"Your website for a few dozen a month, nothing to pay upfront." The offer is tempting when you start a business. The real question is not whether it is cheap or expensive: it is what you will have paid, and what you will actually own, after three years.
I do that math here, line by line, with the assumptions written down so you can redo it with your own quotes. For general price benchmarks, read how much a business website costs first. I don't give my own rates in this article. The figures are in euros because they come from French sources; the method works in any currency.
What are the three ways to get a business website?
- A subscription with a provider (also called website as a service, or a rented website). You pay a monthly fee for a set commitment period. The build, hosting and often maintenance are included. Some contracts go through a finance company: the site is then leased.
- Buying. You pay for the build once, then separately for the domain, hosting and, if you want it, maintenance.
- A do-it-yourself website builder (Wix, WordPress.com, Squarespace, Shopify for selling online). You pay the platform and build the site yourself. I compare these tools in Wix, WordPress or a custom site.
What assumptions is the calculation based on?
A calculation without assumptions is worthless. Here are mine, and where they come from. All amounts exclude VAT.
| Item | Value used | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Building a brochure website (buying) | €3,500 | Brochure site median in La Fabrique du Net's barometer, July 2026 edition (French market) |
| .fr domain name | €4.99 the first year, then €7.79 a year | OVHcloud official price page, accessed October 17, 2026 |
| Shared hosting | €35.88 the first year, then €5.99 a month | OVHcloud "Perso" plan, official page, accessed October 17, 2026 |
| Provider subscription | €90 a month, no setup fee | Round number picked for the example, not a market average: replace it with your offer |
| Maintenance (buying) | Calculated separately | Quoted case by case: I give the formula rather than a number |
One caveat: the two options do not always deliver the same website. The €3,500 median covers projects handled by agencies, often with a custom design. A rented website is sometimes built on a template shared by several of the provider's clients. Compare what you get, not only what you pay.
How much does a pay monthly website cost compared to buying, over 1, 3 and 5 years?
Here is the running total with the assumptions above. Buying is calculated without maintenance at first.
| Period | Subscription at €90/month | Buying: build + domain + hosting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | €1,080 | 3,500 + 4.99 + 35.88 = €3,540.87 |
| 3 years | €3,240 | 3,500 + 20.57 + 179.64 = €3,700.21 |
| 5 years | €5,400 | 3,500 + 36.15 + 323.40 = €3,859.55 |
The running costs of buying, in detail:
- Domain over 3 years: 4.99 + 7.79 + 7.79 = €20.57. Over 5 years: 4.99 + 4 × 7.79 = €36.15.
- Hosting over 3 years: 35.88 + 24 × 5.99 = €179.64. Over 5 years: 35.88 + 48 × 5.99 = €323.40.
What the table shows: over 3 years, with these assumptions, the subscription costs a little less than buying without maintenance (€3,240 versus about €3,700). Over 5 years, it flips clearly: buying comes to about €3,860, the subscription to €5,400. Domain and hosting weigh very little: the monthly fee and maintenance decide.
What if you add maintenance?
Subscriptions often include updates and small edits. To compare fairly, add the cost of maintenance to the purchase, which I call m per month:
- Buying over 3 years = €3,700.21 + 36 × m
- Buying over 5 years = €3,859.55 + 60 × m
Against a €90 subscription, buying stays cheaper over 5 years as long as maintenance costs less than €25.67 a month ((5,400 − 3,859.55) / 60). A coded site with no plugins to update needs little maintenance; a WordPress site with many plugins needs more. Ask about it in every quote.
At what monthly fee does buying become the better deal?
You can turn the math around: which monthly fee costs the same as buying without maintenance?
| Comparison period | Break-even monthly fee | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years (36 months) | 3,700.21 / 36 ≈ €102.78 | Above that, the subscription costs more than buying, even over 3 years |
| 5 years (60 months) | 3,859.55 / 60 ≈ €64.33 | Above that, the subscription costs more than buying over 5 years |
For your own case, the formula is simple: (build price + domain + hosting + maintenance over the period) ÷ number of months. Compare the result to the monthly fee you are offered, and add any setup or cancellation fees.
Who owns the website and the domain when the contract ends?
This is the question that matters most, and the one people ask least. Three things need to be separated.
The domain name
A domain belongs to its registrant, the person or company recorded as holder. A WHOIS lookup shows the registrant and the registrar; for .fr domains, the French registry Afnic provides its own WHOIS tool (accessed October 17, 2026). If the registrant is your provider rather than your company, they decide what happens to your address at the end of the contract. Ask for the domain to be registered in your name from day one.
The site itself (code, design, copy)
Paying for a website does not automatically make you the copyright owner. Under French law, for example, article L131-3 of the Intellectual Property Code (accessed October 17, 2026) requires each assigned right to be listed separately in the assignment, with a defined scope. Without a written assignment clause, the provider keeps their rights. Whatever country you are in, check whether your subscription contract includes an assignment: if it does not, you use the site for as long as you pay.
The platform
If the site is built on a closed tool, even an assignment does not always let you leave with it. Wix says so in its help center: the site must run on Wix's servers and external hosting is not supported, even though the content you build belongs to you (Wix help page, accessed October 17, 2026). The domain can be moved to another registrar, but not within 60 days of purchase (Wix help on domain transfers, French version, accessed October 17, 2026).
At Lionea, the code is yours once the invoice is paid: source code, access, files and documentation. That is what I describe on the website design page.
Which clauses should you read before signing a pay monthly website contract?
- Who you sign with. The agency or a finance company? With a lease, payments are owed to the finance company, and stopping them when the agency no longer does its job can get complicated. Have this kind of contract reviewed before signing.
- Length and renewal. How many months? Automatic renewal, and with what notice to stop it?
- Early termination. What do you owe if you stop early: nothing, a notice period, or all remaining payments?
- The domain registrant. Your company, in writing.
- Assignment of rights at the end of the contract, or a buyout price.
- Exit terms: what you get if you leave (copy, photos, page export, access).
- What maintenance covers: number of edits per month, response time.
When does a pay monthly website make sense?
Paying monthly is not a bad idea in itself. It makes sense if:
- you are testing a business and don't know if it will exist in two years;
- you cannot pay for a build upfront, and the contract has no finance lease and simple cancellation;
- the domain is in your name and you can leave with your content.
On the other hand, for an established trade or shop that will keep its site five years or more, buying is usually cheaper and leaves you free to change providers. If you run a trade business, I go through price benchmarks in how much a tradesman website costs, and what I do for trades on the tradespeople page.
Sources
- La Fabrique du Net, website pricing barometer, July 2026 edition: lafabriquedunet.fr (accessed October 17, 2026, in French).
- OVHcloud, .fr domain and web hosting prices: .fr domain and web hosting (accessed October 17, 2026).
- Afnic, WHOIS: afnic.fr (accessed October 17, 2026).
- French Intellectual Property Code, article L131-3: legifrance.gouv.fr (accessed October 17, 2026).
- Wix help center (external hosting, domain transfers): links above (accessed October 17, 2026).
FAQ
Do I own a pay monthly website?
Not necessarily. Without a written assignment clause, the provider keeps their rights to the site, and you use it for as long as you pay. Also check that the domain is registered in your company's name.
How much does a website cost per month?
For a site you buy, fixed costs are low: a few euros a month for hosting and the domain at the OVHcloud prices read in October 2026, plus maintenance as quoted. For a rented site, it is the monthly fee, multiplied by the commitment period.
Over how long should I compare paying monthly and buying?
Over the time you will keep the site, usually at least 3 years. With my assumptions, a €90 monthly subscription costs a little less over 3 years, but clearly more over 5 years.
Can I move my Wix site to another host?
No. Wix states that the site must run on its servers. You can transfer the domain to another registrar, but the site has to be rebuilt on another solution.
What is a website lease?
A contract where a finance company pays the provider and rents the site to you for a fixed term. Payments are owed to that company, which makes stopping the contract difficult if the provider no longer does its job. Have it reviewed before signing.