The most honest answer to the question of how much a website costs in Switzerland is: it depends. This is of little help to you as an SME owner. You don't want an advisor answer, you want numbers. That's exactly what you get here, without sales talk.
The problem: Previous offers fluctuate between CHF 800 and CHF 25,000 for what appears to be the same thing. The reason is not arbitrariness, but that there are three completely different models behind it. Anyone who knows them knows immediately which number is realistic. Let's look at all three.
Important in advance: The pure creation price says little. What matters is what a website really costs over several years, including hosting, maintenance and the ongoing small adjustments that every company needs. This is exactly where the three paths differ most clearly.
1. The agency: high investment, once ahead
A classic web agency builds your website from the ground up. She leads workshops, designs, programs and delivers a finished product at the end. The result is usually good, the price is high and, above all, it is due immediately.
In Switzerland you typically pay for a small company website with five to ten pages CHF 5,000 to 15,000 one-off. This amount is due before a single line is online. In addition, there is hosting and maintenance of around CHF 25 to 75 per month. Any subsequent changes, such as new opening times or a team photo, are charged individually, often at CHF 100 to 150 per order.
It usually takes six to sixteen weeks from the confirmation to the go-live. The agency is worth it if you have a large, individual project and the budget is available. For most SMEs, however, the initial investment is the biggest hurdle.
2. The website builder: cheap, but you are the worker
Wix, Squarespace, Jimdo: website builders shift costs from money to time. The tool costs little, often CHF 17 to 50 per month, sometimes with a small starting amount of up to CHF 30. Sounds unbeatably cheap, and on paper it is.
The catch: You do everything yourself. Design, texts, images, structure, search engine optimization. What an agency does in weeks ends up with you in the evenings and weekends. Many of these projects are never completely finished, or the result ends up looking clearly self-made.
A website builder is suitable if you are technically savvy, enjoy tinkering and don't count your time as a cost. For owners who prefer to put their hours into their own business, this is rarely the cheapest option, even if the monthly bill looks small.
3. The subscription model: no setup fees, work included
Website-as-a-Service is the newest of the three paths and combines the strengths of the other two. You pay no setup fees, but a monthly subscription starting at CHF 59. The provider takes on all the work, similar to an agency, only without the invoice in advance.
The price includes design, copy, hosting, domain, SSL, maintenance and ongoing changes. You write briefly what should change and it is implemented, without a separate bill. The website is usually live in five working days, and a first draft is often available after just 72 hours.
The compromise: As long as the subscription is running, you rent the technical implementation instead of buying it once. For most SMEs, this is exactly right because a website needs ongoing hosting, maintenance and updates anyway. Instead of many individual items, you pay one clear monthly price.
The numbers right next to each other
| Agency | Website builder | Subscription (getyoursite) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startup costs | CHF 5,000 to 15,000 | CHF 0 to 30 | CHF 0 |
| Monthly costs | CHF 25 to 75 (hosting, maintenance) | CHF 17 to 50 (tools only) | from CHF 59, all inclusive |
| Time until live | 6 to 16 weeks | Weeks to months of independent work | from 5 working days |
| Changes | charged per order | yourself | included in the subscription |
| Who does the work | the agency | You | the provider |
If you calculate over three years, the picture tends to change: an agency website for CHF 8,000, including hosting and a few changes, quickly costs over CHF 11,000. The Grow subscription costs around CHF 5,700 for the same period, including work and care.
Conclusion: Which path is right for you?
There is no one-size-fits-all best solution, but there is clear logic. If you have a large budget and a very individual project, the agency makes sense. If you are a technology enthusiast and have time to spare, the website builder may be enough. If you want a professional result without a high initial investment and without having to do anything yourself, a subscription is the easiest way for most SMEs.
Quick overview
- Budget available, project very individual: Agency, with starting capital of CHF 5,000 to 15,000.
- Little budget, a lot of time and technical flair: website builder from around CHF 17 per month, you do the work yourself.
- Professional results without setup fees and without any personal work: Subscription model from CHF 59 per month, maintenance and changes included.
No matter which route you choose, pay attention to what happens after every offer goes live. If you think about hosting, maintenance and changes right from the start, you won't experience any nasty surprises later on in the bill.