Market prices, the recurring costs quotes leave out, and how to choose between a freelancer, an agency and an AI builder.
Ask three web developers in Karachi what a website costs and you will get three very different numbers. That is not because anyone is being dishonest — it is because "a website" can mean a three-page brochure site or a full online store with payment gateways and customer logins. Here is what the market actually charges in 2026, what those quotes usually leave out, and how to work out which route makes sense for your business.
Across Pakistani agencies and freelancers publishing their rates this year, prices fall into fairly predictable bands:
A useful sanity check: most small businesses end up spending somewhere between PKR 30,000 and PKR 100,000 a year once building and running the site are both counted. If a quote is dramatically below that band, the saving is usually coming from somewhere — a pirated theme, no maintenance, or a design you will want to replace within a year.
The build fee is the visible number. These are the ones that catch owners out later:
Ask for these to be itemised before you sign anything. A quote that covers the build but quietly leaves out hosting and maintenance is not a cheaper quote — it is an incomplete one.
Domain pricing changed this year, so a lot of the advice still circulating is out of date. PKNIC, the registry that runs the .pk namespace, raised its price by PKR 300 per domain per year on 1 August 2026. The current registry rates are:
Those are the registry's prices. Most people buy through a reseller, and resellers add their own margin: Pakistani hosts were advertising .pk domains between roughly PKR 2,850 and PKR 4,500 a year after the August increase, and several put their prices up the same week PKNIC did. A little extra for a reseller with a support desk you can actually reach is usually money well spent; double for the identical domain is not, so check two or three before you commit.
Should you take a .pk or a .com? If your customers are in Pakistan, a .pk reads as local and you can still get a short, obvious name that disappeared from .com years ago. If you sell abroad, or hope to, .com is still what people type by default, and at roughly USD 12 – 15 a year from a mainstream registrar the two are closer in price than they used to be. Plenty of businesses register both and redirect one to the other — just be aware that is two renewals a year forever, so make it a decision rather than a reflex.
Whichever you pick, three things matter more than the price. The domain must be registered in your own name, not your developer's or your agency's — check the registrant details the week you buy it, not the week you fall out with them. Keep the contact email on the domain current, because that is where renewal notices and any future transfer approval are sent. And put the renewal date in a calendar: a lapsed domain can often be recovered, but not always, and recovery generally costs far more than the renewal you missed. Our Domains page covers finding and connecting a domain, and the guide to building a business website in Pakistan covers the rest of the local setup.
Setting up a payment gateway is a one-off cost. Using one is not. Every card payment, wallet payment and bank transfer you accept carries a percentage fee, and across a year that is usually the largest running cost an online store has — comfortably bigger than hosting. It is also the cost almost no website quote mentions, because it is not the web developer's to charge.
Two things surprise first-time sellers here. First, Stripe is not available to Pakistani merchants and PayPal cannot be used to receive money in Pakistan, so the international gateways recommended in foreign guides are usually not an option — you will be choosing between local providers, and possibly adding an international one later purely for overseas buyers, at a higher rate. Second, a large share of Pakistani buyers will not pay by card at all, so accepting mobile wallets, bank transfer and Raast — the State Bank's instant payment system — matters far more than shaving 0.2% off a card rate. A checkout a customer cannot use costs you the whole order, not 3% of it.
Cash on delivery is still common and looks free, but it is not. You pay courier handling either way, refused parcels come back at your expense, and the cash reaches you on the courier's schedule rather than yours. Compare it honestly against a 2–3% gateway fee before deciding it is the cheaper option — our guide to starting an online store in Pakistan puts real numbers on that comparison, including typical return rates and what couriers charge to collect the cash, and our guide to choosing a courier lists the payout, COD-fee and return terms to compare before you sign. Our Online Store page covers the selling side of the platform, and the guide to building a business website in Pakistan has more on getting set up locally.
Four things move the number more than anything else. Design: a customised premium template costs a fraction of a design drawn from scratch. Features: booking systems, customer logins, multi-language support and payment gateways each add build and testing time. Technology: a WordPress site and a custom React or Laravel build are not comparable jobs. Deadline: rush work costs more, everywhere, always.
One requirement is not negotiable in Pakistan: the site has to be fast on a mid-range Android phone on a mobile connection. Most of your visitors will never see your website on a desktop, and a slow mobile page loses customers before it loses rankings.
A freelancer is usually the best value for a straightforward brochure site, provided you are comfortable managing the project and the person stays reachable afterwards. An agency makes sense when the project is complex, has a real deadline, or needs several skills at once — design, development, content and integrations. Both routes mean waiting on someone else's calendar for every change you want to make later.
The third route is to build it yourself with AI. That is what we do at WebNewBiz: you describe your business once, and the AI Website Builder drafts a complete site — pages, layout and copy — which you can then edit yourself in the browser. If you would rather start from a design, pick one of our templates and let the AI fill it with your content. When you are ready, connect a domain and publish.
The saving is not only the build fee. Selling online is part of the same platform through the Online Store, enquiries from your site land in the AI CRM instead of a personal inbox, and search-engine work is handled by the built-in SEO tools rather than a separate retainer. Our pricing page has the current plans.
If you decide to build it yourself with AI rather than hire someone, the preparation is much the same — our AI website checklist covers what to have ready before you start, and our page on building a business website in Pakistan covers the local side of it.
For a straightforward small business website in Pakistan in 2026, budget PKR 30,000 – 100,000 for the first year, or from PKR 80,000 upwards if you need to sell online. Whichever route you take, the expensive mistake is not paying too much — it is paying for a site nobody maintains and nobody can find. If you would like to see what the AI builds for your business before spending anything, start for $1, or get in touch and we will talk it through.
This guide answers what things cost. The question underneath it — whether to pay someone or build the site yourself — turns on four things that have very little to do with price: what the site actually has to do, how much of the work only you can supply, who will change it in month seven, and what being late would cost you. We work through all four, plus what to settle in writing before you pay a developer, in hire a web developer, or build the website yourself?
How much does a website cost in Pakistan in 2026?
For a straightforward small business website, budget PKR 30,000 – 100,000 for the first year once the build and the running costs are both counted. A basic three-page static site is roughly PKR 15,000 – 60,000 to build, and a template-based five-page business site starts at around PKR 35,000.
How much does an online store cost in Pakistan?
A basic store on WooCommerce or Shopify starts at roughly PKR 80,000. A mid-range e-commerce site with a real catalogue and payment integrations is PKR 125,000 and up, and a fully custom web application starts around PKR 500,000.
How much is a domain name?
A .pk is PKR 2,100 a year at the PKNIC registry after the increase on 1 August 2026, billed two years at a time, and resellers charge roughly PKR 2,850 – 4,500. A .com is usually around USD 12 – 15 a year. Watch for packages that include the domain for the first year only, then bill you separately from year two.
Should I register a .pk or a .com?
A .pk reads as local and short names are still available, which makes it the easier choice if your customers are in Pakistan. A .com is what people type by default and is worth having if you sell abroad. The prices are close enough now that the decision should be about your customers, not the bill — and if you register both, remember you are paying two renewals every year.
What are the ongoing costs of a website?
Five things, and only the first is usually in the quote: hosting (billed yearly), the domain renewal, maintenance and security updates, content work such as photographs and product descriptions, and payment gateway setup if you sell online. Ask for all of them to be itemised before you sign.
What does it cost to accept online payments in Pakistan?
Budget roughly 2% – 3.5% of every order as a gateway fee, on top of any setup or integration charge. Card payments usually sit at the top of that range and wallet or bank-transfer payments lower down, and rates are often negotiable once you have real volume. Expect settlement the next working day or later rather than instantly.
Can I use Stripe or PayPal in Pakistan?
No. Stripe is not available to Pakistani merchants and PayPal cannot be used to receive money in Pakistan, so you will be choosing between local gateways and aggregators. Make sure whichever you pick supports mobile wallets, bank transfer and Raast as well as cards, because many Pakistani buyers will not pay by card.
Should I hire a freelancer or an agency?
A freelancer is usually the best value for a straightforward brochure site, as long as you are comfortable managing the project and they stay reachable after launch. An agency earns its fee when the project is complex, has a real deadline, or needs design, development, content and integrations at once.
Is building it myself with AI cheaper?
Usually, and the saving is not only the build fee. With the AI Website Builder you describe the business and edit the draft yourself, so later changes do not mean waiting on someone else's calendar. Selling, enquiry handling and search work are in the same platform through the online store, the AI CRM and the SEO tools, rather than three separate bills. Current plans are on the pricing page.
Every guide is listed on the blog.
Every guide is listed on the blog.
Every guide is listed on the blog.
Every guide is listed on the blog.