Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
Last week, a French startup founder called me panicking. "We've been quoted €35,000 for a simple website. Is this normal?" After 7 years building startup websites across Europe, I've heard this question dozens of times.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: most European startups are either drastically overpaying for basic websites or dangerously underspending on what actually matters. The problem isn't just the money—it's that nobody explains what you're actually buying.
I've built websites for startups in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and London. I've seen €2,000 disasters and €40,000 masterpieces that convert like crazy. More importantly, I've learned that the cost conversation is completely backwards.
Here's what you'll learn from my experience:
The real breakdown of European startup website costs (with actual project examples)
Why location matters more than you think for development costs
The hidden costs that kill startup budgets after launch
My pricing framework that's helped 50+ startups make smart decisions
When to DIY vs hire based on your actual situation
Most importantly, I'll show you how to think about website investment like the business decision it actually is, not just a website project.
Industry Reality
What every startup founder googles at 2 AM
If you've researched startup website costs in Europe, you've probably found the same generic advice everywhere. "Simple website: €3,000-€8,000. Complex website: €15,000-€50,000." Thanks for nothing, right?
The typical cost breakdown you'll see online:
Landing page: €2,000-€5,000
Small business site: €5,000-€15,000
Startup website: €10,000-€25,000
Enterprise solution: €25,000-€100,000+
Here's why this breakdown is useless: it completely ignores what you're actually trying to achieve. A "startup website" could be anything from a simple landing page to test product-market fit, to a complex SaaS platform that needs to convert enterprise clients.
The industry loves these ranges because they sound professional. Agencies quote high to cover their uncertainty. Freelancers quote low to win projects. Meanwhile, startup founders are stuck trying to figure out if €20,000 is reasonable or highway robbery.
What nobody talks about is the biggest cost factor: what happens after launch. I've seen startups spend €15,000 on a beautiful website that generates zero leads, then spend another €30,000 trying to fix it. The initial cost becomes irrelevant when your landing page conversion rate is 0.3%.
The real question isn't "how much will this cost?" It's "what return will this generate, and how quickly?"
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
Three years ago, I got a reality check that changed how I think about website pricing. A Berlin-based fintech startup approached me with a "simple" website project. Their budget? €8,000. Their expectation? A website that would help them raise their Series A.
The founder, let's call him Marcus, had bootstrapped to €50K MRR and needed a website that would convince VCs they were serious. He'd gotten quotes ranging from €5,000 to €45,000 and was completely confused.
Here's what I discovered during our strategy session: Marcus wasn't just buying a website. He was buying credibility, conversion optimization, investor confidence, and a platform that could scale with a growing team. The €8,000 budget made sense for a brochure site. It made zero sense for what he actually needed.
This pattern repeated across dozens of projects. A Dutch SaaS founder wanted "just a simple site" but needed complex onboarding flows. A French e-commerce startup asked for "basic functionality" but required multi-language support and EU compliance features.
The problem wasn't the budget—it was the conversation. Every founder focused on the upfront cost without considering the total cost of ownership. They'd budget €10,000 for development but hadn't thought about hosting, maintenance, content updates, compliance, or scaling.
I started tracking the real costs across my European projects and found something interesting: the initial development cost was typically only 40-60% of the total first-year investment. The rest went to hosting, security, compliance, content creation, and inevitable changes as the business evolved.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
After dozens of conversations like Marcus's, I developed a framework that actually works for European startups. Instead of quoting random prices, I start with three questions:
What business outcome do you need? (Leads, sales, investor confidence, team efficiency)
What's your timeline and constraint? (Fundraising deadline, product launch, compliance requirement)
What's your total available budget? (Not just development—everything for 12 months)
Based on 50+ European startup projects, here's my actual cost breakdown:
The €5,000-€8,000 Tier: MVP Validation
Perfect for pre-revenue startups testing product-market fit. You get a conversion-optimized landing page, basic analytics, and the ability to collect leads. Built on platforms like Webflow or Framer for easy updates. Total timeline: 2-3 weeks.
The €12,000-€18,000 Tier: Growth Ready
For startups with early traction who need to scale. Includes multi-page sites, CRM integration, advanced analytics, and content management systems. Built for marketing team autonomy. Timeline: 4-6 weeks.
The €20,000-€35,000 Tier: Scale Infrastructure
For startups preparing for Series A or rapid growth. Custom development, advanced integrations, multi-language support, compliance features, and performance optimization. Timeline: 8-12 weeks.
But here's the key insight from my European projects: location affects cost more than complexity. The same website that costs €15,000 in Berlin might cost €25,000 in London or €10,000 in Prague. The quality difference? Often minimal.
My approach now focuses on outcome-based pricing. Instead of selling "a website," I sell "a lead generation system" or "an investor-ready platform." This shifts the conversation from cost to value, which is where it should be.
Budget Tiers
Three distinct investment levels based on startup stage and business needs
Hidden Costs
Hosting, compliance, maintenance, and scaling costs that catch founders off-guard
Location Impact
Why Berlin costs 40% less than London for the same quality website development
ROI Framework
How to calculate website investment return based on your specific business model
Using this framework, Marcus's fintech startup invested €22,000 in their website—almost triple his original budget. Six months later, they closed their Series A, with investors specifically mentioning the professional platform as a confidence factor.
The numbers across my European projects tell the story:
Average time to recoup investment: 4-8 months for growth-ready sites
Conversion rate improvement: 2-5x compared to DIY solutions
Development time savings: 60-80% compared to in-house development
More importantly, startups that invested appropriately from the start avoided the expensive rebuild cycle. The ones that went cheap initially spent 2-3x more over 18 months trying to fix fundamental issues.
The best ROI came from startups that treated their website as a business investment, not a cost center. They budgeted for the total solution, not just the initial build.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
After managing website projects across six European countries, here are the lessons that could save you thousands:
Budget for 12 months, not just launch. Add 30-50% to your development budget for first-year operations.
Location arbitrage is real. Eastern European developers deliver London quality at Prague prices.
Platform choice affects long-term costs more than upfront costs. Custom WordPress might be cheaper initially but costs more to maintain.
Compliance isn't optional. GDPR, accessibility, and security requirements add 15-25% to any European project.
Marketing team autonomy is worth paying for. If your team can't update content without a developer, you'll pay in frustration and delay.
Conversion optimization is more valuable than design perfection. A ugly page that converts at 8% beats a beautiful page that converts at 1%.
The most expensive website is one that doesn't work. Paying €5,000 for something that generates zero leads is infinitely more expensive than paying €20,000 for a revenue-generating platform.
If I were starting a European startup today, I'd budget €15,000-€20,000 for a proper website and consider it one of the best investments I could make. The alternative—trying to save money upfront—usually costs more in the long run.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups specifically:
Budget €12K-€18K for a conversion-optimized trial signup flow
Prioritize integration capabilities for your marketing stack
Plan for A/B testing infrastructure from day one
Consider multi-language support if targeting EU markets
For your Ecommerce store
For e-commerce businesses:
Budget €15K-€25K for a full conversion-optimized store
Factor in payment gateway fees and compliance costs
Invest in mobile-first design—60%+ of European traffic is mobile
Plan for inventory management and analytics integration