Web Dev · Pricing guide
What a website costs in South Africa.
Website prices in South Africa range from R2,000 on Fiverr to R500,000 from a branding studio. The gap is confusing. Here's what each bracket actually buys you, and the costs most quotes forget to include.
This guide uses live 2026 numbers from our pipeline and from peer agencies in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Rands, not dollars.
The three price brackets
There are effectively three markets for websites in South Africa. Understanding which one fits your business saves you from overpaying or buying something that can't do the job.
| Tier | Price range (ZAR) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Template / DIY | R5,000 – R15,000 | Solo operators, pre-revenue |
| Custom brochure | R40,000 – R120,000 | Established SMEs, B2B |
| Ecommerce / platform | R60,000 – R250,000+ | DTC brands, marketplaces |
Template websites (R5,000 – R15,000)
What you get: a theme-based WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or Webflow build. 5 to 10 pages. Stock photography. A contact form. Basic SEO configuration. Delivered in 10 to 20 working days.
Who sells this: freelancers, junior agencies, and Fiverr sellers. Quality varies. R5,000 gets you something functional but generic. R15,000 buys more care on the design and content.
Watch-outs at this price point:
- Stock photography and AI-generated filler copy
- No strategy or content guidance — you write it all
- Slow page speeds (3–6s LCP) from bloated themes
- No analytics setup beyond pasting a GA4 tag
- Source code or site ownership unclear — read the contract
When it's right: you're validating an idea, you don't have R50,000 to spend, and you need a brochure so clients can see you exist. Works for early-stage service businesses. Upgrade later when revenue supports it.
Custom brochure websites (R40,000 – R120,000)
What you get: original design work, custom layouts, considered animations, a proper CMS (WordPress with custom theme, or Astro, Next.js, Webflow), strategy sessions, copywriting support, SEO setup, analytics tracking, and usually 2–6 weeks of post-launch support.
Typical scope: 8 to 20 pages. Custom brand integration. Blog or insights hub. Contact forms routed to CRM. Proper mobile design, not just responsive. Page speed tuned to pass Core Web Vitals.
Breakdown of a typical R75,000 project:
- Discovery + strategy: R8,000 – R12,000
- Design (wireframes + high-fi): R18,000 – R28,000
- Copywriting: R6,000 – R15,000 (or client-provided)
- Build / development: R25,000 – R40,000
- QA, SEO setup, analytics, launch: R6,000 – R12,000
Where it goes above R120,000: multilingual sites, complex CMS requirements, portals with login, custom integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Xero), motion-heavy design, animation systems like GSAP or Three.js.
Ecommerce builds (R60,000 – R250,000+)
Prices vary widely because "ecommerce store" means very different things.
Starter Shopify (R60,000 – R100,000)
Paid theme (Dawn or a R4,000 premium theme), brand customisation, up to 50 product listings set up with photography support, Payfast or Yoco integration, shipping rules, basic apps (reviews, upsell, email capture), analytics and Meta pixel. 3–5 weeks.
Custom Shopify (R100,000 – R180,000)
Fully custom theme from design, product filtering, bundle logic, subscription integration (Recharge or Appstle), Klaviyo email flows, Xero sync, courier integration. 6–10 weeks.
Custom WooCommerce or headless (R120,000 – R250,000+)
When you need B2B pricing, complex variations, SARS-compliant invoicing, multi-warehouse inventory, or a headless Next.js front-end on WooCommerce. 8–16 weeks. We've delivered builds at both ends of this range — the variables are integration count and whether the client has a product feed already.
What actually drives the price up
Agencies aren't inflating quotes for sport. These are the scope levers that meaningfully shift cost:
- Page count and uniqueness — 30 unique layouts costs more than 5 layouts reused.
- Animation and interaction — scroll-based animations and GSAP timelines add 20–40% to build time.
- Integrations — each third-party (Xero, HubSpot, Takealot, SAP) is a 10–40 hour task.
- Content — if we write it, add R12,000+. If you provide it on time, it shaves weeks off the timeline.
- Multilingual — English plus Afrikaans or Zulu is 25–40% extra depending on CMS.
- Migration — moving existing content and preserving SEO with redirects is a real job.
- Revisions — unlimited rounds in the contract is a red flag. Cap at two to three rounds per phase.
The hidden costs most quotes skip
A website isn't a one-time purchase. Here's what gets billed after launch.
Hosting
- Shared WordPress (Xneelo, Afrihost, HostAfrica): R99 – R299/month
- Managed WordPress (Kinsta, WP Engine): R500 – R2,500/month
- Cloudflare Workers / Pages: free to R300/month for most static sites
- Shopify: $29 – $299/month (bundled with platform)
Domain
A .co.za domain costs around R100/year via most registrars (Domains.co.za, 1-grid, Afrihost). A .com runs R180–R250/year. Register for a few years at once if the domain matters — we've seen clients lose names to squatters after forgetting to renew.
SSL
Free via Letsencrypt on any modern host, or automatic via Cloudflare. If a provider is charging you R1,200/year for an SSL certificate, they're profiting from confusion.
Email hosting
Your domain email (hello@yourbrand.co.za) usually isn't included. Budget R30–R100 per mailbox per month. Google Workspace is $6/user/month (R110ish). Zoho Mail is cheaper at around R30/user.
Maintenance and retainers
WordPress plugins update weekly. Breaking changes happen. Budget:
- Self-managed: 1–2 hours/month of your time
- Agency care plan: R1,500 – R6,000/month
- Ongoing development retainer: R8,000 – R30,000/month
Extras that often surface later
- Plugin and theme licences (R500–R3,000/year each)
- Stock photography or custom shoot (R5,000–R25,000)
- Email marketing platform (Klaviyo, Mailchimp — free to R5,000/month)
- SEO content and link building (R8,000–R30,000/month)
- Backups (most good hosts include this, confirm before you assume)
Realistic yearly budget
If you built a R75,000 custom website, expect R15,000–R25,000/year in running costs. On a R150,000 ecommerce build, expect R40,000–R80,000 including platform fees, apps, and maintenance.
Agency vs freelancer vs in-house
The same website costs different amounts depending on who builds it.
Freelancer (R20,000 – R60,000 for custom)
Cheapest per hour. Rates from R350–R800/hour for a solid mid-level South African developer. You manage scope, timeline, and quality yourself. Fine if the scope is clear and small. Risky for stores or complex builds because a single dev can't cover design, strategy, copy, SEO, and QA.
Boutique agency (R40,000 – R200,000)
The middle of the market — four to fifteen people. You get a project manager, designer, developer, and usually strategy and copywriting built in. Rates R600–R1,500/hour effective. Most SA businesses do best here.
Large agency (R150,000 – R1,000,000+)
Big agencies (Hellocomputer, Native VML, King James) charge rates in line with enterprise budgets. R2,500–R4,500/hour effective. You're paying for brand reputation, depth of strategy, and the ability to scale quickly across multiple disciplines. Overkill for an SME website.
In-house
A full-time developer at R55,000/month plus overheads (roughly R70k loaded cost) costs more than a R75,000 agency project in the first year — only cheaper if you have sustained multi-project demand. Most SMEs don't.
How to avoid getting fleeced
Five questions that sort good agencies from bad:
- Who owns the source code and the domain after launch?
- What does the handover document include?
- What happens if we need changes a year from now?
- Can I see three recent builds and speak to those clients?
- What's the fixed price and what's billed hourly?
A quote that doesn't break out line items is a quote you can't compare. Ask for a scope document before you sign, not after.
Want a real quote? We scope every project in writing with line items you can push back on. See how we approach web development and ecommerce, or tell us what you're building.