A business website in Kenya costs three separate things: the domain and hosting you pay every year, the design and build you usually pay once, and the running costs of keeping it up to date. At HostingKE, the yearly floor is a .co.ke domain at KES 1,400 a year plus web hosting from KES 1,500 a year (KES 150 a month), so about KES 2,900 a year before VAT. The design and build is where prices vary most, from a do-it-yourself site to a custom system, and that depends on what the website has to do.
Part 1: the domain (paid every year)
Your domain is your address online, such as yourbusiness.co.ke. You register it for a year at a time and renew it every year after that. At HostingKE:
- .co.ke: KES 1,400 a year. The usual choice for a business trading in Kenya.
- .com: KES 1,600 a year. Useful if you serve customers beyond Kenya, or want to protect your name.
Two things to watch. First, check the renewal price, not just the first-year price; some providers advertise a cheap first year and charge much more to renew. Second, make sure the domain is registered in your business's name, not your web designer's, so you can move it later. You can search for a name and see current prices on our domain registration page.
Part 2: hosting (paid monthly or yearly)
Hosting is the server space where your website's files live, and it is what keeps the site online. For a typical small business site, shared hosting is plenty. Our Starter web hosting is KES 150 a month, or KES 1,500 for a full year, and includes free SSL (the padlock in the address bar) and email accounts at your domain.
You need more than entry-level hosting if the site is an online shop with many products, gets heavy traffic, or runs a custom application. Bigger shared plans, WordPress hosting and VPS servers cover those cases; all of them are on our hosting price list. Prices exclude VAT, which is added at checkout.
Domain and hosting together: a worked example
For a small business with a .co.ke domain and Starter hosting paid yearly:
- .co.ke domain: KES 1,400
- Starter hosting for 12 months: KES 1,500
- Total: KES 2,900 a year, before VAT
That is the part of the budget that never goes away. If you stop paying it, the website and the email at your domain stop working.
Part 3: design and build (usually paid once)
This is the part people mean when they ask what a website costs, and it is where quotes differ the most. What drives the price is not the number of pages so much as what the site has to do:
- A brochure site that explains what you do, shows your location and lists your contacts is the simplest.
- A site you update yourself, with a blog or news section on a content management system such as WordPress, takes more set-up and some training.
- An online shop needs products, a cart, M-Pesa or card payments and order emails, all of which add work and testing.
- A custom system, such as a booking platform, client portal or school system, is a software project and is priced like one.
Other factors move the price too: whether you supply the text and photos or need them produced, how many rounds of changes are included, and whether search engine optimisation is part of the job.
For current build prices, Edgecom, the Nairobi web design company behind HostingKE, keeps a detailed website cost guide for Kenya that breaks down what each type of site costs and why. Edgecom is our parent company, so treat it as one quote among others, and compare like with like.
Doing it yourself
If budget is tight, you can build a simple site yourself on WordPress using your hosting account. The cost is your time: choosing a theme, writing the pages and learning to keep it updated. Many businesses start this way and pay for a professional rebuild once the site is bringing in enquiries.
Part 4: running costs people forget
- Renewals. Domain and hosting every year. Put them on the calendar, or turn on auto-renewal, so the site never lapses.
- Updates and security. WordPress, its theme and its plugins need regular updates. Either someone on your team does it, or you pay for maintenance.
- Content. Prices, opening hours, staff and products change. An outdated site costs you customers quietly.
- Backups. Know where your backups are and how to restore one before you need it.
- Payment fees. If you take M-Pesa or card payments online, the payment provider charges per transaction.
How to get a fair quote
Before you ask for quotes, write one page that answers: what the website is for, who will use it, which pages it needs, whether you will sell online, and who will update it. Send the same page to every designer you ask. Then check that each quote states:
- Exactly what is included, and how many revisions.
- Who owns the domain, the hosting account and the finished site.
- What happens after launch: support, training and maintenance.
- The yearly renewal costs, separately from the one-off build.
If you want a quote for the build itself, Edgecom's website design and development service sets out its process and prices. Whoever builds your site, keep the domain and hosting in your own name.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to get a business website in Kenya?
Register a .co.ke domain (KES 1,400 a year at HostingKE), take entry-level hosting (KES 1,500 a year) and build a simple site yourself with WordPress. That costs about KES 2,900 a year before VAT, plus your time.
Is hosting a one-time payment?
No. Hosting and domains are recurring costs, paid monthly or yearly. Design and build is usually the only one-off payment, though larger sites often have a maintenance contract as well.
Why do website quotes in Kenya vary so much?
Because "a website" can mean anything from a one-page brochure to an online shop or a custom system. Quotes also differ on whether content, photography, SEO, training and support are included. Compare quotes against the same written brief.
Do I need a .co.ke domain or a .com?
A .co.ke tells customers you are a Kenyan business and is the common choice for local trade. A .com suits businesses that sell abroad. Many businesses register both and point one to the other.