Short answer: anywhere from 20 dollars a month to 20,000 dollars flat, and the price tag alone tells you almost nothing. Here is how the market actually breaks down, so you can compare quotes like someone who has done this before.
Option 1: DIY template builders
Squarespace, Wix, and the campaign-specific template shops run roughly 20 to 100 dollars per month. The real costs are hidden: your time (candidates routinely burn a week fiddling with templates that should have gone to fundraising calls), a site that looks like every other candidate on the same template, and the monthly meter that never stops. Over an 18-month campaign, "cheap" template hosting quietly becomes a four-figure line item, and you still never own the platform.
Option 2: The freelancer gamble
Somewhere between 300 and 3,000 dollars, and the widest quality range in the market. The good ones are great. The risk is not skill; it is that political work runs on deadlines that do not move, and a freelancer juggling six projects does not always feel your filing deadline the way you do. If you go this route, get the timeline and what happens if it slips in writing.
Option 3: Custom agency builds
Political digital agencies typically quote 1,000 to 10,000 dollars and up for congressional-level work, with big-race builds going far higher. What you are paying for at this tier is custom design, SEO engineering, compliance details like 10DLC readiness, and a team that has shipped under political deadlines before. What you should not accept at this tier: monthly ransom fees to keep your own site online, or a vendor who owns your hosting.
What actually drives the price
- Page count: a single-page launch site vs. a full multi-page build
- Custom design vs. template skin
- Copywriting: whether you bring finished text or bullet points
- Integrations: donation platform, email list, texting compliance
- Turnaround: political deadlines compress everything
- Extras: blog, branding kit, logo, print design
The five questions that expose a bad deal
- Is the price flat and in writing, or does the meter run?
- Who owns the hosting account and the domain, me or you?
- What happens to my site if we part ways?
- Is a revision round included, and how is it defined?
- Will the site pass 10DLC review so my campaign can text voters?
Any vendor who dodges the ownership question is telling you the answer.
How we price it
We quote every project flat-rate and up front, in writing, with a prepay discount if you want it. No hourly meter on the core build, no monthly fee to keep your site alive, hosting and domain in your name from day one, and a standard turnaround of about three weeks from complete intake. Tell us about your race and you will have your number fast, or read exactly how the build works first.