Two separate costs
Webflow website costs have two distinct parts that businesses sometimes conflate. The studio fee covers the design, build and handover. The Webflow hosting plan is a separate monthly cost paid directly to Webflow. Understanding both upfront avoids budget surprises after launch.
Webflow hosting plans
Webflow offers tiered site plans based on CMS capacity, visitor limits and included features.
The Basic plan covers a standard website without a CMS. It suits a simple brochure site with no blog or content library.
The CMS plan supports a blog, news section or any dynamic content driven by the Webflow CMS. This is the starting point for most business sites and covers the requirements of the majority of marketing websites.
The Business plan increases the monthly visitor allowance and adds some additional features suited to higher-traffic sites. For most NZ businesses, the CMS plan is sufficient until traffic meaningfully exceeds the included limit.
Enterprise plans are for large organisations with specific requirements around security, SLAs and support. These are quoted directly with Webflow.
Webflow ecommerce plans
Sites with a Webflow store have a different pricing structure. Webflow charges a transaction fee on sales made through its ecommerce product. The fee reduces as the plan tier increases. For businesses with meaningful sales volume, the right plan is one where the transaction fee savings offset the higher monthly cost. Worth calculating before the site goes live.
What the studio charges
The studio fee covers the design, build, CMS setup and training. It is a one-time project cost, not an ongoing monthly fee. Ongoing support, if needed, is billed separately as a retainer or per request. Webflow hosting is paid directly to Webflow and does not pass through the studio.
What Webflow's monthly fee actually covers
Global CDN hosting with reliable performance and uptime. SSL at no extra cost. Access to the Webflow Editor for non-technical content updates. No server management, no plugin updates to run and no WordPress-style security overhead. For many businesses, the hosting fee replaces costs that were previously hidden in developer time and IT overhead.
Frequently asked questions
Is Webflow hosting expensive compared to other platforms?
Relative to managed WordPress hosting at a comparable quality level, Webflow's pricing is broadly similar. Where Webflow saves money over time is in reduced developer dependency. A platform a client team can update without a developer has lower total ownership costs than one that requires developer involvement for routine content changes.
Can I host a Webflow site somewhere other than Webflow?
You can export code from most Webflow sites and host it elsewhere, but you lose the CMS, the Editor and most dynamic features. For most businesses, hosting on Webflow and paying the monthly fee is the practical choice.
Are there other costs beyond the studio fee and hosting?
Domain registration, any third-party integrations or services the site connects to, and ecommerce transaction fees where applicable. A studio should itemise all anticipated ongoing costs in the project scoping conversation so there are no surprises after launch.
What happens if my site exceeds its plan limits?
Webflow will prompt an upgrade if a site exceeds its CMS item limit or monthly visitor allowance. The upgrade is immediate. A studio will advise on the right plan during the project so the site is not launching at the edge of a lower tier's limits.
