How Much Does a Wedding Website Cost?

Somewhere between "free" and "$40 a month forever," there's what a wedding website should actually cost. Here's the honest landscape.

The three pricing models

Free (ad-supported or upsell-supported). The big-name builders offer free sites because the site is the top of their funnel — they monetise you through registry commissions, vendor ads, and constant upgrade prompts. Free is real, but you (and your guests) are the product being marketed to.

Subscriptions. Some builders charge monthly. Weddings are a terrible fit for subscriptions: planning takes a year or more, you want the site up for months afterwards, and the meter is always running. A "$15/month" site quietly becomes $270 by your first anniversary.

One-time pricing. You pay once for the plan you need, and the price is the price. This is what we chose for Shared Beginning — a free plan that's genuinely useful (site, guest list, RSVPs), and one-time paid tiers when you want more, never a subscription.

The hidden costs to check for

• Custom domain: is it included, extra, or "bring your own and figure out DNS"? Domain registrations genuinely renew annually (that's a registry cost, not a markup), but the connection shouldn't cost extra — and your domain should be your site's real address, not a redirect to a longer link.
• RSVPs per guest: some platforms cap guests or charge per RSVP. Check before you build your list.
• Privacy: password protection and staying out of search engines shouldn't be premium features. Your wedding details are not SEO content.
• After the wedding: does your gallery vanish 30 days after the big day? Look for what the hosting term really is.

What "expensive" buys you elsewhere

A custom-designed site from a designer runs $1,500–$5,000. Gorgeous, and for most couples unnecessary — modern builders' themes cover the ground for a fraction of that, and your guests care about the date, the directions, and the RSVP button.

The bottom line

A fair wedding website in 2026 costs $0 to start and a one-time double-digit-to-low-hundreds price for premium features — custom domain, full design control, planning tools. If you're being asked for a subscription, ask who it's really for.