How much does a website cost in Quebec?
The real answer depends less on the sticker price than on what you’ll pay over five years. Here’s how to work it out, without jargon.
· Montreal Digital
The short answer
A small-business website in Quebec can cost almost nothing up front or several thousand dollars. What makes the difference: who builds it, how many pages you need, whether it has to be in French and English, and above all whether you pay once or every month.
At Montreal Digital, prices are fixed: $1,200 for an Express site with up to 3 pages, and $2,500 for a Growth site with local SEO and a Google Business Profile. No monthly agency fee.
See full pricing →Four ways to get a website
- Do it yourself on a site-builder platform: cheap to start, but a monthly subscription for as long as the site exists, plus your own time.
- A freelancer: often affordable, but check who owns the domain, hosting and accounts at the end.
- An agency on a monthly plan: they handle everything, but you’re renting your site. Stop paying and it often disappears.
- A fixed price, and you own the site: you pay for the build once, then only for your domain and any changes you ask for.
What drives the price up
- The number of pages and services to present
- Two languages: in Quebec, French must be at least as prominent as English
- Features: online booking, a project gallery, a quote form
- Copy: if you don’t have it, someone has to write it
- Local SEO and a Google Business Profile, if you want to be found in your area
- An online store with checkout, which is a much bigger project
Do the math over five years
A subscription looks small because it’s monthly. Multiply it by 60 months. A $30-a-month plan is $1,800 over five years. At $100 a month, it’s $6,000. And after five years, you still own nothing.
With a fixed-price site, the math looks more like this: the starting price, plus your domain (often $15 to $30 a year), plus any changes you choose to have done. If nothing needs changing, you pay nothing.
Costs to plan for, whoever builds the site
- Your domain name, renewed every year
- Email at your own domain, if you want it (usually a separate subscription)
- Third-party tools you choose: booking, newsletters and so on
- Taxes
Five questions to ask before you sign
- Will the domain be registered in my name?
- If I stop working with you, do I keep the site and its files?
- What’s included, and what will be billed separately?
- What does a change cost after launch?
- Can I update my hours, photos or prices myself?
Frequently asked questions
Is a $500 website a good deal?
It can be, but check what comes with it: who owns the domain, whether the site is in French and English, whether it’s ready for Google and what changes cost. A low price with a mandatory subscription often ends up costing more.
Do I need to pay for monthly maintenance?
Not necessarily. A simple, well-built site doesn’t need work every month. With us, you only pay for the changes you ask for, at $95 an hour on an estimate.
How long does it take to build a website?
For an Express site, a first version in 2 to 3 business days once we have your copy and photos, and launch usually within 1 to 2 weeks depending on your feedback.