How much does a website cost?
From PLN 500 to PLN 12,000.

PLN 500? PLN 1,500? PLN 5,000? Or PLN 12,000?

For the past few days, I have been browsing posts from people looking for website developers. Not just because I am looking for clients myself: it is also an interesting place to observe the market.

Someone writes: “I need a simple website for my business. How much does it cost?”

And off we go.

PLN 500. PLN 800. PLN 1,500. PLN 3,000. Someone else says there is no point starting below PLN 5,000. Another person will do it tomorrow for a few hundred.

Online shops get even more interesting. Under one enquiry I was following, for a small shop delivered within two weeks, quotes ranged from around PLN 750 to more than PLN 2,500.

A more than threefold difference.

Who is right?

Unfortunately, it depends. That is not an attempt to dodge the question.

“How much does a website cost?” is about as precise as “How much does a car cost?” You can answer it, but the answer will not tell you much.

Start with what “a website” actually means

For one person, it is a single page with the business name, services, a phone number and a contact form.

For another: a home page, services, several service pages, projects, a blog, forms, a map and a content-management system.

For a third, “website” means a shop with products, variants, payments, shipping, customer accounts and automated messages.

A fourth person needs login, a client dashboard, bookings, document generation, an external API integration and “some AI”.

Technically, all four can be called websites. But the last is really already a bespoke web application.

So the difference between PLN 600 and PLN 12,000 tells you absolutely nothing on its own about whether either quote is fair.

A PLN 600 website can be good

A low price does not automatically mean a bad website.

A small service business may need very little: information about what it does, a few photos, contact details, a form, a map and proper mobile support.

That is all.

If the materials are ready, the scope is clear and the developer uses a tried-and-tested stack, the project need not take dozens of hours.

There is no business sense in pushing a complex system on the owner of a small local business just because it can technically be built.

It is rather like buying a rack server to keep a shopping list. You can. But why?

A PLN 6,000 website can also be inexpensive

Now reverse the situation. A business needs bespoke visual design, a dozen or more pages, information architecture, multiple languages, migration from the old website, an external-system integration, forms feeding a CRM, extensive analytics, performance optimisation, tests, server configuration, staff training and ongoing support.

Suddenly, PLN 6,000 no longer looks absurdly high.

For sixty hours of work, it means an average of PLN 100 an hour before taxes, business costs, tools, client communication and subsequent support.

The project price is therefore a poor way to compare offers until we know exactly what is on the other side of the equals sign.

An online shop is not “a website with a Buy button”

WooCommerce itself is open-source software you can download for free. That does not mean launching a shop is free.

It is like being given a set of tools. Someone still needs to know what to do with them.

The shop needs configuring. Product and category structures. Variants. Payments. Delivery. Transactional messages. Taxes. Customer accounts. Basket. Checkout. Then someone has to check that buying something actually works.

WooCommerce is an open e-commerce platform that lets owners retain control over the shop, data and hosting.

“Connect payments” is not one button either

Customers of Polish shops expect convenient payments. According to “E-commerce in Poland 2025” by Gemius, PBI and IAB Polska , having several payment methods remains a factor encouraging online shopping, and BLIK is among the most frequently chosen methods.

That is no longer a technical detail hidden at the end of a project. It is part of the sales process.

Payment providers also have real fees. These are running costs, rather than website-development costs, but someone should explain them to the owner before sales begin.

Mobile is no longer “an extra version of the website”

Fifteen years ago, people could talk about a desktop website and an additional mobile version.

Today, that sounds rather like offering a car with an optional steering wheel.

The Gemius report shows that smartphones are the main device for a large share of online shoppers. Yet users still encounter problems completing mobile transactions, including awkward forms and poorly adapted websites.

You can have a shop. Products. You can even pay for advertising and bring a customer to the website…

…then lose them in the final few seconds because the mobile order form behaves like a power-station control panel.

That is why “a responsive website” should not be treated as a premium paid extra today. It is standard.

There are things you cannot see on the website

Two websites may look almost identical at first glance.

One may have a sensible heading structure, optimised images, correct metadata and redirects, backups, protected forms, analytics, indexing setup and a sensible URL structure.

The other may simply… look good.

Google’s guidance for website creators emphasises both content organisation and user experience. The technical Core Web Vitals include LCP, INP and CLS.

This is not about chasing a score of 100 in every automated test at any cost. It is about making the website fast, stable and easy to use.

A shop brings obligations a developer cannot magically remove

Selling online also brings legal obligations for the business. Poland’s consumer authority, UOKiK, identifies information that businesses entering into distance contracts with consumers must provide clearly and understandably.

There is also the right to cancel a contract. In ordinary online sales, consumers generally have 14 days to withdraw, although the law provides exceptions and special cases.

If the technology is free, what are we paying for?

WordPress is free. WooCommerce is free. Free themes and plugins exist. So why PLN 1,500, 3,000 or 6,000?

For the same reason we pay a mechanic even though a set of spanners is available at the supermarket.

Knowledge, time and responsibility for assembling everything into a working whole.

A web project includes needs analysis, choosing a solution, designing the structure, configuration, code, integrations, visual customisation, mobile support, testing, revisions, launch and solving problems the client did not even know they might have.

Sometimes it also includes the experience to say: “You do not need that.”

Paradoxically, that can be one of the most valuable things in the whole project.

Freelancer, small studio or agency?

This is another reason prices vary so widely.

A freelancer may work alone. On a larger project, an agency may involve a project manager, UX/UI designer, front-end developer, backend developer, copywriter, SEO specialist and tester.

You do not need an economics doctorate to predict which structure costs more. But a higher cost does not automatically mean overpaying.

If a company is launching a platform expected to generate millions of zlotys in revenue, a larger team and multistage process may be entirely justified.

If a local plumber needs five pages and a phone number, they probably do not need a five-person project team and six UX workshops.

The price should follow the problem, not the other way round

A good quote should not start like this: “I build websites for PLN 999. What do you need?”

First, there should be a few questions.

• What should the website do, and who will use it?
• Does the client already have a domain, hosting, copy and photographs?
• How many pages, and should the client be able to edit the content later?
• Is a blog or shop needed?
• How many products and variants?
• Which payment and delivery methods?
• Are bookings or external-system integrations needed?
• Does the project need multiple languages?

Only then does a number begin to mean anything.

Roughly: what can a particular budget buy?

There is no official internet price list. These figures are not “the rates that apply in Poland”. They are indicative rangesfound on the market, with very fluid boundaries.

Around PLN 500–1,000

A simple business website or one-page site. A few sections, contact details, basic configuration and mobile support. With a well-defined scope, it can be a perfectly sensible solution for a small business.

Around PLN 1,000–3,000

A typical small-business website: several pages, CMS, forms, basic technical optimisation, analytics setup and more individual design. Small shops also start in this range, although product numbers and integrations quickly change the cost.

Around PLN 3,000–10,000

Larger business websites, more bespoke design, extensive shops, migrations, multiple languages, extra integrations and more advanced features.

PLN 10,000+

Here, we quickly move beyond the conventional “website”. Bespoke systems, web applications, unusual sales processes, extensive integrations, user dashboards and automation. There is effectively no upper limit.

That is why an advertisement saying: “A website for PLN 12,000? We are much cheaper!” tells you nothing. Nor does: “A professional website cannot cost PLN 800.”

It can. It depends on the website.

Poland’s economy is mainly small businesses

According to PARP, micro-enterprises account for around 97% of all businesses in Poland. This is a huge market of companies that often do not need an overcomplicated technology stack.

They need a tool appropriate to their scale.

At the same time, digitalisation is no longer an exotic business extra. A website may be a simple contact tool, a customer-acquisition channel or a full sales channel, depending on what the business actually needs.

So how should you ask about website prices?

Instead of: “How much does a simple website cost?”

“I run a psychotherapy practice. I need a website with information about me, my services, prices and contact details. I would like to edit the content myself later. I have a logo and photos but need help with the layout. I do not need online payments or bookings. What would the indicative cost and timing be?”

Suddenly, the developer can give a concrete answer. You can compare several offers for roughly the same product.

Do not automatically choose the cheapest offer

Or the most expensive.

Above all, ask: what exactly will I receive for this price?

• Does the price include launch?
• Will the website work on a phone?
• Will I be able to change the content?
• Will the developer configure forms and analytics?
• Will they help with the domain and hosting?
• How many rounds of revisions are included?
• What happens after handover?
• Will I own the code, accounts and server access?
• Are there mandatory monthly charges later?

Only the answers to these questions make prices comparable.

PLN 500 versus PLN 5,000

Is a PLN 5,000 website ten times better than a PLN 500 website?

No.

Just as a car costing PLN 300,000 does not go ten times faster than one costing PLN 30,000. It may offer very different capabilities, though.

The biggest mistake is not buying a cheap website. Nor is it paying several thousand or more.

The biggest mistake is paying for something your business does not need — or saving money on something it genuinely does need.

Before asking: “How much does a website cost?”, ask yourself another question:

“What should this website do for my business?”

Then let us talk about the price.