You can't compare like for like
Rate benchmarks per stack and per region, so you know what a fair number looks like before you talk to anyone — anywhere.
Hire a web developer · Clear rates · Honest timelines
Write the brief. Get a quote you can plan around.
Tell the brief builder what you need and get an honest picture of what it costs, how long it takes and what happens next — then talk to someone who builds it, not a sales team. Published rates, published price bands, no commission on anything.
- Straight answers, no sales calls
- Scoped quote within 2 business days
- Rates shown before you talk
I need built in with working .
Add what matters
Get a scoped quote Takes 90 seconds. No account, no spam.
17
Services with published price bands
6
Regions with rate benchmarks
0
Middlemen, fees or commission
2 days
From brief to scoped quote
Why this site exists
Hiring a developer fails in the same four places every time.
So every one of them gets solved before you send a single message.
Nobody tells you the price
Every service page publishes a typical price band and timeline. No "contact us for pricing" games, no quotes that double after signing.
The brief is too vague to quote
The brief builder asks the six questions developers always come back with, so your first reply is a quote — not another round of questions.
Advice that usually comes with a pitch
Guides on cost, vetting, contracts and code ownership — written for buyers, ranked by what protects you, not what sells retainers.
Services / platforms & development
Start from the technology you're committed to.
If your site already runs on something — or your product demands a specific stack — start there. Every page carries the typical price band and timeline.
WordPress Platform · 2–10 weeks $1.5k–25k typical Shopify Platform · 3–12 weeks $2k–40k typical WooCommerce Platform · 4–12 weeks $2.5k–35k typical Webflow Platform · 2–6 weeks $1.5k–15k typical Wix Platform · 1–4 weeks $1.5k–8k typical Squarespace Platform · 1–4 weeks $1.5k–8k typical Drupal Platform · 6–16 weeks $8k–60k typical Custom web development Development · 4–16 weeks $5k–60k typical Web applications Development · 6–20 weeks $8k–80k typical Ecommerce Development · 4–14 weeks $3k–50k typical Frontend Development · 2–10 weeks $1.5k–30k typical Backend Development · 3–14 weeks $3k–50k typical Full-stack Development · 4–18 weeks $4k–70k typical
Services / by job to be done
Or start from the outcome, and let the stack follow.
Each page includes a scope checklist you can hand to any developer. All services →
Website Design
Design decisions tied to what each page must achieve — not decoration applied after the fact.
Website Redesign
Redesigns without the classic catastrophe: rankings preserved, URLs mapped, and the new site actually faster than the old one.
Website Migration
Platform moves with the boring parts done obsessively: every URL mapped, every rank defended, cutover rehearsed.
Website Maintenance & Support
Maintenance that is boring in the best way: current, backed up, monitored — and a named person who answers.
Website Speed & Performance
Speed work with numbers attached: budgets agreed upfront, real-device measurements, before/after evidence in the handover.
Website Security Hardening
Security work for sites that have something to lose: access control, patch discipline, tested recovery and monitoring that wakes somebody up.
Technical SEO
SEO built on the parts that compound: crawlability, structure, speed and schema — not tricks with a shelf life.
Website Development
The general-purpose website build: right platform, clean build, trained editors, documented handover — priced before work starts.
Website Accessibility
Accessibility treated as engineering, not a badge: real keyboard paths, real contrast, real assistive-tech testing — and fixes that stay fixed.
The sequence
Four steps, and you own every one of them.
No sales calls, no lock-in, no pressure. If the quote doesn't fit, you keep the scope and the numbers and find someone with them.
STEP 01
Write the brief
Six questions, in plain language. Attach anything you already have — a sketch, a spreadsheet, a competitor's site.
~90 seconds STEP 02
Get a scoped quote
A fixed price or an honest band, a timeline, and exactly what's included — built from your brief, not a template email.
Within 2 business days STEP 03
Talk it through
A short call or a thread to sharpen the scope. Code samples and references on request; a small paid trial for larger builds.
On your schedule STEP 04
Build with milestones
Work ships in reviewable milestones with repo access from day one. You own the code, the infrastructure and the deploys.
You own everythingBenchmark / hourly rates
What a web developer actually costs, by region.
Median hourly rate for a mid-level independent developer — editorial estimates compiled from public marketplace and agency rate data. Agencies typically bill 30–60% above these figures.
Updated Q2 2026. Full table & methodology →
| Stack | North America | Western Europe | Eastern Europe | Latin America | South Asia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | $75 | $62 | $38 | $34 | $22 |
| Shopify | $95 | $78 | $48 | $44 | $28 |
| React | $110 | $88 | $55 | $50 | $32 |
| Node.js | $105 | $86 | $54 | $49 | $31 |
| Webflow | $85 | $68 | $42 | $38 | $26 |
| DevOps | $130 | $105 | $65 | $58 | $38 |
Bands are editorial estimates from public marketplace medians and agency rate cards — not asking prices. Fixed-price projects converted at typical logged hours. Methodology.
Decide first
Freelancer, agency, dedicated team, or a hire?
The cheapest option per hour is rarely the cheapest per project. This is the trade you're actually making.
| Freelancer | Agency | Dedicated team | In-house hire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | One clear scope | Multi-discipline builds | Ongoing roadmap | Core product |
| Typical cost | $30–110/hr | $85–220/hr | $45–140/hr | $70k–180k/yr |
| Time to start | 2–7 days | 1–3 weeks | 1–2 weeks | 6–14 weeks |
| Design included | Sometimes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Project management | You do it | Included | Shared | You do it |
| Cover if they vanish | None | Contractual | Team absorbs it | None |
| Knowledge stays with you | Partly | Partly | Mostly | Fully |
| Commitment | Per project | Per project or retainer | 3–12 months | Permanent |
Rates / by region
Hire near you, or hire for the overlap.
Every region page carries local rate bands, working-hour overlap with the other markets, and honest notes on what each market is good for.
United States UTC−5 to UTC−8 WordPress $75/hr · React $110/hr United Kingdom UTC+0 to UTC+1 WordPress $62/hr · React $88/hr Canada UTC−3.5 to UTC−8 WordPress $70/hr · React $102/hr Australia UTC+8 to UTC+10 WordPress $68/hr · React $98/hr Germany UTC+1 to UTC+2 WordPress $60/hr · React $86/hr United Arab Emirates UTC+4 WordPress $55/hr · React $80/hr
Read before you hire
The things that go wrong, written up properly.
Costs
What a website really costs in 2026
Honest 2026 website cost breakdowns for five project sizes — including the line items nobody quotes for upfront.
BriefsHow to write a brief developers can quote
The six questions every developer asks anyway — answer them upfront and get real quotes instead of more questions.
Vetting14 questions that expose a weak developer
The vetting call, scripted: 14 questions with what a good answer sounds like and the three red flags that end evaluations.
ContractsWho owns the code you paid for?
IP assignment, repository access, milestone payments and the five clauses that decide who actually owns your website.
Send the brief. Get a real number back.
No account, no sales call, no obligation. If the quote doesn't fit, you keep the scope checklist and the numbers. You've lost ninety seconds.
Questions
Asked before every hire.
Rates depend on stack, seniority and region. Independent developers in North America typically bill $65–$150 per hour, Western Europe $55–$130, Eastern Europe $35–$75, and South Asia $18–$45. Agencies usually sit 30–60% above the equivalent independent rate, because that price includes project management, design, QA and cover. The rate benchmark table on this site breaks it down by stack and region.
A freelancer is cheaper per hour and a good fit for a single, well-defined scope. An agency costs more per hour but absorbs project management, design, QA and staff cover, which usually works out better on multi-discipline builds or anything with a hard launch date. The comparison table on this page lays out the trade in full — and the worked-examples guide shows what each model costs per project, not per hour.
You get a scoped reply within two business days: a fixed price or an honest band, a timeline, and exactly what is and is not included. If the project is not a fit, you are told straight, and the scope checklist is yours to keep for whoever you hire.
It is a calibrated band based on typical mid-level rates for the stack and region you selected. The real quote comes after your brief, and it can land lower or higher depending on scope. Estimates are labelled everywhere on this site — nobody should have to guess which numbers are binding.
Yes. Code samples and references are available on request, case studies are being published on this site, and for larger scopes a small paid trial task is a sane way for both sides to check fit before the full engagement.
You do, on payment. Repository and hosting access from day one, IP assignment on payment rather than on completion, and no license games. The contract guide on this site covers the five clauses that decide this — every engagement here runs on exactly those terms.
Yes — white-label and subcontract development for agencies is a regular part of the practice: WordPress, Shopify, custom builds and overflow capacity. NDAs standard, your client relationship stays yours.
The goal in business terms, the pages or features you need, any stack you are locked into, integrations, who owns design and content, your budget band and your launch date. Briefs that state a budget band get roughly three times more replies than briefs that do not — people skip what they cannot price. The brief guide and form on this site walk all six questions.
Quarterly, and only when the numbers move
Get the rate report before you negotiate.
Updated rate bands across the major stacks and regions, plus what changed and why. No other email.