How Much Should a Tradie Website Cost in 2026?

Executive Summary

Key takeaways (prices checked 30 September 2026)

• Most Australian tradies end up choosing between a $0 upfront subscription website at about $100 to $300 a month and a one-off build at about $1,000 to $3,000 plus hosting.
• Over three years a subscription site costs about $3,600 to $10,700. Compare that total, not the upfront price.
• The question that separates the options is what you keep when you stop paying. Exit terms range from "you keep the site, the domain and the code" to "we shut everything down".
• Generic agencies quote about $3,000 to $10,000 for a 5 to 10 page site. A DIY builder costs about $600 to $1,800 over three years, plus 20 to 60 hours of your time.
• Our own three-year totals are in a table further down, along with the cases where another option is the better call.

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A tradie website is a mobile-first lead tool that turns local Google searches into phone calls and quote requests. What it costs depends less on the page count than on how you pay for it: all upfront, all monthly, or a build plus a monthly plan. This guide compares the five ways Australian tradies actually buy a website, using prices published by the providers themselves and checked on 30 September 2026. It names the platforms (Wix, Squarespace, hipages) and describes the rest by type. If you would rather see our done-for-you option straight away, visit our websites for tradies page.

A few numbers that explain why the choice matters:

In a 2018 EY Sweeney survey for hipages, 39% of consumers used a search engine to find a tradie, rising to 53% of people under 35 1.

97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, so the site has to put your reviews where people look 2.

A DIY builder is cheap in cash: Squarespace plans run A$17 to A$49 a month on annual billing, from Basic to Plus 3. The real cost is your time and what the site can do for your Google ranking.

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How Much Does a Tradie Website Cost in Australia in 2026?

A tradie website in Australia costs about $600 to $1,800 over three years on a DIY builder (plus your time), $0 upfront and about $100 to $300 a month on a subscription, about $1,000 to $3,000 for a budget one-off build, about $1,500 to $2,500 or more from a freelancer, and about $3,000 to $10,000 from a generic web agency for 5 to 10 pages. Prices were checked on 30 September 2026 from providers' own pricing pages and agency cost guides. They are bands, not quotes, and GST treatment varies, so ask on every quote.

Provider type, Upfront, Ongoing, Three-year total, If you stop paying

Provider type	Upfront	Ongoing	Three-year total	If you stop paying
DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace)	$0	About $200 to $600 a year for the plan	About $600 to $1,800, plus 20 to 60 hours of your time	The site is built on their platform, so leaving means rebuilding it elsewhere
Subscription website	$0	About $100 to $300 a month	About $3,600 to $10,700	Varies. Some hand over the site after a minimum term; others switch it off at the end of the billing period
Budget one-off build	About $1,000 to $3,000	Hosting and changes, sometimes included for the first 6 to 12 months	The build plus hosting and changes	Usually yours. Check who holds the hosting and domain logins
Freelancer	About $1,500 to $2,500+	Hosting, plus changes by the hour	The build plus hosting and changes	Usually yours, if the domain and hosting are in your name
Generic web agency	About $3,000 to $10,000 (5 to 10 pages)	Hosting and care plans extra	The build plus hosting and care plan	Depends on the contract. Check for a platform only they can host

Action: Before you compare two quotes, write the three-year total next to each one. Upfront plus monthly fees times 36, plus any hosting renewals.

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Why Compare the Three-Year Total and Not the Upfront Price?

Because a $0 upfront site is not a cheap site. It is the same money spread over a longer period, and the longer you stay, the more you pay.

Two worked examples, using round numbers from inside the bands above:

• A subscription at $200 a month is $7,200 over three years, and the bill keeps coming in year four.
• A $2,500 one-off build with hosting at $30 a month is $3,580 over three years, and the build cost does not repeat.

Neither is automatically the better deal. The subscription asks for no cash on day one and usually bundles changes and hosting. The one-off build costs less over time but leaves you to organise hosting and updates. The comparison only becomes fair when both are written as the same three-year number.

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What Happens to Your Website When You Stop Paying?

This is the question most quotes skip, and it is where the options differ most. From the terms providers publish, there are four outcomes:

1. You keep the site, the domain and the code. Some subscription providers hand everything over once a minimum term is up. Most one-off builders say you own it from day one.
2. You keep the domain and your content, but the site goes offline. Common on subscriptions: the site stays live until the end of the billing period, then it is switched off.
3. You can buy a backup. Some providers offer your site files for a one-off fee when you leave.
4. The site stays on the platform. DIY builders host the site on their own system, so moving means rebuilding.

Ask these five questions before you sign anything:

• Is the domain registered in your name and your ABN?
• Whose account is the hosting in, and can you get a login?
• Can you take a copy of the site files if you leave, and what does that cost?
• Is there a minimum term, an automatic renewal, or an exit fee?
• What happens to your Google reviews, phone tracking numbers and email if the site goes offline?

Contract terms are also a legal question. Since 9 November 2023, unfair terms in standard form contracts with small businesses can attract penalties, and the ACCC lists terms that let only one party end the contract, or penalise only one party for ending it, as examples that may be unfair 4. If a website contract looks one-sided, ask for it to be changed before you sign.

Action: Ask every provider for the cancellation clause in writing, and read it before you compare prices.

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Which Option Fits Your Business?

None of these options is wrong. Each suits a different stage of business.

DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace)

Best for: a brand-new business testing the market, one main service, and an owner who enjoys tinkering at night.

Not ideal for: a business that needs Google to send work across several suburbs. Templates rarely ship with suburb pages, structured data or a conversion layout, and the 20 to 60 hours come out of your weekends. Our DIY vs agency guide covers when DIY is fine and when to rebuild.

Subscription website

Best for: a tradie who wants no cash outlay on day one and someone else to handle hosting and changes.

Not ideal for: anyone planning to stay three years or more, because the total climbs every month. It also suits you less if you want to own the site outright, unless the exit terms hand it over.

Budget one-off build

Best for: a straightforward site at the lowest total cost, when you are happy to organise hosting and pay for changes as you need them.

Not ideal for: a business that wants monitoring, backups and regular edits included. Check exactly how many service and suburb pages the price covers, and who writes the copy.

Freelancer

Best for: someone you already know and trust, with a simple brief.

Not ideal for: a site you depend on for work. If the freelancer moves on, you need the logins, the files and someone new who can work with them.

Generic web agency

Best for: complex needs such as online bookings, e-commerce, integrations with other systems, or several brands.

Not ideal for: a standard tradie site. Many agencies do not build around how Australians search for trades (service plus suburb, "near me", emergency jobs), and a 6 to 12 week project with several approval rounds is hard to manage from the tools.

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Where Does Made 4 Tradies Sit?

We are a tradie-focused builder: a one-off build you own, plus a monthly plan that keeps the site hosted, monitored, backed up and updated. Core covers your main pages and a dedicated page for every service. Max adds 10 local suburb pages. Pro adds 10 more suburb pages, Google Business Profile optimisation and 30 directory listings. A standard build takes about 7 days, because we write the copy and pull photos from what you already have. Here is what each tier costs over the same three years as the table above:

The monthly plan runs with the site rather than as a cancel-anytime subscription, and you keep your domain and website either way. The full list of what the plan covers is in what our monthly maintenance covers.

When we are not the right choice:

• You want the lowest possible three-year cost. A DIY builder, or one of the cheapest subscriptions, can come in under our Core total.
• You need e-commerce, online bookings or custom integrations. A full-service agency is built for that work.
• You want to edit the site yourself every day. A DIY builder gives you that by default. Our plans include edits made by us; your own editing login is a one-off add-on.
• You only need a placeholder while you prove the business. Start on a DIY builder and come back when you are relying on Google for work.

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Is a Website Cheaper Than hipages?

They are different costs for different jobs. A lead platform such as hipages charges a membership plus the cost of the leads you accept, those leads are shared with other tradies, and the work stops when the payments stop. A website costs the same whether it sends you two enquiries a month or twenty, and the enquiries come only to you. Many tradies run both for a while, then lean on the website once it ranks. Our hipages guide shows how to work out the cost per job for your trade.

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What Else Should You Budget For?

Item, Typical cost

Item	Typical cost
Domain (.com.au)	About $15 to $30 a year
Hosting	Often bundled; ask for the renewal price, not the first-year price
Content changes	DIY free; agencies usually charge by the hour or on a retainer
Search marketing (agency retainer)	Hundreds to thousands of dollars a month, priced separately from the build
Your time	20 to 60 hours for DIY; a few hours of answers and approvals with a done-for-you build

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What Are the Red Flags in a Website Quote?

Walk away, or ask hard questions, if you see:

• Hostage hosting: the domain is not in your name, or leaving means losing the site
• Monthly fees with no defined deliverables: no list of what changes, monitoring or reporting you get
• Automatic renewals and exit fees buried in the terms
• A template reskin at custom prices: the same theme sold for thousands with your logo swapped in
• "SEO included" with no service pages, no suburb pages and no reporting
• No page list, no mobile example and no licence number in the proposal

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How Do I Evaluate a Quote Before I Pay?

1. Ask for a page list: every URL included, and what is excluded
2. Ask who writes the copy, and whether they understand your trade licensing and service areas
3. Ask for a live mobile example of a similar tradie site, not a mockup
4. Ask about service and suburb pages; if the answer is vague, local search work is not included (page map by setup)
5. Ask what happens when you stop paying: domain, hosting, site files, minimum term and exit fees
6. Ask what they need from you: hours of photos, forms and approvals
7. Work out the three-year total: upfront, plus monthly fees times 36, plus hosting renewals

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Want Someone to Review Your Current Site?

Made 4 Tradies offers a free, no-obligation website audit for Australian trade businesses. We check mobile speed, conversion blockers, local Google ranking signals, structured data, and the gaps that cost you calls.

• Free website audit, search visibility, speed, local signals, structured data, conversion blockers. PDF in 24 hours.
• Free Google listing audit, Maps ranking, review profile, photos, competitive benchmarking. PDF in 24 hours.

No call required. No pitch. Just a straight read on what's costing you work.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much should a tradie website cost in Australia?

As of 30 September 2026, about $600 to $1,800 over three years on a DIY builder plus your time, $0 upfront and about $100 to $300 a month on a subscription, about $1,000 to $3,000 for a budget one-off build, and about $3,000 to $10,000 from a generic agency for 5 to 10 pages. Compare the three-year total and the exit terms, not the upfront price.

Is a $0 upfront website really free?

No. You pay monthly instead of upfront. At about $100 to $300 a month, a subscription site costs about $3,600 to $10,700 over three years, and the payments continue for as long as the site is live.

Do I own my website if I stop paying?

It depends on the provider. Some subscriptions hand over the site after a minimum term, others switch it off at the end of the billing period, and DIY sites stay on the builder's platform. Get the cancellation clause in writing and check the domain is registered in your name.

Is GST included in website prices?

Not always. Some providers include GST, some add 10% on top, and many of the pricing pages we checked on 30 September 2026 did not say either way, so ask on every quote. Made 4 Tradies prices include GST.

How long does a tradie website take to build?

On a DIY builder, expect several weekends. A generic agency project often runs 6 to 12 weeks. A standard Made 4 Tradies build takes about 7 days, because we write the copy and source photos from your Google Business Profile, Facebook and existing site.

Can I build it myself on Wix or Squarespace?

Yes, if you have the time to learn how local Google ranking works, write every page yourself and optimise your images. It works well as a placeholder while you prove the business. Once you rely on Google for work, a site built around service and suburb pages usually earns its cost back.

Is a website cheaper than hipages?

Over time it usually is, because a website does not charge per lead and its enquiries are not shared. A lead platform can fill the calendar faster in the first months while a new site builds its Google ranking, which is why many tradies run both at first.

Are payment plans available?

Many builders take a deposit and the balance at launch. At Made 4 Tradies the build is split into a 50% deposit at the start and the balance on go-live. Talk to us if you need a longer plan.

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References:

• [1] hipages, The On-Demand Tradie Economy, EY Sweeney consumer survey (518 households, June to July 2018): sourcing channels including 39% search engine overall, 53% aged under 35
• [2] BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (published 11 February 2026): 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses
• [3] Squarespace, Pricing (AUD, checked 30 September 2026): Basic A$17, Core A$28 and Plus A$49 a month on annual billing
• [4] ACCC, Contracts: unfair contract terms in standard form small business contracts, penalties from 9 November 2023

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Published by Made 4 Tradies, built by online experts who understand tradies. Serving Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle, and the Hunter.