What a business website should cost in Kenya in 2026

Ask five Kenyan agencies for a website quote and you will get five wildly different numbers. The difference is rarely the design. It is scope, content, who owns the platform, and how much of the work is actually done for you.

The four realistic tiers

KES 8,000 – 20,000: a small brochure site

Three to five pages, a standard theme or a simple custom layout, a contact form and WhatsApp. Suitable for a new business that needs a credible presence and a place to send referrals.

At this level, expect to supply your own text and images, and expect limited SEO work. If a provider promises “full SEO and unlimited revisions” at this price, something is being left out.

KES 20,000 – 60,000: a proper business website

Five to ten pages, original layout, content editing, on-page SEO, analytics, Search Console and a contact or booking flow. This is the right range for most service businesses, clinics, schools and professional firms.

You should receive: the domain in your name, hosting in your account, the code, and a short handover document.

KES 60,000 – 200,000: e-commerce or custom functionality

Online stores, booking systems, member portals, payment integration and multi-language sites. At this point the price is driven by functionality and testing, not by the number of pages.

Above KES 200,000: platforms, not websites

Custom applications, integrations with ERP or property systems, high-traffic platforms and ongoing product work. This is software development, and should be scoped and priced as such.

What actually changes the price

• Content. If you arrive with clean text and good photos, you save real money. If you expect the developer to write your business story from scratch, that is copywriting work.
• Custom design. A well-chosen theme configured professionally is not a compromise for most small businesses. A fully bespoke design takes longer and costs more.
• Functionality. Every integration, payment gateway and custom form adds build and test time.
• SEO. Basic on-page SEO should be included. Keyword research, content strategy and link building are separate ongoing work.
• Who maintains it. A site nobody updates becomes a liability. Budget for maintenance or learn to update it yourself.

The costs people forget

The build is a one-off cost. These are recurring:

• Domain: roughly KES 1,000 per year for a .co.ke.
• Hosting: KES 6,000 – 15,000 per year for a good shared plan; more for a VPS.
• Business email: around KES 800 – 1,000 per user per month for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
• SSL: free with Let’s Encrypt if configured properly.
• Maintenance: updates, backups and monitoring, typically KES 2,000 – 6,000 per month for a small site.
• Paid advertising: entirely separate from the website, and usually the largest ongoing cost if you use it.

A realistic first-year budget for a serious small business site is therefore the build cost plus KES 25,000 to 40,000 in running costs. Plan for it.

Where it is safe to save

• Use a well-supported theme instead of a fully custom design.
• Start with five pages and add more when there is content worth adding.
• Write your own first draft and pay for editing rather than full copywriting.
• Use stock photography carefully instead of commissioning a shoot on day one.
• Skip the logo redesign unless your current logo is actively hurting you.

Where it is a mistake to save

• Hosting. A KES 1,500-per-year host will give you slow pages, no backups and no support when the site goes down.
• Security. Updates, backups and HTTPS are not optional extras.
• Ownership. Never let a provider register the domain in their own name. It is your business asset.
• Testing. Forms that silently fail are worse than no form at all.

Questions to ask before you pay a deposit

1. Who owns the domain and hosting account?
2. What exactly is included, page by page?
3. How many rounds of revisions, and what counts as a revision?
4. What happens after launch, and what does support cost?
5. Can I see two live sites you built, and speak to one of those clients?
6. What is the payment schedule, and what triggers each payment?

A sensible rule of thumb

For a service business that needs a credible presence, expects enquiries through WhatsApp and wants to be found on Google for its own name and a few services, KES 15,000 to 50,000 is a realistic and honest range in 2026. Below that, you are buying a template. Above it, you should be getting content, SEO and functionality that justify the difference.

MUKI builds business websites from KES 15,000 with WhatsApp enquiries, SEO basics and a clean handover. You own the domain, hosting and code.