Ask three web designers what a contractor website costs and you'll get three numbers that aren't in the same zip code. One says $800. One says $6,000. One says $15,000 plus a monthly retainer.
They're all telling the truth. That's the problem.
Here's an honest breakdown of what roofers, remodelers, concrete contractors, and other trades actually pay for websites in 2026 — what each option really costs, what you get for it, and the plain math for deciding what's worth it for your business.
The five ways contractors buy websites
| Option | Typical cost | Time to launch |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | $1,500–$5,000 one-time, commonly | 2–8 weeks |
| Agency | $5,000–$15,000+ up front, plus monthly fees | 2–6 months |
| DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace) | $20–$50/month, plus your nights | Whenever you finish |
| Lead-gen platforms | Pay per lead, forever | Fast — but it's not your site |
| Subscription service | $100–$500/month, all-in | Days to weeks |
Every one of these can be the right answer for somebody. Let's go through them honestly.
Freelancers: $1,500–$5,000, if you find a good one
A capable freelance designer will typically quote a contractor site somewhere between $1,500 and $5,000 as a one-time project. At the low end you usually get a template with your logo dropped in. At the high end you can get genuinely good work.
The real risk isn't the price. It's what happens after launch. Hosting, security updates, edits, and email are now your problem — or a small hourly invoice every time you need a photo swapped.
And freelancers move on. Plenty of contractors are walking around with a website nobody can log into, because the person who built it stopped answering.
Agencies: $5,000–$15,000+ up front, plus monthly
Full-service agencies commonly quote contractor sites at $5,000 to $15,000 up front, and some go well past that. Then there's usually a monthly hosting or maintenance fee of $100–$500 on top.
Two things to know. First, the work can be excellent — real strategy, real design, real copywriting. Second, agencies often price against your job values, not their costs. Remodelers and roofers see higher quotes because agencies know what a kitchen or a roof is worth.
The honest question isn't whether agencies do good work. It's whether a five-to-ten-page local contractor site needs a $12,000 process and three months of meetings. For most crews, it doesn't.
DIY builders: cheap until you count your hours
Wix and Squarespace run $20–$50 a month, and technically you can build a site in a weekend. Some contractors do, and if money is genuinely tight, a finished DIY site beats no site.
But count the real cost. The nights you spend fighting a page editor are nights you're not quoting jobs. And the result usually looks like what it is — a template a busy contractor filled in between estimates. Oversized images that load slowly, no separate service pages, SEO basics missing.
You'd never tell a homeowner to re-roof their own house to save money. The logic runs both ways.
Lead-gen platforms: renting, not building
Angi, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor and the rest aren't websites — they're marketplaces. You pay per lead, that lead is typically sold to several competitors at once, and the fastest, cheapest bid tends to win.
Used carefully, they can fill gaps in a slow month. But if a platform profile is your entire web presence, you own nothing. Stop paying and you disappear.
Meanwhile, every dollar you spend there builds their brand in your town instead of yours.
Subscription services: $100–$500 a month, everything included
The newer model is a flat monthly fee that covers everything — design, build, hosting, updates, edits — with no upfront check.
This is what Modern Websites does: $250 a month for a custom-designed site, live in 7 days, with hosting, SSL, mobile-first design, on-page SEO setup, ongoing edits, and Google Workspace email on your own domain. The full breakdown is on our pricing page.
Two honest caveats, because this article should be useful even if you never call us. Over four or five years, a subscription can add up to what a good freelancer build costs — the difference is that hosting, edits, and email are included the whole way, and you never write a $6,000 check. And not every subscription service is equal. Some are template mills. Whoever you talk to, ask to see live client sites before you sign anything.
What actually drives the price up
Wherever you buy, the same things move the number:
- Page count. A site with ten real service pages costs more to build than a one-pager — and earns it, because each page can rank for its own search.
- Copywriting. Someone has to write the words. If it's not included, it's either you at 9 p.m. or an extra invoice.
- Photography. Professional shoots cost real money. Good phone photos of your actual jobs are free and outperform stock.
- Integrations. Online booking, financing applications, CRM connections — each one adds build time.
- Custom features. Client portals, calculators, e-commerce. Most contractors need none of this.
Where contractors waste money
- Fancy animations. Homeowners want your number, your photos, and proof you're legit. Nobody hires a roofer because the homepage had a parallax effect.
- Agency prices for template work. Some shops quote $8,000 and deliver a $1,500 template build. Ask what's actually custom.
- Cheap "SEO packages." The $99-a-month add-on that promises rankings usually buys spam links and a monthly PDF. On-page SEO should be built into the site itself; anything beyond that is only worth buying from someone who can explain exactly what they'll do.
- Rebuilding from scratch every few years. That's what happens when nobody maintains the site. A maintained site compounds. An abandoned one depreciates like a truck.
Red flags when you're getting quotes
- "Guaranteed #1 on Google." Nobody can honestly promise a ranking. Walk away.
- They own your domain. You should own your domain name, full stop. If you ever leave, your web address should leave with you.
- The price tracks your trade, not the work. If the quote jumped when they heard "remodeler," you're being priced on your margins.
- No live contractor sites to show you. A portfolio full of restaurants and yoga studios doesn't prove they can make a concrete contractor look like the obvious choice.
- Vague deliverables. "Website design — $7,500" is not a scope. How many pages? Who writes the copy? What happens after launch, and what does that cost?
The math that actually matters
Forget the sticker prices for a second and run your own numbers.
If you're a roofer and your average replacement runs around $9,500, one job pays for more than three years of a $250-a-month website. If you pour driveways at $6,500 each, one driveway covers about two years. If you're a remodeler, one modest bathroom covers longer than that.
That's the whole ROI question: do you believe a professional website will bring you at least one extra job every couple of years? If your current site is a dead Facebook page or a 2014 template, one extra job every couple of months is closer to realistic.
Now run the same math on a $12,000 agency build. Same jobs to break even, plus months of waiting, plus maintenance fees on top. It can still pencil for a large company. It rarely pencils for a crew of five.
So what should you pay?
Pay for outcomes, not ornaments. Here's what a contractor site needs to earn its keep: loads fast on a phone, click-to-call on every screen, a page for each real service, photos of your actual work, proof you're licensed and insured, and someone keeping it updated.
- Have spare nights and a tight budget? DIY is defensible. Finished beats perfect.
- Have cash and a freelancer you trust? A one-time build can work — just settle who maintains it, in writing.
- Want it done well and off your plate without a big check? That's the subscription model, and it's the gap Modern Websites was built to fill: $250 a month, live in 7 days, everything included.
Whatever you pick, pick something. The most expensive website in your market is the one that quietly sends your jobs to the contractor down the road.