How Much Does a Nonprofit Website Cost Each Year?
connectNPO · Updated September 2026
Key takeaways
- A website costs two things every year: keeping it online (hosting, domain, software updates, backups, security) and keeping it right (changes as programs, staff and dates change, plus a yearly review). Check which of the two a quote covers before you compare prices.
- The second part does not arrive as a bill. It is staff time. The Nonprofit Communications Trends Report 2025 surveyed 463 nonprofit communicators; on its chart of top challenges, 45% rated a lack of time to produce quality content as very or extremely challenging.
- In our count of 150 small California nonprofit websites, 37 (24.7%) showed something plainly out of date. The most common problem, on 21 of them, was an event or deadline more than a month past still shown as upcoming or open.
- connectNPO costs $180 a month plus a $1,000 build fee, paid only after you approve the finished site. That is $3,160 in the first year and $2,160 a year after that, with no tiers or add-ons.
- Before you pay anyone to look after your website, ask at least these questions. Who makes the changes, and how fast? Whose name is the domain in? What does the second year cost? What can you take with you if you leave?
The renewal email arrives in March: hosting, the domain, and a security add-on someone ticked three years ago. The treasurer asks what each line is for, and no one on staff is sure.
When a board approves a new website, the number on the approval is the build. A year later the site is still there, and so are costs that no one put in the budget line.
A website is not a one-time purchase. Like a car, it has running costs after the price you paid, and someone has to drive it. This guide breaks the yearly cost of a nonprofit website into its parts, shows the part that does not arrive as a bill, and gives our own price in full, so you have one hard number to compare against.
How much does a nonprofit website cost per year?
The yearly cost of a nonprofit website is the price of keeping it online plus the cost of keeping it right.
Every site pays for the first part. The second part is paid either to a service or in your staff’s hours. So before comparing two prices, check which part each one covers. We do not list other providers’ prices here, because they change. Each one publishes its own, and our comparison of website builders for nonprofits links to their pricing pages. The one price on this page is ours.
What the yearly cost pays for
Seven things keep a nonprofit website working. The first five keep it online. The last two keep it right.
| Part | What it is | If no one does it |
|---|---|---|
| Keeping it online | ||
| Hosting | The server that keeps the site online | The site is slow or goes offline |
| Domain name | Your address, such as yourname.org, renewed every year | If the renewal lapses, the site and the email on that address can stop working |
| Software updates | The site’s software and add-ons kept current | Known security holes stay open and features break |
| Backups | Copies of the site to restore from | One bad update or break-in can lose the site |
| Security | The secure connection and watching for problems | Browsers mark the site as not secure |
| Keeping it right | ||
| Content changes | New dates, programs, staff, photos and documents | Pages go out of date, starting with anything dated |
| Yearly review | The whole site read through, with this year’s figures added | Last year’s numbers and board stay on the site |
Two rows have outside rules behind them. A domain has to be renewed before it expires to keep the website and email on it working, as ICANN explains in its renewal and expiration FAQ. And browsers such as Chrome mark a site without a secure connection as not secure next to the address.
Staff time is part of the cost
Planting a garden is a one-time cost. Keeping it alive after that takes time, not money. The same is true of a website: the part of the yearly cost that is easiest to leave out of a budget is the time it takes to keep the pages right.
That time is hard to find. The Nonprofit Communications Trends Report 2025 surveyed 463 nonprofit communicators. On its chart of top challenges, the first item is a lack of time to produce quality content, rated very or extremely challenging by 45% (the report’s text gives 44%). The survey asked about content in general, not websites. Every respondent also spends at least half their working time on communications.
Our own count shows where that shortfall ends up. On September 20, 2026 we checked 150 small California nonprofit websites. 37 of them (24.7%) showed something plainly out of date. Of those 37, 21 still showed an event or deadline more than a month past as upcoming or open. The method is in our study of 150 nonprofit websites, and our guide to how often to update a nonprofit website turns it into a weekly, quarterly and yearly schedule.
How to compare two quotes
Comparing two website quotes is like comparing two apartments, one where the landlord fixes the leaks and one where you fix them yourself: the lower rent is not always the lower cost.
Two quotes for looking after a website can be worded very differently and still cost the same, or be worded almost the same and cost very different amounts. The difference is in who does the work, not in the fee.
Quote A: keeping it online
- Hosting, domain, updates, backups, security
- Changes: your staff, in the editor
- Yearly review: your staff
- Your real cost: the fee plus those hours
Quote B: online and right
- Hosting, domain, updates, backups, security
- Changes: made for you
- Yearly review: done with you
- Your real cost: the fee
Illustrative. The two quotes are shapes, not real providers or prices.
Before you pay anyone to look after your website, ask these six questions. The answers tell you what the fee really buys.
QUESTION 1
Who makes the changes, and how fast?
If the answer is “you do, in our editor”, count your staff’s hours in the price.
QUESTION 2
Are hosting, backups and security included?
Or are they billed separately, or left to you?
QUESTION 3
Whose name is the domain in?
It should be yours, whoever pays the renewal.
QUESTION 4
What does the second year cost?
A first-year price can be introductory.
QUESTION 5
What happens if we leave?
Can you take the site, and would you need to buy software to keep it running?
QUESTION 6
Is there a limit on changes or pages?
A low fee with a small allowance can cost more in practice.
What connectNPO costs, in full
A nonprofit website from connectNPO costs $180 a month plus a one-time $1,000 build fee, which is due only after you approve the finished site. That is $3,160 in the first year and $2,160 a year after that. The price is the same for every organization, with the two exceptions below.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Monthly plan fee | $180 a month |
| Build fee, one time, due after you approve the finished site | $1,000 |
| First payment (build fee plus the first month) | $1,180 |
| First year, total | $3,160 |
| Every year after the first | $2,160 |
| Setup fee, tiers, add-ons, paid software licenses | $0 |
| Minimum contract | None; cancel any month |
Only two things change the price: a site over 40 pages, and a tool built for your organization alone. Both are quoted in writing before anything starts. The full list is on our pricing page.
See what a finished site looks like first
Eight working sample sites, each built for a different kind of small nonprofit. Press the buttons; they are live.
What the $180 a month covers
The monthly fee covers both parts of the yearly cost: keeping the site online and keeping it right.
- ✓Hosting, software updates, weekly backups at least, and security updates
- ✓The settings that point your domain at the site and your email
- ✓Your domain’s yearly renewal, up to $25 a year, while it sits in our management account; it stays in your name
- ✓Every change you ask for. Small ones, up to thirty minutes of work each, are done within one business day; bigger ones get a date in the reply
- ✓Once a year, your new Form 990 and financial documents published when you send them, the figures on your pages matched to them, and the whole site gone through with you in writing
- ✓Each November, the donation page and a home-page notice refreshed for year-end giving
- ✓A check every month for broken links, contrast and missing image descriptions, with a written report
- ✓Up to five one-minute videos a year, made only from the photos and clips you send
What happens if you leave
Question 5, what happens if you leave, is the one that is easiest to skip. Here is our answer in full.
You can cancel any month. Your domain is always registered in your organization’s name, and we move it to any registrar you name within five business days at no charge (ICANN’s transfer policy lets a registrar refuse a move within sixty days of the last one). After twelve monthly payments, the site leaves with you at no charge: a complete copy of the files and database, with a short written guide. Before that, you can take it by paying the monthly fees left up to twelve.
The site is built to run on WordPress and free plugins, so there is no paid software to buy when you leave. What stops is our work: changes, the yearly update and the monthly check. The terms are in our service agreement.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a nonprofit website cost per year?
It depends on who does the work. Every site pays to stay online: hosting, the domain, software updates, backups and security. Changes and a yearly review are either done by a service or by your own staff, and staff time is a cost too. connectNPO covers both for $180 a month, which is $2,160 a year after a first year of $3,160.
What does nonprofit website maintenance include?
Hosting, the domain name, software updates, backups and security keep a site online. Content changes and a yearly review keep it right. The word maintenance can mean only the first group or both, so ask a provider which one its price covers.
Is a website builder cheaper than a website service?
Not necessarily. It depends on who makes the changes. Some builders charge to keep the site online and leave the changes to your staff; others include help with changes. Whichever you compare, count the fee plus the hours your staff will spend on each side, not the fees alone.
How much does connectNPO charge for a nonprofit website?
$180 a month plus a one-time $1,000 build fee, due only after you approve the finished site, so the first payment is $1,180. The first year is $3,160 and each later year is $2,160. There are no tiers, setup fees or add-ons for a site of up to 40 pages.
Can we leave and keep the website?
Yes. You can cancel any month, and your domain is always in your name. After twelve monthly payments the site leaves with you at no charge, with no paid software to buy to keep it running. Before that, you can take it by paying the monthly fees left up to twelve.
See your finished website before you pay for it.
We build it, you look at it, and you pay the $1,000 build fee only once you approve it. After that it is $180 a month, and keeping it current is our job.
See the plan and apply →Prices are connectNPO’s own, as published on September 21, 2026. The two quotes above are illustrative, not real providers. The sample sites are fictional organizations. This guide is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.