By James Folk, principal software engineer and founder of NJLIGames Ltd (building software on Long Island since 2015). WordPress ecosystem prices below were read directly from wpengine.com, elegantthemes.com, and elementor.com on September 28, 2026, and are re-checked quarterly. Our own prices are published in full on our pricing page.
What "WordPress" actually means here
WordPress is free, open-source software. Nobody pays WordPress itself a monthly fee. What you pay for is everything around it: a place to host it, a theme or page builder to design it, a security plugin to watch it, and, unless you plan to do this yourself, someone to keep all of that patched. This guide compares that real stack, not the free download, against a done-for-you custom-coded site.
What a real WordPress stack costs
Three pieces most WordPress quotes leave out of the sticker price:
| Piece | Example price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting, budget shared | $3.99/mo promo, renews $9.99/mo | Bluehost Starter |
| Hosting, managed | $28/mo ($336/yr) | WP Engine Essential |
| Theme or page builder | $89/yr, or $49/yr starting | Divi, or Elementor Essential |
| Security plugin | Commonly listed around $149/yr | Wordfence Premium, one site (published by several WordPress security trackers; we could not load Wordfence's own pricing page to confirm it directly, so treat this line as an estimate rather than our own invoice) |
| Maintenance plan, if you hire it out | $50 to $150/mo typical for a basic plan (estimate) | Published WordPress maintenance-pricing guides |
Add managed hosting, a theme, and security together and a self-managed WordPress site runs roughly $574 a year, before your own hours spent applying every update. Add a basic maintenance plan so someone else does that instead, and the same stack runs closer to $1,200 to $2,300 a year, paid to two or three separate vendors who do not answer for each other.
What our custom-coded site costs
NJLIGames publishes fixed prices. As of September 2026:
- Monthly: $0 down, $175 per month. Custom design, five custom-coded pages, hosting, unlimited edits, direct support, lifetime updates, one vendor, one bill. 12 month minimum, then month to month.
- Own it outright: $3,800 one time plus $25 per month hosting. You own the code, the same way you would own a WordPress install, minus the plugin stack.
There is no plugin to renew, no theme license to track, and no separate security add-on, because there is no plugin surface for one to protect. Read more about what custom-coded actually means.
The three-year math
Same five-page site, three years, next to what a maintained WordPress stack (managed hosting, theme, security, and a basic maintenance plan) costs over the same period.
| Path | 3-year total | What happens along the way |
|---|---|---|
| NJLIGames Monthly | $6,300 | One vendor, every edit and update included |
| NJLIGames Lump Sum | $4,700 | $3,800 build + $900 hosting; you own the code |
| WordPress, hands-off (estimate) | $3,500 to $7,100 | Hosting, theme, security, and a maintenance plan, from three or four separate vendors, each able to raise its own price on its own schedule |
Cash totals land in a similar range either way. The difference is what each dollar buys: one relationship that answers for the whole site, or several subscriptions that each answer for their own piece of it.
Where WordPress genuinely wins
If you or someone on staff wants to open the site and change a page yourselves, every week, without calling anyone, WordPress is built for that in a way a hand-coded site is not. Its plugin ecosystem is larger than any custom build could match: booking widgets, membership tools, and niche integrations that already exist and already work. If your business wants to edit constantly and is willing to own the patching that comes with it, WordPress is the right tool, and we will tell you so rather than talk you out of it.
Where custom-coded wins
If nobody on your team wants to be the person who logs into WordPress to approve a plugin update, custom-coded removes that job instead of assigning it to a vendor. There is nothing to patch because there is no plugin stack, pages load faster because there is no page-builder overhead to render, and one bill covers the whole site instead of a hosting invoice, a theme license, and a security renewal arriving on three different days. See our honest Wix comparison for the page-builder side of the same tradeoff.
Which one is right for you
- You or staff want to edit the site yourselves every week, and someone is willing to own plugin updates: WordPress.
- You want occasional content changes made for you, without owning a plugin stack or a patch schedule: custom-coded.
- The current site is embarrassing you in front of clients and needs to stop being a decade-old liability: either path can fix that; the question is who you want maintaining it afterward.
- You are not sure yet: our design preview is free, so you can see the custom-coded option before deciding against it.
Common questions
Is a hand-coded website actually more expensive than WordPress?
Not once you add up a real WordPress stack. A maintained WordPress site commonly lands between $1,200 and $2,400 a year. Our Monthly plan is $2,100 a year and includes hosting, edits, and updates in one payment instead of several.
When is WordPress the better choice?
When you or staff want to log in and edit the site yourselves every week, and you are comfortable being the one who keeps plugins updated, or you already pay someone who does. If that is your situation, WordPress is the right tool.
What does a typical WordPress plugin stack cost per year?
As of September 2026: managed hosting from WP Engine starts at $28 a month, a Divi theme subscription is $89 a year, and Wordfence Premium security is commonly listed around $149 a year. That is roughly $574 a year before any maintenance plan and before your own time.
Can I move off WordPress later if I start there?
Yes, but expect a rebuild, not a migration. A hand-coded site and a WordPress site do not share a database or template format, so switching later means starting the design and content over. Make the call once if you can.
Related reading: what a website costs on Long Island and Wix versus hiring a web designer, plus what custom-coded actually means.
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