Website Maintenance Cost in 2026: What Webflow, WordPress, Shopify and Squarespace Sites Really Cost to Keep Running

Key takeaways

• Maintenance is three separate costs. The platform bill, the extras such as a domain and licences, and the work of keeping the site updated and fixed. Most quoted ranges blur them together.
• The platform bill is small and fixed. On yearly billing the entry plans cost $120 to $468 a year across Framer, Squarespace, Webflow, Wix and Shopify, and WordPress.com's Business plan is about $300 a year. Higher tiers cost more.
• Billing monthly costs more. Webflow's Basic plan is $180 a year on yearly billing and $300 on monthly billing, and Premium is $300 against $468.
• The work is where the money goes. Studios publish care plans from about $50 to $900 a month, which is roughly $600 to $10,800 a year, and the seller ranges for a small business site run from $35 to $500 a month.
• You may not need a plan. A site your own team edits on a managed platform may need only the platform bill. A WordPress site needs someone to own updates.
• Do not trust a single range. The pages that quote $5 to $5,000 a month are sellers of hosting or builders, so build your own number from the layers below.

What the top pages say

Seller ranges are a useful warning about how wide this is. They are not a price.

The range from a personal blog to a corporate site is a factor of several hundred, which is why one figure never fits your case.

Layer 1: the platform bill

This is the fixed charge to keep the site online. Prices were read on 16 and 17 October 2026 in US dollars, and each platform's own page is the source.

Webflow's figures come from its help centre, which says that from 13 May 2026 the Basic plan costs $15 a month yearly or $25 monthly, and the Premium plan $25 yearly or $39 monthly. That notice also explains why some comparisons still quote older figures: Webflow merged its CMS and Business site plans into Premium in May. Our guide to Webflow vs WordPress and Squarespace vs Webflow vs Framer show what each plan limits, and our guide to what a Webflow website costs prices the build as well.

Layer 2: the extras

So a WordPress.com Business site with Elementor Essential comes to $360 a year before the domain, and with Divi to $389. These are licences, not labour.

Layer 3: the work

The platform bill keeps the site online. The work keeps it healthy.

On Webflow, Webflow updates the platform. Your work is content, forms, integrations and the occasional fix. Our own maintenance service describes what a plan covers: technical updates and fixes, content adjustments, performance checks, a queue of requests with an average 48 hour delivery, daily communication on Slack and Loom, and weekly updates and monthly reports.

On WordPress, several parts each need updates: the core software, the theme, every plugin and the PHP version on the server. The PHP project lists 8.2 as receiving security fixes only until 31 December 2026, so a site on an older branch is on software that no longer gets patches. Someone has to own that job.

On Shopify, the platform updates itself, and the work is products, content and keeping the app list short, since each app adds a bill and a script.

On Squarespace and Wix, the platform is managed, and the work is content and the odd fix.

On a static site, there is no platform bill beyond hosting, and the work is yours. We moved amariq.com to a hand-coded static site on Cloudflare's free plan, so our running cost is the domain, and we are our own support, which is a trade you should make only if someone on your team can read an error.

Care plans: what studios publish

If you want someone else to do the work, these are the monthly prices on six studios' own pages, read on 17 October 2026. They are a sample, not an average.

Plans differ in what they include, such as how many edit requests, the response time, whether hosting and backups are included and whether a developer is on call, so compare the scope before the price.

What a care plan should include

Ask for these in writing:

1. Updates: the platform or core, plugins or apps, and the languages the server runs.
2. Backups: how often, where they are stored and how quickly you can restore.
3. Security and uptime monitoring, with who is told and how fast.
4. Fixes: broken forms, layouts and links, and how many hours or requests a month are included.
5. Content changes: whether small edits are included or billed.
6. Speed checks: against the Core Web Vitals targets in our guide to the signs a site needs a redesign.
7. Reporting: what you receive each month.
8. Accounts and exit: that the accounts are in your name, as in our guide to hiring a studio.

Do you need a plan?

Our own plan suits sites that change often: it runs monthly, sized to how often you publish and how much design work your requests involve. It is probably not the right fit if you rarely change your site.

How to cut the cost without cutting corners

• Pay yearly where the platform allows it. The difference on Webflow is $120 a year on Basic and $168 on Premium.
• Keep the plugin or app list short. Each is a bill, an update and a risk.
• Put common edits in your team's hands. A good build lets editors change text and images without a developer.
• Batch your requests. Send a list once a week, not a message a day.
• Review the plan once a year. You may need less, or more, than when you signed.

How we approach maintenance

At Amariq, we build sites so your team can run them, and our Webflow maintenance plan is there for the changes you would rather hand off. When we hand over a build, a short walkthrough shows your team what they can edit, and we are open about the platform bill and what it covers. Our Webflow development page describes the builds, and our guide to what a website redesign costs in time helps you plan the project itself.

Frequently asked questions

How much does website maintenance cost per month?

For a small business site, sellers publish roughly $35 to $500 a month, and studios' published care plans run from about $50 to $900. The platform bill alone is $10 to $39 a month on yearly billing for the platforms we checked. Your number depends on how often you change the site.

How much does website maintenance cost per year?

The platform bill is $120 to $468 a year on yearly billing, plus extras such as a domain at about $10 to $12 a year and any licences. A care plan adds roughly $600 to $10,800 a year, based on the studios we read.

Do I need monthly website maintenance?

Not always. A site on a managed platform that your team edits may need only the platform bill. A WordPress site needs someone to own updates, backups and security, either through a plan or a named person.

What does website maintenance include?

At minimum, updates, backups, security and uptime monitoring, fixes and speed checks, with reporting. Ask whether small content edits are included, how many requests you get and how fast they are done.

Is Webflow cheaper to maintain than WordPress?

The platform bill is similar: $180 to $300 a year for Webflow Basic and Premium against $300 for WordPress.com Business, which is before licences. The difference is labour. Webflow updates its own platform, while WordPress needs its core, theme, plugins and PHP kept current.

Can I maintain my website myself?

Yes, if your platform is managed and you are comfortable with content, forms and basic fixes. A WordPress site is harder to keep safe without technical help, and a static site means reading errors yourself.

Does billing monthly cost more than billing yearly?

Usually. Webflow's Basic plan is $300 a year on monthly billing against $180 yearly, and Premium is $468 against $300. Squarespace says annual billing saves up to 36%.

What happens if I do not maintain my website?

Content goes stale, forms and links break unnoticed, and on WordPress the software falls behind. The PHP project, for example, lists 8.2 as receiving security fixes only until 31 December 2026. Neglect rarely costs nothing, and it usually surfaces as a rebuild.