Pay monthly websites
Paying monthly for a website can be a fair deal or a trap, and the difference is in the small print, not the monthly price. Here is how the different models work, what to check, and how the costs compare over three years.
hosting and edits included
- No long-term contract
- You own your domain
- Edits included
- Hosting and SSL
- Updates and edits
- No long-term contract
The three kinds of pay monthly website
"Pay monthly" covers three quite different arrangements, and it is worth knowing which one you are being offered.
- Rental. Little or nothing up front, a monthly fee, and you never own the site. Stop paying and it goes. Some rentals also keep the domain in the supplier's name, which is the part that really hurts when you leave.
- Setup fee plus subscription. A one-off fee for the build, then a monthly fee for hosting, security, updates and edits. You own your domain and your content. This is how we work.
- Finance. A one-off build price spread over monthly payments, often with a minimum term. Check whether hosting and changes are included once the payments end.
What to check before you sign anything
- Who owns the domain. It should be registered in your name, or transferable to you on request. This matters more than anything else on this list.
- Who owns the content and design. Can you take your words and photos with you?
- The minimum term. 12, 24 or 36 months changes the real cost a lot.
- What happens when you leave. Is there an exit fee? Will they hand over files or help you move?
- What the monthly fee includes. Hosting, SSL, backups, updates, how many edits, and how fast.
- Price rises. Can the monthly fee go up during the term, and by how much?
What it costs over three years
Monthly prices are hard to compare on their own. Here is the three-year cost of each route for a typical five-page site, using the published prices below.
| Route | How it is paid | Three-year cost |
|---|---|---|
| Wix Light, built yourself | £9 a month on annual billing | about £324 plus your time |
| Squarespace Core, built yourself | £17 a month on annual billing | £612 plus your time |
| Freelancer, then your own hosting | £500 to £3,000 once, hosting from £7 to £14 a month, domain renewal | about £775 to £3,545, before any changes |
| Our Launch package | £449 setup, then £39 a month, edits included | £1,853 |
| Our Grow package | £949 setup, then £59 a month | £3,073 |
The freelancer row adds three years of hosting at £7 a month (Krystal) to £13.99 a month (SiteGround's renewal price) and three years of .co.uk domain fees at renewal prices (£7.40 to £12.99), and assumes no paid changes. Most sites need some.
When pay monthly is a bad deal
If you have the time and the inclination, and your site is simple, building it yourself on a builder costs less over three years than any done-for-you option. We would rather say that here than sell you something you do not need.
Pay monthly is also a bad deal whenever the domain is not yours, or the minimum term is long and the exit is expensive. Walk away from those regardless of the monthly price.
How ours works
A one-off setup fee, then a monthly subscription with no long-term contract. You own your domain and your content. The monthly fee covers hosting, SSL, updates and edits to your existing pages. If you cancel, we help you move.
| Our tier | What it is | Setup | Monthly | First year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | A five-page site plus the Google groundwork, so local customers can find you. | £449 | £39 | £917 |
| Grow | 10+ pages and the local SEO foundations, for a business that wants to rank, not just exist. | £949 | £59 | £1,657 |
| Scale | 20+ pages for a business with a team or more than one site, so every service and location can be found. | £1,950 | £129 | £3,498 |
Prices checked 18 October 2026. Sources: Wix pricing via Startups.co.uk; Squarespace pricing; Brilliant Digital; Krystal hosting; SiteGround current rates; 123 Reg on domain prices. Platforms change prices and run offers, so check before you buy. Some prices exclude VAT.
Questions people ask
Do you have to pay monthly for a website?
No. You can pay once for a build and then pay for hosting and a domain separately. Most sites still have monthly or yearly running costs of some kind, because hosting, domains and updates are never free for long.
Are pay monthly websites cheaper?
Cheaper up front, not always cheaper overall. Compare the three-year cost, including any minimum term and exit fee, rather than the monthly figure.
What happens to my site if I stop paying?
With a rental, it usually goes. With us, you keep your domain and content and we help you move the site elsewhere.
Can I get a pay monthly ecommerce website?
Some suppliers offer them. For most small shops a platform like Shopify, where you pay the platform directly, is the cleaner arrangement. Our ecommerce cost guide compares the options.
Keep reading
Want a fixed price instead of a range?
Tell us what your business does and what the site needs to do. We'll come back with the tier that fits and the exact price, including when the answer is the cheapest one.
- Fixed price, published
- No long-term contract
- You own your domain
- Edits included