What does a business website cost?
In our recorded examples, a small brochure website costs CHF 590–2,200 in its first year through a subscription, rental or directory package, or CHF 4,500 or more for custom agency creation, with hosting extra. Over three years the gap narrows; the scope matters as much as the price.
A February 2026 guide gives a range of CHF 1,500–4,000 for a freelancer and CHF 3,000–8,000 for an agency in French-speaking Switzerland (Bleeze). The five entry-level offers we recorded on 7 October 2026 range from CHF 1,068 to CHF 4,500 in the first year. They are examples, not an exhaustive market price list.
What are the ways to pay?
There are four common approaches: pay once for creation and then annually for hosting; rent with a minimum commitment; subscribe with creation included; or buy a directory package. The initial price does not tell you which costs least over time.
Three-year cost including creation: entry-level offers recorded on 7 October 2026.
- Website rental, GenevaFrom CHF 180 a month, minimum 24 months · first year from CHF 2,160
- Subscription, Vaud agencyOne-page site: CHF 490, then CHF 129 a month · first year CHF 2,038
- Custom creation, Geneva agencyFive pages, CHF 4,500 excluding VAT, paid once; hosting extra
- Subscription, launch offerCHF 89 a month, recorded on 7 October 2026, 12-month commitment · assuming the price stays unchanged
- National directoryThree pages: CHF 790, then CHF 348 a year · first year CHF 1,138
- TAO Labs EssentielCHF 590 a year, no creation fee (CHF 2,124 over three years when paid monthly)
Prices as displayed on 7 October 2026, including or excluding VAT according to the supplier. Pages, languages and updates vary. Check the current scope and price before comparing.
What changes the price?
Pages, languages, features such as bookings or online shopping, photographs and writing. Above all, what happens after launch: who changes hours and prices, how quickly and at what cost.
A restaurant changes its menu and closes for holidays. A salon updates its prices. If every change is separately billed or requires learning a tool, information may be left out of date. Ask how many changes are included and how quickly they are made. Our restaurant checklist helps identify what needs maintaining.
Which costs are often overlooked?
Hosting and the domain when excluded, updates billed individually, VAT on tax-exclusive prices and the minimum commitment. A low monthly fee over 24 months can exceed an upfront creation fee.
- Hosting: often included in a subscription, less often in a creation-only fee.
- Domain name: check that it is registered in your name and agree how to recover its management. Our domain guide explains the checks.
- Updates: number per month, excess cost and turnaround.
- VAT: a tax-exclusive price increases by the applicable rate if the supplier must charge it; the Swiss standard rate is 8.1%.
- Commitment and exit: minimum term, notice and the files, text and photographs handed over.
What does a website add?
It answers questions before a customer visits: are you open, how much does it cost and where are you? A website provides information search engines and assistants can read; it does not sell on your behalf or guarantee a position.
Instagram and a Google profile help too, with different roles. See Instagram or a website. Our study found no website or a weak website for 47% of independent storefront businesses in the canton. Nobody can promise a Google position; accurate information gives people a basis to find and assess you.
How should you compare two offers?
Calculate three years, rather than the first month. Check the domain holder, hosting, included updates and turnaround, minimum term, and what you receive on leaving.
Also ask to see the site before paying. TAO Labs prepares your site for you to review: nothing is payable before approval, followed by a 30-day refund period after launch under our terms.
How much does TAO Labs charge?
CHF 59 a month for Essentiel or CHF 99 for Visibilité, with no creation fee. Annual payment is CHF 590 or CHF 990. Creation, hosting, a domain in your name, an email address and updates are included.
See Plans and the scope for restaurants, salons, tradespeople and shops.
Sources
- Five suppliers’ entry-level offers recorded on their websites on 7 October 2026, with captures retained. Competitors are not named.
- Bleeze price guide, February 2026.
- TAO Labs study, survey of 26 September corrected on 2 October 2026.
- Swiss Federal Tax Administration: VAT rates.