If you're asking how much a website costs in Melbourne, the honest answer for 2026 is somewhere between a few hundred dollars and $40,000 or more. Most small businesses land between $2,000 and $10,000 (ex GST) for a professionally built site. Where you land depends on who builds it, how many pages you need, and what the site has to do. This guide breaks down real price ranges, the ongoing costs nobody mentions, and how to compare quotes without getting burnt. There's also a calculator further down so you can estimate your own project.
The short answer
Here are typical one-off prices for a small business website in Melbourne in 2026, excluding GST. They're drawn from the published prices of Melbourne freelancers, studios and agencies, and they're a guide rather than a survey.
| Option | Typical price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder (Wix, Squarespace) | $300 to $800 a year | New businesses testing an idea |
| Freelancer, template-based site | $1,500 to $4,000 | Simple sites on a tight budget |
| Small studio, custom 5-page site | $2,500 to $6,000 | Most local service businesses |
| Studio or agency, 6 to 12 pages with SEO | $5,000 to $12,000 | Businesses competing on Google |
| Online store (Shopify or similar) | $8,000 to $25,000 | Retailers and product businesses |
| Custom web app or portal | $15,000 to $40,000+ | Bookings, logins, dashboards, integrations |
If that range feels enormous, it's because "a website" can mean very different things. A five-page brochure site and an online store with 500 products are both websites, the same way a ute and a semi-trailer are both trucks.
What drives the price
Every quote is really a combination of the same handful of factors. Understanding them helps you see why two quotes can be thousands of dollars apart.
Custom design or a template
A template gives you a pre-made design with your logo and colours swapped in. It's faster and cheaper, but your site will look like thousands of others, and templates often carry a lot of unused code that slows them down. A custom design is planned around your customers and what you want them to do, which takes more time but usually converts better.
Number of pages
More pages means more design, more building and more content. But pages aren't just a cost: for SEO, having a separate page for each core service is one of the most effective things a local business can do. A plumber with separate pages for blocked drains, hot water and gas fitting will usually outrank one with a single "Services" page.
Who writes the words
Copywriting is the most underestimated part of a website project. Many businesses plan to "write it themselves over the weekend" and the project stalls for months. Professional copywriting typically adds $800 to $2,500 for a small business site, and it usually pays for itself in clearer messaging.
Features and integrations
Online booking, payments, quote calculators, CRM connections, member logins and multilingual content all add time. Some are simple embeds from tools you already use; others need custom development.
SEO setup
A site that looks good but isn't set up for search is a brochure in a drawer. Basic SEO setup (page titles, descriptions, headings, schema markup, a sitemap, redirects from your old site and Google Search Console) should be included in any professional quote. If it isn't listed, ask.
Try the website cost estimator
Choose the kind of site you need and any extras to see a typical Melbourne price range. It's a guide, not a quote, but it will help you sanity-check the quotes you receive.
Website cost estimator
Typical Melbourne prices in AUD, excluding GST. A guide, not a quote.
Typical Melbourne range
$2,000 to $5,000
One-off, ex GST. Freelancers usually sit at the lower end, agencies at the upper end.
Our fixed packages
from $649 ex GST
Plus ongoing: domain (about $20 to $40 a year for .com.au) and hosting.
The ongoing costs nobody mentions
The build is a one-off, but every website has running costs. Budget for these from day one:
- Domain name: about $20 to $40 a year for a .com.au, which needs an Australian business or ABN.
- Hosting: from free (some modern hosts have generous free tiers for small sites) to around $50 a month for managed hosting with backups and support.
- Email: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 typically cost a few dollars per user per month, billed separately from the website.
- Care and updates: optional, but someone needs to keep software updated, fix things that break and make small changes. Care plans vary widely, so check exactly what's included.
- Platform fees for online stores: Shopify and similar platforms charge a monthly plan plus payment processing fees, paid directly to them.
- SEO and marketing: ongoing SEO is separate from the build. Many local businesses start with a well-optimised site and a strong Google Business Profile before spending on monthly SEO.
DIY, freelancer or agency?
There's no single right choice. Each option suits a different stage of business.
DIY builders are genuinely good now. If you're just starting out and money is tight, a clean Squarespace site you build yourself is a reasonable first step. The trade-offs are your time, generic design and, often, weaker performance on Google.
Freelancers can offer great value, especially for simpler sites. The risks are availability (one person, one set of hands) and gaps in skill sets: a talented designer isn't always a strong developer or SEO, and vice versa.
Small studios sit in the middle: a team that covers design, development and SEO, with prices closer to a freelancer than a big agency. This is where most Melbourne small businesses get the best balance of quality and cost.
Agencies make sense for larger organisations with bigger budgets, complex requirements and a need for account management. For a local business with a handful of services, you're often paying for overheads you don't need.
How to compare website quotes
When quotes land on your desk, don't just compare the bottom line. Line them up against these questions:
- Is the design custom or a template? Neither is wrong, but you should know which you're paying for.
- How many pages, and who writes the content? A cheap quote that leaves all the writing to you isn't really cheaper.
- What SEO is included? Look for page titles, schema, a sitemap, redirects and Search Console setup.
- How fast will the site be? Ask for mobile Lighthouse scores on recent projects. Anything above 90 is excellent.
- Can you edit it yourself? And will they train you?
- What happens after launch? Bug fixes, changes, hosting and support should be clear.
- Who owns everything? You should.
- Is the price fixed? Fixed-price quotes with a clear scope protect you from surprise invoices.
Red flags to watch for
A few warning signs come up again and again:
- Suspiciously cheap "SEO included" packages that turn out to include nothing measurable.
- Guaranteed Google rankings. Nobody controls Google, and guarantees usually mean either a meaningless keyword or risky tactics.
- Long lock-in contracts bundled with the build, especially where you "rent" the website monthly and never own it.
- No portfolio or no live examples you can load on your own phone.
- Vague scopes like "a professional website" with no page list, feature list or timeline.
What we charge, and why we publish it
We think you should be able to see prices before you get on a call, so ours are on our pricing page. A Launch site (up to five pages) starts at $649 ex GST, a Grow site (up to twelve pages, with service pages and full on-page SEO) starts at $1,499, and online stores or custom builds are quoted after a free call. Every price is fixed once we've agreed the scope, and you own everything.
Not sure which fits? Our web design page explains what's included, or you can start with a free website audit of your current site.
Final word
A website is one of the few marketing costs that keeps working after you've paid for it. The cheapest option can easily be the most expensive if it's slow, invisible on Google or embarrassing to share. The most expensive option isn't automatically better either. Decide what the website needs to do for your business, then choose the option that does that job well, at a price you can see upfront.
