In 2026, UK freelance web designers typically charge £25–£120 an hour or £200–£550 a day. For a bespoke small-business website, most projects with an experienced freelancer land between £2,000 and £8,000 + VAT. Where a project sits in that range depends on the designer’s experience, how much of the site is custom, and how much of the work (content, integrations, SEO) they’re doing for you.
Last updated: November 2026.
Below are the rate tables, what’s behind them, and what I charge. I’m a freelance web designer and have been doing this since 2011, so I’ve watched these numbers move for a long time.
Hourly rates
| Experience | Typical hourly rate |
|---|---|
| Junior / mid-level (1–3 years) | £25 – £50 |
| Experienced (3–7 years) | £40 – £80 |
| Specialist / senior (7+ years) | £70 – £120 |
Source: ExpertSure, UK freelance web designer costs, 2026.
Hourly rates are most common for small jobs: fixes, tweaks, a new page on an existing site. For a whole website, an hourly quote leaves you holding all the risk. If it takes longer, you pay more.
Day rates
| Day rate | Roughly equivalent to |
|---|---|
| £200 – £280 | £25 – £35 an hour |
| £280 – £400 | £35 – £50 an hour |
| £400 – £550 | £50 – £70 an hour |
| £550+ | £70 – £120 an hour |
Source: ExpertSure, 2026. The most common UK freelance day rate is £300–£400.
Day rates are what you’ll see when a freelancer joins an agency or an in-house team for a set period. Contract listings on IT Jobs Watch show web designer day rates too, but there are only a handful of advertised roles at any time, so treat them as a rough signal rather than a benchmark.
Project prices
This is what most small businesses actually want to know: what will the whole thing cost?
| Type of site | Market range (UK freelancers) | My prices |
|---|---|---|
| Basic brochure site (3–5 pages) | £500 – £1,500 | Small brochure sites: £2,000 – £4,000 + VAT |
| Business site (5–10 pages) | £1,500 – £3,000 | |
| Site with CMS and blog (10–20 pages) | £2,000 – £5,000 | Content-driven sites: £4,000 – £8,000 + VAT |
| eCommerce | £3,000 – £10,000 | Custom builds & eCommerce: from £5,000 + VAT |
| Complex / custom build | £10,000 – £50,000+ |
Market ranges: ExpertSure, 2026. My prices: /pricing/.
The bottom of the market is usually a premium theme with your logo and colours swapped in. That has its place, but it isn’t the same product as a site designed around your business. Mine are at the upper end because everything is designed and built from scratch, with accessibility, performance and SEO done properly from day one, so you aren’t paying to redo it in 18 months.
If you’d rather spread the cost, I also offer managed monthly packages from £250/month + VAT, covering the build, hosting and maintenance in one payment.
What pushes a freelancer’s price up or down?
Experience and track record
A designer with fifteen years and a portfolio of live client sites charges more than someone two years in. You’re paying for fewer mistakes, faster decisions, and the problems they see coming before they cost you money.
Bespoke design vs a template
Designing from scratch takes longer than customising a theme. It’s also the difference between a site that fits your business and one that fits the template’s idea of a business. I’ve written more on why templates can hurt your business.
The number of unique page types
Ten pages that share one layout is far less work than ten pages that each need their own design. Count page types, not pages.
Content
- Hourly, daily or per project: which is better for you?
- What else to budget for
- Freelance web designer rates: the quick answer
- Keep reading
Functionality and integrations
Bookings, payments, CRMs, member areas, product filtering, multi-language: each one adds design, build and testing time.
SEO, accessibility and performance
Doing these properly (structured content, WCAG accessibility, Core Web Vitals) takes time. Skipping them is cheaper on day one and more expensive every day after.
Location
London rates tend to sit higher than the rest of the UK, but most freelancers work remotely now, so you’re not limited to designers who charge your postcode’s prices.
Hourly, daily or per project: which is better for you?
For a whole website, a fixed project price is almost always better for the client. You know the cost upfront, and the freelancer carries the risk if it takes longer. The catch is that a fixed price relies on a clear scope, which is why a good freelancer asks a lot of questions before quoting. If you don’t have a brief yet, my guide on how to write a web design brief will get you most of the way there in an hour.
Hourly or daily rates suit open-ended work: ongoing improvements, support, or a freelancer joining your team for a set period.
I price websites per project, not by the hour, and take 50% to book the project in and 50% on completion.
What else to budget for
- Domain: around £10–£20 a year.
- Hosting: from a few pounds a month for a small static site, more for WordPress or eCommerce.
- Maintenance: updates, backups and security for a WordPress site. My plans run from £49 to £199 a month; see how much website maintenance costs.
- Content: copywriting and photography, if you aren’t supplying them.
- Changes after launch: new pages, features or campaigns.
Freelance web designer rates: the quick answer
- Hourly: £25 – £120
- Daily: £200 – £550 (most commonly £300 – £400)
- Bespoke small-business site with an experienced freelancer: £2,000 – £8,000 + VAT
- eCommerce or custom builds: from £5,000 + VAT
If you want an exact number for your project, get an instant price or have a look at my pricing page. No “how long is a piece of string?”, just a straight answer.
Keep reading
- How to hire a freelance web designer (UK guide)
- How much does a website cost?
- How much do freelance web designers make in the UK?, if you’re on the other side of the table
- Why I put my prices on my website
