Website maintenance costs 2026: what will you actually pay?
Website maintenance costs indicatively €25-€150 per hour for ad-hoc work or €39-€89 per month for an all-in care plan. This article explains every component, market rates and decision criteria clearly.
- Website maintenance costs indicatively €25-€100 per hour via a freelancer or €75-€150 per hour via an agency in 2026. If you need little work, ad-hoc rates are cheaper; if you need regular updates, backups and monitoring, an all-in care plan is cheaper and more reliable.
- An all-in care plan at Delahaye Solutions costs €39 per month (Basic: hosting, security, backups and small changes) or €89 per month (Pro: everything in Basic plus monthly further development). Both are cancellable month-to-month.
- Without maintenance your site is at risk: more than 96% of hacked WordPress sites had outdated CMS versions, plugins or themes (Sucuri 2023). A hacked or offline site costs more to fix than a full year of maintenance.
What does website maintenance cover?
Website maintenance is everything that keeps your site secure, fast and correct after it goes live. It covers four categories: security updates (patches for your CMS, plugins and frameworks that close vulnerabilities), backups (daily or weekly copies so you can restore after a hack or mistake), uptime monitoring (automatic alerts when your site goes offline, so you hear it before your customers do) and small content changes (updating text, replacing images, adding pages). Some agencies include speed optimisation and content work in maintenance; others invoice these separately. Always clarify upfront what is included.
- Security updates: CMS, plugin and framework patches that close vulnerabilities.
- Backups: daily or weekly copies stored off-server.
- Uptime monitoring: automatic alerts on downtime so recovery starts immediately.
- Small changes: updating text, images, pages or forms.
How much does website maintenance cost per hour in the Netherlands?
Hourly rates for website maintenance in the Netherlands are indicatively €25-€100 per hour for a freelance developer and €75-€150 per hour for an agency. Agencies charge more because of overhead (project management, backup infrastructure, SLA monitoring) but offer more structure and continuity. For small, one-off changes (a text edit or image swap) an agency typically charges €50-€150 per job, even when the work takes less than an hour (minimum billable unit). All rates below are indicative and vary by region, specialisation and urgency; always request a quote.
| Party | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | Indicatively €25-€100/hr | More flexible, but less SLA guarantee |
| Small agency | Indicatively €75-€120/hr | More structure, dedicated contact |
| Mid-size agency | Indicatively €95-€150/hr | Specialists and SLA monitoring |
| Small job (per project) | Indicatively €50-€150 | Minimum billable unit at agencies |
Rates indicative. Always request a quote specifying what is included.
How much does a care plan cost?
An all-in care plan bundles hosting, security, backups and small changes into one monthly fee. At Delahaye Solutions there are two tiers: Basic at €39 per month and Pro at €89 per month. The Basic plan covers daily backups, security monitoring, updates and small content changes (text edits, image updates). The Pro plan adds monthly further development: new sections, larger changes and active performance optimisation. Both plans are cancellable month-to-month and include hosting; no separate server costs. Compared to ad-hoc at €100/hr, the Basic plan is already cheaper if you need more than half an hour of maintenance per month.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic care plan | €39/mo | Hosting, security, backups, updates, small content changes |
| Pro care plan | €89/mo | Everything in Basic + monthly further development and performance optimisation |
Cancellable month-to-month. Hosting included; no separate server costs.
Ad-hoc maintenance or a care plan: when to choose what?
Ad-hoc is cheaper if your site is technically simple (static or minimal plugins), changes rarely and you are comfortable monitoring updates yourself. Choose a care plan if your site needs regular small changes, you don't want to spend time on technical management or you run a CMS-based site (WordPress, Next.js with CMS) that requires regular patching. A plan also brings peace of mind: providers actively monitor your site and respond immediately to downtime or a security incident. Business owners with an e-commerce site or lead-generation page have little to gain from saving on maintenance: one hour of downtime on a busy day typically costs more than a full year of a care plan.
- Choose ad-hoc: static site, few plugins, comfortable managing updates yourself.
- Choose a care plan: CMS site, regular changes, no time for technical management.
- Choose a care plan: e-commerce or lead gen where downtime directly costs revenue.
What does it cost to do nothing?
Outdated software is the leading cause of website hacks. Sucuri reported in 2023 that more than 96% of hacked WordPress sites had outdated CMS versions, plugins or themes. Remediation costs after a hack are indicatively €500-€3,000 at an agency, on top of lost time, potential data loss and reputational damage. Where personal data is involved, there is also the risk of a formal response from the supervisory authority; even small businesses are not exempt from enforcement if they demonstrably failed to take appropriate measures. Search engines also display a warning banner if your site lands on a blocklist, which directly reduces organic traffic. GDPR Art. 32 requires organisations that process personal data to implement appropriate technical security measures; any site with a contact form, cookies or customer data falls within scope. An unmanaged site is therefore not just a technical risk, but also a legal one.
Frequently asked questions about website maintenance costs
The most common questions about website maintenance costs are answered directly below, with concrete figures and scenarios as your guide.
What does website maintenance cost on average per month?
Is website maintenance compulsory?
What is included in a care plan?
Can I do website maintenance myself?
Does website maintenance differ by site type?
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