What you’ll learn
- What each option costs for five pages and a year of upkeep
- How to hire anyone safely: domain, hosting and logins in your name
- When a freelancer is the right call, and we’ll say so
- When an agency is worth it: someone is still there in year two
- Freelancer, in-house or agency: who should I hire?
- See what five pages cost with us, then decide
For a 5-page site, the Singapore freelancer rate cards we read start at S$950, our Bronze plan is S$1,199, and an in-house web developer earns a median S$6,290 a month. The prices are close. What happens after launch isn’t.
That’s the short answer. The table below puts all three side by side on six questions, with the source and the date for every figure. Some of you should hire the freelancer, and there’s a section further down that says when.
What each option costs for five pages and a year of upkeep
| Freelancer | In-house hire | Agency (us) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A 5-page site | S$950 for up to 5 pages, your own words and photos (freelancewebdesignersingapore.com, 1 Nov 2026). From S$1,500 for about 5 pages (qaizarweb.com, 1 Nov 2026). From S$2,535 for up to 10 pages, words written for you (terris.sg, 1 Nov 2026) | S$6,290 a month, the median gross pay of a web/mobile applications developer (MOM, June 2025, read 1 Nov 2026). How many months the build takes isn’t published | S$1,199 one-off for up to 5 pages and up to 40 hours of work (our pricing page, 1 Nov 2026) |
| A year of upkeep | S$100 to S$300 a month (freelancewebdesignersingapore.com). S$80 to S$120 a month (qaizarweb.com). From S$550 a month, plus S$10 to S$30 a month for hosting and domain on your own account (terris.sg). All read 1 Nov 2026 | S$75,480 a year at that median, before bonus and employer CPF (MOM, June 2025) | Hosting free in year one, then S$300 a year. Maintenance from S$100 a month for up to 4 hours of work, paid yearly (our pricing page, 1 Nov 2026) |
| Time to launch | 2 to 3 weeks for up to 10 pages (terris.sg, 1 Nov 2026). The other two don’t publish one | Time to hire, then the build. Neither is published | A few weeks for a small site (our web design page, 1 Nov 2026) |
| Who owns the domain, hosting and files | Whatever the deal says. terris.sg keeps hosting and domain on your account. Ask the others before you pay | Your company, if the accounts were opened in its name | The domain is registered in your name, and it stays yours. You keep your content, your data and your accounts (our websites page, 1 Nov 2026) |
| When the person leaves or goes quiet | The work waits for one person. If you hold the logins, another developer can take over | You hire again, and what they knew leaves with them unless it’s written down | The site stays with our team, so one person’s leave doesn’t stop your changes |
| Who fixes it at 11pm | Whoever built it, when they see your message. One rate card promises a reply within 24 hours (freelancewebdesignersingapore.com) | Your developer, if they pick up after hours | Our team on WhatsApp, weekdays 9 to 6. Anything after hours is picked up the next working morning, and maintenance plans include monitoring and backups |
Two things stand out. The cheapest freelancer price assumes you send the words and photos yourself, and the words are what turn a visitor into an enquiry. And an in-house salary only pays off when the website is somebody’s whole job, which a 5-page site isn’t.
How to hire anyone safely: domain, hosting and logins in your name
It goes wrong like this: the designer registers the domain in their own account, then goes quiet. Do these five things before you pay anyone, us included:
- Register the domain yourself, in the company’s name.
- Put the hosting account in your name, or get every login on the day the site goes live.
- Ask for an administrator login to the site itself, the one that can add or remove people.
- Pay half up front and the rest when you approve the finished site.
- Ask who looks after the site when the designer is on leave.
Get those right, and if a designer disappears, the next one starts from the site you already own. Get them wrong and you may pay for the same site twice.
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Free strategy call ›When a freelancer is the right call, and we’ll say so
Go with the freelancer when:
- You want one person from the first message to launch, and you like what they’ve built before.
- Your words and photos are ready and price is the deciding thing. S$950 for five pages on one rate card is less than our S$1,199.
- You want a particular designer’s look and you’ll pay for it.
- The site will rarely change, and you’re happy to hold the logins and find help when something breaks.
That’s a real set of owners, and a freelancer suits them well.
When an agency is worth it: someone is still there in year two
Go with an agency when the site has to keep bringing enquiries long after launch day.
Our plans include basic on-page SEO, so Google can read the pages from the first draft. Replacing a site that already ranks? We set up redirects from the old addresses so you keep those rankings. If you want to climb further, the team that built the site runs our SEO plans from S$600 a month.
After launch you get 30 days of support. Then website maintenance starts at S$100 a month for up to 4 hours of work, with updates, security and backups.
We’ll be straight about the hours. Support runs on WhatsApp on weekdays from 9 to 6, so an 11pm problem is picked up the next working morning.
Our Lite plan is S$699 for up to 3 pages and Bronze is S$1,199 for up to 5, both with a year of hosting. Bronze sits inside the freelancer range above.
Freelancer, in-house or agency: who should I hire?
How much does a freelance website designer cost in Singapore?
From S$950 to S$2,535 for a small site, on the three rate cards we read on 1 November 2026. The cheapest asks you to supply the words and photos. Upkeep on the same cards starts at S$80 a month, and the dearest starts at S$550. Our website cost guide covers agency quotes too.
Is a freelancer always cheaper than an agency?
No. Our Bronze plan is S$1,199 for up to 5 pages, between the freelancer prices above. Compare the year after launch too.
Should I hire a web developer in-house instead?
Only if the website is someone’s full-time job. MOM’s June 2025 figures put a web developer’s median gross pay at S$6,290 a month, before bonus and employer CPF.
Who should own my domain and hosting?
You should, whoever builds the site. Keep the logins in your company’s name and a new designer can start from the site you already paid for.
How long does a 5-page website take?
A small site usually takes us a few weeks. Only one of the three freelancers we read publishes a timeline: 2 to 3 weeks for up to 10 pages.
What happens if my freelancer disappears?
If you hold the logins, another developer can take over. If you don’t, contact the domain registrar and the host and ask how to move the accounts into your name.
See what five pages cost with us, then decide
Bronze is S$1,199 for up to 5 pages, with a year of hosting and 30 days of support. Put it beside your freelancer’s quote and choose.
Sources, read on 1 November 2026
- Freelancer rate card, Professional plan: freelancewebdesignersingapore.com
- Freelancer rate card, Business plan and care plan: qaizarweb.com
- Freelancer rate card, Starter plan and maintenance: terris.sg/pricing
- MOM Occupational Wages 2025, Table 4, web/mobile applications developer, all industries, June 2025, released 30 June 2026: stats.mom.gov.sg
- Our website, maintenance and hosting prices: digitalmarketingagency.sg/pricing
