WordPress software costs nothing to download, which is exactly why so many website budgets go wrong. The real answer to "how much does a WordPress website cost?" sits in everything around it: hosting, themes, plugins, a developer and constant upkeep.
WordPress website cost refers to the one-off build spend plus the ongoing hosting, theme, plugin and maintenance fees that keep a self-hosted site running. This guide breaks down each cost in Australian dollars, shows where quotes fall short, and compares WordPress with platforms that bundle those costs.
What does a WordPress website cost in Australia?
A professionally built WordPress website for an Australian small business typically costs $3,000 to $10,000, while custom theme builds run $8,000 to $25,000 or more. A DIY site can launch for a few hundred dollars. After launch, budget roughly $100 to $500 a month for hosting, licences and maintenance.
Those are independent Australian market estimates, compiled from public pricing across the country, so treat them as a guide rather than a quote. Your own price depends on the number of pages, custom features, integrations and who builds it:
- DIY: a domain, hosting and a premium theme can keep first-year spend under $1,000. The trade-off is your time and full responsibility for security.
- Freelancer: usually a customised premium theme rather than a custom design. Good for brochure sites, but confirm who maintains it after handover.
- Agency: strategy, custom design, development and testing, so quotes start higher. Booking systems or CRM integrations push the price up.
Many premium themes and plugins are priced in US dollars, so your AUD cost moves with the exchange rate. Check whether each quote includes GST.
The build quote is rarely where the real money goes, though. That's why IBF starts every website project with a discovery session that uncovers your business goals and customer pain points before design begins, so the quote reflects what the site actually needs to do.
The ongoing WordPress costs most quotes leave out
Most WordPress quotes cover the build and stop there. The costs that follow are smaller per line, but they never stop, and they add up over three to five years.
- Domain name: a .com.au or .au domain is a small yearly fee. It must be renewed on time, or your site and email go offline.
- Hosting: shared hosting starts at around $5 to $20 a month, but you share server resources with other sites. Managed WordPress hosting costs roughly $30 to $100 or more a month and adds staging, backups and faster support.
- Premium themes: most premium themes cost $50 to $200 as a one-off purchase. Updates and support are often tied to a yearly licence.
- Premium plugins: the WordPress.org plugin directory lists tens of thousands of free plugins. The features businesses rely on, such as advanced forms, SEO tools or memberships, often need paid licences of $30 to $300 a year each.
- Maintenance and security: WordPress core, themes and plugins all release regular updates. An agency care plan handles this for a monthly fee, or the work falls to you.
Maintenance is the line people are most tempted to skip, and the data shows why that's risky. Patchstack's State of WordPress Security in 2026 recorded 11,334 new vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025, and 91% were in plugins rather than WordPress itself. Almost half had no fix available from the developer when they were disclosed.
That makes every extra plugin a small ongoing cost as well as a feature. When a neglected site is hacked or breaks, a repair typically costs $500 to $3,000, which is several months of maintenance paid in one hit.
That's why IBF's website process ends with launch and growth support rather than a simple handover. IBF's care and maintenance service covers security patches and speed optimisation, and IBF also offers Australian-based web and email hosting.
WordPress vs Shopify: how the cost models compare
For an online store, WordPress costs work differently from an all-in-one platform like Shopify. WooCommerce, the main WordPress ecommerce plugin, is free to install, but you still pay for hosting, extensions and developer time.
Shopify bundles hosting, security and checkout into one monthly subscription. According to Shopify's Australian pricing page (October 2026), Basic costs $56 a month on monthly billing, or $42 a month billed yearly. Grow costs $149 a month ($114 yearly) and Advanced costs $575 a month ($431 yearly).
The catch with Shopify is apps. Many are monthly subscriptions, so each new feature adds to a recurring bill. Shopify also adds a transaction fee of up to 2% if you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments.
WordPress flips that model. You usually spend more upfront on development, but many plugins are one-off purchases or annual licences rather than monthly fees.
The right choice depends on who will run the store day to day. Without a developer on hand, Shopify's predictable subscription is usually simpler to budget for than a WooCommerce store that needs regular technical fixes.
How to choose a website platform on total cost, not launch price
Comparing launch prices hides the number that matters: what the site costs to own and run over three to five years. Add up the build, hosting, licences, maintenance and staff time for each option before you decide.
Here's a worked example using the ranges above. A $6,000 professional build with $250 a month in running costs comes to $15,000 over three years. The running costs ($9,000) end up bigger than the build itself, and that's before any repair work or redesign.
Your team's capacity changes that maths more than most people expect. If nobody in-house can update plugins, test changes or fix a broken page, every one of those jobs becomes a developer invoice. A small marketing team with no developer will usually spend less, in time and money, on a hosted platform where security and updates are handled for them.
WordPress is still the right call if you have development support or need highly specialised functionality. A hosted platform such as HubSpot CMS or Shopify suits teams that would rather spend their time on marketing than on plugin updates.
IBF builds on WordPress, HubSpot and Shopify, so the platform recommendation follows your budget and team. The process runs from strategic discovery and UX mapping through design, development, SEO, quality testing and launch support. IBF's web design and development services start with that discovery stage, so you see what each platform costs before you commit.
What to ask before you sign a WordPress quote
Two quotes for the "same" website can differ by thousands of dollars because they cover different things. Before you compare prices, ask every supplier these six questions in writing:
- Who owns the domain, hosting account and admin logins? They should be registered in your name, with a documented handover, so you can change suppliers without rebuilding.
- Which premium themes and plugins are included, and who renews the licences? Ask for a list with yearly renewal costs, and whether they're priced in US dollars.
- What happens after launch? Find out whether updates, backups and security monitoring are included, for how long, and what a care plan costs after that.
- Who fixes it if an update breaks the site? Some quotes cover this in a care plan; others bill it hourly.
- Is GST included, and are all prices in AUD?
- What's not included? Copywriting, photography, SEO setup, integrations with your CRM or booking system, and staff training are the usual gaps.
A quote that answers all six gives you a figure you can compare like-for-like. A quote that only covers the build leaves the bigger cost unpriced.
Frequently asked questions about WordPress website costs
Is WordPress really free?
The WordPress software is free to download and use, but running a business website on it isn't. At minimum, you pay for a domain name and hosting, and most business sites also buy a premium theme and several paid plugins. Add developer time and ongoing maintenance, and a "free" WordPress site usually costs thousands of dollars over its life.
How much does WordPress hosting cost in Australia?
WordPress hosting in Australia typically costs around $5 to $20 a month for shared hosting. Managed WordPress hosting runs about $30 to $100 or more a month. Shared hosting suits small, low-traffic sites, while managed hosting usually adds automatic backups, staging sites, stronger security and faster support - which lowers the risk of downtime for a business website.
How much does it cost to maintain a WordPress website each month?
Most Australian businesses should budget roughly $100 to $500 a month to keep a WordPress website running properly. That covers hosting, theme and plugin licence renewals, backups, security monitoring and regular updates. Sites with ecommerce, memberships or many plugins sit at the higher end, because every extra component needs updating and testing.
Is WordPress cheaper than Shopify for an online store?
WordPress with WooCommerce can be cheaper upfront because the plugin is free, but it usually needs more developer time to build and maintain. Shopify's Basic plan costs $56 a month in Australia on monthly billing and bundles hosting and security. Over several years, the cheaper option depends on how many paid apps or plugins your store needs.
Can I build a WordPress website myself to save money?
Yes. You can build a basic WordPress site yourself with a premium theme and keep first-year costs to a few hundred dollars. The real cost is your time - which can run to weeks - and full responsibility for security, updates and backups, so DIY suits simple brochure sites better than online stores.
Get a WordPress website quote that covers the full cost
The right website starts with choosing a platform that fits your budget and your team, not just the cheapest quote. IBF's web team builds and maintains websites on WordPress, HubSpot and Shopify for Australian businesses. Contact the IBF web team for a quote that shows the build and the running costs side by side.
