How much does a small business website cost in India?

Ask five people what a website for your shop or clinic should cost and you will get five answers. A nephew says he'll do it for free. A local agency quotes ₹40,000. An ad on Instagram promises one for ₹199 a month. All three can be true, because they are selling different things.

This guide lays out the real options in India in 2026, what each one costs over two or three years rather than on day one, and the questions that protect you whichever way you go. Prices are public figures from October 2026. They move, so treat them as a guide to the range, not a quote.

First, what does a small business actually need?

Less than you are usually sold. For a clinic, a coaching centre, a workshop or a neighbourhood shop, a good website answers the questions a customer has before they call:

• What do you do, and what are you known for?
• Where exactly are you, and when are you open?
• Roughly what does it cost? A "from ₹" price is enough.
• What does the place look like? Real photos, not stock.
• How do I reach you right now? A call button and a WhatsApp button.

That can be one well-made page. You don't need a fancy website to start, you don't need a blog, and unless you ship products across the country you don't need an online store. What you do need is for the website to stay correct. A site that still shows last year's timings is worse than none, because the customer who trusted it comes to a closed shutter.

The four ways to get a website, and what each really costs

1. A one-time build by an agency or freelancer

The traditional route. You pay once, they design and build the site, and hand it over. In Delhi, public price lists for a 5 to 10 page business site from a local agency run from about ₹25,000 to ₹1,00,000. Template-based jobs from freelancers are cheaper, often ₹5,000 to ₹15,000.

What the quote usually leaves out is year two. Hosting, the domain renewal, and every change after launch are extra. Maintenance plans in India commonly run ₹2,000 to ₹10,000 a month. Without one, each "please change the phone number" becomes a separate request, a separate bill, and a wait. Many owners stop asking, and the site quietly goes out of date.

Good for: a business that needs something genuinely custom and has someone who will manage the agency.

2. A website builder you run yourself

Builders such as Wix, Hostinger or GoDaddy give you templates and an editor. The advertised prices are low, but they usually assume you pay for several years upfront, and the renewal is higher. Hostinger's builder plans in India, for example, renew at about ₹449 to ₹1,599 a month on its public price list in October 2026.

The bigger cost is your time. You choose the template, write the words, take and upload the photos, connect the domain, and come back every time something changes. Plenty of owners start this on a Sunday and never finish.

Good for: an owner who enjoys this kind of work and has the evenings for it.

3. The "free" website

From a friend, a relative, or bundled with a listing package. Free websites are rarely free for long. The most common problem is not the design. It is that the domain and hosting sit in someone else's account, so when that person gets busy or the package lapses, you cannot change or move anything.

Good for: a start, if you make sure the domain is registered in your name from day one.

4. A monthly plan where someone runs it for you

Instead of buying a website, you pay monthly for a website that is kept current. This is what Karyo is: a slightly paid employee you message on WhatsApp. It builds your website from your Google Maps listing, registers the domain in your name, keeps your Google page and website in sync, and sends you every enquiry. You change things by sending a message, "Sunday closed" or "add these photos", and it shows you the change before anything goes live.

Karyo is one plan at ₹1,499 a month or ₹14,999 a year, plus 18% GST. The yearly plan includes a .in or .com domain; on monthly it is ₹699 one-time. Hosting, SSL, backups and unlimited changes are included. Full details are on the pricing page.

Good for: an owner who wants a correct website and Google page without becoming the person who maintains them.

Side by side, over three years

Comparing day-one prices is misleading. Here is roughly what each route costs over three years, using the public figures above.

Route	Up front	Every year after	Who makes changes
Agency build	₹25,000 to ₹1,00,000	Hosting, domain, upkeep (₹2,000 to ₹10,000 a month)	The agency
Freelancer, template	₹5,000 to ₹15,000	Hosting, domain, each change	The freelancer
Website builder	Often several years prepaid	₹449 to ₹1,599 a month on renewal	You
Karyo	Nothing; ₹3,999 if you want a reviewed launch	₹14,999 a year or ₹1,499 a month, plus GST	Karyo, when you message

No route is right for everyone. If you need a booking system, a customer portal, or a site designed entirely around your brand, a custom build makes sense, and that is what Karyo Studio does. For most small businesses, though, the question is not which website is best on launch day. It is which one will still be correct in eighteen months.

The costs nobody puts in the quote

Domain renewal. A .in or .com domain usually costs anywhere from a few hundred rupees to about ₹1,500 a year, and the first-year offer is often lower than the renewal. If renewal is missed, the domain can lapse and your website and email stop working.

Changes. Prices change, staff change, timings change around every festival. Ask how much a change costs, and how fast it happens.

Your time. On a builder, every hour you spend on the website is an hour away from the counter. Put a number on that before you call it cheap.

GST. Some quotes include 18% GST and some don't. Ask, so you compare like with like.

Getting found. A website alone does not bring walk-ins. Your Google Business Profile does most of that work for local searches, and it needs to say the same things as your website. If your shop is not on Google yet, start with how to add your shop to Google Maps.

The one thing to check before you pay anyone

Whose name is the domain in?

Your domain (yourshop.in) is your name on the internet. It is on your visiting card, your signboard, your WhatsApp profile. Whoever is listed as the registrant controls it. If an agency registers it under their own name or account, they control your address, even though you paid for it. If you fall out, or they shut down, getting it back can take months, and sometimes it doesn't come back.

Ask for three things in writing:

1. The domain is registered with you, or your business, as the owner.
2. You will get the transfer code whenever you ask for it.
3. You can take your content (text and photos) with you if you leave.

Already have a website? You can check who holds the domain at lookup.icann.org. Registrant details are often hidden for privacy. In that case, ask whoever set it up to show you the account at the registrar, and to make sure it is in your name.

At Karyo this is written into the terms: the domain is registered in your name, and if you leave, you get the transfer code on request.

Five questions to ask any website provider

1. What will I pay in year two and year three, all in?
2. How do I request a change, how fast is it done, and what does it cost?
3. Whose name is the domain registered in?
4. Does it include my Google Business Profile, or only the website?
5. What happens to my site, my domain and my content if I stop paying?

A provider who answers all five clearly, in writing, is worth considering at almost any price in the range above. One who avoids the domain question is not worth it at any price.

If you want to see it before you spend anything

With Karyo, you send your Google Maps link on WhatsApp and get a draft of your website, made from your real listing, to look at first. You pay only if you decide to go live. Here is how it works.

Questions owners ask