Outsource Web Dev Florida

Web Design Pricing: What Agencies Charge and Why

By Jeremy Kenerson, Founder and CEO at DeskTeam360

Last updated . Market prices were checked October 1, 2026. DeskTeam360 facts were checked September 25, 2026.

Agencies price web design per project, by the hour, or as a monthly plan. On Clutch, most design agencies charge $25 to $49 an hour, and most web design projects cost under $10,000. In a GoodFirms survey, 57% of web development firms bill $50 to $100 an hour. Your own price should start with what the work costs you to deliver, then add your time and your margin.

How do web design agencies price their work?

Agencies use one of three setups: a fixed price per project, an hourly rate, or a monthly plan. Two published sources give a sense of the market:

  • Hourly. On Clutch, the most common agency rate is $25 to $49 an hour. GoodFirms found 57% of web development firms bill $50 to $100 an hour.
  • Per project. Most web design projects on Clutch cost under $10,000.
  • Monthly. No published market range was found, so none is shown here.

These are two sources measured two ways. They aren't one average, and they aren't a price list for your market. For what freelance and staff developers earn per hour, see web developer hourly rates.

What goes in a web design pricing package?

A pricing package names the work, the limits, and what happens after launch. The clearer it is, the fewer fights about scope later.

Here's a sample set of three tiers. Prices are left out on purpose, because they depend on your delivery cost and your market.

Starter site Growth site Online store
Pages About 5 pages About 10 to 20 pages Store pages plus the main site pages
Features Contact form, mobile layout, basic on-page SEO Everything in Starter, plus a blog, booking or lead forms, and more page layouts Everything in Growth, plus a WooCommerce store, products, cart and checkout
Rounds of changes A set number per page A set number per page A set number per page and per store feature
Content Client supplies words and photos Client supplies, or you write for an added fee Client supplies product details and photos
After launch A short fix window, then a monthly plan A monthly plan for updates and backups A monthly plan for updates, backups and store checks

Every package should also say two things out loud:

  1. Whose name the hosting, domain and logins are in. Your client's or yours is the safe answer.
  2. What isn't included. So nobody assumes.

Should you charge by the project, by value, or on retainer?

Charge by the project when the scope is clear, by value when the result is worth far more to the client than your hours, and on retainer when the work keeps coming after launch. You can mix them: a project price for the build, then a retainer for upkeep.

Pricing model How it works Who carries the risk if the job runs long Fits best when
Project price One price for one defined job The agency The scope is clear before work starts
Hourly The client pays for the hours worked The client The scope will change as you go
Value-based The price is set by what the result is worth to the client, not by your hours The agency You can tie the site to a clear business result, like leads or sales
Retainer A set monthly price for ongoing work, like updates and small changes Shared, set by what the retainer covers The client needs steady work after launch

A retainer can grow out of a build. The upkeep you sell each month is work you can hand off, too.

What payment terms do web design agencies use?

Typical terms are a deposit to start, payments at milestones, and the final payment before launch. That way you aren't funding the project out of your own pocket.

Common terms to put in writing:

  1. A deposit to start. No work begins until it's paid.
  2. Milestone payments on bigger builds, for example after design sign-off.
  3. The final payment before launch, or before the site moves to the client's hosting.
  4. Retainers billed in advance, at the start of each month.
  5. Change requests priced separately, once the scope is signed.
  6. What happens if the client goes quiet, such as pausing the project after a set time.

How much should you charge for a website?

Charge enough to cover your delivery cost and your own time, with the margin you want on top. Then check that price against the market. There's no single right number.

  1. Find your delivery cost. A full-time web hire costs a lot more than the wage once employer taxes and benefits are added. See what a web hire costs for the line-by-line math. If you outsource to a flat monthly team, DeskTeam360's published plans are $1,497, $2,994, or $4,491 a month for 1, 2, or 3 tasks at a time.
  2. Add your own time. Sales calls, project management, and client changes all take hours you don't bill.
  3. Check the market. Published guides put a basic professional website at about $1,000 to $3,000 (GoodFirms survey, 2026), and say professional design starts at $1,500 (Forbes Advisor, 2026).
  4. Set your margin, then your price. Price minus delivery cost minus your time is what you keep.

Here's one agency's example. Smash Wave Digital Marketing Agency (Smash Wave Marketing), an agency in Jupiter, Florida, now sells a $10,000 website, with DeskTeam360's team doing the WordPress builds.

"I’m Saving Countless Hours and Thousands Of Dollars."

Smash Wave Digital Marketing Agency

To talk through how a flat monthly team could change your delivery cost, you can book a call with DeskTeam360.

Book a call

The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page.

How should you price custom web work?

Price custom work by the feature, not by the page. A WooCommerce store, a custom WordPress build, or a custom feature each adds build and test time, so each one gets its own line in the quote.

To price a custom feature:

  1. Break it into tasks your developer can estimate.
  2. Price the tasks, using your delivery cost.
  3. Add testing time. Each custom feature needs its own testing.
  4. Add upkeep. Custom code needs care after launch, so price it into the retainer.

For what buyers pay for a site, see website design cost.

More on costs and pricing

A call is how you find out if a flat monthly team fits the web work your agency sells. Every DeskTeam360 plan includes the full team and all 8 services, web development included.

Book a call

The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page, where you pick a time.

Sources

Market prices checked October 1, 2026. Other sources checked September 25, 2026.

What changed

  • October 1, 2026: First version of this page.
  • October 1, 2026: Round 2 rewrite. Added sample package tiers, project, value and retainer pricing, and payment terms. Custom work is now priced from the agency's side.