Building a site in the Balkans costs from €150 to €6,000. Presentation sites run €300–1,500. That is the most requested category. That is how local agencies split the market (Sep 2026). The final figure depends on three things. Page count, functionality and who writes the content. This guide gives ranges, hidden costs and a way to compare quotes.
Every business owner's first question is the same. How much does a website cost? And the first honest answer is this. It depends on what the site has to do. A one-page site differs from one bringing monthly inquiries. So neither are the prices.
This article gives realistic 2026 ranges for our market. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. It explains exactly what you pay for. No fine print.
Why prices vary so much
The sentence "I need a website" means three different things. A bakery needs one fast page. With a price list and a map. A dental clinic needs a complete site. Services, gallery and booking. Someone else needs a reservation system. With user accounts. The workload differs tenfold. So the price difference is normal.
Four things drive the price most. Number of pages and content. Design, ready template or custom. Functionality: form, blog, booking, sales. Technology: WordPress or modern. Whoever prices before these questions makes that price up.
Realistic ranges in 2026
The market is colorful, from students to big agencies. Serious quotes land in five bands. The lower bound is a landing page. The upper is custom apps. Between sits everything a small firm buys. Two independent cross-sections confirm the ranges.
- Landing page (one page): €150 to €600. Photos, services or price list, map, tap-to-call. Ideal for businesses just getting online — salon, bakery, repair shop, apartment. Our Start package is exactly that: done in 7 days.
- Business presentation site (5–10 pages): €500 to €1,500. Homepage, dedicated service pages, about, gallery, blog, contact. This is the most requested category, and quality — not page count — makes the difference. Our Business package covers exactly this range.
- Shops and booking systems: from €1,500 up. Cart, payments, calendars, accounts — the price follows the logic, not the looks.
- Custom apps: from a few thousand euros. Dashboards, portals, integrations with other systems. Priced in phases, with a contract — see the Custom package.
Far below the lower bound, someone saves on something. You will pay later. In speed, security, or change options.
An independent local market splits almost the same ranges. Landing €150–600. Presentation €500–1,500. Corporate €1,500–4,000. Shop €1,500–6,000. Apps from €6,000 up (offer cross-section, Sep 2026). Two sources, same order of magnitude. That is a sign the figures are real.
What the price covers — and what comes later
A fair quote clearly separates one-time build from running costs. Check this list before signing. Every item needs a price or an included mark. Missing on paper means paid later. The list has five points. Walk it with every quote.
- Domain — the site's address, paid yearly, and it must be in your name. Never agree to an agency holding your domain.
- Hosting — where the site lives. Often symbolic or nothing for small static sites (free hosting), bigger for shops.
- Maintenance — updates, backups, small edits. Mandatory with WordPress, from a few dozen euros a month; minimal with modern static sites. Always ask what maintenance costs before choosing technology.
- Content — texts and photos. Good phone photos are enough to start, but someone has to polish and place them. Ask if that's included.
- Changes after launch — what an hour of work costs when you want a new page six months from now.
Rule of thumb: if a quote doesn't mention these items, they aren't free — they're just unmentioned.
WordPress or modern: the three-year math
WordPress is cheaper in month one. But plugins carry almost all vulnerabilities. Maintenance is therefore a monthly bill. Recovery from one serious incident routinely costs multiples of yearly maintenance. Plugins extend, themes dress, core runs. Every extra plugin is a door. Fewer doors mean fewer worries.
A modern site costs a bit more upfront and almost nothing after. No monthly patches that break things. No database to rot. Over three years it often ends up cheaper. We broke the full comparison down in WordPress or a modern site. Read it before deciding.
Freelancer, agency or yourself?
The same site costs differently across vendors. A student works for €100, an agency for €10,000, freelancers between. The difference is not only the hourly rate. The difference is who answers when something breaks. A freelancer depends on one person. An agency has backup and deadlines. You work free, but with your hours.
A realistic presentation-site price for a small firm is €500–1,500. The regional estimate matches. Below that range something is almost surely missing: content, speed or support. Ask what exactly enters before comparing two figures.
How to compare two quotes
Never compare only total figures. One quote covers the build, another the build plus a maintenance year. Ask for a delivery list with every price. Page count, design, texts, basic visibility, deadlines. Then sum the cost for the same period. Build plus a year of hosting, domain and maintenance. Regional guides recommend the same comparison (Sep 2026).
Three questions reveal quote quality. Is the price fixed or hourly? Who writes texts and edits photos? Who owns the domain, hosting and access? Answers beat a 10% discount.
Prices by industry and topic
General ranges are a start, not an end. Every industry has its items and traps. So we split prices by topic. Four guides cover the most common cases. Salon, apartment, maintenance and installments. Start from your industry. Every guide carries tables and concrete figures.
- How much does a hair salon website cost — packages, calendar, SrediMe fees and the "site equals ten haircuts" math.
- Booking commission and the apartment site — what platforms take yearly and after how many direct nights a site pays off.
- How much does website maintenance cost — monthly packages, yearly cost and what a package must contain.
- Website installments — 50% advance, demo before the rest, and why nobody offers long repayments.
How to request quotes (checklist)
To get comparable quotes, send every vendor the same five answers. Same questions give comparable figures. Different questions give incomparable quotes. Five minutes of prep saves weeks of correspondence. Write answers once, then send to all. Same questions bring comparable figures.
- What the business does and who the buyers are.
- Roughly how many pages (one, up to 8, more).
- Whether you need a second language, blog, gallery, booking or sales.
- Whether you have a logo, photos and texts — or need those too.
- The deadline.
Whoever answers with a fixed price that doesn't change mid-way is serious. Whoever asks "what's your budget" before asking what you need — run.
Price follows the goal
A website isn't a cost if it brings more than it costs. Businesses that live off calls and bookings earn it back fast. As soon as the site starts working for them. Weekends, evenings, while they're busy with the job. So the price isn't measured absolutely. It is measured in clients the site should bring.
For a concrete figure for your business, see our pricing. Or reach out — the first proposal is free.