Website design packages and cost in Australia (AUD)
Website design packages in Australia cost from AUD 899 to 24,800. The low end buys a template that you fill in yourself. The higher end buys a site that's planned, written and designed for your business.
We looked at the prices Australian providers publish on their own pricing pages in October 2026. Whether you hire a freelancer or a web design agency, what you pay depends mostly on how much design and writing the package includes.
Key takeaways:
- Published packages in Australia cost from AUD 899 to 24,800, depending on how much planning, writing and design is included.
- Cheap packages usually use a template, and you write the words yourself. More expensive packages include custom design and copywriting.
- Design work and copywriting add more to the price than extra pages do.
- Hosting, maintenance and extra pages are usually not in the package price, so add them before you compare.
- Over three years, a monthly plan can cost more than a one-off package once you count every monthly fee.
How much website design packages cost in Australia
Most Australian packages fit into four price bands, from less than AUD 2,000 to more than AUD 10,000.
| Band | Price (AUD) | What you usually get | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Less than AUD 2,000 | A template design, a few pages and a contact form. You supply the words and images. | A new business with one service, such as a physio clinic with one location |
| Small business | AUD 2,000 to 5,000 | A partly custom design with more page layouts, plus training and analytics | A business with a few services, such as a law firm with three practice areas |
| Growth | AUD 5,000 to 10,000 | A custom design, and often copywriting and planning before the design starts | A business whose buyers need convincing before they enquire, such as a hotel group or a training provider |
| Custom | More than AUD 10,000 | A custom design with many page layouts and connections to other systems | A larger business with several audiences or locations, such as a property developer |
Online stores cost more to set up because they need products, a cart and payments. You also pay a monthly platform fee on top, from AUD 42 a month (billed yearly) on Shopify's cheapest plan at October 2026 prices.
Providers who only build custom sites usually don't publish their prices, so their quotes are often higher than these bands. Our own web design strategy package is in the growth band and starts from about AUD 7,200.
What a website design package includes
Most packages are one fixed price for a set number of pages, the design, the build and the launch. Most Australian packages include:
- A design that works on phones, tablets and computers
- A content management system (CMS), so you can edit the pages yourself
- A contact or enquiry form
- A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, which keeps the site secure
- Analytics, so you can see how many people visit
- Basic search setup, such as page titles and descriptions
- Training on how to use the CMS
What a website design package doesn't include
These costs usually sit outside the package price, so add them before you compare quotes.
- Hosting: from about AUD 11 a month for basic hosting. Faster, more reliable hosting costs more.
- Domain name: a .com.au domain costs about AUD 22 a year.
- Maintenance: updates, backups and security fixes after launch. Most packages don't show a price for this, so ask.
- Words and photos: on most cheap packages, you write the words and supply the photos yourself.
- Extra pages: from AUD 80 to AUD 330 incl GST for each page above the number in the package.
- Connections to other tools: booking systems, customer databases and payment systems usually cost extra.
- Accessibility work: none of the packages we found said it includes accessibility work.
Some packages offer "free hosting for 6 months". That means you start paying for hosting in month 7, so check the cost of the second year too.
What drives the price: design work and copywriting
Design work and copywriting add much more to the price than the number of pages.
With a template package, each page reuses an existing design, so an extra page costs little. A custom package designs each layout from scratch, so the cost depends on how many layouts you need. A big site with few layouts can cost less than a small site where every page is different.
Copywriting can be the biggest cost. The Australian Society of Authors recommends up to AUD 1.12 a word for one-off freelance writing. At that rate, 4,000 words of website text comes to about AUD 4,480, which is why a package that includes the writing costs more.
The total website cost depends more on the scope of the work than on the name of the package. Most quotes also split the price into design and build, because web design and web development are different jobs with different costs.
What's in the Superpresence web design strategy package
Our web design strategy package covers the planning and writing that cheap packages don't include. It starts from about AUD 7,200 and includes:
- A positioning workshop first: before any design starts, we work out with you who the site is for and what it needs to say about your business.
- Copywriting: we write the words on every page, so you don't have to write them yourself.
- A site built for search and AI: we structure the pages so search engines and AI tools can read them and understand what you offer.
- 3 rounds of feedback: you review the work three times, and we make the changes each time within the price.
- 100% yours after launch: you own the site, the domain and the content.
- Live in 8 to 12 weeks: the time covers the workshop, the writing, the design and the build.
A cheap template package gives you the layout, but you still plan the site and write the words yourself. Our package costs more because the planning and the words are included.
Monthly website plans vs one-off packages
A monthly plan looks cheap because the first payment is small. Once you add up three years of fees, it can cost more than paying for the site once.
The monthly plans we found charge a setup fee of AUD 199 to 2,689, plus AUD 39 to 249 a month. Over 36 months:
- The most expensive plan costs AUD 11,653. That's over three times a small business package with hosting (AUD 3,476), and more than our strategy package's starting price.
- The cheapest plan costs AUD 1,603. That's about the same as a starter package with hosting (AUD 1,625), so the low first payment saves you almost nothing.
The fees also don't stop after three years. From year 4, the cheapest plan still costs AUD 468 a year, while a one-off site only needs hosting at about AUD 132 a year.
Ownership is the other catch. The plans we found require the domain to be registered through the provider, and they can switch off your site after 3 months of missed payments.
With a one-off project, you pay once and own the result. At Superpresence, we hand over the whole site at launch, so you take the site, the domain and the content with you if you ever leave. That's the standard to ask for in any website handover.
Compare your quotes over three years
To compare quotes fairly, add hosting and any extra pages to each one, then look at the total over three years. Here's an example with three typical quotes:
| Item | Quote A: starter package | Quote B: small business package | Quote C: monthly plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | AUD 1,295 incl GST, 2 to 3 pages | AUD 2,800 + GST (AUD 3,080 incl GST), 5 pages | AUD 199 setup + AUD 39 a month, incl GST |
| Hosting | Free for 6 months, then AUD 11 a month | AUD 11 a month from launch | Included |
| Total after 36 months, not registered for GST | AUD 1,625 | AUD 3,476 | AUD 1,603 |
| Total after 36 months, registered for GST | AUD 1,477 | AUD 3,160 | AUD 1,457 |
Quote C costs the least over these three years, but only by a small margin. After that it keeps charging AUD 468 a year, while Quote A only needs hosting at about AUD 132 a year.
Cost is only half of the decision. Our website ROI calculator estimates what a new site could bring back, so you can weigh that against the three-year total.
DIY builder, AI builder, freelancer or agency
The same five pages can cost a few hundred dollars a year or several thousand dollars, depending on who builds them.
DIY website builders
You build the site yourself with a tool. Squarespace costs AUD 204 a year on its cheapest plan and AUD 1,308 a year on its most expensive plan, at October 2026 prices.
Wix shows its prices in US dollars and adds tax, so check the price in Australian dollars before you pay.
A DIY builder is the cheapest route if a template suits you and you're happy to write the words yourself. When choosing the right website builder, the price matters less than how much design control you need and who will update the site.
AI website builders
Many business owners now ask whether they can let AI build website pages rather than pay a designer. AI tools can make a basic layout quickly, but they can't decide what your business should say, and they can't write strong copy about it.
AI tools have the same problem as a cheap template package, so if you use one, treat the result as a first draft.
Freelancers
With a freelancer, one person builds your whole site.
SEEK's salary data shows employed web designers in Australia earn AUD 31 to 42 an hour on average, and freelancers usually charge more than that. A freelancer whose turnover is under AUD 75,000 a year may not be registered for GST, so check whether the quote includes it.
Agencies
Agencies give you a team and a set process. Agencies that plan and write the site as well as design it charge more than template builders, and bigger custom projects are quoted separately. An agency quote makes sense when you need the planning and the writing as well as the design.
Before you sign a website quote
When the quotes arrive, check these points for each one. We checked these rules and prices in October 2026. The tax points are general information, so ask your accountant about your own situation.
Scope and ownership
- Pages: how many pages, and how many have their own design?
- Words: who writes the text, and is it in the price?
- Extra pages: what does each extra page cost?
- Feedback rounds: how many rounds of changes are included?
- After launch: who looks after the site, and when does any free hosting end?
- Ownership: do you own the site, the content and the domain?
- Payment: most providers ask for a deposit and the rest at the end. If a quote asks for the full amount at the start, ask why.
A .com.au domain needs an Australian business, usually shown with an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN), under auDA's rules.
Important:
Register the .com.au domain with your own ABN and account. If the provider owns it, you need their help to move it later.
GST on quotes
Some quotes include Goods and Services Tax (GST) and some don't, so two quotes can look 10% apart even when the work is the same. A business only has to register for GST once its turnover reaches AUD 75,000. If your business is registered, you get the GST back, so compare quotes without GST.
Tax treatment
The ATO's guidance on digital product expenses treats building a website as a capital expense and running it as an operating expense.
A build under AUD 20,000 may qualify for the instant asset write-off. The conditions are a turnover under AUD 10 million, using simplified depreciation, and the site going live on or after 1 July 2023. You claim monthly plan fees in the year you pay them.
Accessibility standards
The Australian Human Rights Commission says websites should meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA, as a minimum, under the Disability Discrimination Act. Ask if WCAG 2.2 AA is in the price or costs extra.
Privacy obligations
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner says most businesses with a turnover of AUD 3 million or less don't have to follow the Privacy Act. Health service providers must follow it at any size. So a clinic's enquiry forms need to store personal information safely from the start.
Consumer guarantees
When a business buys a service that costs less than AUD 100,000 including GST, consumer guarantees apply. The work must be done with care and skill, fit its purpose, and be finished in a reasonable time. Most packages cost less than that, so put the timeline and what you'll get in writing.
Weigh the three-year cost against the return
Treat a website package as a three-year cost. Once you add extra pages, hosting, GST and the cost of moving to another provider later, the cheapest quote can end up costing the most.
What the site brings back matters just as much. A cheap site that brings in no new clients wastes what you paid. You also miss out on the clients that you could get with a better site.
If you want a site built to bring in those clients, our web design services start with a positioning workshop, and the finished site is 100% yours.
FAQ
Can I start with a starter package and upgrade later?
Yes, but most of the work will need to be done again. A template starter site and a custom growth site share very little.
What you keep is your text and your domain. Keep both in your own name from day one, so moving later is easier and costs less.
How long does it take to build a package website?
It depends on the size of the site and how quickly you send your text and feedback. Put the launch date, the feedback schedule and what happens if either side is late in the contract before you pay the deposit.
Is a cheap website package worth it?
It can be, if you only need a simple site and you can write the text yourself. It's a poor fit if the site has to do real selling for you, because the planning and copywriting are the parts you need most.
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