies, advisers and local businessesTradiesService areas, quote requests and job photosRestaurants and cafesMenus, opening hours, bookings and ordering linksDental clinicsTreatments, team pages and appointment requestsFitness studios and coachesClasses, memberships, timetables and trial offersReal estateListings, appraisals and agent profilesArtists and creativesPortfolios, collections and commission requests
Watch for
Hidden costs and scope traps
Most budget surprises come from what a quote leaves out. Check every quote, including ours, for the items below.
- Hosting and the domain left out of the first-year total
- An introductory builder or hosting price that renews much higher
- A minimum subscription term, or a cancellation fee
- The domain registered in the provider's name instead of yours
- Revision rounds that aren't defined, or are billed hourly once used
- Copywriting and photos assumed to be yours without anyone saying so
- Paid plugins, booking tools or store apps with their own monthly fees
- Content entry (products, posts, team profiles) charged per item
- No clear answer on who owns the site and the logins after payment
- "Unlimited" edits that turn out to mean small text changes only
- Redirects from your old site not included when you replace it
- Second-language pages priced as a small add-on when they double the content
Bigger projects
When a website isn't the whole job
Some businesses need their website to do more than inform: route enquirys, update a CRM, generate quotes or run an order process. That work is priced differently, because it depends on your systems. At SIX9 it is quoted after a free review, never guessed.
AI automation
- Enquiry triage, document processing and follow-ups with human review. See AI automation and use cases.
- Quoted after a free review; AI usage and subscriptions are your running costs
Custom CRM and business software
- A CRM, order management system or custom backend built around how you work. See custom CRM development and custom software.
- Quoted after a free review; hosting and software licences are your running costs
How SIX9 prices
Why our prices can be this low
SIX9 Design is a small Melbourne studio led by founder and lead designer Rifat Hasan Rafi. Our prices are published because the scope is fixed. Here is what keeps them low, and what that means for you.
Launch
A$169once
Up to 3 pages for a focused small business site.
- Up to 3 pages
- Custom responsive design for mobile, tablet and desktop
- Contact form and supplied content added
- Page titles, descriptions and launch checks
- 1 consolidated revision round and launch assistance
The price covers the features listed. Anything extra is quoted separately before work starts.
Choose LaunchGrowth
A$299once
Up to 5 pages with on-page SEO basics. Our most common choice.
- Up to 5 pages
- Custom responsive design for mobile, tablet and desktop
- Contact form and supplied content added
- On-page SEO, sitemap and performance checks
- 2 consolidated revision rounds and launch assistance
The price covers the features listed. Anything extra is quoted separately before work starts.
Choose GrowthAdvanced
A$449once
Up to 8 pages with an editable collection.
- Up to 8 pages
- Custom responsive design for mobile, tablet and desktop
- Contact form and supplied content added
- On-page SEO, sitemap and performance checks
- 3 consolidated revision rounds and launch assistance
The price covers the features listed. Anything extra is quoted separately before work starts.
Choose AdvancedDomain and hosting are separate. Need more pages? Move up to Growth (up to 5 pages) or Advanced (up to 8 pages); bigger sites are quoted. Most standard websites are ready within 5–7 business days after we receive your content, images, access and project details. Your turnaround starts once we’ve got everything needed to get cracking. Once the project is fully paid, the finished website is yours, subject to any third-party platform or licence restrictions. See all packages.
- Fixed scopeA set page count and a set number of revision rounds. We don't price for open-ended meetings or unlimited changes.
- Supplied contentYou provide the text and images; we shape them into clear pages. Copywriting is quoted separately if you need it.
- A remote studioNo expensive office to pay for. Briefs, previews and approvals happen by email and shared links.
- No account-manager layerYou deal directly with the people designing and building your site, so nothing is lost or marked up between them.
When SIX9 isn't the right fit: you need WordPress, Shopify or Webflow specifically, an SEO retainer, ads management or a monthly maintenance plan, or in-person workshops in Australia. An agency or a local freelancer will serve you better. Our only published case study so far is Heartful Celebrations, an Australian celebrant's website and owner workspace.
Method
How we checked these figures
Last checked 25 September 2026. Prices change, so confirm with each provider before you buy.
We used only prices and ranges published on each provider's own website, or in a named cost guide, and we give the date we checked them. Where a provider doesn't publish a price, we say so rather than estimate. Ranges from cost guides are labelled as typical, because they reflect many projects, not a quote for yours.
The estimator adds rough typical costs for each feature to a base range drawn from those published figures. Treat it as a way to see which choices move the price most, not as a quote. SIX9's figures are our listed package prices; your written scope confirms the total before any work starts.
SIX9 Design isn't affiliated with any provider named here. Names belong to their owners. Spotted a price that has changed? Tell us through the contact page and we'll correct it.
Sources
- Airtasker website design cost guide, updated Dec 2023 · checked 25 September 2026
- Netbound small business websites · checked 25 September 2026
- Localsearch websites · checked 25 September 2026
- Hostinger website builder (AU) · checked 25 September 2026
- Lime Virtual Studio packages · checked 25 September 2026
- Dynamic Websites · checked 25 September 2026
- Design Point Digital · checked 25 September 2026
- White Peak Digital, web design Melbourne · checked 25 September 2026
- Blend Designs packages · checked 25 September 2026
- Australian Taxation Office, GST · checked 25 September 2026
- .au Domain Administration, .au licensing rules · checked 25 September 2026
How much does a website cost in Australia?
Airtasker's guide puts website design at A$300 to A$5,000 per project, published Melbourne small-business packages we checked run from A$250 to A$1,895, and agencies usually start around A$5,000. SIX9 builds fixed-scope websites for A$169–A$449 once, with hosting and a domain separate.
How much does a 5-page website cost?
With your own text and photos, a 5-page site from an Australian freelancer usually costs from several hundred to a few thousand dollars, and more with an agency. SIX9's Growth package covers up to 5 pages for A$299 once.
Are SIX9's prices GST inclusive?
SIX9 Design isn't registered for GST, so no GST is added to SIX9's prices. Many other providers quote ex-GST, so check before comparing.
Can I get a .com.au domain?
Yes, if you have an Australian presence, such as an ABN or ACN, and the name matches or is closely connected to your business. Your registrar sets the yearly fee.
Is a pay-monthly website cheaper?
Not usually over three years. An A$49-a-month plan costs A$1,764 over 36 months and a A$299-a-month plan A$10,764, against about A$784 for SIX9 Launch with our hosting and domain assumption. Pay-monthly plans do include edits and support.
What ongoing costs should I budget for?
A domain, hosting, business email, paid apps and any payment processing. We budget A$15 a month for hosting and A$25 a year for a domain. SIX9 doesn't sell hosting or maintenance plans.
Why is SIX9 cheaper than an agency?
Fixed page counts, your supplied content, consolidated revision rounds and hosting kept separate. There is no account-manager layer. An agency quote usually includes strategy, copywriting and ongoing support.
What isn't included in a SIX9 website package?
Domain and hosting fees, paid tools and API usage, custom CRM or complex software, copywriting, photography and ongoing SEO campaigns. We don't build on WordPress, Shopify or Webflow, or sell SEO retainers or maintenance plans.
How accurate is the estimator?
It's a rough guide. The market ranges are based on published Australian figures and are not quotes. The SIX9 figures are our listed prices; custom work is quoted after a free review.
Keep exploring
Related guides and pages
SIX9 packages and pricesWebsites from A$169, Brand Launch from A$599Pay monthly vs one-time build12, 24 and 36-month totalsMelbourne web design pricesPublished packages, dated and sourcedWeb design across AustraliaFixed-price websites in AUDHow to choose a web design agencyQuestions to ask before you signSmall business website checklistWhat to prepare before the buildRedesign vs rebuildWhen to improve, redesign or start again
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