Getting a quote for a website in India can feel like asking how long a piece of string is. One freelancer quotes ₹12,000. A studio sends you a proposal for ₹2 lakhs. Both can be right — because “website” covers everything from a five-page brochure to a full-scale e-commerce engine. This guide gives you a clear 2026 breakdown of website development cost in India by type, platform, and who builds it, so you go into any conversation with a developer knowing what fair looks like.
Website Development Costs at a Glance
Here is the honest range before we break it down:
| Website Type | Typical Cost Range (₹) | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Basic static / brochure site | ₹7,500 – ₹25,000 | Portfolios, solo freelancers, small local businesses |
| CMS business website (WordPress / Wix) | ₹25,000 – ₹1,50,000 | Service businesses, clinics, consultants, startups |
| E-commerce website | ₹60,000 – ₹5,00,000+ | Online stores, D2C brands, marketplace sellers |
| Custom web application | ₹2,00,000 – ₹25,00,000+ | SaaS platforms, booking engines, enterprise systems |
Two websites can sit at opposite ends of one of those ranges, and both can be correctly priced. What separates them is not the number of pages — it is design complexity, features, technology stack, and who is doing the work. Each of those factors is explained below.
The 3 Routes to Building a Website — and What Each Costs
Most Indian businesses choose one of three paths when getting a website built. The difference in cost between them is significant, but so is the difference in what you actually get.
1. DIY Website Builders (₹2,000–₹10,000/year)
Platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy’s builder let anyone create a website through drag-and-drop interfaces without writing code. Your main costs are the domain name (₹500–₹2,500/year for a .com or .in) and the platform subscription. Most paid plans that remove branding and allow a custom domain run between ₹250 and ₹900 per month.
DIY makes sense for personal blogs, solo practitioners testing demand for a new service, or event landing pages. It rarely makes sense for any business where the website is expected to generate leads, rank on Google, or sell products. Template-based builders tend to produce slow-loading pages and weak SEO structure — two problems that quietly cost more in the long run through lost traffic and higher ad spend.
2. Hiring a Freelancer (₹15,000–₹80,000)
India has one of the world’s largest pools of freelance web developers, accessible through platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and direct referrals. A simple five-page WordPress website from a competent freelancer typically costs ₹15,000–₹35,000. A more complex project with custom design, animations, and third-party integrations can reach ₹80,000.
The main advantage is price. The main risk is that you are relying entirely on one person. There is no backup team if the project stalls, no quality-assurance layer, and post-launch support depends on the individual’s availability. Quality varies widely — some freelancers deliver excellent work, while others produce sites that look fine in screenshots but perform poorly on mobile or load slowly under real conditions.
3. Hiring a Web Development Agency (₹50,000–₹5,00,000+)
Agencies operate with structured teams: a designer, a frontend developer, a backend developer, an SEO specialist, and a project manager working in coordination rather than a single person juggling every role. That team structure adds cost — but it also adds reliability, quality control, and a clear process from brief to launch.
For businesses where the website is a primary revenue or lead-generation channel, partnering with a professional web development company typically pays for itself quickly. A ₹1,50,000 website generating ten qualified leads a month will recover its cost inside two months at almost any average deal size.
| Factor | DIY | Freelancer | Agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | ₹2K–₹10K/year | ₹15K–₹80K | ₹50K–₹5L+ |
| Design quality | Template-limited | Varies by individual | Custom, structured |
| SEO readiness | Weak | Inconsistent | Built in from day one |
| Post-launch support | Self-managed | Depends on freelancer | Structured SLA |
| Scalability | Limited | Moderate | High |
| Best for | Testing ideas | Small, defined projects | Growth-focused businesses |
Website Cost by Type
Static / Brochure Website (₹7,500–₹30,000)
A static website displays the same content to every visitor and has no backend database or admin panel. It is the fastest and cheapest type to build, and it works well for businesses that just need a digital business card: a home page, an about page, a services list, and a contact form. Most local service businesses — a neighbourhood CA firm, a private tutor, a small boutique — sit comfortably in this category.
The downside is inflexibility. Adding a blog, updating prices, or running promotions requires developer access rather than a simple admin login. For anything requiring regular content updates, a CMS-based site is worth the extra cost.
CMS Business Website — WordPress or Wix (₹25,000–₹1,50,000)
This is the most common website type for Indian SMBs. A content management system (CMS) gives you an admin panel where you can update text, add blog posts, upload images, and manage pages without touching code. According to W3Techs, WordPress alone powers over 43% of all websites globally — a reflection of how well it balances flexibility and affordability.
In this range, you can expect 8–25 pages, a mobile-optimised design, lead capture forms, Google Maps and WhatsApp integration, a blog section, and basic on-page SEO setup. At the upper end (₹75,000–₹1,50,000), you get custom UI/UX design, CRM integration, and conversion-focused architecture rather than a template dropped on top of your brand colours.
E-commerce Website (₹60,000–₹5,00,000+)
India’s e-commerce market crossed $100 billion in gross merchandise value in 2023 (IBEF) and is projected to reach $350 billion by 2030. Even a small share of that requires a properly built online store. The cost range is wide because the gap between a basic WooCommerce store with 50 products and a high-traffic multi-category platform with inventory management and custom checkout logic is enormous.
A first-store setup for a D2C brand or niche product business — product catalog, payment gateway (Razorpay or PayU), basic shipping configuration, customer login — typically falls in the ₹60,000–₹1,50,000 range. Add advanced filtering, automation, and analytics dashboards and you move into ₹2,00,000–₹5,00,000+.
Custom Web Application (₹2,00,000–₹25,00,000+)
At this level, you are building software for the web rather than a website in the traditional sense. Think booking engines, SaaS dashboards, multi-vendor marketplaces, or CRM-style internal tools. These projects involve backend architecture, database design, API integrations, QA cycles, and cloud deployment. Scope — not page count — determines the price.
WordPress vs Shopify vs Custom Code: Platform Pricing Compared
Platform choice is one of the most significant cost decisions you will make, yet most pricing guides treat it as an afterthought. Here is a practical comparison for Indian businesses in 2026.
| Platform | Typical Build Cost | Ongoing Monthly Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress (self-hosted) | ₹25,000 – ₹2,50,000 | ₹500 – ₹3,000 (hosting + plugins) | Service businesses, blogs, lead-gen sites, most SMBs |
| Shopify | ₹40,000 – ₹1,50,000 (setup + theme) | ₹2,000 – ₹8,000 (subscription + apps) | E-commerce — especially D2C brands wanting fast setup |
| Custom React / Next.js | ₹1,50,000 – ₹25,00,000+ | ₹3,000 – ₹25,000+ (hosting + devops) | SaaS, web apps, performance-critical platforms |
WordPress has the lowest total cost of ownership for most small to mid-sized businesses. You own the code, hosting is competitively priced in India, and a large plugin ecosystem handles most common requirements without custom development.
Shopify trades a higher monthly subscription (starting at approximately ₹1,994/month on the Basic India plan) for a fully managed platform where hosting, security, and updates are handled for you. For e-commerce founders who want to focus on products and marketing rather than server management, this trade-off is usually worth it.
Custom development makes sense only when your requirements genuinely cannot be met by an existing CMS. Over-engineering a lead generation website in React is a common and expensive mistake that adds years to the break-even timeline.
5 Factors That Push Your Website Cost Higher
Two quotes for “a business website” can differ by ₹1,00,000 and both be fair. Here is what drives the gap.
- Design complexity. A template-based layout is faster and cheaper to build because the structure already exists. A custom-designed website requires wireframes, user journey mapping, multiple design revisions, and original UI components built from scratch.
- Features and integrations. Contact forms are cheap. Booking systems, membership areas, payment gateways, CRM sync, multi-language support, and live chat integrations each add development time — and every added feature multiplies testing requirements.
- Content requirements. Many quotes exclude copywriting. Professional website copy in India typically costs ₹1,500–₹5,000 per page. A ten-page site with professionally written content adds ₹15,000–₹50,000 to your budget before a single image is placed.
- SEO architecture. A website built with SEO from the ground up — proper URL structure, schema markup, speed-optimised code, internal linking architecture — costs more initially but saves significantly on future SEO spend. A website built without SEO in mind often requires near-complete reconstruction when the business wants to rank.
- Post-launch support. Agencies that offer maintenance retainers, uptime monitoring, and a guaranteed response window price their initial build higher than those who deliver and disappear. That premium is usually worth paying for a business-critical website.
The Hidden Costs That Catch Business Owners Off Guard
The quote you receive at launch is rarely the total you will spend over three years. These ongoing expenses are real, and many businesses only discover them after the website is live.
- Domain renewal: ₹500–₹2,500 per year. Not a one-time cost.
- Hosting upgrades: Most sites start on shared hosting (₹1,500–₹3,000/year). As traffic grows, performance degrades. Upgrading to VPS or cloud hosting can push costs to ₹20,000–₹80,000/year.
- Plugin and theme licensing: Premium WordPress plugins — page builders, SEO tools, form builders, security suites — often carry annual renewal fees. These can collectively add ₹10,000–₹40,000/year.
- Maintenance: CMS platforms and plugins require regular updates. Skipping them creates security vulnerabilities. Professional maintenance retainers in India typically run ₹5,000–₹20,000/month.
- SEO and content marketing: Your website generates zero organic traffic on day one. Retaining a reputable SEO company in Bangalore costs ₹8,500 to ₹60,000/month. This is the highest hidden cost — and the one most commonly left out of initial budgets.
A ₹50,000 website with nothing allocated for SEO and content will sit in search result obscurity. The website is the engine; marketing is the fuel.
What Do Agencies in Bangalore Typically Charge?
Agency pricing varies by city, with metro tech hubs commanding higher rates than tier-2 markets. In Bengaluru — India’s largest technology employment centre — web development teams have access to premium talent while benefiting from the density of supply that keeps pricing competitive relative to global benchmarks.
A straightforward CMS-based business website from a Bangalore agency typically lands between ₹25,000 and ₹80,000. Custom design with conversion-focused architecture and integrations moves into the ₹1,00,000–₹2,50,000 range. Full-stack builds with custom backend logic start at ₹2,00,000 and scale with scope.
For businesses based in or targeting customers in Bengaluru, working with a local team has practical advantages: in-person briefings, faster iteration, and a development team that understands the local market. A reputable web development company in Bangalore should be able to give you a clearly scoped estimate within 24 hours at no charge — if they cannot explain the pricing breakdown clearly upfront, that is itself a useful signal.
One thing to look for specifically in Bangalore’s market: agencies that have an in-house SEO team rather than outsourcing it. Getting SEO architecture right from day one — not retrofitted six months after launch — saves significantly on rework.
4 Red Flags in a Website Development Quote
Not every low quote is a bargain. These are the warning signs that the cheapest option may cost more in the long run.
- No mention of SEO or performance. A quote that does not include technical SEO setup, page speed optimisation, or mobile responsiveness testing is a quote for a website that will struggle to be found. These are not optional extras — they are foundational requirements for any site that needs to rank.
- A single-line proposal. “10-page business website — ₹18,000” tells you nothing about design process, revisions included, hosting setup, or what happens if you need changes after delivery. Serious agencies quote with scope documents.
- No portfolio of live sites. Ask for three to five live URLs of websites they have built. Check them on Google PageSpeed Insights. If their previous work loads slowly or looks broken on mobile, yours will too.
- 100% payment upfront. Standard industry practice in India is 50% upfront and 50% on delivery, or milestone-based payments for larger projects. Requesting the full amount before any work begins is a pattern worth being cautious about.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a 5-page website cost in India?
A basic 5-page static website in India typically costs ₹10,000–₹30,000. If you want a CMS so you can update content yourself, with a mobile-optimised design and a contact form, expect to pay ₹25,000–₹50,000. Custom design adds to this range.
How much does a 20-page website cost in India?
A 20-page business website built on WordPress with standard design typically costs ₹50,000–₹1,50,000. If those pages require custom layouts, product showcases, booking functionality, or multilingual support, costs can reach ₹2,00,000–₹3,00,000.
What is the monthly cost of maintaining a website in India?
Website maintenance in India costs ₹5,000–₹20,000/month for a standard business website. This typically covers hosting, CMS and plugin updates, security monitoring, uptime checks, and minor content changes. E-commerce sites with higher security requirements and regular catalog updates sit at the higher end.
Is a WordPress website cheaper than Shopify in India?
WordPress has a lower monthly recurring cost — shared hosting runs ₹1,500–₹5,000/year versus Shopify’s ₹2,000/month minimum subscription. However, Shopify requires less ongoing maintenance and no plugin update management. For pure e-commerce, Shopify’s total cost of ownership over three years is often comparable to WordPress when you factor in developer time for maintenance.
Can I get a good website for under ₹30,000 in India?
Yes — a well-built static or basic CMS website is achievable at ₹25,000–₹30,000 with a competent freelancer. The key questions to ask: Does it load in under three seconds on mobile? Is it SEO-ready from day one? Does the developer hand over full credentials and source files on delivery? If the answer to all three is yes, ₹30,000 is a legitimate and smart investment for a business at an early stage.