Pricing · Kenya

How much does a website cost in Kenya?

Straight pricing for building a website in Kenya in 2026. Landing pages from KES 120,000, brand marketing sites KES 450K–1.2M, e-commerce KES 800K+, custom apps KES 1.5M+.

Written by a Nairobi studio that actually builds — not an aggregator site. Every number here is what we quote real Kenyan clients, in Kenyan Shillings, with no dollar mark-up.

KES 120KLanding page start
KES 450KBrand site start
KES 800KE-commerce start
KES 1.5MCustom app start

There's no single answer to "how much does a website cost in Kenya" — the honest answer is "it depends on what you need it to do." A one-page launch site is very different from a 50-product e-commerce store, which is very different from a custom SaaS with M-Pesa subscriptions. This guide walks through each tier with real KES numbers.

Kenyan web pricing generally falls into four bands: freelancer/template (KES 15K – 80K), templated agency (KES 100K – 300K), custom agency (KES 450K – 1.5M), and custom app/e-commerce (KES 800K – 4.5M). Each band has genuine use cases; the mistake is paying for a band you don't need, or expecting the next band's quality at the previous band's price.

We sit in the top two bands — custom agency for marketing sites, custom build for apps and e-commerce. We won't quote a freelancer's price, and we won't take on a freelancer's brief. But we will tell you honestly when a freelancer or Wix template is the right answer — and point you to one if it saves you KES 500K.

Why teams choose us

What you get.

Tier 1 — Freelancer / template (KES 15K–80K)

Fiverr freelancer on a WordPress template, or you build it yourself on Wix / Squarespace. Right answer for: side-hustles, first-year businesses, validating an idea cheaply.

Tier 2 — Templated agency (KES 100K–300K)

Local agency modifies a purchased theme. You get a working site but not a distinctive one. Right for: SMEs who need "a site that exists" but don't yet compete on brand.

Tier 3 — Custom marketing site (KES 450K–1.2M)

Bespoke design, Next.js build, headless CMS, SEO foundation, Core Web Vitals green. Right for: brands competing on differentiation, fundraising startups, teams that will invest in growth.

Tier 4 — Custom e-commerce / SaaS (KES 800K–4.5M)

Full custom build — Shopify headless, Medusa, or greenfield Next.js + Node. Right for: serious e-commerce operators, product founders, teams with product-market fit.

Tier 5 — Retainer (KES 150K+/month)

Ongoing design + development + SEO + performance. Usually starts after a Tier-3 or Tier-4 build. Right for: teams that ship new landing pages and campaigns monthly.

FAQ

Questions we hear often.

Can I get a website for under KES 50,000?
Yes — on Wix, Squarespace, or via a freelancer using a WordPress template. It'll look like the template and won't rank competitively, but for a micro-business it's a reasonable starting point. We do not work in this price band — it doesn't leave enough room for the engineering time we spend on a site.
Why is custom web design more expensive in Kenya than a template?
Custom is a design-and-build cycle that includes discovery calls, research, bespoke visuals, a component system, writing actual code, testing on real devices, and handover. A template is 20% of that work — you skip research, buy a theme, and live with its constraints. Templates are cheaper because they skip the cost of being distinctive.
What's included in a KES 1.2M brand site?
Strategy + discovery, information architecture, bespoke visual system, 5–10 page templates, a headless CMS (Sanity or Payload), SEO foundation with schema markup, analytics (GA4 or Plausible), Search Console setup, two rounds of revisions, content migration, launch + DNS cutover, and a two-week post-launch warranty.
Do you offer payment plans?
Yes. Standard split is 40% on signature, 40% at design approval, 20% on launch. For longer projects (e-commerce, apps) we invoice sprint-by-sprint. M-Pesa and bank transfer both accepted.
What are the ongoing costs of running a website in Kenya?
Hosting on Vercel or Cloudflare Pages: KES 0–5,000 / month. Domain: KES 1,500 / year. CMS (Sanity or Payload): KES 0–4,000 / month. Analytics: free (Plausible) to KES 2,000 / month. Maintenance retainer (optional): from KES 150,000 / month. Total: KES 1,500 – 15,000 / month without a retainer.
Is TheNodeNest the cheapest agency in Nairobi?
Almost certainly not. We're a senior-led studio, not a template shop. Our price point sits in the middle-upper of the Nairobi agency market. What we offer is honest scoping, a senior-led team from kickoff to launch, and code you can maintain without locking in to us. If cheapest is your primary filter, we'd recommend a templated agency from our Tier 2 list.

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