“How much does a website cost?” is the first question most founders ask us. The honest answer is: it depends. That sounds like a dodge, so this post explains what it depends on. Once you know the drivers, you can read any quote, from us or anyone else, and see where the money goes.
We won't quote market averages here. They vary too much between countries, studios and freelancers to be useful. Instead, we'll walk through what actually moves the number.
What drives the cost
1. Scope and number of screens
Every distinct screen or page has to be designed, built and tested. A five-page company site and a 40-screen app are different jobs. Count the unique layouts, not just the pages. Ten blog posts share one template. A checkout with five steps is five screens.
2. Languages and right-to-left
A bilingual site is not just a translated site. Arabic and Hebrew run right to left, so layouts mirror, some icons flip, numbers and Latin words sit inside Arabic text, and fonts change. Done properly, it touches every screen. Added at the end, it breaks in small ways that users notice. Ask whether right-to-left is designed from the start or bolted on.
3. Accounts and payments
Once users log in, you need sign-up, password reset, permissions, privacy and security. Payments add a provider, receipts, refunds, failed charges and tax rules. These features are invisible when they work and expensive when they don't.
4. Admin panel
Who updates prices, adds products or handles bookings? If the answer is “you, without calling a developer”, you need an admin area. That is a second product, with its own screens and its own users.
5. Content and copy
Text, photos, product data and translations have to come from somewhere. Many projects stall not on code but on waiting for content. Decide early who writes it, who translates it and who approves it. If the agency writes it, it is part of the price.
6. Integrations
Connecting to a CRM, a booking tool, WhatsApp, a delivery service or an accounting system means working with someone else's API, rules and outages. Each one adds build time, and one more thing that can break later.
7. Design depth
A clean site on a proven layout is one thing. A custom brand, original illustrations, motion and user research are another. Both are valid. The question is what your stage needs. Before you know people want the product, clarity usually beats polish.
8. Who maintains it
Launch is not the end. Hosting, domains, security updates, backups, bug fixes and small changes all continue. Some quotes include this, many don't. Ask what happens in month two.
Cut scope to a first version that proves the idea
The cheapest feature is the one you don't build yet. An MVP has one job: to answer whether people will use this, and whether they will pay. Everything else can wait.
A simple way to cut scope:
- Write the one sentence your first version must prove. Say you run a bakery and want online orders: “Customers in our town will order cakes online and pick them up.”
- List every feature you imagined.
- For each one, ask: does the idea fail without it? If not, move it to version two.
- Replace features with manual work where you can. In the bakery example, you could confirm orders by phone instead of building a full order-tracking system.
You'll often find that accounts, an app store release, a loyalty program and a language for a market you haven't entered yet can all wait. What remains is smaller, faster to launch and cheaper to change once real users tell you what they want.
What to ask before you sign a quote
Two quotes for “the same website” can be very different jobs. These questions make them comparable.
Fixed price or hourly?
A fixed price puts the risk of overruns on the builder, so the scope must be written down clearly. Hourly billing is flexible but open-ended, so ask for an estimate and a cap. Either can work. What doesn't work is a vague scope with a fixed price, because every surprise turns into an argument.
What exactly is included?
Ask for a list: screens, languages, features, rounds of revisions, content, testing on phones and launch support. Anything not on the list is not included.
What does handover look like?
You should get the code, the design files, the logins and some training on how to update things yourself. Ask how changes are made after launch and what they cost.
Who owns the code and the accounts?
The domain, hosting, app store accounts, analytics and payment provider should be in your company's name, not the builder's. The same goes for the code repository. If you ever change teams, you want to walk away with everything.
What's the timeline, and what can delay it?
A good quote names the dates. It also names what the client has to deliver, such as content and feedback, for those dates to hold.
Why a small paid step first can be cheaper
Skipping straight to the build feels like saving money. Often it's the opposite. The expensive mistake isn't a high quote. It's building the wrong thing well.
A short, paid first step tests your assumptions before you commit a full budget:
- A design audit. If you already have a site or product, an outside review shows what is actually blocking users. Ours costs ₪1,500 and is delivered in 14 days: a full UX audit report with prioritised findings, a 30-minute walkthrough call and a PDF you keep. Sometimes the findings show you need fixes, not a rebuild.
- A 2-week sprint. If you're starting from scratch, two focused weeks can turn an idea into a clear scope, tested flows and a plan. Our sprint partnership is ₪6,000 per 2-week sprint, with design leadership working inside your team.
Either way, you come out with something useful, even if you never hire the same team to build. And any quote you get afterwards is based on decisions, not guesses. Both options are on our consulting page.
How we price builds
For websites and MVPs, we don't publish a single number, because the drivers above change it too much. We start with a free 30-minute call, then send a fixed quote within 48 hours. The timeline is agreed on that call and written into the quote. Everything we build is in Arabic and English, with right-to-left done properly, and handed over with training.
A short checklist before you ask for prices
- The one sentence your first version must prove
- A list of screens, split into “now” and “later”
- Languages, and whether you need right-to-left
- Any logins, payments or integrations
- Who writes and translates the content
- Who will maintain it after launch
With this on one page, any studio can give you a sharper, fairer quote.
If you'd like to talk your list through, book a free 30-minute call. We'll tell you honestly what your first version needs, and what can wait.