Blog · 5 min read ·
Why Agencies Hide Prices — and What a Real Price List Is
Direct answer: Hidden prices usually mean the scope is undefined, not that the work is complicated. A real price list shows scope, limits, timeline and price for each tier. Ours starts at $1,490 for a website.
Why agencies avoid listing prices
Most agencies are not trying to trick you. Their reasons are practical. Custom work varies a lot, and a five-page brochure site and an online shop with integrations do not belong in one row. One published number would be too low for the complex job and too high for the simple one.
Some agencies prefer to talk first, to understand the project before quoting. That is a fair way to work. The cost to you is that you cannot compare anything before a call. Others bill by the hour and only know the total once discovery is done.
In all these cases the missing price points to the same thing: the scope is not defined yet. A price list does not need to cover every project. It needs to show enough structure that you can judge whether a conversation is worth your time.
What a transparent price list shows
Transparent does not mean one flat price. It means you can see the logic of the offer before you speak to anyone: what fits in a tier, what is excluded and what happens when you go past a limit.
| Element | The question it answers | Example from our list |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | What exactly is built or checked? | Website S: up to 5 pages, 1 language, contact form, basic SEO |
| Included and excluded | What am I not paying for twice? | Domain, hosting, licences and copywriting are excluded |
| Limits | Where does the tier end? | Audit S: up to 10 pages or screens, or 1 app flow |
| Timeline | When can I plan around it? | Website S: 2–3 weeks. Audit S: 5 business days |
| Delivery | What do I receive? | Audit: PDF, CSV and a 30-minute walkthrough |
| Extra work | What does it cost past the limit? | Each extra 10 audit pages: $150 |
If a quote leaves out any of these rows, ask about it before you pay.
Our tiers
All prices are in USD and exclude VAT. The full overview is on our services page.
Website development
- S, $1,490: 2–3 weeks. Up to 5 pages, 1 language, contact form, basic SEO, 2 revision rounds, go-live with backup and rollback plan.
- M, $2,990: 4–6 weeks. Up to 15 pages, blog, 2 languages, advanced SEO and measurement, 3 revision rounds.
- L, $5,990: 8–12 weeks. E-commerce or member system, 3 languages, integrations, integration tests.
Domain, hosting, third-party licences and copywriting are not included.
Audit report
- S, $490: 5 business days. Up to 10 pages or screens, or 1 app flow, with scores in six areas and a P0 to P3 priority list.
- M, $890: 8 business days. Up to 30 pages or screens, or 2 app flows, plus a comparison with 2 competitor sites.
- L, $1,690: 12 business days. Up to 100 pages or screens, or 4 app flows (sampled), up to 2 languages.
The audit uses passive, permitted checks only. Details are on the audit report page.
Monthly care
- Basic, $149 a month: up to 10 pages monitored, 2 small fixes, response within 2 business days.
- Standard, $349 a month: up to 30 pages, 5 small fixes, a monthly call, response within 1 business day.
- Plus, $649 a month: up to 100 pages, 10 small fixes, a weekly check, same-day response.
Care has a minimum of three months. There is no 24/7 on-call service and no uptime guarantee. We do not promise rankings, traffic or sales in any tier.
Work outside a tier is quoted separately in writing before we start. How we work explains the steps.
How to compare two quotes
Put both quotes into the same rows. A cheap website and an expensive custom build are not comparable unless their scope is the same. Use this checklist:
- Is the scope written down, and is it the same in both quotes?
- What are the limits on pages, screens or products?
- What is excluded: hosting, domain, licences, copywriting, integrations?
- How many revision rounds are included, and how long does feedback take?
- How is extra work priced, and what triggers it?
- What are the timeline, the delivery format and the support after launch?
A quote with no scope document is not a cheaper quote. It is an unknown one.
When fixed pricing does not fit
Fixed prices work when the result is clear: a five-page site, an audit, a monthly care plan. They fit badly when the work is open-ended, such as research-heavy projects, links to old systems, data clean-up or experimental prototypes.
For those, the honest approach is a written proposal that lists its assumptions and says which unknowns could change the price. We would rather name the unknowns than hide them inside one lump sum.
If an agency uses AI tools for drafts or findings, ask who reviews the output. Ours is always reviewed by a person before it reaches you.
The written scope protects you
A price list is not a contract. The written scope is. It turns a tier into a deliverable: pages, languages, forms, integrations, revision rounds, deadline, delivery format and support period.
If a proposal says only "website: one price" and nothing else, you are buying a number, not a project. The tier, the written scope and the extra-work rule protect both sides. We know when we are done, and you know what you paid for.
FAQ
Why do some agencies hide their prices?
Because scope varies and they do not want to publish a number that is wrong for your project. It usually means the scope is not defined yet.
Is transparent pricing the same as one flat price?
No. It means you can see tiers, limits, exclusions and extra-work rules before a call. A single price for every project would not be honest.
What should I check first in a quote?
The written scope and the limits on pages or screens. Then the exclusions, such as domain, hosting, licences and copywriting.
Fixed price or hourly?
Fixed when the deliverable and its limits are clear. Hourly or proposal-based when the work is open-ended.
Do you guarantee SEO results or sales?
No. Our website tiers include SEO setup and measurement, but no tier promises rankings, traffic or sales.