Guide · prices checked 4 October 2026

How much does a website cost in South Africa?

It depends on who does the work. You can build one yourself for a few hundred rand a month and your own time, pay someone to build it for a few thousand to tens of thousands of rand, or have it built for you with everything included. Here is each way, with real prices.

The short answer

Ways to get a website and what each costs
How	What it costs	Who does the work
Build it yourself on Wix	From $17 a month, billed yearly in US dollars	You
Build it yourself on WordPress.com	From $4 a month in year one, billed yearly in US dollars	You
Set up WordPress with a South African provider	About R84 to R129 a month to keep it online, plus about R109 a year for a .co.za	You, or someone you pay
Pay a freelancer or an agency	Once-off, from a few thousand rand (freelancer) to tens of thousands (agency), plus running costs	They build it; changes are usually extra
Appetite Host	R5 000 once-off with year one included, then from R249 a month	Naya builds it while you chat; changes are included

Build it yourself on Wix

What it costs: From $17 a month, billed yearly in US dollars
Who does the work: You

Build it yourself on WordPress.com

What it costs: From $4 a month in year one, billed yearly in US dollars
Who does the work: You

Set up WordPress with a South African provider

What it costs: About R84 to R129 a month to keep it online, plus about R109 a year for a .co.za
Who does the work: You, or someone you pay

Pay a freelancer or an agency

What it costs: Once-off, from a few thousand rand (freelancer) to tens of thousands (agency), plus running costs
Who does the work: They build it; changes are usually extra

Appetite Host

What it costs: R5 000 once-off with year one included, then from R249 a month
Who does the work: Naya builds it while you chat; changes are included

Doing it yourself

Website builders like Wix and WordPress.com give you the tools; you write the words, choose the pictures and lay it out. Wix plans run from $17 to $159 a month and WordPress.com from $4 a month in the first year, both billed yearly in US dollars, so what you pay in rand moves with the exchange rate. Neither sells .co.za addresses: you buy one elsewhere and connect it.

Or set up WordPress yourself with a South African provider. Keeping it online starts at R84 a month (Afrihost), R99 a month (xneelo), R129 a month (Domains.co.za), and a .co.za costs about R109 to R110 a year to renew. It is the cheapest in rand and the most work: you install it, build it and keep it updated.

Good for: people who enjoy it and have the time. Compare: Appetite Host or Wix, Appetite Host or WordPress.

Paying a freelancer or an agency

A designer builds it for you, usually for a once-off fee, then charges for keeping it online and for changes. Published South African price guides give a sense of it:

Sytehub says a freelancer charges R3 000 to R10 000 for a small-business website, and a small agency R15 000 to R40 000.
SME Rocket says across 56 South African providers’ published prices, a 5-page website averages R6 254 to R6 633 (the guide gives both figures), and monthly website packages average R399.

Good for: a website with something unusual, or a business that wants a designer’s hands on every detail. Ask what is included after launch: changes, keeping it online and renewing your web address are often extra.

Having it built for you, everything included

This is what we do. You tell Naya about your business in a chat and she builds your website while you watch. R5 000 once-off builds it and covers your first year: your .co.za registered in your name, keeping it online, and changes whenever you ask. From year two it is R249 a month on Founder, with no contract. Appetite Technology is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added. The price shown is the full price.

Good for: owners who want a proper website without learning how to make one. See all three plans.

Questions

What is the cheapest way to get a website?

Building it yourself. Wix starts at $17 a month and WordPress.com at $4 a month in its first year (both billed yearly in US dollars). The real cost is your time: you write it, design it and keep it up to date.

Do I need a .co.za address?

You don’t have to have one, but a .co.za in your business’s name tells South African customers you are local and established, and it stays yours whoever builds your website. Renewing one costs about R109 to R110 a year with South African providers.

What is “hosting”?

It is what the industry calls keeping your website online: the computer it lives on, and keeping it secure. With South African providers it starts at about R84 to R129 a month. Some services include it in their price; others charge for it separately.

What keeps costing money after the website is built?

Three things: keeping it online, renewing your web address every year, and changes, from updating a price to adding a page. Ask any provider which of these their price includes.

How long does it take?

Doing it yourself takes as long as you can give it. Freelancers and agencies usually quote in weeks. With Appetite Host, your website is live within 1 working day of payment.

Prices checked on 4 October 2026, as each provider showed them to a visitor in South Africa. They change; check with the provider before you decide.

See what yours would look like

Tell Naya about your business. It’s free to try, and you only pay when you want it live.

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