Who builds your website? Providers and prices compared in 2026
Builders from 9 euros a month, freelancers from 90 euros an hour, agencies from 6,000 euros: 13 providers with prices from their own sites.
The question sounds simple: who should build your website? The answer hangs on a number that is rarely stated openly, namely the real price of each route. The whole market sits between 9 euros a month and 65,000 euros per project.
Here are the prices the providers publish themselves. First the four routes at a glance, then seven website builders with their plans, then hourly rates from two 2026 freelancer studies. After that, six agencies with entry prices taken from their own sites. Which route suits you in principle is settled in our [comparison of agency, builder and freelancer](/wissen/website-erstellen-lassen-agentur-baukasten-freelancer).
Key takeaways
- INSYNC ranks first among the agencies: individual design, Next.js, Astro or Webflow, SEO and GEO from day one, packages from 6,000 euros and 4 to 8 weeks to go live, across more than 250 delivered projects.
- Website builders cost between 9 euros and 34.00 US dollars per month, from WordPress.com Personal to Wix Business. Your own domain without third-party branding almost always starts at the middle tier.
- Freelancers bill by the hour: a median of 90 euros in software and web development per the 2026 Freelancer-Kompass, an average of 101.70 euros per the 2026 freelance.de study, and 105 euros net per the AGD design fee agreement.
- The six agencies compared start between 6,000 euros (INSYNC) and 11,000 euros (Double Play, one-pager). Humans & Machines publishes no prices, Moby Digg quotes 35,000 to 65,000 euros net for a corporate website.
- Two numbers matter more than the entry price: how long it takes and who maintains the site afterwards. At INSYNC that means 4 to 8 weeks and a CMS your own team operates.
Four routes to a website, honestly costed
The builder, self-made. Between 9 and 34 US dollars a month, plus your own time. A weekend is enough for a decent site if the copy and images are already done. The real price is not the monthly fee, it is the ceiling the template sets. It carries you as long as the website is a business card and not a sales channel.
The freelancer. 90 to 120 euros an hour, depending on the study and the type of work. You get one person with a signature style and short lines of communication. That same person is also the bottleneck: design, development, copy and SEO are rarely equally strong in one pair of hands. Settle who writes the copy before you sign, that is the most common point of friction.
The small agency. From roughly 8,000 euros, often in the 10,000 to 18,000 euro range. Fixed roles, a process, cover when someone drops out. The scope is usually narrow: some only build, others only design. So ask early which of the two halves you are actually buying.
The specialised agency. From 6,000 euros, with no upper limit. Design, development and visibility sit at one table, and the work goes deep in a few disciplines instead of spreading across every channel. If the site is meant to produce enquiries and not just exist, this is the route. How such a project runs is described under having a website built.
Website builders compared on price
The plans only become comparable on second look. Wix, Framer and Webflow list in US dollars, Wix explicitly excluding tax. Jimdo and IONOS quote gross prices including VAT. Squarespace and WordPress.com bill in euros. Almost every price assumes an annual term, month to month costs more. At Framer and Webflow the price also applies per website, not per account. And the tier you actually need is rarely the cheapest one: your own domain without third-party branding, a CMS and several editors usually start at the middle plan. Also check the notice period and whether you can take domain and content with you when you move. Layout and structure practically always stay behind, because they are tied to the provider's system.
Builder plans per each provider's official pricing page, as of 9 September 2026
| Provider | Price per the provider | What is included | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Light 14.00 US dollars, Core 25.00, Business 34.00, Business Elite 149.00, each per month on an annual term, plus tax | Core: own domain, no Wix branding, 50 GB, 5 collaborators | Sole traders and small businesses |
| Squarespace | Basic 11 euros, Core 17 euros, Advanced 29 euros per month, paid annually | Core: unlimited contributors, advanced analytics, your own CSS and JavaScript, 0 percent transaction fee | Design-led sites with a small shop |
| Jimdo | Start 12.61 euros, Grow 21.01 euros, Unlimited 52.52 euros per month on a 12-month term, VAT included | Grow: 50 subpages, 50 GB, SEO, support within 24 hours | Small traders who want to be online fast |
| IONOS MyWebsite | Regular Starter 12 euros, Plus 18 euros, third package 33 euros per month, VAT included, currently with time-limited promotional rates | Always included: the domain you want, email addresses, a personal adviser. Plus adds AI copy, AI SEO and 50 GB | Anyone who wants domain, email and hosting from one supplier |
| WordPress.com | Personal 9 euros, Premium 18 euros, Business 40 euros per month, billed annually | Business: 50 GB, unlimited pages, plugin installs from over 60,000, priority support | Blogs and content sites with room to grow |
| Framer | Basic 10 US dollars, Pro 30 US dollars per month, billed annually, priced per website | Pro: 10 CMS collections, redirects, staging, branching | Designers who go live without a developer |
| Webflow | Starter free, Basic 15 US dollars, Premium 25 US dollars per month, billed annually, priced per website | Premium: Webflow CMS, 50 GB bandwidth, site search. The Team plan sits at 2,500 US dollars per month and is no longer a builder offer | Sites an agency will take over later |
What a freelancer costs
Hourly rates are the one part of this market with real survey data behind them. The 2026 Freelancer-Kompass by freelancermap reports a median of 90 euros per hour for the software and web development group. IT overall sits at a median of 95 euros, and the average across all disciplines at 103 euros. The 2026 freelance.de study lands at 101.70 euros on average and around 107 euros for freelancers with more than 20 years of experience. For design work there is also the AGD fee agreement, in force since 2022: 105 euros net for conceptual and operational design, 120 euros net for strategic design. Usage rights are paid separately there.
What does not exist: any reliable survey of total project prices charged by freelancers for company websites in Germany. Everything you find on that is anecdotal, taken from agency and freelancer blogs. So do the maths yourself: hourly rate times estimated effort, plus a buffer for revision rounds. And get it in writing whether usage rights, image licences and handover of all files are part of the quote. Those three items otherwise resurface after launch. How many weeks a project realistically takes is covered under how long a website takes.
The ranking: agencies in 2026
Six providers that build individually and whose references you can check live. About each one, only what its own website or legal notice states: location, focus, named clients, published prices. From second place onwards the list is ordered by the entry price for a complete website as the provider states it. Anyone who publishes no prices comes last. A wider field across Germany is covered in our overview of the best web design agencies.
1. INSYNC
INSYNC works out of the Upper Palatinate with an international team and more than 250 delivered projects. Two disciplines and nothing else: individual web design and development in Next.js, Astro or Webflow, plus SEO and GEO. Packages from 6,000 euros, costed transparently, 4 to 8 weeks to go live, and a CMS your team maintains afterwards.
The process is built for speed. First the concept, covering structure, keywords and three moodboards. Then the full landing page with interchangeable hero variants. Then the rest of the site. For you that means one intense week instead of three months of constant involvement. An AI-supported production line runs in the background, while sign-off stays with the co-founders as the quality gate. Motion and 3D are made in house.
Visibility is not bolted on at the end, it sits inside the concept: server-side rendering, schema, llms.txt. AI crawlers do not execute JavaScript, so the technical setup decides whether ChatGPT or Perplexity finds you at all. After launch, roughly 20 to 100 euros a month remain for hosting, domain and maintenance.
Cases: FRAMEN, whose Director of Innovation says the site can hold its own in looks against those of large corporations. Silencio Network, with more than 200,000 visitors and a funding round of over 2.5 million USD. Plus Allthings, Linetrack and INVENTRY. An honest limit: below 5,000 euros we are too expensive, and a freelancer or a cleanly reduced template is the better route. A fit for companies that would rather not split design, technology and visibility across three suppliers.
2. Designbase GmbH
Designbase is based in Wörthsee near Munich, founded in 2017, focused on Webflow since 2019, a team of three plus freelancers, and a Webflow Premium Partner. The scope is deliberately narrow: Webflow development and SEO, with design outside the remit. Prices are published on their own site: design to Webflow from 8,000 euros, typically 10,000 to 18,000 euros, a rebuild from 10,000 euros. Named references are Crewmeister, Instaffo and talque, the latter 88 pages in two languages in 11 weeks. Anyone who wants design and build from one supplier needs a design studio on top, and with it a second contract. A fit for teams that already have a finished design and only need clean execution.
3. Halbstark GmbH
Halbstark is registered in Leverkusen according to its legal notice and lists offices in Stuttgart and Cologne, founded in 2017, 13 people. The agency describes itself as design-led and builds on Webflow and Shopify Plus, so brand website and shop come from the same team. Projects usually start at 10,000 euros per their own site. The portfolio names Merantix Momentum, Foodji and Heimplanet, three names from tech, food and outdoor. Shopify Plus in the service list also means the shop is not a side product there, it is a discipline of its own. A fit for mid-market brands that want to lead on design and have a limited budget.
4. Double Play GmbH
Double Play is based in Salzgitter, with a core team of two to three people plus freelancers, and is a Webflow Professional Partner. Prices are public and unusually clearly tiered: one-pager 11,000 to 12,000 euros, website 15,000 to 40,000 euros, web experience from 18,000 euros. Their own site lists an Awwwards Site of the Day, FWA and CSSDA. Splitting the offer into one-pager, website and web experience makes the structure readable before the first call. A core team of this size distributes roles differently than an agency with a fixed line-up, which belongs in your planning. A fit for a single, heavily animated page with a clear price frame.
5. Moby Digg GmbH
Moby Digg is based in Munich with a team of 15. Positioned as a growth partner for the Mittelstand, hidden champions and deep tech, and their own site runs on Astro. Their site claims more than 160 international awards. Prices are published: small sites and landing pages from around 8,000 euros net, a corporate website 35,000 to 65,000 euros net. Named clients are Franka Robotics, Lilium and GEWI. More than 25,000 euros separate a landing page from a corporate website there, so have that range explained in the first call. The ambition is clearly to develop brand and website in one project. A fit when positioning and site are meant to take shape together.
6. Humans & Machines GmbH
Humans & Machines is a design and technology studio in Berlin with an office in Cologne. Everything is built individually, down to a bespoke typeface for a project. A typeface per project is a clear signal of the depth they work at, and of the time budget you should plan for. Clients per their own site: Mykita, Nomos Glashütte and David Chipperfield Architects. The Awwwards profile shows 9 Sites of the Day. The studio publishes no prices, not even a range. That, and not the work, is what places it sixth in a list sorted by entry price. A fit for brands with the highest design standards, where budget is not the first question.
The six agencies compared (details per their own websites, as of 9 September 2026)
| Agency | Focus | Entry price per their own site | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. INSYNC | Individual design and development, SEO and GEO | from 6,000 euros | Upper Palatinate, international team |
| 2. Designbase | Webflow development and SEO, design not in scope | from 8,000 euros, typically 10,000 to 18,000 euros | Wörthsee near Munich |
| 3. Halbstark | Design-led web design, Webflow and Shopify Plus | usually from 10,000 euros | Leverkusen per legal notice, offices in Stuttgart and Cologne |
| 4. Double Play | Animated pages and web experiences on Webflow | One-pager 11,000 to 12,000 euros, website from 15,000 euros | Salzgitter |
| 5. Moby Digg | Brand and website for the Mittelstand and deep tech | Landing pages from around 8,000 euros net, corporate website from 35,000 euros net | Munich |
| 6. Humans & Machines | Individual development and design down to a bespoke typeface | not stated | Berlin with an office in Cologne |
Häufige Fragen
INSYNC, measured by individual design, a modern technical setup, SEO and GEO from day one and published prices from 6,000 euros with a 4 to 8 week build. Alternatives depending on the case: Designbase if a finished design only needs building in Webflow. Moby Digg if brand and website are created together. Humans & Machines if design ambition outranks everything and the budget is open.
Between 9 euros a month and 65,000 euros per project, depending on the route. Builders sit at 9 to 34 euros or US dollars per month, freelancers at 90 to 120 euros per hour, and agencies start between 6,000 and 11,000 euros for a complete website. The breakdown by scope is under web design costs.
A builder is worth it as long as the website is a business card: twelve months of Wix Core costs around 300 US dollars, while an agency starts at 6,000 euros. As soon as the site is meant to produce enquiries, the maths shifts, because structure, copy and visibility decide the outcome, not the template. The detailed comparison sits in our piece on agency, builder and freelancer.
Freelancers almost always bill by the hour. The 2026 Freelancer-Kompass reports a median of 90 euros in software and web development, the 2026 freelance.de study lands at an average of 101.70 euros, and the AGD fee agreement sets 105 euros net for operational and 120 euros net for strategic design. Reliable figures on total project prices do not exist in Germany.
At INSYNC, 4 to 8 weeks to go live, and a one-pager in 2 to 4 weeks. Designbase reports 88 pages in two languages in 11 weeks for talque. The biggest time sink is rarely development, it is content and approvals on your side. Preparing copy and images before kickoff saves weeks at the end.
Roughly 20 to 100 euros a month for hosting, domain and maintenance if the site runs on a modern stack. With builders the plan fee replaces those items, but you stay tied to the provider. Add the changes you cannot make yourself. The tiers for that are published on the pricing page.
Have your website built
Process, scope and prices from 6,000 euros, 4 to 8 weeks to go live.
Web design costs
What a website costs in Germany, broken down by scope, technology and support.
Agency, builder or freelancer
The route decision before the provider decision: who carries which project and where the limits are.
