Freelancer, agency or DIY: what each website route costs

You need a website and have three answers on the table: build it yourself for a few dollars a month, hire a freelancer for a couple of thousand, or sign with an agency whose quote can run to five figures. The trouble is that the quotes do not measure the same thing.

I run Nova Toronto, which sells fixed-price websites, so I am one of the sellers in this comparison and will say where that colours my view. Below: 2026 prices published by Toronto and Ontario firms, the hours DIY takes, what you should own at the end, and four things to get in writing. Every figure links to its source, checked October 2, 2026. Prices are in Canadian dollars and before tax unless noted.

Freelancer, agency or DIY: what each website route costs at a glance — the short version.

Published prices for each route in Toronto and Ontario

Each firm below sells websites, so read every range as one seller's view, not a survey.

• DIY. Squarespace lists Basic at CA$21 a month billed annually or CA$30 month to month. Shopify's Canadian pricing page puts Basic at $37 CAD a month paid yearly or $49 paid monthly.
• Freelancer. The sources disagree. Cressoft puts a five-page site at $800 to $3,000, Growth Boss says $500 to $3,000, Ontario designer George Barakat says $1,000 to $5,000 for a customized template, and Creative Scope says $3,500 to $8,500 for five to eight pages. My reading: the gap is mostly scope, a customized template versus a design drawn for you.
• Agency. Creative Scope puts the same five-to-eight-page site at $10,500 to $21,500 at an agency, and Cressoft puts a five-page site from a large Toronto agency at $10,000 to $25,000. Shift8 Web, itself a Toronto agency, gives typical Toronto ranges of $3,000 to $7,500 for a brochure site of up to five pages and $7,500 to $20,000 for a small business site of 6 to 20 pages.

By the hour, Shift8 quotes $60 to $120 for freelancers and $100 to $185 for senior agency work, and says freelancers typically come in 20 to 40% lower, with less team depth and long-term support in exchange. The federal Job Bank reports a median employee wage of $33.65 an hour for web designers in the Toronto region (2023-2024 data, updated November 19, 2025). A billed hour is not a wage; it also has to cover software, quoting and unpaid time between projects.

The DIY hours no quote shows

The monthly fee is the small part of the DIY bill. The large part is your time. Network Solutions (July 2026) estimates 10 to 20 hours for a site made with a DIY builder. Madra, which sells an AI-assisted build service, says 20 to 40 hours spread over one week to three months: learning the tool, writing copy, adjusting the design, setting up SEO. Both sell website products, so treat these as planning estimates.

If an hour of your time is worth $50 to the business (my assumption; use your own number), 20 to 40 hours is $1,000 to $2,000 of labour on top of CA$252 for a year of Squarespace Basic. That is before sales tax. Hiring is not hands-off either: Madra estimates 5 to 10 hours of your time with a freelancer and 5 to 12 with an agency for the brief, meetings and approvals.

If you go DIY and plan to lean on AI for copy and images, our free AI course for beginners is a sensible place to start.

What you own at the end: domain, files, logins

• Domain. ICANN's registrant FAQ warns that a developer who registers a domain for you may have used their own contact details and be listed as the registrant of record, even though you paid. Fixing it can mean proving payment to the registrar. Growth Boss puts a domain at $15 to $30 a year and says to make sure it is registered in your name, so buy it yourself.
• Copyright. Under section 13 of the Copyright Act, the author of a work is its first owner, an employer owns what staff create on the job unless agreed otherwise, and no assignment is valid unless it is in writing and signed by the owner. LawyerInfo.ca (current to June 17, 2026) spells out the consequence: a contractor keeps ownership unless a written assignment is signed, and moral rights can only be waived. This is general information, not legal advice; have a lawyer look over the contract before you rely on it.
• DIY platforms. You own your words and photos, not the system. Squarespace's export tool produces an .xml file meant for WordPress, and store pages, product blocks, style settings and custom CSS do not come with it. Leaving means rebuilding much of the site.

Ask for four things in writing: the domain registered in your name in your own registrar account; admin logins to hosting, the site and analytics; a signed copyright assignment and moral-rights waiver effective on final payment; and what happens to the site if you stop paying a monthly plan.

Support after launch, and how each route fails

After launch, Shift8 puts maintenance, hosting and updates at $1,400 to $7,000 a year. Growth Boss says $70 to $200 a month for a professionally managed site, covering hosting, security patches, backups and small fixes. On a DIY builder, you are the support desk.

• DIY stalls. Growth Boss's view, offered as an opinion and not a measured figure, is that most DIY sites stop short of finished.
• A freelancer is a single person handling every role from planning to testing, which is how Creative Scope describes the tier, and Growth Boss warns that a cheap one may vanish partway through the job. Pay by milestone and hold every login from day one.
• An agency gives you a team and a process, but it takes longer. Shift8 says 8 to 12 weeks for a standard small business site, and Cressoft says 8 to 16 weeks at a large agency against 2 to 6 for a freelancer.

One tax detail: the Canada Revenue Agency says a small supplier, generally a business that has not gone over the $30,000 threshold in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters, does not have to register for GST/HST. So a very small freelancer may not add HST to the invoice while a larger firm will. Compare quotes before tax, and check with an accountant about your own situation.

Which route fits which business

• DIY if you are testing an idea, your budget is under about $1,000 and you have the 10 to 40 hours.
• Freelancer or small studio if you need three to eight pages within weeks, your budget is roughly $1,000 to $5,000, and you want to talk to the person doing the work.
• Agency if several people must sign off, you need custom integrations or a large catalogue, and you can spend $10,000 or more and wait two to four months.

Where Nova Toronto sits: the small fixed-price route, with prices published up front. A three-page Bronze site is $900, a five-page Silver site with analytics and SEO is $1,800, an online store on Shopify or WooCommerce is $2,000 and a custom build is $5,000, all plus applicable tax. The $900 to $2,000 packages cost more cash than a DIY plan and less than the agency ranges quoted here; the custom build overlaps them. Treat us like any other small provider and hold me to the same checklist.

Who should not hire anyone yet: if you cannot say what you sell, and to whom, in one paragraph, start with a CA$21 plan and a weekend of writing.

The bottom line

The short version: DIY costs the least cash and the most time, an agency costs the most cash and buys you a team, and a freelancer or small studio sits between them. Whichever you choose, ask what year two costs, who holds the domain, and whether copyright is assigned in writing. If a small fixed-price build sounds right, start with our website design page and the published prices. Still not sure? Book a free consultation and we can talk it through. It is fine if the answer turns out to be DIY.

Common questions

Is a freelance web designer cheaper than an agency in Toronto?

Usually. Shift8 Web says freelancers typically come in 20 to 40% lower. Published 2026 ranges for a small site run from $800 to $3,000 (Cressoft) up to $3,500 to $8,500 (Creative Scope) for a freelancer, against $10,000 to $25,000 at a large Toronto agency. The trade-off: a freelancer is one person covering every role.

How long does it take to build a small business website yourself?

Published estimates run from 10 to 20 hours (Network Solutions) to 20 to 40 hours (Madra), spread over one week to three months. Hiring still takes roughly 5 to 12 hours of your time for the brief, meetings and approvals.

Who owns my website and domain when someone else builds it?

Not automatically you. Under section 13 of the Copyright Act the author is the first owner, and an assignment is only valid in writing, signed by the owner. ICANN also warns that a developer who registers your domain may be listed as its registrant even though you paid. Get both in writing. This is general information, not legal advice.

What does a website cost each year after it launches?

Squarespace Basic at CA$21 a month billed annually is CA$252 a year before tax. For a professionally managed site, Growth Boss says $70 to $200 a month and Shift8 Web says $1,400 to $7,000 a year for maintenance, hosting and updates. A domain adds about $15 to $30 a year.

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Sources: Shift8 Web: Pricing Web Design in Toronto: 2026 Guide for Business Owners • Creative Scope: How Much Does Website Design Cost in Toronto? The 2026 Pricing Guide • Cressoft Technology: How Much Does a Website Cost in Toronto and the GTA? (2026 Pricing Guide) • George Barakat Studio: How much does a website cost in Ontario? (2026 guide) • Growth Boss: Small Business Website Cost in Ontario (2026 Prices) • Job Bank (Government of Canada): Web Designer in the Toronto Region, wages • Squarespace: Pricing • Squarespace Help Center: Exporting your site • Shopify Canada: Pricing • Network Solutions: How long does it take to build a website? Timelines and tips • Madra: How Long Does It Take to Build a Website? (Honest 2026 Timelines) • ICANN: General Questions (FAQs for domain name registrants) • Justice Laws Website: Copyright Act, section 13 (ownership of copyright) • LawyerInfo.ca: Who Owns the Copyright? Independent Contractors vs Employees in Canada • Canada Revenue Agency: When to register for and start charging the GST/HST

Related reading: Our website design services • Free AI course for beginners • AI website builders in 2026: real prices and where they break