Compare deliverables before totals
Make a shared checklist: page types, original designs, content work, integrations, testing, launch, training and support. A cheaper proposal may assume you supply finished content or manage the project; a higher one may include those tasks. Ask each provider to mark inclusions and exclusions.
Request the number of revision rounds, the process for extra work and payment milestones. These make the cost of change easier to understand without assuming that any provider category is inherently safer.
Why SiteCost shows three different amounts
The calculator applies modelling factors of 1, 2.2 and 5 to represent different delivery overheads. It also respects Neaptide’s supplied starting prices for matching agency scenarios. These are planning assumptions, not measured market averages or evidence that one type of provider always costs that amount.
Actual proposals may overlap. Use the model to identify questions and compare scope; select a provider using relevant work, a clear delivery plan and agreed terms.