What a website actually costs in Ontario.
You can build one yourself, hire a freelancer, or hire a studio or agency. Here's what each really costs, with builder prices read from their own Canadian pricing pages. I'm one of the options, so my prices are in the comparison too.
Prices checked on 23 September 2026 · Shawn Mann, Glass Floor Studio
Four ways to get a site, four price ranges
Freelancer and studio ranges are the published prices of individual Canadian web businesses, not a survey. There's no reliable Canadian survey of web design prices. Sources are at the bottom of the page.
What the builders charge in Canada
The plan a small business realistically needs: your own domain, and, where you need them, payments or bookings. Prices in Canadian dollars, before tax, read from each company's pricing page.
| Builder & plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| GoDaddy Starter | $12.99/mo | $26.99/mo | Payments and online booking included. Free domain only on yearly billing. |
| Wix Light | $21/mo | not listed | Your own domain, but no payments and no booking. |
| Wix Core | $33/mo | not listed | The cheapest Wix plan that takes payments and bookings. |
| Squarespace Basic | $21/mo | $30/mo | Takes payments, but adds a 2% fee on store sales on top of card fees. |
| Squarespace Core | $32/mo | $45/mo | No store fee. Booking is a separate add-on from $22 a month. |
| Shopify Basic | $37/mo | $49/mo | Built for selling products. Booking needs an add-on app. |
Card processing is extra on every plan that takes payments: 2.9% + 30¢ on Squarespace and 2.8% + 30¢ on Shopify Basic. GoDaddy's rate isn't on its pricing page. Builders run first-year promotions, so what you pay at renewal can be higher.
The costs people forget
The domain, every year
A .ca costs about $12 the first year and $15–$22 a year after that. A .com runs $16–$33 a year. The cheap first year is a teaser: GoDaddy's one-cent .ca requires three years up front, with years two and three at $21.99 each.
Fees on every sale
If the site takes money, card processing takes about 2.9% + 30¢ a transaction. Some plans add their own cut on top, like Squarespace Basic's 2% on store sales.
Add-ons
Features you assumed were included often aren't. Squarespace booking is $22 a month extra, and Shopify needs apps for bookings.
Changes later
After launch, edits are either included in a monthly plan or billed by the hour. Published Canadian hourly rates run from $50–$100 to $100–$149, depending on whose data you trust.
Your own time
A builder is cheap because you do the work: writing, photos, layout, and fixing it when something breaks on a Saturday. That's a fair trade for some businesses, but it's still a cost.
The rebuild
A cheap site that doesn't bring in customers usually gets rebuilt within a few years, so the real cost is both sites added together.
What the first year costs
The build plus twelve months of running it. Freelancer and studio figures use one Canadian studio's published ranges, and my own prices are in here too.
| Option | Build | Running it | First year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix Core, yearly | $0 | $33/mo | $396 |
| Squarespace Core, yearly | $0 | $32/mo | $384 |
| Freelancer | $599–$2,995 | $69–$199/mo | $1,427–$5,383 |
| Small studio | $5,000–$15,000 | $200–$600/mo | $7,400–$22,200 |
| Glass Floor StudioThe Signature Site | $4,800 | $180/mo care | $6,960 |
| Glass Floor Studiowith booking, quotes or ordering | $5,400–$6,900 | $210–$240/mo care | $7,920–$9,780 |
Builder rows don't include your time, a domain after the first free year, or card fees. My care plan covers hosting, backups, monitoring and edits, and it's part of every package, not an optional extra.
Which one is right for you
- Build it yourself if you need a simple page that says who you are, where you are and when you're open, and you have an afternoon to spare. Squarespace or Wix will do that well, and paying someone thousands for it is a waste.
- Hire a freelancer if you want it done for you on a builder template and your budget is under $3,000. Ask who hosts it and who fixes it when something breaks.
- Hire a studio if the site has a job to do: take orders, fill a booking calendar, give quotes. That's where custom work earns its price.
- Hire an agency if you need a team: several locations, a marketing budget, and someone managing campaigns every month.
What I charge, in writing
I'm one person in Milton and I build the whole site myself. Five packages, flat prices, agreed in writing before anything starts. Most go live in about two weeks.
| Package | Build | Care, monthly | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Teardown | $450 | — | A written audit of your current site. Credited toward a build if you go ahead. |
| The Signature Site | $4,800 | $180 | A custom five-page site, built around your business. |
| The Booking Block | $5,400 | $210 | Adds online booking with a live calendar and reminders. |
| The Quote Forge | $5,800 | $225 | Adds a quote flow that emails you a qualified estimate. |
| The Order Kitchen | $6,900 | $240 | Adds online ordering and payment on your own site. |
Care covers hosting, backups, monitoring and edits. Your domain and your customer list stay in your name. Everything runs by email, with no meetings or sales calls.
Questions people ask
How much does a small business website cost in Ontario?
Building it yourself on Wix, Squarespace, Shopify or GoDaddy costs about $13-$46 a month billed yearly. Canadian freelancers publish prices of roughly $600-$3,000, small studios $5,000-$15,000, and the Business Development Bank of Canada says its clients typically spend $10,000-$30,000 with an agency.
How much does Wix cost in Canada?
Wix's Canadian prices, billed yearly, are $21 a month for Light (no payments), $33 for Core (payments and bookings), $44 for Business and $165 for Business Elite. Wix runs first-year promotions, so check the renewal price.
How much does Squarespace cost in Canada?
Squarespace Basic is CA$21 a month billed yearly or $30 monthly, and adds a 2% fee on store sales. Core is $32 yearly or $45 monthly, with no store fee. Card processing is 2.9% + 30 cents on both.
How much is a .ca domain name?
About $12 for the first year at Canadian registrars, then about $15-$22 a year to renew. Some very cheap first-year offers require buying several years up front.
What does a website cost per month to run?
On a builder, the plan itself: about $13-$46 a month. With a freelancer or studio, hosting and maintenance usually run $69-$600 a month depending on what's included. My care plans are $180-$240 a month and include hosting, backups, monitoring and edits.
Should I use Wix or Squarespace, or hire someone?
If you need a simple page with your hours and contact details and have time to set it up, a builder is the sensible choice. Hire someone when the site needs to do a job, like taking orders or bookings, or when your time is worth more than the fee.
Tell me what the site needs to do
I'll reply with which option fits and what it would cost, even if the answer is a $33-a-month builder and not me.