You're paying $50, $150, maybe $300 a month for your website. But do you actually know what you're getting for that money? Let me break it down—because some of those fees are legitimate, and some are making someone rich at your expense.
I've seen the invoices. I've talked to business owners who've been burned. And I'm going to be honest with you about what website costs actually look like in 2025.
The Real Costs: What You're Actually Paying For
Let's start with what a website legitimately costs to keep running. These numbers might surprise you—and they'll help you spot the ripoffs.
Domain Name: $10-20/year
Your web address (like yourbusiness.com) costs between $10 and $20 per year for most common extensions. That's it. About $1.50 a month.
If someone's charging you $50/year for a domain, they're pocketing the difference. (For more on this, see Domain vs. Hosting vs. Website: The Confusing Terms Explained.)
Hosting: It Depends on What You're Getting
This is where it gets interesting. Cheap shared hosting costs $2-10/month. But here's what most people don't know: there are different tiers of hosting, and they're not all created equal.
Cheap Shared Hosting ($3-10/month): Your site lives on a server with hundreds of other sites. Slow load times, no optimization, crashes when traffic spikes. This is what DIY builders usually give you.
CDN-Backed Managed Hosting ($20-50/month): Your site is distributed across multiple servers worldwide, loads instantly, handles traffic spikes, includes monitoring and optimization. This is what professionals use.
Enterprise Hosting ($100+/month): Overkill for most small businesses unless you're processing thousands of transactions daily.
So when someone charges you $150/month for "hosting," ask what tier you're actually getting. If it's just shared hosting, that's a 15x markup. But if you're paying $30/month for proper CDN-backed infrastructure, that's reasonable—you're getting speed and reliability.
SSL Certificate: Free to $25/year
That little padlock that makes your site secure? Let's Encrypt provides SSL certificates at no cost, and basic paid options run $0-25/year.
If you're being charged $100+/year for an SSL certificate on a basic business website, someone's overcharging you.
Add It Up: The Bare Minimum vs. What You Should Actually Use
So what does the actual infrastructure for a small business website cost?
The DIY/Bare Minimum Route:
- Domain: ~$15/year
- Cheap shared hosting: ~$60-120/year
- SSL: Free to $25/year
Total: About $75-160 per year ($6-13/month). MonsterInsights puts a basic small business website at about $110 per year for domain and hosting combined.
The Professional Route:
- Domain: ~$15/year
- CDN-backed managed hosting: ~$240-600/year
- SSL: Included
- Monitoring, backups, optimization: Included in good hosting
Total: About $255-615 per year ($21-51/month) for infrastructure that actually performs.
Here's the key insight: The ripoff isn't charging for good infrastructure. The ripoff is charging $150/month for cheap infrastructure, or not telling you which tier you're getting.
So why are you paying $200, $500, or more per month? Let's look at what else should be on that invoice—and what's just markup.
The Legitimate Add-Ons (What You Should Actually Pay For)
Some monthly fees beyond basic infrastructure actually make sense. Here's what's reasonable:
Professional Email Hosting: $6-12/month per user
Professional email ([email protected]) isn't free. Google Workspace starts around $6/user/month. That's fair and worth it.
Real Security Monitoring: $10-30/month
Someone actually watching for hacks, running tested backups, and keeping software updated. Worth paying for if you don't want to do it yourself.
Red flag: If "security monitoring" just means automated backups, that's not worth $50/month. Real monitoring includes threat detection, uptime monitoring, and proactive fixes.
Actual Content Updates and Support
If someone's making regular changes to your site, that takes time and should cost something. The question is: how much time, what are they charging per hour, and is there a better model?
The hourly model problem: At $100/hour, a simple text change becomes a $50 invoice. This discourages you from keeping your site updated.
The better model: Reasonable updates included in a flat monthly fee. You email when you need changes, they handle it, no invoice. You pay for service, not per-edit.
Where It Becomes a Ripoff
Good infrastructure costs money. Good service costs money. But some fees are just markup disguised as value. Here's how to spot them.
Ripoff #1: Premium Prices for Cheap Infrastructure
You're paying $150/month for "premium hosting and maintenance." Sounds reasonable, right? But when you dig in, you find out they're using $10/month shared hosting and running automated backups that cost them nothing.
That's a 15x markup on infrastructure alone. The question isn't whether hosting should cost something—it should. The question is: are you getting CDN-backed performance, or are they pocketing the difference?
What to ask: "What hosting tier am I on? Is my site on a CDN? How do you handle traffic spikes?" If they can't answer clearly, that's a red flag.
Ripoff #2: The $100/Hour Update Trap
The median web designer charges $92.75/hour in 2025. Some agencies charge $150-200/hour.
So when you email asking them to update your business hours or change a phone number—a 5-minute task—that "minor update" might cost you $50-100. Change a few things a month and your bill explodes.
This is why so many small business websites never get updated. Every change costs money, so nothing gets changed. The site becomes a liability instead of an asset. (Related: The Real Reason Most Small Business Websites Never Get Updated.)
The better model: Reasonable updates should be included in your monthly fee. Not unlimited custom development—but text changes, image swaps, and menu updates shouldn't trigger an invoice.
Ripoff #3: The "Maintenance Plan" That's Just Hosting
I've seen "maintenance plans" that charge $150/month for hosting and automated backups. If they're using cheap shared hosting, that's maybe $15 of actual cost. If they're using good CDN-backed hosting, maybe $40. Either way, what are you paying for?
What to ask: "What exactly does this maintenance fee include?" If the answer is just "hosting and backups," you're paying for infrastructure, not maintenance. Real maintenance includes updates, monitoring, optimization, and support.
Ripoff #4: The Upsell Machine
DIY platforms "tack on those bigger fees over time, or they're constantly trying to upsell you" with performance boosters, SEO add-ons, and premium features. As one expert put it, these upsells are "more often than not... not really necessary. They're just a sales tactic."
Same goes for agencies pushing "SEO packages" for $500/month that don't actually include any real work. Ask for specifics. What exactly are they doing each month?
The Hidden Costs That Sneak Up
These aren't necessarily ripoffs—they're legitimate costs. The problem is when they're not in the original quote.
A good rule of thumb: plan for 15-25% of your initial build cost annually for maintenance and updates. If your site cost $5,000 to build, budget $750-1,250/year to keep it running properly.
If you're paying way more than that and your site isn't changing much, something's off.
What Reasonable Monthly Fees Look Like
Here's what different levels of website service actually cost in 2025:
DIY (You Do Everything)
- Platform fee: $0-29/month
- Domain: ~$15/year
- Your time: Priceless (and endless)
Total: $15-40/month, plus your evenings and weekends.
For more on why DIY becomes a time sink, read The Hidden Costs of 'Free' Website Builders.
Freelancer or Agency (Traditional Model)
- Build cost: $2,000-10,000 upfront
- Hosting/maintenance: $50-500/month
- Updates: $75-150/hour when you need them
Agencies typically charge $200-$4,500/month for full maintenance. Small business site maintenance usually runs $200–$1,000 per month.
Total: Hundreds or thousands upfront, plus $100-500+/month ongoing.
Wondering if you should stick with your current provider or switch? See How Much Should a Small Business Website Actually Cost in 2025?
Managed Website Service (What We Do)
- Build cost: $0
- Everything included: Fixed monthly fee
- Updates: Included (no hourly charges)
Total: One predictable monthly payment.
Questions to Ask About Your Current Fees
If you're paying for website services now, here's how to figure out if you're getting a fair deal:
- "What exactly does this monthly fee include?" Get a detailed list. If they can't give you one, that's a red flag.
- "What tier of hosting am I on?" Cheap shared hosting? CDN-backed? If they're charging $150/month, you should be getting more than basic shared hosting.
- "How much are updates?" Do you pay by the hour? By the change? Or are reasonable updates included?
- "What happens if I cancel?" Do you own your domain? Can you take your content with you?
- "Can you show me my site's actual load times and uptime?" If they're selling you on "premium hosting," they should be able to prove it performs.
Transparency matters. If your provider gets defensive when you ask these questions, that tells you something.
For more on evaluating providers, see 5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring Any Web Designer. And see our full feature breakdown to understand what comprehensive service looks like.
The Math That Changed How We Price
When I started YouGrow, I looked at what local businesses were actually paying:
- Agencies charging $150/month for "hosting" (usually cheap shared hosting worth $10, sometimes decent hosting worth $30—either way, massive markup)
- Freelancers charging $100 for a 10-minute text change
- DIY platforms nickel-and-diming for every feature
It didn't make sense. Small businesses were either overpaying for something simple, or spending their nights and weekends fighting with Wix.
So we built something different. One price. Real infrastructure. Actual service. No games.
Here's what that means: We use CDN-backed hosting that actually performs. We optimize every site for speed. We handle updates as part of the service, not as billable hours. And we charge one predictable monthly fee for all of it.
What YouGrow Includes at $79/Month
Here's exactly what you get—no hidden fees, no upsells, no hourly charges:
- Professional website live in days, not months—built on CDN-backed infrastructure that actually performs
- Built accessible from day one—welcoming every customer, regardless of ability
- CDN-backed hosting with global edge servers—your site loads instantly from anywhere, handles traffic spikes, includes automatic optimization
- Security monitoring and daily backups—we watch for issues and keep your data safe
- SSL certificate—included (that padlock is standard)
- All reasonable updates included—text changes, new photos, menu updates. Just email or call. No hourly charges.
- Annual health checks—we proactively review your site's performance, accessibility, and SEO
- Everfresh Guarantee—a free design refresh every 3 years so your site never looks dated
- Local support—we're in Arroyo Grande, not a call center
Month-to-month. Cancel anytime with 30 days notice. No setup fee for founding members.
Let's be clear about what this means: You're getting professional-grade infrastructure (CDN-backed hosting that would cost $20-40/month alone if you bought it yourself), plus ongoing optimization, updates, and support—all for $79/month total.
Compare that to agencies charging $150/month just for hosting, then billing you $100/hour for updates. Or DIY platforms that nickel-and-dime you for every feature. We include everything.
Know exactly what you're paying for. Get your website, see full pricing details, or call 805-439-6288.