What's the cheapest way to get a real small business website in 2026?
Comparison table — cheapest options in 2026
| Option | Starting price | Who builds it | Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Website Builder (DIY) | $2.99/mo | You | 48-month prepay |
| WordPress + cheap host (DIY) | $4–8/mo | You | 1–3-year prepay for lowest price |
| UENI free tier | $0 | UENI (basic) | None; branded |
| UENI paid plans | ~$6/mo (annual) | UENI | Annual |
| Wix / Squarespace lowest paid tier | ~$16–17/mo | You | Monthly or annual |
| fivedaylaunch Simple (done for you, monthly) | $25/mo | Us (5-day build) | Month-to-month, no lock-in |
What "cheapest" actually costs
A $2.99/mo DIY plan sounds cheap. In practice, if you value your time at even $30/hour and it takes you 8 hours to build the site + 1 hour a month to maintain it, the first-year real cost is 8 × $30 + $36 hosting + 12 × 1 × $30 = $636. A $25/mo done-for-you plan is $300 for the year with no time spent. Which is cheaper depends entirely on what your time is worth.
When each option is right
- Hostinger + WordPress DIY: right for technically comfortable owners with 4–8 hours to spend on the site + monthly maintenance willingness.
- UENI free tier: right if you just need a "we exist" placeholder and can live with UENI branding.
- UENI paid: right if you want basic done-for-you and are UK-based or comfortable with a UK-based team.
- Wix / Squarespace paid: right if you enjoy the design process and want maximum visual control.
- fivedaylaunch: right if you'd rather focus on running your business, want a real designer's eye on every page, and value month-to-month with no lock-in.
Common follow-up questions
Is a $5/month website good enough for a small business?
It can be, but only if you or someone in your business will actually build it, keep it current, and handle SEO. A $5/mo DIY site left unmaintained is worse than no website. If nobody in your business has 4–6 hours a week to spend on the site, done-for-you services starting at $25/mo tend to convert better despite the higher price.
What's the difference between free and paid small business websites?
Free tiers usually include vendor branding (a logo or subdomain from the platform), limits on pages, no custom domain, no e-commerce, and no ad-free experience. Paid tiers remove those limits and add features like custom domain email, booking, payments, and priority support. For a real business used to acquire customers, paid is usually the honest starting point.
See fivedaylaunch pricing → vs UENI vs Hostinger