€75/Month vs €1,499 Once: Which Website Pricing Model Saves You More Over 3 Years?
You've decided you want a fast, hand-coded website — no WordPress, no page builders, loads in under a second. Good. Now there's one honest question left: how do you want to pay for it? €75 a month, or €1,499 once?
Both get you the same site, built the same way. So this isn't about quality — it's purely about cash flow and how much you expect to change your site over the years. Let's do the real maths, with nothing hidden, so you can pick the model that actually suits you.
The two options, plainly
- Subscription — €75/month, €0 down, 12-month minimum. You pay nothing upfront. The monthly fee includes hosting, unlimited edits, and ongoing maintenance. It's the cash-flow-friendly, fully-managed option: you never touch the technical side, and changes are included whenever you need them.
- Lump sum — €1,499 once, plus €15/month hosting. You pay for the build upfront and own the site outright. Hosting is a small monthly cost. It's the lowest-total-cost option — best when your site won't change much after launch.
The honest 3-year maths
Here's what each actually costs over three years — the timeframe most small-business sites are judged on:
| Upfront | Monthly | 3-year total | What's included | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription | €0 | €75 | €2,700 | Hosting + unlimited edits + maintenance |
| Lump sum | €1,499 | €15 (hosting) | €2,039 | Site + hosting (extra changes billed separately) |
Read honestly, that table says two things:
- The lump sum is cheaper over three years — about €660 less — if your site stays largely the same after launch and you rarely need changes.
- The subscription costs a bit more, but includes everything — €0 to start, and every edit, tweak, and bit of upkeep is already covered. You're paying for zero upfront cost and total peace of mind.
There's no catch and no "gotcha" model here. One is cheaper if you leave the site alone; the other is easier on cash flow and includes ongoing changes. That's the whole difference.
Which one fits your business
Choose the subscription if:
- You'd rather not pay a lump sum upfront.
- You expect to update the site regularly — new services, prices, photos, offers.
- You want it fully managed, with changes handled for you, no surprises.
Choose the lump sum if:
- You can pay upfront comfortably.
- Your site won't change much after it launches.
- You want the lowest total cost and to own the site outright.
What's identical either way
This is the important part: the website itself is the same on both plans. Hand-coded, served as static files, under one second on mobile, 98–100 on PageSpeed, multilingual, GDPR-clean. You're not choosing a better or worse site — you're choosing how to pay for the same one.
Proof you can verify
Here are live sites we hand-coded or hardened — every score is measurable in Google PageSpeed right now:
- piticluj.ro — 1,150 pages, taken from 66 to 100 on mobile PageSpeed.
- doctoricluj.ro — 5,800+ doctors, taken from 81 to 100 on mobile.
- cognilexis.com — a production platform hardened to a perfect 100 for accessibility, best practices and SEO.
Run any of them through PageSpeed Insights. See the full case studies →
Frequently asked questions
Is the website any different depending on which I choose? No. Identical build, identical performance. The only difference is how you pay and whether ongoing changes are included.
What happens after the 12-month minimum on the subscription? It simply continues month to month, with hosting, edits, and maintenance still included. There's no lock-in beyond that first year.
Do I own the site on the subscription plan? The subscription is an all-inclusive service — hosting, changes, and upkeep bundled together. If you want to own the site outright from day one, the lump sum is the option built for that.
What if I need changes on the lump-sum plan? You can request them any time; they're billed separately since the one-time price covers the build. If you expect frequent changes, the subscription's unlimited edits usually work out simpler and cheaper.
Which do most small businesses choose? It splits by cash flow and appetite for upkeep. Owners who want zero upfront cost and a hands-off, always-updated site lean to the subscription; those who can pay upfront and want the lowest total cost prefer the lump sum. Either way, you get the same fast site.
Not sure which fits? Let's work it out
Request your free website audit and we'll look at your current site, your goals, and how often you'd realistically update it — then recommend the model that costs you the least, with no pressure either way.
Want the full breakdown of what's included? See our pricing — three simple options, no hidden fees.