How Much Does a Small Business Website Cost in Germany?

There is no honest single figure for what a small business website costs in Germany. The price depends on five things: how many pages you need, whether the design is bespoke or built on a proven template, who supplies the text and images, which features go beyond a contact form, and how many languages the site has to run in.

For founders who came to Germany from elsewhere, two further points shape the budget. German quotes to businesses are usually net, so VAT comes on top. And some items that are optional in other countries, such as an Impressum (legal notice) and a detailed privacy policy, are required here.

The sensible way to budget is to split one-time build costs from running costs, then add the German-specific items. The tables below let you do that before you ask anyone for a quote.

One-time costs and running costs are two budgets

Most quotes give you a build price. The site keeps costing money after launch, and those costs rarely appear in the same document. Keep two columns from the start.

What maintenance actually covers, and what is billed on top, is the subject of Website maintenance: what it covers and what costs extra.

The five cost drivers

Each driver can keep a project lean or make it considerably more expensive.

Pages and content

Every page has to be laid out, filled, checked on a phone and linked. If you are unsure what a small business site really needs, see Which pages does a small business website need?. Content is the most underestimated driver: copy that only gets written during the project slows everything down, and copywriting is a separate service.

Design

A design system is a set of tested layouts, fonts and colours that gets adapted to your business. That is faster than designing from a blank page. Bespoke design makes sense if your brand must stand apart, but it means more rounds of feedback.

Features

A contact form is standard. Appointment booking, a members' area, a shop or a connection to other software are projects of their own. Often an existing service can be linked or embedded instead.

Languages: the driver international founders feel most

If your customers are German-speaking but your team works in English, you probably want both. A second language means translated copy, translated navigation and forms, a decision on whether the legal pages also appear in English, and every future edit done twice. Machine translation is a starting point, but German customers notice awkward phrasing, so plan for a native-speaker review.

Mobile layout is the baseline, not an extra

Google uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking and recommends responsive design, meaning one layout that adapts to any screen size. A site that works poorly on a phone is incomplete, so this belongs in every quote rather than as a surcharge.

German items to add to your budget

These duties apply regardless of who builds the site. They cost time or money and are easy to miss if you are used to another market.

• Impressum: under § 5 DDG, business websites must show information such as name and address, an email address and, where applicable, the commercial register entry and VAT ID.
• Privacy policy: if you collect personal data, for example through a contact form, Art. 13 GDPR requires you to explain the purpose, legal basis, retention period and the visitor's rights, among other things.
• Cookie consent: under § 25 TDDDG, storing or reading information on a visitor's device needs consent unless it is strictly necessary for the service the visitor asked for. That typically covers analytics and many embedded third-party tools. Skipping tracking often means you can skip a consent tool as well.
• Legal review: text generators are a start, but if your business has unusual features, a lawyer familiar with German law is worth the fee. No new site is automatically compliant.
• VAT: quotes to businesses are usually net. The standard German VAT rate is 19 % (§ 12(1) UStG). Whether you can reclaim it as input tax depends on your tax position, for example if you use the small business scheme (Kleinunternehmerregelung). Ask your tax adviser.

Hypothetical example: a bilingual first-year budget

Run the same calculation with your own numbers. If an item is missing from every quote you receive, ask about it. How to line up concrete offers is covered in How to compare website quotes.

Five questions to answer before you ask for quotes

• Which pages do I really need at launch, and which can wait?
• Is my copy final, and in which languages?
• Will an adapted design system do, or do I need bespoke design?
• Which feature goes beyond a contact form, and does an existing service cover it?
• Do I need German at launch, or can it follow a few weeks later?

When a website builder is the cheaper answer

If you have time, enjoy doing it yourself and a simple one-page or few-page site is enough, a website builder may be all you need. The platform usually handles hosting, security and software updates, and you pay a monthly plan instead of a build fee. You remain responsible for the Impressum and privacy policy either way. Website builder or web developer? helps you decide.

What a business website costs at Ichii

At Ichii, a business website of up to 10 pages costs €790 net (plus VAT), one-time. That includes a proven design system, your final text and images, a mobile-optimised layout, one language, a contact option and one correction round before launch. More than 10 pages, extra languages, bespoke design, copywriting, online shops and special functions are quoted separately. Technical maintenance starts at €29 per month and is charged separately.

Next step

Answer the five questions and rerun the example with your own figures. If your project fits within 10 pages with finished content, the details are on the business website page, and all prices are listed under pricing.