What you gain
- A lower upfront price, often 1,500 to 3,000 CHF for a basic site.
- A site that works, sometimes very well.
The full guide
How much does a website cost in Switzerland in 2026.
You get a quote for 2,500 CHF on one side, 18,000 CHF on the other. Same brief. Here's why.
- Fixed price in CHF
- Reply within 24h
- Source code is yours
- 3 months maintenance included
Real rates
Price ranges from Swiss developers and small studios
| Site type | Price range | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Simple brochure site | Between CHF 2,500 and 5,000 | Freelancers, craftspeople, small shops |
| Advanced brochure site | Between CHF 5,000 and 12,000 | SMBs with specific needs (multilingual, blog, forms) |
| E-commerce | Between CHF 8,000 and 25,000 | Online stores, product catalogs, payments |
| Custom platform | From CHF 15,000 | Internal tools, dashboards, client portals |
Read the full detail
Here are the rates charged by developers and small studios based in Switzerland. No 200-person international agencies. No offshore template factories.
The gap between a simple brochure site and a custom platform can be six times wide. That's normal: they're not the same projects.
The range depends much less on the number of pages than on the complexity behind them. A 30-page informational site can cost less than a 5-page site with integrated booking.
The real drivers
What actually changes the price
Design
Theme adapted or designed for you. Count 1,000 to 3,000 CHF more for a custom design.
Content
If I write and shoot, add 1,500 to 4,000 CHF. The line item that blows up most quotes.
Features
Booking, payments, accounts, accounting integrations. Each connection adds time and maintenance.
Multilingual
Bilingual: +30 to +50%. Three languages: +60 to +80%. Human translation costs 200 to 400 CHF per page.
Urgency
Three months breathes. Three weeks forces a reshuffle. Count +20 to +40% if you're rushed.
Who codes
Geneva agency: 1,500 to 2,500 CHF/day. Freelance: 600 to 1,200 CHF/day. Over 15 days, that's tens of thousands.
Technical quality
Speed, mobile-first, accessibility. Count 500 to 2,000 CHF for careful work, invisible until you check your stats.
Read the full detail
Many people think the price depends on the number of pages. It doesn't. Here are the seven real factors that change an invoice.
Design first. A WordPress theme bought for 60 CHF and adapted is quick. A design drawn for your brand takes days. Count 1,000 to 3,000 CHF more for a custom design. You see it the moment you land on the site.
Content next. If you provide the text and photos, it's faster. If I have to write and shoot, add 1,500 to 4,000 CHF. That's often where quotes blow up. Many companies underestimate the effort of good copy.
Features. A site that shows your services costs much less than one that books appointments, sends automatic emails, sells products, manages accounts or connects to your accounting. Every connection adds development. And maintenance behind it.
Multilingual. A bilingual site doesn't cost double. Count +30 to +50% depending on structure. Three languages, more like +60 to +80%. Translation also costs. Around 200 to 400 CHF per page translated by a human.
Urgency. A project delivered in three months breathes. A project delivered in three weeks forces a full reshuffle. Count +20 to +40% if you're rushed.
Who codes. An agency in Geneva charges 1,500 to 2,500 CHF per day. A freelance developer 600 to 1,200 CHF. Over fifteen days, the gap is tens of thousands of francs.
Technical quality. A site that loads in 4 seconds loses half its visitors. That's not an opinion, it's measurable. Count 500 to 2,000 CHF for solid work. Mobile-first isn't a bonus, it's the baseline.
The real choice
Swiss vs offshore: the actual difference
What you lose
- Language. Brief misunderstood if your provider doesn't speak French.
- Time zone. A simple correction takes 24 hours round trip.
- Swiss market. VAT, FADP, legal notices, local hosting, accessibility.
- Long-term follow-up. If the provider vanishes, nobody knows the code.
- Corrections. Half your savings go into touch-ups.
Read the full detail
You've seen the offers: pro website for 499 CHF from India, Morocco or Eastern Europe. How is that possible?
Hourly cost differs by a factor of 10. A junior Indian developer can cost 8 USD per hour. A senior Swiss developer costs 150 CHF per hour. Mathematically, offshore wins.
I still talk about it because you need to understand what you're actually buying. I've rebuilt three projects where the client asked for a Swiss plumber website. They got a site full of American faucet icons.
I've seen it many times. A client pays 2,000 CHF for an offshore site, then 4,000 CHF to have it redone. Total 6,000 CHF for a mediocre result. They would have paid 5,000 CHF direct with a Swiss developer and gotten better.
There's also a cost no one counts. The time lost explaining the same thing three times.
The classic trap
Hidden costs of a website for an SMB
Domain name
CHF 12 – 50 / yearFor a .ch or .com. Not a big deal, but worth knowing.Hosting
CHF 100 – 600 / yearInfomaniak or Hostpoint, shared Swiss hosting. More for e-commerce.Pro emails
CHF 0 – 7 / user / monthOften included with Infomaniak. 7 CHF per user with Google Workspace.SSL certificate
CHF 0 – 200 / yearThe small padlock. Often free (Let's Encrypt). Check before signing.Plugin licenses
CHF 200 – 800 / yearElementor Pro, SEO plugins, auto translators. Rarely listed.Maintenance
CHF 80 – 150 / monthFor WordPress. A static site drops under 300 CHF per year.Modifications
CHF 80 – 150 / hourOutside a maintenance contract. A new page, a phone number change, etc.
Read the full detail
The build price isn't the total cost of your site. Here's everything that piles up, often without warning.
Over a three-year cycle, a 4,000 CHF site can cumulatively cost 6,000 to 9,000 CHF. That's rarely flagged in a quote.
Always ask for a total annual budget at the first meeting. Not just the build price. That single question separates a good quote from a bad one.
The 3-year math
4,000 CHF on the quote. 9,000 CHF actually paid.
- The build price is only a third of the total cost.
- Recurring fees usually slip under the quote's radar.
- Always ask for the 3-year total budget before signing.
Read the full detail
The quote says 4,000 CHF. The truth says something else. Here's how the invoice piles up.
First year, you add hosting and a domain. Count 200 to 700 CHF more. The site climbs to about 4,700 CHF.
Second year, maintenance kicks in. WordPress updates, security, plugin licenses. Count 1,500 to 2,500 CHF more. Total 6,200 to 7,200 CHF.
Third year, modifications accumulate. A page added, copy fixed, a plugin replaced. Count 1,000 to 2,000 CHF more. Cumulative total between 7,200 and 9,200 CHF.
That's why a 4,000 CHF site doesn't really exist. The question isn't how much the build costs. The question is how much the site costs over three years.
The checklist
How to read a Swiss web quote without getting burned
Itemize deliverables
A good quote lists each deliverable separately: audit, design, build, content, hosting, training, maintenance.
Count real pages
Ask for the precise page list. A 5-page brochure and a 5-page blog aren't the same volume of work.
Check included revisions
A serious quote states the number of review rounds included, usually 2 or 3. Beyond that, hourly billing.
Clarify ownership
Ask who owns the code, content, hosting and domain once the site is delivered.
Read payment terms
Standard split: 30% on signing, 30% mid-way, 40% on delivery. Beware of 100% upfront.
Pin down end-of-mission
Check the warranty, included maintenance, bug response time, and handover conditions.
Read the full detail
Receiving a quote is easy. Reading it isn't. Here's what I look at first when a client forwards me a competitor's quote.
A good quote lists each deliverable separately. Audit, design, build, content, hosting, training, maintenance. If you see « Website build: 8,000 CHF » with no breakdown, ask. What exactly are you paying for?
Watch out for a provider who asks for 100% upfront. Or one who accepts 0% until the end. That's often a sign they'll bill you extras.
Always check who owns the site once delivered. Many small agencies keep hold of hosting, the domain, or even the code. Classic trap.
A real client case
Ahmed Ghattour & Co., full bilingual rebuild
Ahmed Ghattour runs a consulting firm based in Geneva. Eight international professional networks. Before 2025, no website. I built his bilingual site, twenty pages, design drawn for his high-end positioning.
- 20 bilingual pages, English and Arabic
- Custom design, not an adapted template
- Maintenance handled since delivery
Your questions
FAQ: 10 questions about website pricing
01How much does a basic website cost in Switzerland?
Between CHF 2,500 and 5,000 for a simple brochure site. Count 5 to 8 pages, clean design, contact form, mobile version. That's the reasonable entry price for work done in Switzerland.
02Why is a website more expensive in Switzerland than abroad?
The hourly cost of a Swiss developer is 5 to 10 times higher than an Indian or Filipino developer. You pay that hourly cost. Plus knowledge of the local market: FADP, local hosting, legal notices, VAT.
03What's the price of an e-commerce site in Switzerland?
Count between CHF 8,000 and 25,000. The price depends on catalog size, payment methods (TWINT, PostFinance, cards), and integrations (accounting, shipping, stock).
04Should I go with WordPress or a custom-built site?
WordPress suits you if you edit content often and accept regular maintenance. A custom-coded site (Next.js, Astro) can cost less long-term. It barely needs upkeep.
05How long does it take to build a website?
Count 4 to 8 weeks for a brochure site. 8 to 16 weeks for a site with specific features. 12 to 24 weeks for e-commerce or a custom platform.
06Does the website price include hosting?
Not always. Ask explicitly what's included for the first year: domain, hosting, SSL certificate, pro emails, maintenance. Otherwise you can get 800 CHF of extra invoices in the first month.
07How much does website maintenance cost per year?
Count CHF 1,000 to 1,800 per year for a WordPress site with maintenance handed off. For a well-built static site, the annual cost can drop under 300 CHF (domain and hosting only).
08Can I build a site myself with Wix or Squarespace?
Yes, and for some needs it's perfectly fine. Count CHF 200 to 500 per year in subscription. The limit: your site looks like thousands of others. You're also locked into the platform.
09What criteria for choosing a web developer in Switzerland?
Ask to see delivered projects (not just mockups). Check technical quality with PageSpeed Insights. Ask what happens if the provider vanishes: can you recover the code? And require a detailed quote, not a vague flat rate.
10How do I get a precise quote for a website?
Prepare a written brief: site goal, target audience, number of pages, desired features, languages, examples of sites you like. The clearer your brief, the fairer the quote.
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