Who this is for

Canadian founders planning a website build or rebuild. Service businesses, DTC brands, B2B, professional services, healthcare practices, agencies. Anyone tired of $1,500-pitch-to-$60k-actual-cost surprises.

The five realistic cost tiers (Canada, 2026)

What actually drives the cost

• Page count: 5 vs 50 pages is a 3–5x cost multiplier.

• Strategy and discovery: $0 vs $15,000. Senior strategists earn it back through better conversion.

• Custom development: every custom feature adds 8–40 hours at $100–$200/hr.

• Original photography and motion: $3,000–$25,000 depending on day count.

• Copywriting: $1,500–$15,000 for a real writer (almost always priced separately).

• Integrations: each one (CRM, ERP, payment) is 4–20 hours of dev work.

The four hidden costs nobody puts in the proposal

• Copywriting (most agencies assume you'll write it; you won't).

• Original photography or video.

• Migration of existing content, redirects, and SEO equity.

• The first 90 days post-launch (15–25% of build cost as retainer).

Talkerstein recommendation

If you have a quote that's more than 40% off this calculator's range — in either direction — something is wrong. Either you're being undersold (and the project will overrun), or you're being upsold (and scope is bloated). Forward the quote to us, we'll tell you which.

Related resources

• Website Redesign Checklist — before you rebuild

• Website Platform Decision Tree — Framer, Webflow, Shopify, custom?

• Cheap Website Risk Calculator — what $1,500 actually costs

• Talkerstein Websites service

FAQ

Why is the range so wide?

Because "a website" can mean an 8-page Framer build or a 200-page custom multi-region platform. The actual question is what business job the website needs to do.

Are Canadian prices the same as US?

Slightly lower at the boutique end (CAD pricing), comparable at the mid-market and enterprise tiers (most agencies bill in USD-equivalent rates regardless of currency).

What if I want a fixed quote?

Fixed quotes work for scoped projects. Avoid fixed quotes on anything custom — they either pad the price for scope-creep insurance or the agency loses money and ships less than promised. Time-and-materials with a cap is usually fairer.

Sanity-check your website quote

Forward the proposal. We'll tell you in 15 minutes whether the price, scope, and platform actually match what your business needs. Book →