The Quebec web market has a serious transparency problem. You can ask three agencies for the same project — five pages, a contact form, a photo gallery — and receive quotes at $1,500, $8,000, and $35,000. Hard to make sense of it when you're an SMB owner.
This article breaks it down with real numbers from the Quebec market.
Why Having a Website Matters in 2026
The statistics speak for themselves. 99% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses, 81% research online before buying, and 31% will outright avoid an SMB with no website. Yet 27% of SMBs still don't have a site, and 26% cite cost as the main reason.
The irony: a good business website can cost less than a year of advertising in the local paper.
Price Ranges by Site Type
Business Website (3 to 5 pages)
This covers the majority of service-based SMBs — plumbers, estheticians, contractors. The range sits between $1,200 and $10,000. At the low end, you get a functional site built on a customized template. At the high end, you're looking at custom design, professional copywriting, and more advanced SEO.
Web agencies in Quebec typically charge between $3,500 and $5,000 for a professional, optimized business site.
Site with Features (bookings, complex forms)
The range runs from $3,200 to $40,000. As soon as you add logic — online appointment booking, quote calculators, client portals — the price climbs. About 66% of SMBs spend less than $10,000 on their website.
E-commerce
Prices range from $5,000 to $70,000. But for most local SMBs selling fewer than 50 products, a platform like Shopify at around $39/month can work perfectly well. Custom development is mainly justified for specific needs like ERP integration or managing thousands of product references.
Website Redesign
A redesign in Quebec costs between $2,000 and $10,000. A basic visual refresh runs $2,000–$6,000, while a redesign with added features falls between $2,000 and $8,000.
DIY Solutions: A Worth Considering Option
Platforms like Wix or Squarespace can start at $200–$500 per year, but come with significant limitations in terms of SEO and customization. For a freelancer just starting out, it can be enough. But it's important to understand the tradeoffs.
What Drives the Price Up
Content writing is often underestimated. A professional web copywriter charges between $75 and $150 per page. For a 10-page site, that easily adds $1,000 to $1,500.
Professional photography is another cost to budget for: a half-day photo shoot runs between $500 and $1,500.
Hidden Fees to Watch Out For
This is where many SMBs get caught off guard. Beyond the initial site price:
- Hosting costs between $30 and $400 per month
- WordPress maintenance (updates, security, backups) runs $50–$200 per month
- Domain renewal costs $15 to $30 per year
- Premium plugin licenses range from $50 to $300 per year each
Add all that up over 3 years, and a site quoted at $2,000 can end up costing $6,000.
Pricing Models
Fixed price — The scope is defined upfront, and the risk is on the provider's side. This is the safest model for the client.
Hourly rate — Freelancers charge between $50 and $100/h, agencies between $100 and $250/h. The downside: you never know exactly what the final bill will be.
Monthly subscription — Some agencies offer sites at around $99/month with no large upfront investment. But watch out: you never own the site. If you stop paying, it disappears. Over 36 months, you'll have paid more than $3,500 for something that isn't yours.
What a Quote Should Always Include
Mobile-friendly design is the baseline — since 2019, Google ranks sites based on their mobile version. Basic technical SEO (tags, structure, speed), a working contact form, and compliance with Law 25 (privacy policy and cookie consent, mandatory since September 2024) should be included by default. If an agency charges extra for these, that's a red flag.
What It Costs at Altorix vs. the Market
To be transparent, here's how our prices compare to Quebec market rates.
For a 3 to 5-page business site, the market ranges from $1,200 to $10,000. At Altorix, the range is $225 to $750 — below the low end of the market, with a custom Figma design rather than a modified template.
For a full professional site — bilingual FR/EN, local SEO, Law 25 compliance — Quebec agencies typically charge between $3,500 and $5,000. Our range sits between $450 and $1,650.
For an e-commerce site, the market starts at $5,000 and can exceed $70,000 for fully custom builds. At Altorix, e-commerce projects start at $450 and go up to $3,600, with Stripe integration, order management, and Figma design included.
What's always included at Altorix, at no extra charge:
- Custom Figma design (not a modified template)
- Mobile & tablet responsive
- Basic technical SEO (tags, structure, speed, schema markup)
- Working contact form
- Law 25 compliance (privacy policy + cookie consent)
- 30 days of post-launch support
- Hosting on Vercel (top performance, zero downtime)
Why is it less expensive than traditional agencies?
We're a local agency in Laval, without the overhead of large Montreal firms. No downtown office, no intermediaries, no inflated margins. We work directly with you, from the first call to launch.
The result: a custom, high-performance, well-ranked website at the price most agencies charge for a template.
Conclusion
The realistic average price for a Quebec SMB that wants a professional website sits somewhere between $3,000 and $8,000. The broader market ranges from $2,500 to $50,000 depending on complexity. What matters most is clearly defining your needs before asking for quotes, comparing equivalent projects, and above all checking what's included — and what isn't.
A good website is an investment. A bad website is an expense.