How much does website maintenance cost per month?
Website maintenance is the monthly work that keeps your site online, safe, backed up and working: hosting, updates, security, backups, and checks that your forms still arrive. Here's what it should include, what changes the price, what other providers and platforms publish, and exactly what we charge: Keep $100 a month, Grow $250 and Full Care $500, month to month, with no setup fee.
In short: what it costs to maintain a website each month depends on what's included, whether a person checks the work, and how much your site does, for example taking bookings or payments. With Penguina it's a fixed $100, $250 or $500 a month, in US dollars, with no setup fee and no contract.
What should website maintenance include?
Whoever looks after your website, these are the basics a monthly price should cover. If a quote leaves one out, ask why.
- Hosting that's looked after. The rented computer your website lives on, kept fast and watched. See website hosting.
- Backups you can actually restore. A backup nobody has tested may not work when you need it. See website backups.
- Updates, tested first. Software updates fix security holes, but an untested update can break a page. See safe updates.
- Security and spam blocking. A firewall, security fixes applied quickly, and less junk in your inbox. See website security.
- Someone watching. Checks that the site is up, day and night, and a person who reads the alerts. See website monitoring.
- Forms and bookings tested. Real test enquiries, so a broken form is found before customers give up. See form and booking testing.
- Your keys in your name. Your domain, hosting and logins registered to you. See you own every key.
- A plain report. What was done, in simple words, so you can see you're getting what you pay for. See the weekly note.
What changes the price?
What your website does
A simple site with a few pages has less to test and protect than one that takes bookings, payments or sign-ups. Every extra step a customer can take is another thing that can quietly break.
Whether a person checks the work
Software can run updates and send alerts on its own. A person decides what an alert means, tests the change on a phone, and tells you what happened. Ask any provider which one you're paying for.
What's included beyond keeping it running
Some plans only keep the lights on. Others also fix the places where visitors give up, reply to reviews, or keep your Google listing right. Compare what's included, not just the price.
Who owns the domain and logins
A cheap plan that keeps your domain or hosting in the provider's name can cost you more later, if you ever want to leave. Ownership should be part of the price, not an extra. Ask what the price becomes at renewal too, and see what to do when a website renewal price jumps.
Will the price go up in year two?
Check before you sign. Some providers offer a lower price for the first year, and the plan moves to its full price after that. One published example: SiteGroom lists its Essential plan at $39 a month for the first year, then $69, as a founders sale. Its Standard and Premium plans are listed at $149 and $279 per site a month.
Ask for the year-two price in writing, next to the first-year price. If a quote shows only one number, ask which year it's for. Our prices are the ones on our pricing page: $100, $250 or $500 a month, with no setup fee.
What costs extra on top of the monthly price?
The monthly price is often not the whole bill. Extra time for edits and emergency clean-ups after a hack are often charged on top. Here's what some providers publish on their own pages, as they publish it.
| Provider | Monthly prices | Other published terms |
|---|---|---|
| MaintainPress | $99, $199, from $349 | Extra time $85 an hour, in 15-minute increments. Month to month. |
| WebXSentry | From $99 | $990 a year option. Emergency Recovery $299, one time. No contract. |
| WebCare Studios | Care $99, Care Plus $199, Scale $799 | No contract, 30-day money back. |
| Bochi Web | Maintenance plan $45; management plans from $75 | Maintenance and management are listed as separate plans. |
| Boostify | Care plan $99 | Cancel whenever. |
| SiteGroom | Essential $39 the first year, then $69; Standard $149; Premium $279 per site | The first-year price is a founders sale. |
| Penguina | Keep $100, Grow $250, Full Care $500 | $0 setup, month to month. Add-ons and bigger projects are quoted before we start. |
On Shopify, Wix or Squarespace? What you already pay
If your site runs on a platform like Shopify, Wix or Squarespace, you already pay the platform every month. That covers the hosting and the platform's own software updates. It doesn't cover someone checking that your site still works for your customers.
Squarespace
Squarespace's pricing page lists Basic at $19 a month billed monthly or $12 billed yearly, Core at $27 or $17, and Advanced at $36 or $25, in US dollars (checked 26 October 2026).
Shopify
Shopify publishes its prices in each country's own currency: United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Check your country's page, and whether the price shown is for monthly or yearly billing.
Wix
Wix shows prices based on where you are, so check its plans page from your own country.
What care still covers on any platform
- Forms and bookings. Test enquiries and bookings, so a broken one is found before a customer gives up.
- Apps and add-ons. Checks that the apps your site relies on still do their job.
- Your domain. Registered in your name, not the platform's or ours.
- Google listing and reviews. Your business details kept right and reviews answered, on Grow and Full Care.
- Someone checking it works. A person who looks at your site the way a customer would, and tells you what they found.
How to leave a provider: a checklist
Ask these before you sign, and again before you leave. They work with any provider, us included.
- Notice period. How much notice do you need to give, and when is the next charge?
- Domain in your name. Is the domain registered to you, with your own email on the account?
- Hosting in your name. Is the hosting account yours, or the provider's?
- Your own logins. Do you have an admin login for the website, domain, hosting and email?
- A full backup on exit. Will you get a complete copy of your site and its content when you leave?
- Exit or transfer fees. Is there any charge to leave, move the site or transfer the domain?
More on this in you own every key.
What's the difference between hosting and maintenance?
Hosting is the rented space where your website lives. Maintenance is the care: updates, backups, security, checks and fixes. Some quotes cover only hosting, and some cover only maintenance. Every Penguina plan includes both.
Three plans. One fixed price each.
The price on this page is the price you pay. No setup fee, no contract, and nothing added without your yes.
| What you get | Keep $100 | Grow $250 | Full Care $500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting, backups, safe updates, security, watching day and night | Included | Included | Included |
| Forms and bookings tested, enquiries that don't land in spam | Included | Included | Included |
| Every key in your name, your enquiries by name | Included | Included | Included |
| Fixes where visitors give up, review replies, Google and listings care | Not included | Included | Included |
| Review requests, AI answer check, new pages and answers | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Weekly note, monthly page, 3-month letter | Included | Included | Included |
| Setup fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Contract | Month to month | Month to month | Month to month |
Questions to ask any provider.
Whoever you choose, these answers tell you more than the price does. Ask them in writing, and keep the replies.
If losing one booking a month would cost you more than the plan, a plan is worth a look. The missed booking calculator works it out for your business.
- Whose name will my domain and hosting be in?
- Can you show me a backup being restored?
- Are updates tested before they go live?
- Who reads the alerts: a person, or only software?
- Will you test my forms with real enquiries?
- What's included, and what's quoted as extra?
- Is there a contract, a minimum term or a setup fee?
- If I leave, what do I get back, and does it cost anything?
Questions about maintenance costs.
Something else? Ask in the chat, email hello@penguina.website or WhatsApp us.
How much does it cost to maintain a website monthly?
It depends on what's included and whether a person checks the work. With Penguina it's $100, $250 or $500 a month, fixed, month to month, with no setup fee. Our pricing page lists what each plan includes.
Do website care plans cost more in the second year?
Some do. A provider can offer a lower price for the first year and move to the full price after that. For example, SiteGroom lists its Essential plan at $39 a month for the first year, then $69 (checked 26 October 2026). Ask for the year-two price in writing before you sign. Our prices are the ones on our pricing page: $100, $250 or $500 a month, with no setup fee.
What does Keep include for $100 a month?
Hosting that's looked after, watching day and night, regular backups we check, safe updates, security and spam blocking, tested forms and bookings, enquiries that don't land in spam, every key in your name, your enquiries by name, a weekly note and a monthly page.
What's the difference between hosting and maintenance?
Hosting is the rented space where your website lives. Maintenance is the care: updates, backups, security, checks and fixes. Every Penguina plan includes both.
Do I need a contract? Can I stop any month?
No contract. Every plan is month to month, and you can change or stop it from one month to the next. Everything is already in your name.
Are there any extra costs?
There is no setup fee, and nothing is added without your yes. Add-ons and bigger projects, like a redesign, are quoted before we start.
Do you work with businesses in the UK, Canada and Australia?
Yes. We look after businesses in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. Our prices are listed in US dollars. If you have a question about your country, ask in the chat before you start.
Is website maintenance worth it for a small business?
Our test is simple: if losing one booking a month would cost you more than the plan, it's worth a look. The missed booking calculator works it out with your own numbers.
Not sure where to start? Send us your website.
We look at it the way a customer would, find up to 3 real problems, and fix one of them free. No call needed.