COMPARISON
Classic web agency or subscription?
What an SMB website really costs over five years, line by line, using the prices Quebec agencies publish.
The short answer
Which one costs less?
With a classic agency, the build is only the first invoice. Then come maintenance, hosting, every change billed by the hour and, after four or five years, a redesign. For a bilingual site of about ten pages, published Quebec prices add up to roughly $32,550 over five years. A subscription folds those lines into one flat monthly fee, and it pays off when your site changes often. If your site barely moves, a classic agency can cost you less.
Five years, line by line
A bilingual brochure site of about ten pages, before tax. Every amount comes from a published price, except the number of change hours, which is our assumption.
| Line | Classic agency, 5 years | PEICH subscription |
|---|---|---|
| Site buildPaid once, up front | $7,500 | Included |
| MaintenanceUpdates, security and backups, $1,200 a year | $6,000 | Included |
| Hosting$210 a year | $1,050 | Included |
| Changes20 hours a year at $120 an hour | $12,000 | Unlimited requests |
| RedesignAfter four or five years, 80% of the build price | $6,000 | Full redesign included |
| Total over five years | $32,550 | One flat monthly fee, set for your site |
What the table doesn't show
Classic agency
- A quote to sign before you see anything.
- Every change needs its own quote, then waits its turn.
- Between redesigns, the site ages.
PEICH subscription
- Going live opens the contract instead of closing it.
- You send a request, we prioritize it with you, and it's usually live within a few days.
- Hosting, monitoring and fixes stay with us: nobody to chase when something breaks on a Saturday.
- You can stop whenever you want.
When is a classic agency the better choice?
- Your site changes a few times a year, no more.
- Someone in-house already handles updates and hosting.
- You have a one-time budget, a grant for example, rather than a monthly one.
Otherwise, run the numbers with your own figures: how many changes did you ask for last year, and what did they cost?
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Sources
Prices read on each page on September 14, 2026. Quotes are reproduced as published, in French.
- DKITWEB, coût d'un site web au Québec (2026)
« Site corporatif (10–20 pages, bilingue) | 4 000 $ – 12 000 $ | 7 500 $ … Maintenance annuelle | 600 $ – 3 000 $ | 1 200 $ (colonne « Médiane PME ») »
- Bollé Communications, choisir une agence web au Québec
« Prévoyez un budget d'entretien annuel réaliste, souvent de 800 $ à 1 500 $ pour un site vitrine de PME. »
- Bollé Communications, taux horaires
« Petite agence locale : 80 $ – 120 $ / heure … Agence établie : 120 $ – 250 $ / heure »
- Combustible, prix de création de site
« Ces modifications sont facturées à un tarif développeur web de 100$/h, facturé trimestriellement ou mensuellement. »
- Idée Création Web, forfaits d'hébergement
« Site régulier: 210$ / an »
- TactikMedia, coût d'un site web au Québec (2026)
« Hébergement : 150 $ à 1 000 $+ »
- My Little Big Web, combien coûte un site Internet
« Une refonte coûte généralement 70 à 90 % du prix d’un nouveau site équivalent »
- ExpertLocal, guide de refonte pour PME
« Un site web devrait être refondu tous les 3 à 5 ans pour rester compétitif. »