How to Compare Website Quotes: Scope, Costs and Questions to Ask

Two website quotes rarely describe the same job. One may include copywriting, German translation, three rounds of revisions and a year of hosting; another may cover only the build from your finished content. Until you put both into the same grid, the totals tell you very little.

For founders in Germany there is often a second layer: you may be comparing a local freelancer, a German agency and a team abroad, with different currencies, VAT treatment and contract languages. The fix is the same: one template, line by line, plus written answers to every gap.

Below are the template, the follow-up questions and a short, careful explanation of the German contract terms that tend to appear in quotes: Kostenanschlag, Abnahme and usage rights.

Why quotes are so far apart

Different prices usually reflect different service models, not just different hourly rates.

• Template-based build: a tested design is adapted to your business, and you supply finished content. Less coordination, clear scope.
• Bespoke project: concept, custom design, often copywriting and several feedback rounds. More effort, more freedom.
• Set-up on a website builder: someone configures your site on a hosted platform. The platform keeps charging monthly, and moving away later can be hard.

None of these is better by default. What matters is whether the scope matches your needs and whether everything you need is actually in the price. If you have not yet worked out what your project should roughly cost, start with How much does a small business website cost in Germany?.

The comparison template

Copy the template and fill in one column per quote. If the quote does not answer a row, write "?". Every question mark becomes a follow-up question.

Only compare prices once every row is filled. A cheap quote with five question marks is not yet a cheap quote.

Hypothetical example: a local and an overseas quote

Questions to ask before you sign

1. Which pages exactly are included, and what does each additional page cost?
2. How many revision rounds are included, and what counts as a revision rather than a new requirement?
3. Which content do I need to supply, by when, and in which languages?
4. What happens to the timeline if my content arrives late?
5. Where is the site hosted, and whose name are the domain and hosting contract in?
6. Which running costs start after launch, and can I cancel them?
7. Do I get admin access and, if agreed, the source code?
8. Which usage rights do I receive for design, code and supplied images?
9. How does acceptance work?
10. Is the price fixed or an estimate, and is it net or gross?

What to prepare so that providers can quote on the same basis is covered in the website brief template. For what happens after you sign, see How a website project runs, step by step.

German contract terms worth knowing

This is orientation, not legal advice. For specific clauses or larger sums, have a lawyer check the contract, especially if it is governed by German law and written in a language you do not read fluently.

Kostenanschlag: estimate or fixed price?

Under § 632(3) BGB (German Civil Code), a cost estimate (Kostenanschlag) is, in case of doubt, not chargeable. A provider cannot bill you for the quote itself unless you agreed to that. An estimate is also not a fixed price. If it becomes clear that it will be substantially exceeded, the provider must tell you without delay (§ 649(2) BGB). If you terminate for that reason, the provider is limited to a share of the fee matching the work already done, plus expenses not included in the fee (§ 649(1) with § 645(1) BGB). So ask plainly: fixed price or estimate?

Abnahme: formal acceptance

Under a German contract for work (Werkvertrag), you are obliged to accept work produced as agreed (§ 640(1) BGB), and you cannot refuse acceptance because of minor defects. If the provider sets a reasonable deadline after completion and you do not name at least one defect within it, the work may be treated as accepted (§ 640(2) BGB). Review the finished site promptly and report defects in writing.

Usage rights

Design, code and photos are often protected by copyright. Under § 31(5) UrhG (German Copyright Act), if the types of use are not spelled out, their scope follows the purpose of the contract. If you might want to switch providers, adapt the design or reuse the code later, have that written into the contract.

How Ichii writes its quotes

At Ichii, the scope is confirmed in writing before the project starts. A business website of up to 10 pages costs €790 net (plus VAT), one-time, built with your final text and images, in one language, with a contact option and one correction round before launch. More pages, extra languages, bespoke design, copywriting and special functions are quoted separately, and technical maintenance from €29 per month is charged separately. Your domain and the content you supply remain yours; anything further, such as a code handover, is agreed in writing before the start.

Next step

Copy the template, fill in the quotes you already have and send each provider its question marks. If you would like one more quote to compare against, send us your page list and requirements through the project enquiry.