How much does a website cost in South Africa in 2026?
What one-page, multi-page and custom websites actually cost in South Africa, what pushes the price up, and the monthly costs nobody mentions upfront.
Ask five South African web designers what a website costs and you'll get five answers between R1,500 and R50,000. They're not lying. They're quoting different things under the same word. Here's how to read the numbers.
The quick price guide
Published South African pricing guides put basic landing pages in the low thousands, typical small-business websites somewhere between a few thousand and R20,000, and custom work above that. Here's how that maps to what I charge:
| What you need | What you get | With Remy Systems |
|---|---|---|
| A basic one-page site | One clean page with your words and photos, contact form, WhatsApp and call buttons | R3,450 (Shoreline) |
| A stronger one-pager | Planned with you, semi-custom design, Google Analytics and Search Console, smooth animations | R5,950 (Fish) |
| A small business site | 3–5 pages, booking or quote forms, lead alerts to your phone | R10,950 (Dolphin) |
| A custom site with automation | Custom design, analytics, SMS and email follow-ups | from R18,500 (Orca) |
| An online store | Up to 20 products, cart, payment gateway, shipping | from R18,500 |
Every project is quoted in writing first, so you know the price before any work starts.
Basic or better: R3,450 vs R5,950
If you're new, on a tight budget and already have your words and photos, the R3,450 Shoreline site is a proper, fast, mobile-first page that gets you online and gets you calls. It's built the same way as everything else I make, just with less in it.
R5,950 is where it gets better. We plan the page together on a call, I help you shape what it says, the design is more custom, and Google Analytics and Search Console are connected so you can see who finds you. If your website has to do the selling for you, that's the one I'd point you to.
What actually pushes the price up
- Pages and design. A single page built on a proven layout costs less than ten custom-designed pages.
- Who writes the words. If you supply your text and photos, it's cheaper. Copywriting is real work.
- Forms, bookings and integrations. A contact form is simple. A booking calendar that feeds a CRM and sends reminders is more.
- Online stores. Products, variations, payments, shipping and policies add real hours, which is why stores start higher.
- Speed and revisions. Rush jobs and unlimited rounds of changes cost more everywhere.
The monthly costs nobody mentions
The build is only part of it. Budget for:
- Your domain name, renewed every year with your registrar.
- Hosting and care. Someone has to keep the site online, secure and updated. My care plan is R350/month and includes hosting, security updates and small content changes.
- Bigger changes later. New pages or features are quoted, or billed at R750/hour.
- Platform subscriptions, if your site runs on a paid builder, booking tool or CRM.
Red flags in a cheap quote
- No written scope. If it isn't written down, it isn't included.
- You don't own the result. Ask what happens to your site if you leave.
- A template with your logo swapped in, sold as "custom".
- Nobody tests it on a phone, even though most of your visitors will use one.
- The contact form isn't connected to anything, so enquiries vanish.
How to get an honest quote
Before you ask anyone for a price, write down:
- What the website must do: calls, bookings, quote requests or sales.
- How many pages you think you need.
- Whether you have your own text and photos.
- Which tools it must connect to.
- Your launch date and budget.
Send that to two or three people and compare what's included, not just the total. If you'd like mine, tell me about your business and I'll come back with a recommendation and a real price, usually within one working day.
Questions people also ask
Are there any hidden fees?
No. Every service page lists exactly what you pay once-off and what runs monthly (like the care plan at R350/m for hosting, security and small updates). What you see is what you pay.
Can I mix services?
That's the whole point. Most clients start with a website, then add automation, ads or video as they grow — everything is built to connect.
When can I cancel monthly services?
Anytime. Send a message saying you'd like to cancel and your subscription is closed within 72 hours — no lock-in contracts.
Do you build online stores?
Yes — e-commerce builds from 30 to 200+ products with payment gateways, reviews and abandoned-cart automation. Ask about it on the Website Design page or in the form below.
Do you work with overseas clients?
Yes — I'm based in Pretoria, South Africa, and work with select UK and US clients remotely. Time zones have never been a problem.
Is a website a once-off cost?
The build is once-off. After that you pay for your domain name every year and for hosting every month. With me, hosting, security updates and small changes are R350/month on the care plan.
Why are some websites so cheap?
Usually because the price assumes a template, words and photos supplied by you, one round of changes and no strategy. That can be fine for a brand-new business, as long as you know what you're getting.
How long does it take to build a website?
With me, most small-business websites go live in 5–15 working days once I have your content: photos, service details, contact details and logins.