A cost breakdown for bespoke websites today - with actual ranges, not marketing 'from $99'. Plus why AI didn't slash rates as hard as everyone assumed.
For two years I've been hearing the same question: "With AI writing code now, websites must be cheaper, right?". The answer is "yes, but not the way you think". Here are real ranges for three typical projects in 2026.
Price 2024: $2,000 - $3,000. Price 2026: $1,800 - $2,800.
A drop of ~10%. Why not 50%? Because half the work isn't writing code, it's briefing, design, copy, responsive and compatibility testing, SEO config. AI generates boilerplate, but it won't decide where the "Get a quote" button should sit.
Price 2024: $4,500 - $7,000. Price 2026: $4,000 - $6,500.
The drop is clearer here, because CMSes have better off-the-shelf components and AI actually generates typical content schemas quickly. A larger share of the budget goes to the design system and discovery with the client - and those aren't getting cheaper.
Price 2024: $9,000 - $18,000. Price 2026: $8,000 - $16,500.
The drop here is cosmetic. Because 70% of the project isn't the website - it's integrations, edge cases, product migration, training the store team. AI hasn't touched any of that.
Regardless of the project, the cost split looks roughly like this:
The same table with the "did AI move it" column:
| Phase | Share of budget | Did AI speed it up |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery, brief, scoping | 8-12% | A little (notes, summaries) |
| Design (UX + UI in Figma) | 18-25% | Marginally (AI images ≠ design) |
| Frontend code | 25-35% | Yes, a lot (boilerplate code) |
| Backend / integrations | 12-20% | A little (API boilerplate, tests) |
| Content / copy / SEO | 8-12% | Partially (drafts, but need edits) |
| Testing / QA / deploy | 8-12% | A little (unit tests, less E2E) |
| Project management | 5-10% | Not at all |
Three things that have stayed exactly as expensive as 5 years ago:
A custom website in 2026 is 5-15% cheaper than two years ago - but not because "AI does the rest". It's cheaper because ready-made components are more plentiful, design systems are better, and tooling docs have matured.
“If someone offers you a corporate site for $400-800 in 2026 - ask for 3 recent projects with a scope summary. "We can't, NDA" closes the case.
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