Guides / website-maintenance

How Much Does Website Maintenance Cost in 2026?

By Ryan Goering, CEO, BaaDigi · Last updated October 2026 · 25 sources checked

Website maintenance cost for a small business starts at $39 a month on paid published plans, and the biggest thing that moves the price is how much human time for changes is included. WordPress care plans start at $39 a month (GoWP Pro, WPCare Basic)[1][2], a mainstream entry plan is $89–$99 (WP Buffs, Fixmysite, WebCare Studios)[3][4][5], and online-store support, faster response or bundled hosting push it to $199–$799[3][5][4]. Agencies charge more: WebFX’s plans run from $350 to $10,000 a month[6]. Over a year, a $99 plan is $1,188. If you hire by the hour instead, the median wage for an employed US web developer was $44.54 an hour in May 2025; that is what employees are paid, not what a freelancer bills[7]. The warning: the cheapest tier often includes no human edits at all, so every small change becomes extra paid time or a plan upgrade[2][1][3].

BaaDigi sells website maintenance and management, so we compete with companies named on this page. Every outside figure below is from the company’s own pages or a public source, so you can check it.

What does website maintenance cost per month?

Website maintenance means keeping a site running after it is built: updating the software it runs on, taking backups, watching for hacks and downtime, and making small changes like new hours or photos. Most of the companies below look after WordPress sites. WordPress sites rely on add-ons called plugins that each need updating.

These are the published prices on each company’s own pricing page, checked October 1, 2026. "Cheapest plan" and "top plan" are the lowest and highest tiers the company lists. The last column is our own arithmetic: the cheapest paid plan multiplied out over 12 months, plus any setup fee the company states.

Published website maintenance prices, checked October 1, 2026. Monthly-billed unless the billing column says otherwise
CompanyCheapest planTop planBillingCheapest paid plan x 12 (our arithmetic)
WP Buffs (WordPress care)Maintain, $89/mo[3]Custom, $359/mo[3]Prepaid monthly or yearly; yearly is "2 months free," but the yearly price is not shown[8][9]$1,068
GoWP (WordPress care)Free, $0; Pro, $39/site/mo[1]Business, $99/site/mo[1]Month to month, per site; no discounts[1]$468 (Pro)
WPCare (WordPress care)Basic, $39/mo[2]Enterprise, $159/mo[2]Month to month[2]$468
WP SitePlan (WordPress care)Essentials, $59/mo shown next to a struck-through $79[10]Enterprise, $229/mo shown next to a struck-through $279[10]Per site, per month; the page does not say which price is regular or when the lower one ends[10]$708 at $59, or $948 at $79
Fixmysite (WordPress care)Maintenance, $99/mo[4]Performance + Hosting, $499/mo[4]Month to month. Its page markup lists $99 as the monthly price and $89 as the yearly-billing price (the "from $89" headline)[4]$1,188 billed monthly, or $1,068 billed yearly
WebCare Studios (WordPress care)Care, $99/mo[5]Scale, $799/mo[5]Billed monthly; an annual option is labeled "2 months free," price not captured[5]$1,188
Pronto Marketing (agency)Technical Support, $99/mo billed monthly, or $89/mo billed yearly[11]Dedicated Support, $799/mo billed monthly, or $719/mo billed yearly[11]Monthly or yearly; the page has a "Paid Monthly / Paid Yearly" toggle, and its markup tags the $99/$799 set as monthly and the $89/$719 set as yearly[11]$1,188 billed monthly, or $1,068 billed yearly
SiteCare (WordPress care)Gold, $435/mo[12]Diamond, $2,190/mo[12]Monthly, or yearly prepay: $4,680 (Gold, about 10.8 months of $435) and $23,880 (Diamond) a year[12]$5,220 monthly, or $4,680 prepaid
WebFX (agency)WordPress security plan, $350/mo[6]Platinum, $10,000/mo[6]Monthly; contract length not stated[6]$4,200
Valet (WordPress agency)Featured plan: Professional, $2,000/mo; the only plan price we found[13]Other tiers not found[13]Not stated$24,000
Eversite (website subscription)Bronze, $199/mo[14]Gold, $599/mo[14]Monthly, plus a setup fee its own pages state two ways: $2,500 or $399[14][15]$4,888 with a $2,500 setup, or $2,787 with $399
B12 (AI website builder with expert plans)Free, $0; Website, $24/mo billed monthly[16]. A $20/mo yearly price appears only in the page's structured data, not its visible text[16]Website + Client Engagement, $78/mo (visible plan text). B12 also lists expert-built Professional and Advanced plans, but we could not read their prices in visible text[16]Monthly or yearly toggle on the page[16]$288 at $24 monthly
HibuNot published; every plan is custom-quoted[17]Not published[17]Contract terms typically 6 to 12 months, per its page[17]Not published
GoDaddy Website CarePrice not shown on its web design page[18]Not shown[18]Website Care is described as an optional subscription; price and billing not shown. Separately, GoDaddy's web design build is a one-time fee plus an annual hosting fee[18]Not published
BaaDigi (our own offer)AI Website Management, $97/mo plus $300 one-time setup[19]Foundation Engine, $297/mo plus $700 setup[20]Month to month, no contract[19]$1,464 including setup

Compare monthly-billed to monthly-billed. SiteCare’s $4,680 is a yearly-prepay price; the same plan is $435 a month if you pay monthly[12]. Fixmysite’s $89 and Pronto’s $89 are yearly-billing prices, against $99 monthly[4][11]. WP SitePlan’s lower prices sit next to struck-through higher ones with no end date, so budget at the higher figure until they confirm it in writing[10].

One more mismatch to know about, plus two that resolve. Fixmysite’s "from $89/month" headline is its yearly-billing price; its monthly price is $99[4]. WebFX’s services page says "Starting at $300 per month," but its plan table starts at $350[6]. Ask for the price in writing before you sign.

What does it cost if you hire by the hour or do it yourself?

We found no official figure for what a freelance web developer charges. The closest public number is the wage employers pay web developers, from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025, for Web Developers (occupation code 15-1254), all industries, nationwide:

  • Median hourly wage: $44.54 (BLS series OEUN000000000000015125408)[7].
  • Mean (average) hourly wage: $47.49 (series OEUN000000000000015125403)[21].
  • Median annual wage: $92,650 (series OEUN000000000000015125413)[22].

These are wages paid to employees, not freelance or agency billing rates. A freelancer or agency sets its own hourly rate, and this survey does not measure it. Use the wage only as a floor for what skilled time is worth.

Published hourly rates from maintenance companies are scarce. The ones in our research:

  • WebFX bills work beyond its security plans at $150 an hour, and $250 an hour if you want it done within one business day[6].
  • The same WebFX page also states that maintenance services in general cost "$35 to $5000 per month, or $18 to $25 per hour"[6]. That general range is far below WebFX’s own $150 rate, and the page does not say where it comes from.
  • SiteCare sells work outside its plans as Flex Packs, which are 5-hour bundles of expert time; the pack price was not in our research[12].

Doing it yourself costs your time rather than a fee, plus whatever your hosting and any paid plugins cost. Hosting prices are covered in our guide to website hosting cost. One free option that still watches the basics: GoWP’s Free plan, at $0 a site, includes uptime, SSL and WordPress version monitoring, one manual update a month and 5 AI edits a month[1].

What do third-party cost guides say?

Several companies publish general "how much does website maintenance cost" estimates. Each is that publisher’s own estimate, not a survey of real invoices, and each publisher sells hosting or maintenance.

Published website maintenance price ranges, as stated by each publisher (checked October 1, 2026)
PublisherTheir estimatePage date
WebFX (sells maintenance)$3,600–$50,000 a year overall; $35–$100 a month for a small business website; $125–$500 a month for a small-to-midsize business website[23]Last updated December 19, 2025[23]
Pantheon (sells WordPress hosting)Roughly $30 to $5,000+ a month; budget plans $30–$100, mid-tier $100–$300, premium $300–$1,000+[24]No date shown
DreamHost (sells hosting)Plans typically from around $50 to over $1,000 a month[25]Last updated August 26, 2026[25]

The published plans in the first table mostly fall inside these ranges. Pantheon describes budget plans as typically having no developer time included, and the $100–$300 tier as where "limited reactive support" comes in[24], and most plan pages above show a similar step. Our reading, not Pantheon’s: it is the paid time for changes that moves a plan up from the cheapest band.

What makes the price go up?

  • Time for changes. This is the biggest step. WP Buffs goes from $89 to $179 a month when unlimited edits are added[3]. GoWP goes from $39 to $99 a site when 5 human edits a month are added, each about 30 minutes[1]. WPCare goes from $39 with no developer edits to $89 with about 30 minutes, and $159 with about 60 minutes[2].
  • An online store or member logins. WP Buffs requires its $239 Perform plan for WooCommerce stores, membership, multi-language and on-site payment sites[3]. WebCare Studios’ store plan is $349[5]. WebFX charges $550 instead of $350 for sites over 500 pages or running WooCommerce[6].
  • More than one website. Prices are per site: WP Buffs says each website needs its own plan[3], and GoWP and WP SitePlan price per site[1][10].
  • Faster response. WebCare Studios promises a 12-hour response on weekdays at $99, 8 hours seven days a week at $199, 4 hours around the clock at $349, and 1 hour at $799[5]. Fixmysite’s average response is 8 hours on its $99 and $159 plans and 4 hours on its $239 plan[4]. SiteCare’s one-hour response promise is on its $2,190 Diamond plan[12].
  • Hosting bundled in. Hosting is the rented server space your website lives on. Fixmysite’s plans rise sharply with hosting: $99 becomes $199, $159 becomes $299, and $239 becomes $499[4]. WP SitePlan sells hosting as an add-on from $80 a month[10]. SiteCare, Pronto’s entry plan and Eversite include hosting in the price[12][11][15]. WP Buffs plans do not include hosting; its Custom plan covers sites on Pantheon, AWS or VPS hosts[3][9]. WebCare Studios lists no hosting in its plans; its Commerce plan includes hosting recommendations and free migration to Kinsta, WP Engine or Cloudways[5].
  • A site built for you. Website subscriptions that design the site charge setup on top: Eversite lists a setup fee on every tier[14], and B12 charges a setup fee, amount not stated, to move up to its expert-built plans[16].

What costs extra that the monthly price hides?

Setup and onboarding fees:

  • Eversite: its pricing page lists "$2500 setup" under each plan, while its FAQ says a $399 setup fee applies to any plan[14][15]. The two pages conflict, and we could not tell which is current. Its FAQ also mentions terminating "the contract after two years," while its pricing page says "Simple monthly agreement"[15][14]. Ask before signing.
  • B12: customers on lower plans pay a setup fee to switch to Professional or Advanced; the amount is not stated[16].
  • WP Buffs, GoWP, WebCare Studios and Pronto show no setup fee on the pages we read[3][1][5][11]. Pronto offers free migrations[11]. No setup fee shown is not the same as a written promise of none.
  • BaaDigi (our own offer): $300 one-time setup on the $97 plan[19].

Limits on how much work a plan covers:

  • GoWP: a human edit is a task of about 30 minutes or less, and extra AI edits are $30 per 10[1].
  • WP SitePlan: each help desk task is limited to about 30 minutes, with no cap on how many you send on its Enterprise plan[10].
  • Fixmysite: repairs are small 30-minute fixes[4].
  • WebCare Studios: Care Plus includes 30 minutes of small requests a month, rolling forward; the $99 Care plan lists none[5].
  • SiteCare: Gold includes 5 content edits; bigger work is bought separately in 5-hour Flex Packs[12].
  • WP Buffs: unlimited edits cover changes like page content, banners and plugin settings, but not custom development, graphic design or writing content[3].
  • WebFX: its security plans include no support hours; extra hours are $150 each[6]. Customers who go over their ticket allowance more than three times a year are moved up to the next tier automatically[6].
  • Eversite: updates are unlimited under a fair use policy[15].

Contracts and refunds:

  • Month to month or no long-term contract: GoWP, WPCare, SiteCare, Fixmysite, WebCare Studios and Pronto, per their own pages[1][2][12][4][5][11]. SiteCare, Fixmysite, WebCare Studios and Pronto also state a 30-day money-back guarantee[12][4][5][11].
  • WP Buffs: plans are prepaid, renew automatically, can be cancelled any time, and its terms say payments are not refundable[8].
  • Hibu: its page says contract terms typically range from 6 to 12 months[17]. WebFX: contract length is not stated, and all plans are subject to its approval[6]. WP SitePlan and Valet: contract terms not stated on the pages we read[10][13].
  • Add-ons: WP SitePlan sells accessibility from $75 a month and a design subscription from $900 a month[10].

Before you sign, ask three things in writing: is there a setup fee, how many minutes of changes are included each month, and what happens to your backups and files if you leave. WPCare and GoWP state that your backups are yours on exit[2][1]; most pages we read do not say.

Is there a way to stop paying for small changes?

Look at where the price steps are. Software updates, backups and monitoring sit in the cheap tiers; the jump comes when a person is paid to make changes, such as new hours, a new photo or a new service[3][1][2]. So most of what a small business pays for above the entry tier is labor for small edits.

Some providers now let you make those edits by typing what you want in plain English to an AI tool:

  • GoWP’s AI Editor makes website changes "by asking," but AI edits are counted: 5 a month on Free, 15 on Pro, 50 on Business, and $30 for each extra 10[1].
  • B12 lets you change your site by telling its AI Agent what to change; edits use AI credits, 100 a month on its $24 plan[16].
  • BaaDigi (our own offer) connects your own ChatGPT or Claude subscription to your website, for $97 a month plus $300 setup[19]. You pay for your AI subscription yourself[19].

How the BaaDigi version works, and its limits. Your words, photos, services and FAQs are kept separate from the website’s code, and your AI may change only that content[19]. Every change goes to a preview first, automated checks run, you approve it, and then it publishes; every change is saved and can be rolled back[19]. We rebuild your current site on Next.js, up to 15 standard pages, and host it on Vercel with Cloudflare in front[19]. Online stores, membership sites, web apps, portals, complex booking or calculators and large content moves are quoted separately[19]. We do not make content changes for you on the $97 plan; the $147 plan adds one update request a month of up to 30 minutes, and the $297 plan has changes done for you[20]. You own the domain, code, content and lead data, and the code is handed over if you leave[19].

This only saves money if you are willing to type your own changes. If you would rather never touch the site, a plan with human edits included is the better fit.

Which option fits you?

  • Do it yourself. Likely a fit if your site rarely changes, you or someone on staff is comfortable logging in to run updates and check backups, and the budget is tight. GoWP’s Free plan at $0 is one way to keep an eye on uptime and updates while you do the rest[1].
  • Hire a maintenance company. Likely a fit if your site runs on WordPress, you want someone else responsible for updates, backups and security, and you will send a few changes a month. Plans that include some human edits start at $89 a month (WPCare), with others at $179 (WP Buffs) and $199 (WebCare Studios); expect more for an online store or faster response[2][3][5]. Check per-site pricing if you run more than one site.
  • Move to a managed setup you edit with AI. Likely a fit if most of what you pay for today is small text and photo changes, you already use ChatGPT or Claude, and you want hosting, security and support handled without paying for every edit. Check what the AI may change, whether changes are previewed before going live, and who owns the site if you leave[1][16][19].
  • Website subscription with the site built for you. Likely a fit if you want no logins at all and someone else making every change. Expect a setup fee and confirm the exact amount in writing[14][15].

Frequently asked questions

How much does website maintenance cost per month?
Paid plans published and checked in October 2026 start at $39 a month for basic WordPress care and run about $89–$99 for a typical entry plan from companies like WP Buffs, Fixmysite and WebCare Studios. Plans with more human edits, online-store support, faster response or hosting included run $159–$799 a month. Agencies charge more; WebFX lists plans from $350 to $10,000 a month.
How much is website maintenance per year?
Multiply the monthly price by 12 and add any setup fee. A $99-a-month plan is $1,188 a year. Some companies discount yearly prepayment; SiteCare’s Gold plan is $435 a month billed monthly or $4,680 prepaid for the year (about 10.8 months of $435). Third-party guides give wide ranges, such as WebFX’s estimate of $3,600–$50,000 a year.
What is the hourly rate for website maintenance?
Few companies publish one. WebFX bills extra work at $150 an hour, or $250 an hour for one-business-day turnaround. For context, the US median wage for employed web developers was $44.54 an hour in May 2025, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics; that is an employee wage, not a freelance billing rate.
Why do website maintenance plans charge setup fees?
Setup fees mostly appear on plans where the company builds or rebuilds the site. Eversite lists a setup fee on every plan, though its pricing page and FAQ state different amounts ($2,500 and $399). Many WordPress care companies, including WP Buffs, GoWP and WebCare Studios, show no setup fee on their pricing pages.
Can I avoid paying for small website changes?
Yes, if you are willing to make them yourself. Some providers let you edit your site by typing instructions to an AI tool: GoWP and B12 include a monthly allowance of AI edits, and BaaDigi connects your own ChatGPT or Claude subscription to your site for $97 a month plus $300 setup. If you never want to touch the site, pick a plan with human edits included.

Related reading

Sources

Every source was opened and read on the date shown. Vendor prices change; check the vendor's page before buying. How we research: methodology.

  1. GoWP: pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  2. WPCare: WordPress maintenance plans — checked 2026-10-01
  3. WP Buffs: WordPress care plans and pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  4. Fixmysite: WordPress care plans — checked 2026-10-01
  5. WebCare Studios: pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  6. WebFX: website maintenance services and plan pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  7. BLS OEWS May 2025, Web Developers (15-1254): median hourly wage, series OEUN000000000000015125408 — checked 2026-10-01
  8. WP Buffs: terms of service — checked 2026-10-01
  9. WP Buffs: FAQ — checked 2026-10-01
  10. WP SitePlan: pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  11. Pronto Marketing: pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  12. SiteCare: pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  13. Valet: homepage (featured care plan) — checked 2026-10-01
  14. Eversite: pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  15. Eversite: FAQs — checked 2026-10-01
  16. B12: pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  17. Hibu: digital marketing pricing — checked 2026-10-01
  18. GoDaddy: website design services — checked 2026-10-01
  19. BaaDigi: AI Website Management pricing and scope — checked 2026-10-01
  20. BaaDigi: website maintenance services and plans — checked 2026-10-01
  21. BLS OEWS May 2025, Web Developers (15-1254): mean hourly wage, series OEUN000000000000015125403 — checked 2026-10-01
  22. BLS OEWS May 2025, Web Developers (15-1254): median annual wage, series OEUN000000000000015125413 — checked 2026-10-01
  23. WebFX: how much does website maintenance cost? (last updated December 19, 2025) — checked 2026-10-01
  24. Pantheon Learning Center: WordPress maintenance plans — checked 2026-10-01
  25. DreamHost blog: WordPress maintenance plans (last updated August 26, 2026) — checked 2026-10-01