How much does a website cost, really
You know the situation: you type "website price" into Google, and among the first ten results there is a cheap template offer, an expensive agency package, and a forum post where someone writes that they "made it for free on Wix". They are all telling the truth, they are just talking about three completely different things. If you are looking for someone to build your company's website right now, this spread is not reassuring, it is confusing: you can't tell what a given quote is expensive or cheap compared to.
This article explains what a website's price really depends on, and what it looks like in practice on the killes.dev price list, item by item, without rounding or marketing talk.
Why the price varies so much
Four things move the final figure the most. The number of pages and the structure: a one-page introduction is a different job from a ten-page company site with content for each page. Custom features: between a static "here we are, this is what we do" site and a site that works with an online booking or payment system, the technical gap is as big as between a leaflet and a small piece of software. Content preparation: if the texts, images and logo are ready, the work is faster and cheaper than when they have to be put together as you go. And the deadline: an urgent job within a week always costs more than one at a calm pace.
That is why there is no single right answer to "how much does a website cost". There is, however, a precise answer to how much it costs in your situation, once you know which category you fall into.
The three categories at killes.dev
Minor fix, between HUF 49,000 and 99,000. This is not a new website but repairing an existing one: an expired security certificate that makes the browser show a red warning, a wrong redirect, or updating an outdated system that has become a security risk. This is enough when the site is basically good and only something has broken or gone out of date. The exact price within the band depends on how much time it takes to pin down and fix the fault.
Introduction website, between HUF 149,000 and 249,000, one-off fee. This is the most common need: responsive, mobile-friendly design, basic SEO setup, and a working way to contact you. At the bottom of the band is a clean site with a few sections and ready content. At the top is a multi-page site where the text and structure have to be developed together, or where several rounds of discussion are needed for the final design.
Custom development, from HUF 350,000. You need this when the website has to actually work, not only appear: online ordering or booking, online payment integration, or anything that needs custom logic beyond a template. There is no upper limit here, because the range of features is open, so it always gets its exact price after we have talked.
Maintenance: HUF 9,000/month
Every quote includes maintenance for the first year after handover by default, with a monthly allowance of 0.5 hours for small changes and updates: fixing a typo, uploading a new image, a small text change. If something breaks, you call me, not a helpdesk line. If you don't want this service, it simply comes out of the quote, and the price drops accordingly.
To place this against the market: maintenance of a website by a Hungarian freelancer typically starts at between 5 and 15 thousand forints a month, and by an agency typically between 20 and 40 thousand a month. Plain hosting, with no content, typically runs between 700 and 4000 forints a month. So HUF 9,000/month sits in the lower half of the freelancer band, but above plain hosting, because it is not only a server running in the background: someone actually looks at the site when needed.
When Wix or Webnode is better
It is worth thinking about this honestly, because not everyone needs a fixed-price developer. If the budget is very tight, or you are still testing whether your idea works at all, a free or a few-thousand-forints-a-month builder site (Wix, Webnode) is a reasonable choice. You start quickly, you risk nothing up front, and if the idea doesn't work out, you just shut it down.
A fixed-price developer pays off when the business is already on its feet and the website is not an experiment but a tool: your own domain, your own email address on the domain, basic SEO, and no monthly builder subscription that you pay for years. In the longer run a one-off fee between HUF 149,000 and 249,000 is often cheaper than a monthly builder fee paid for years, and there is someone to call when something breaks, so you don't have to hunt for a general helpdesk.
What makes the price fixed
The process is always the same: a discussion by email or in person, even over a coffee, anywhere in Budapest. Then a written quote arrives, at a fixed price, not an hourly estimate. If that suits you, we start with a contract and a 50% deposit, and the handover ends with a short walkthrough, so that you can manage your own site yourself.
If you need a website or a fix now, and you want to know which category your situation falls into, get in touch via killes.dev/en. If you only need a fault put right, that is typically the Minor fix category, between HUF 49,000 and 99,000. If you need a new introduction website, it is a one-off fee between HUF 149,000 and 249,000.