Knack Web › What a tradie website costs in NZ
What a tradie website costs in NZ
Short answer: a decent 3 to 5 page tradie site from a freelancer or small specialist is $1,000 to $2,000 + GST one-off, or $80 to $300 a month if you rent one. Agencies start around $3,000. What matters more is what you're paying for after year one, and whether you own the thing. Prices below are from published NZ price lists, checked November 2026.
The four ways to get a site
| Option | Typical NZ price (+ GST) | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself (Wix, Squarespace and the like) | About $20 to $60 a month for the software, plus your evenings | Your time, and most DIY tradie sites fail the basics on a phone. You can't take the site with you if you leave. |
| Rental / subscription | $49 to $300 a month, often nothing up front | Usually you never own it. Check the minimum term and what happens to your site and domain if you stop paying. |
| Freelancer or tradie specialist, one-off | $1,000 to $2,000 for 3 to 5 pages | Hosting and changes are often extra after launch. Ask what it costs per month once it's live. |
| Agency | $3,000 to $10,000+ | More meetings, more pages than a tradie needs. Worth it for a big firm, rarely for a one-van operator. |
The cost after launch
This is where tradies get caught. A cheap build with a $99-a-month care plan costs more over three years than a dearer build with cheap hosting. Typical ongoing costs in NZ:
- Domain: a .co.nz is a small yearly fee. Make sure it's registered in your name, not the web designer's.
- Hosting and care: usually $50 to $150 a month for hosting, backups, security updates and small changes.
- Changes outside a plan: roughly $80 to $180 an hour across NZ web businesses.
- Google Ads management, if you want it: roughly $150 to $750 a month on top of what you pay Google for the clicks.
- "SEO" retainers: real local SEO work for a single town runs $600 to $2,000 a month. Anything much cheaper is usually a report, not work.
Three-year cost, side by side
Same 5-page site, three ways of paying, all plus GST:
| How you pay | Over 3 years | Own it? |
|---|---|---|
| Rental at $99/month, no lock-in | $3,564 | No |
| Subscription at $299/month | $10,764 | Depends on the contract |
| Knack Web, pay once: $1,490, then $49/month care from year 2 | $2,666 | Yes, from day one |
| Knack Web, monthly: $129 × 12, then $49/month care | $2,724 | Yes, after 12 payments |
Care is month to month after the first year, so you can also take your files and host them anywhere, in which case the three-year cost is $1,490 or $1,548 plus whatever your own hosting costs.
What a tradie site needs (and what it doesn't)
Whatever you pay, a tradie site should have all of these. If a quote doesn't include them, ask why.
- Works properly on a phone, with your number one tap away at all times
- https with no security warnings, and loads in a second or two on mobile data
- Your services and service area in plain words a customer would search
- A short quote form that goes to your phone
- Your licence or registration details, real photos and real reviews
- Your Google Business Profile set up and linked (some charge around $300 just for this)
- Domain in your name, and a straight answer on who owns the site
What you can skip: a blog you'll never write, a page for every suburb in Auckland, animations, and anything sold as "guaranteed page one".
Five questions to ask before you sign
- Who owns the domain and the site, and when?
- What do I pay each month once it's live, and what does that cover?
- What's the minimum term, and what does it cost to leave?
- How much is a small change, like a new photo or service?
- Can I see two or three tradie sites you've built, on my phone?
Where Knack Web sits: $1,490 + GST once, or $129/month + GST with nothing up front. Up to 5 pages, Google listing set up free, yours to keep. See both plans, or get a free homepage concept first and decide after.
Websites by trade
Straight answers
How much should a tradie pay for a website in NZ?
For a 3 to 5 page site from a freelancer or tradie specialist, $1,000 to $2,000 + GST one-off is the normal range in 2026, or $80 to $300 a month to rent one. Agencies start around $3,000. Check the monthly cost after launch: it often matters more than the build price over three years.
Is it better to rent a website or buy one?
Renting means nothing up front, which suits a new business. But at $99 a month you've paid over $3,500 after three years and usually still don't own it. If you can pay a deposit, or rent on a plan that ends in ownership, you'll save money from about year two.
Are website prices in NZ quoted with GST?
Most web businesses quote plus GST, because their customers are GST-registered businesses. Check, because $1,490 + GST is $1,713.50 including GST.
Do I need to pay for SEO as well?
Not at the start. A properly built site plus a complete Google Business Profile with real reviews does most of the work for a local tradie. Paid SEO makes sense later if you're in a competitive trade and want to target a specific area, and real work costs from about $600 a month.
Want more calls from your website?
Send through your current site and you'll get a free homepage concept back within a couple of days. I'm on the tools during the day, so replies land in the evening.
