Agency, freelancer, or do it yourself?
The three usual options each fail in a predictable way. There's a fourth, and it's what we built Good Work to be.
The short answer.
A DIY website costs $20–$50 a month and your time, and is fine as a placeholder but rarely ranks or converts. A freelancer costs $1,500–$8,000, varies enormously in quality, and often disappears after launch. An agency costs $10,000–$50,000 with discovery calls, retainers, and junior teams doing the work. A fixed-price studio — senior people, published prices, a quote in a day, finished in weeks, and you own everything — is the middle option most small businesses actually want, and it's how Good Work is built.
Ask us which fits- DIY
- $20–$50 / mo + your time
- Freelancer
- $1,500–$8,000
- Agency
- $10,000–$50,000
- Fixed-price studio
- $2,400–$15,000, published
- Risk
- DIY: ranking · Freelancer: vanishing · Agency: cost
- Our model
- Senior, fixed, fast, you own it
| Freelancer / DIY | Agency / Fixed-price studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | DIY $20–$50/mo; freelancer $1,500–$8,000 | Agency $10,000–$50,000; studio $2,400–$15,000 published |
| Who does the work | You, or one person | Agency: often juniors; studio: senior people directly |
| Timeline | DIY: weekends forever; freelancer: 2–8 weeks | Agency: 2–6 months; studio: 1–6 weeks |
| Your time | DIY: 40+ hours; freelancer: 5–10 | Agency: 10–20 hours of meetings; studio: under 3 |
| Copy and SEO | Usually on you | Agency: extra line items; studio: included |
| After launch | DIY: you; freelancer: maybe | Agency: retainer; studio: care plan or nothing |
| Ownership | DIY: platform lock-in; freelancer: usually yours | Agency: sometimes theirs; studio: always yours |
| Best for | Placeholders, tiny budgets, trusted referrals | Growing businesses that need it done right once |
Our verdict
Do it yourself if you need a placeholder this week. Hire a freelancer you've been personally referred to and who shows you three live sites. Hire an agency if you need a team for a year. For everything in between — most small businesses — a fixed-price studio gets you senior work in weeks at a price you knew before you started. See our pricing and what to expect.
Agency vs freelancer vs DIY questions.
Our honest take.
Isn't a fixed price just a freelancer with a website?
The difference is the process and the team: published packages, a four-checkpoint process, copy and SEO included, senior people on every project, and a studio that's still here next year.
How do I vet a freelancer?
Ask for three live sites built in the last year, call one of the owners, and confirm you'll own the domain, hosting, and code.
When is an agency the right call?
When you need strategy, campaigns, and development as an ongoing team, and have the budget for it.
What does Good Work cost?
Landing page $2,400, launch site $4,500, Shopify store from $4,800. Custom work quoted fixed in a day.
Two free ways to start.
Either one costs nothing and comes with no sales call.
Free quote — within 24 hours
Tell us what you need and get a fixed price back within one business day. Shopify, WordPress, Webflow, or custom.
Get a free quoteFree site audit — within 2 days
Send us your current site. We'll email back what's slowing it down, why it isn't ranking, and the three fixes that matter most.
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