AI Website Cost [2026]: Our Real Prices, Published

AI website production cost — what it means

The cost of AI website production is the amount it takes to build a website using AI. As of 2026, the rough guide is from a few thousand yen a month if you use AI tools yourself, and from several hundred thousand yen if you commission a production company.

Hi, I’m Masato, and I build websites with Webflow and AI for a living. Since the start of 2026, we keep hearing that “building a site with AI is cheap.” So what does it actually cost? As a production company that sells AI website production as a product, I’m publishing the survey-based market rates, our own real prices, and the running costs almost nobody talks about — numbers included.

✓ In this article

• The cost of AI website production (doing it yourself vs. hiring a company)
• Our actual price, and what is and isn’t included
• Total-cost comparison with conventional Webflow production (2026 pricing)
• The true story of running costs dropping from just under ¥100,000/year to ¥1,500/year

Here is the conclusion first. As of 2026, AI website production costs from roughly a few thousand yen a month if you use AI tools yourself, and from several hundred thousand yen if you hire a production company. We charge from ¥1,000,000 (excl. tax), with delivery in as little as 1–2 weeks. And the real difference isn’t the build cost but the running cost: my own site went from just under ¥100,000 a year to ¥1,500 a year. Let’s go through it in order.

Market rates for AI website production [2026, survey-based]

Building it yourself with AI tools: from a few thousand yen a month

If you use a website builder with AI generation yourself, you can generally start for free or for a few thousand yen a month. Even in industry comparison articles, plans in the ¥2,000–5,000/month range are the norm.

Honestly, though, the cheap part is only the “building” part. SEO settings, forms, analytics, and post-launch improvement all land on you. For a business site, this is where most people get stuck.

Hiring a production company for AI production: from several hundred thousand yen

In 2026, more and more production companies advertise “cheaper than before, thanks to AI.” Industry surveys put conventional website production at roughly ¥1,000,000–1,500,000 for a mid-sized site, and AI-assisted production tends to sit below that.

But what “built with AI” means differs completely from company to company. Some just pour AI-written text into a template; others design the structure of the site itself on the assumption that AI will be involved. So don’t compare on the headline rate alone — look at what that price includes.

Our AI website production price: from ¥1,000,000 (excl. tax), delivered in as little as 1–2 weeks

AI website production at Webharu starts at ¥1,000,000 (excl. tax), delivered in as little as 1–2 weeks. We can offer that price and speed because the design pattern is fixed as a standard configuration. What moves the number is requirements like page count, CMS, and multilingual support — and once a quote is confirmed, we do not change it after work starts. Details are on the AI Website Production service page.

Here is what the price includes.

• One 60-minute discovery session
• A complete AI-built site (standard configuration)
• An AI-ready foundation (structured data, llms.txt, a structure machines can read)
• Basic SEO setup (metadata, sitemap.xml, robots.txt)
• Analytics installation (Search Console, GA4)
• One contact form, launch, and DNS configuration
• One week of post-launch bug fixes (plus up to two minor revision requests)

And here, just as honestly, is what it doesn’t include: a CMS (blog updating), multilingual support, heavily crafted original design, and ongoing operation after launch. If you want us to handle ongoing operation, we offer a separate Site Care Plan (from ¥15,000/month).

Why can we do it at this price? Our own site is the proof. In July 2026 we fully rebuilt the site you are reading right now with AI (Claude Code) in 7 days — 3 days if you count only the build. Twenty-six pages built, 62 articles migrated, four form types connected, and the only human involved was me. That experience is literally the product. The whole build is documented in our record of rebuilding the site with AI in 7 days.

Does AI actually make it cheaper? The variables that really move the price

The conclusion first: AI is not a reason to discount — it is a reason for speed and quality. We use AI on every plan we offer. AI website production still comes in from ¥1,000,000 because the design pattern is fixed as a standard configuration. It is not cheap because we use AI.

So what does move the price? In our quotes, these are the variables that actually change the number.

• Page count and the scale of the information architecture
• Multilingual support (number of languages)
• Volume of existing content to migrate (number of articles and case studies)
• The number of departments and approval steps involved — the more people who must sign off, the more hours go into coordination rather than implementation
• Security requirements (NDAs, security checklists)
• Whether photography or asset creation is needed

These variables are fundamentally the same at any production company. So when you compare quotes, before looking at the size of the number, check whether they can explain why the number is what it is, variable by variable. A quote that can’t be explained either has an insurance margin baked in or will come back later as an add-on invoice. We present an itemized quote, and we never change a confirmed quote after work starts.

Comparing total cost with conventional Webflow production (2026 pricing)

I originally specialized in Webflow, and I still do full-scratch website builds with original design from zero (Figma × Webflow, code delivered) from ¥1,000,000 over roughly 1.5–2 months. AI website production is ¥1,000,000 and up, and fast, because the design pattern is fixed as a standard configuration. Whether the hours of building a design from scratch are added is the entire price gap between the two.

What gets overlooked is the running cost. Webflow revised its pricing in May 2026. According to the official help article, the Basic plan without a CMS is $15/month billed annually ($25 monthly), and if you need a CMS, the Premium plan is $25/month billed annually ($39 monthly). Annualized, that is $180–$300 you keep paying simply for owning a site.

An AI-built site, by contrast, is built as a static configuration — in our case the server cost is effectively zero, and the only thing we pay for is the domain.

To be fair, though, Webflow has clear value: you can update the site yourself in a visual editor, and its CMS and localization are strong. If you want to craft a brand carefully, or you plan to publish blog posts yourself at a steady clip, I still recommend Webflow production. For the pricing details, see our Webflow pricing explainer.

The running-cost story: just under ¥100,000 a year became ¥1,500 a year

This is where the numbers hit hardest. Our old site ran on Webflow, and with the Korean localization subscription included we were paying just under ¥100,000 a year. Now that we have switched to an AI-built site, all we pay is ¥1,500 a year for the domain.

Let me be straight about the difference in conditions. We ran the Korean localization for a year; traffic went up, but inquiries stayed at zero, so we pulled out. In other words, part of that saving is simply dropping localization. Even so, being able to maintain a site with no subscription at all is a big deal for the business.

Of course, if you hand the update work to us, the Site Care Plan applies (from ¥15,000/month). “The cost of keeping a site alive” and “the cost of paying someone to run it” are two different things, so keep them separate when you compare quotes too.

▶ Related reading: AI website builder comparison: an honest take on Claude Code, Figma Make, and Webflow AI | The full Claude Code website build process: 26 pages in 3 days

Choosing on price alone will fail you

Finally, let me note where AI website production is a poor fit.

• You want to publish blog posts yourself, often (you need a CMS)
• You need multilingual support
• You want the design crafted down to the last detail

If any of those three describe you, conventional production suits you better. Conversely, if you want to launch fast, if around 20 pages is enough, and if you want to grow the site with AI after launch, AI website production is a strong return on the money. What it was actually like to build one is in our honest review of building a website with AI. If you aren’t sure which fits you, tell us your situation in a free consultation. If it isn’t a fit, we’ll say so honestly.

FAQ

Can I build a website for free using AI?

The tools themselves start free or at a few thousand yen a month, but you still have to arrange your own domain, SEO settings, forms, and analytics. Once you include everything needed for a business site to produce results, it rarely stays free.

How different are the costs of AI website production and conventional web production?

At the author’s company, Webflow × Figma production is a ¥1,000,000 pack (around 10 pages) taking about two months, whereas AI website production is the same ¥1,000,000+, delivered in as little as 1–2 weeks — same price, and you choose speed or a ground-up custom design. Because no subscription is needed afterwards, the total-cost gap widens further.

How much does it cost to run an AI-built site after launch?

Because it is built as a static configuration, upkeep is effectively just the domain fee. In the author’s own case, ¥1,500 a year. If you ask a production company to handle updates, a separate operation fee applies (from ¥15,000/month at the author’s company).

When is AI website production not a good fit?

When you want to update a blog frequently yourself (you need a CMS), when you need multilingual support, or when you want the design crafted down to the last detail — in those cases conventional production is the better fit. If you want to launch fast and grow the site with AI afterwards, AI website production fits.