Website Maintenance Costs and Plans for Small Business

Dollar figures in this article are US dollars. Our Australian prices are on the pricing page.

The build is the price everyone asks about. The bill that actually decides whether a website is still working in two years is the one that comes after it: hosting, updates, backups, security and the steady stream of small changes. This article prices each of those from providers' own published price lists, checked in September 2026, so you can see where the money goes before anyone quotes you a plan.

What Maintenance Actually Covers

• Hosting and the domain. The server the site runs on, the domain name, and the security certificate that puts the padlock in the browser.
• Updates. The platform, the theme and every plugin, applied regularly and checked afterwards, because an update can break a site that was working five minutes earlier.
• Security. A firewall, malware scanning and patching. The cost of skipping this is covered in what to do when your website is hacked.
• Backups. Stored off the server and actually tested. Our guide to backups that actually restore explains why the testing matters more than the backing up.
• Monitoring. Something that notices when the site goes down, and a person who acts on it.
• Content changes. New pages, updated prices, staff changes. Plans differ most on this line, and it is the part a business uses most often: in Clutch's 2025 survey of 406 US small business owners, 61% said they update their website at least once a week.

What Each Part Costs

The Domain: About US$11–US$19 a Year

A .com renews at US$11.08 a year at Porkbun and US$18.48 a year at Namecheap, whose first-year price is lower. Always check the renewal price rather than the first-year offer.

Hosting: About US$7–US$35 a Month

Budget WordPress hosting is cheap to start: GoDaddy's entry WordPress plan was listed at US$6.99 a month for the first year, against a crossed-out US$14.99, so check what it renews at before relying on the first-year number. Managed WordPress hosting, where the host handles more of the server-level work, starts at US$28 a month at WP Engine (billed annually, with a first-year discount) and US$30–US$35 a month at Kinsta, depending on whether you pay annually or monthly. Our guide to choosing web hosting explains the difference.

Premium Plugins: About US$70–US$220 a Year

Most WordPress sites can run on free plugins, but the paid versions of backup and security tools are common. UpdraftPlus Premium costs US$70 a year for up to two sites, and Wordfence Premium costs US$149 a year per site. Add up every paid plugin and theme on your site; the licenses renew every year whether anyone remembers them or not.

A Care Plan: About US$39–US$359 a Month

WordPress care plans are sold per site, per month. GoWP's paid plans are US$39 and US$99 a month. WP Buffs publishes four tiers at US$89, US$179, US$239 and US$359 a month. Before comparing, ask two things: is hosting included, and are content changes included? At the prices above, assume neither until the provider says so in writing.

A Developer Retainer: US$500 a Month and Up

If you need regular development rather than upkeep, a retainer is the usual model. In GoodFirms' 2026 survey of more than 300 web development companies across 31 countries, 30% charged US$500–US$1,500 a month for retainers and 28% charged US$1,500–US$3,000. That buys development time, not just maintenance.

Four Ways to Pay for It, Added Up

1. Do it yourself: about US$165–US$320 in year one. Budget hosting at its introductory price, a domain, a backup plugin and optionally a security plugin. The real cost is your time, and the introductory hosting price ends after the first year.
2. Managed hosting, you do the rest: about US$350–US$440 a year. WP Engine or Kinsta plus a domain. The server is looked after; the updates, testing and changes are still yours.
3. Managed hosting plus a care plan: about US$800–US$4,750 a year. Managed hosting at US$28–US$35 a month and a care plan from US$39 to US$359 a month. With an entry-level care plan the two come to roughly US$70–US$125 a month combined.
4. A retainer or subscription: US$6,000 a year and up. Worth it when the site changes constantly. Our comparison of retainers, projects and subscriptions covers which one suits which business.

What a Good Maintenance Plan Includes

Whoever you choose, get clear written answers to these seven questions before you sign:

1. Are updates tested on a staging copy before they reach the live site?
2. Where are backups stored, how many days are kept, and when was a restore last tested?
3. When the site goes down, who is alerted, and how soon do they act?
4. Is hosting included, or is it a separate bill?
5. Are content changes included, and if so, how many?
6. What is the response time for a support request, in writing?
7. If I leave, do I get the files, the database and the domain, with no exit fee?

What Ours Costs

Our hosting and care plans include the hosting and are month-to-month:

• Unmanaged, US$25 a month. One website, a free security certificate, daily off-site backups and uptime monitoring. You handle your own platform updates.
• Managed, US$50 a month. Everything in Unmanaged, plus we handle platform updates, security patching and hardening, a staging environment, performance tuning, and priority support in your timezone.

Content changes are not part of either plan. If your site needs a steady stream of those, MultiTasker One covers the changes, SEO, social media and hosting on one monthly subscription.

What Skipping It Costs

Maintenance is easy to cut because nothing happens the first month you skip it. The bill arrives later and all at once: a plugin that was never updated becomes the way in, a backup that was never tested turns out to be empty, or the site slowly gets slower until it loses the customers it was built to win. If yours already feels sluggish, start with why your website is slow.

Common Questions

How Much Does Website Maintenance Cost per Month?

For a small business WordPress site, from under US$30 a month if you do the work yourself to around US$400 a month with managed hosting and a premium care plan. Entry managed WordPress hosting costs about US$28 to US$35 a month, and published care plans range from US$39 to US$359 a month, so managed hosting plus an entry-level care plan comes to roughly US$70 to US$125 a month.

What Is Included in a Website Maintenance Plan?

Usually updates to the platform, theme and plugins, security monitoring, backups and uptime monitoring. Hosting and content changes are often not included, so ask about both in writing before you compare prices.

How Much Does It Cost to Maintain a Website per Year?

About US$165 to US$320 in the first year doing it yourself on budget hosting, US$350 to US$440 with managed hosting, and roughly US$800 to US$4,750 with managed hosting plus a care plan. A development retainer usually starts around US$6,000 a year.

Can I Maintain My Own Website?

Yes, if you are comfortable applying updates, checking the site afterwards and testing that your backups restore. The saving is real, but so is the time, and the two things to guard against are an update that breaks the site and a backup that turns out not to restore.