Introduction
Two agencies quote very different prices for "the same website" because they're almost never quoting for the same thing. One may be planning a template filled with your content, the other a custom design built from scratch. One includes copywriting, photography and a year of support; the other includes none of it. Team size, location and how carefully each one read your brief make up most of the rest of the gap.
When two quotes look wildly different, they're usually for two different websites that happen to share a name.
Reason 1: They pictured different websites
A short brief leaves room for interpretation. "A website for my restaurant" could mean five pages on a theme, or a custom design with online ordering, table booking and a menu your staff edit daily. If you didn't specify, each agency filled in the gaps differently.
Check: ask each agency to list the pages, page templates and features their price includes. Put the lists side by side.
Reason 2: Template or custom design
Building on a purchased theme is quicker than designing every page for your brand. Neither is wrong, but they're different products. If one quote is for a template and another for custom design, the prices shouldn't be similar.
Check: ask whether the design is custom, a modified theme, or a theme used as it is. Ask to see the theme if there is one.
Reason 3: Content is in one quote and not the other
Writing copy, sourcing photos, loading products and translating pages is real work. Some agencies include it. Others assume you'll supply everything finished and quote only the build.
Check: who writes the words, who supplies images, and who enters products or articles?
Reason 4: Different platforms
A WordPress or Shopify build, a custom-coded site and a site on a hosted builder differ in build time and in running costs. A cheaper build can come with higher monthly fees, or the other way round.
Check: which platform, why, and what it costs to run each year.
Reason 5: What happens after launch
One quote may include hosting setup, training, a month of bug fixes and a year of maintenance. Another ends the day the site goes live.
Check: what support is included, for how long, and what changes cost afterwards.
Reason 6: Testing and quality
Testing on real phones and browsers, speed optimisation, accessibility checks, SEO setup (titles, redirects from your old site, sitemaps, analytics) all take time. They're easy to leave out of a quote and painful to discover later.
Check: ask what testing and SEO setup are included, and whether old URLs will be redirected.
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Reason 7: Who does the work, and where
A solo freelancer, a small studio and a large agency carry different costs, and so do teams in different countries. A larger agency may have a project manager, designer, developers and testers on your project; a freelancer does it all. Costs of living differ hugely between, say, London and Lucknow, which is why offshore teams can quote less for the same work. The quality question is about the team, not the country.
Check: who exactly will work on your project, and can you see their previous work?
Reason 8: How much risk they've priced in
A vague brief is risky to quote at a fixed price. Careful agencies add a margin for the unknowns; others quote low and charge for every change later. A low fixed quote on a vague brief can end up costing more than a higher one.
Check: how are changes handled, and what does a typical change cost?
How to compare quotes properly
- Send one written brief to everyone. Pages, features, content responsibilities, launch date. Our guide to hiring a web developer has a one-page brief you can copy.
- Ask for an itemised scope, not just a total.
- Build a comparison table: design approach, platform, pages, features, content, testing, SEO setup, support, yearly running costs, timeline.
- Ask about the differences directly. "Agency B includes copywriting and you don't; can you quote for it?"
- Look at live work similar to your project, on your phone.
Once the scopes match, the remaining gap is usually smaller, and easier to judge on quality and trust.
When the cheapest quote is fine
If the scope matches, the agency's previous work is good, and the agreement covers ownership and support, a lower price can simply mean lower overheads. The risk is in cheap quotes with vague scope, not in cheap quotes as such.
More questions about quotes
Should I tell agencies my budget? Often, yes. A budget range helps an honest agency recommend what fits, rather than guessing. It also screens out agencies whose minimum is far above it.
Is a fixed price better than hourly? For a well-defined website, a fixed price gives you certainty. For evolving software, other models can be fairer. We compare pricing models later in this series.
What if one agency's quote is much higher? Ask what they've included that others haven't. Sometimes it's a better team; sometimes it's work you don't need.
Conclusion
Line the quotes up against the same brief and the gap usually shrinks to something you can judge on quality and trust. If you'd like ours added to the comparison, send us the brief and we'll itemise it.
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Skip the ranges. Tell us what you need and get one fixed price in writing within 24 hours.