Guide · Compared
Should a Mumbai business hire a freelancer or an agency, or build its own website on a DIY builder? I run U Scale, so I am not neutral: the price ranges here come from 16 published price guides (2025–26), listed below, not from my own prices.
For a small Mumbai business with a simple site, a freelancer or one-person studio is often enough, and usually costs less than an agency. Freelancer projects mostly cost ₹10,000–₹80,000 and agency projects ₹50,000–₹3 lakh, according to 16 recent website price guides (listed below). A DIY builder costs least upfront but takes your time and a monthly fee. Choose an agency when you need a large team working in parallel. U Scale sits in between: one person doing the work, with written scope and a fixed price.
| DIY website builder | A monthly plan (Shopify Basic ₹1,499/month billed yearly) plus your own time |
|---|---|
| Freelancer | ₹10,000–₹80,000 for most projects |
| Agency | ₹50,000–₹3,00,000 for most projects |
| U Scale | Fixed: landing page ₹25,000, business site ₹55,000, online store from ₹95,000 |
| Whatever you choose | Domain, admin login and hosting login in your name |
Compared
Tiny budget
Simple sites
Large sites
One person, fixed price
Market ranges come from 16 website price guides (15 dated 2025–26, one undated) by Mumbai and Indian web firms, a hosting company and a directory, compared by U Scale in October 2026 and listed under Sources below; they overlap rather than agree.
Agency
Pick an agency when the site is large, needs several specialists at once (developers, writers, a photographer, an ads team) or has a hard launch date that one person can’t meet. You pay for the team, and for a big project that is worth it.
DIY builder
If you are testing an idea, need a single page for a few weeks, or have more time than budget, a builder like Shopify, Wix or WordPress.com is a fair choice. Count the hours you will spend and the fees on every sale. On Shopify’s Basic plan in India, Shopify adds its own 2% on each sale on top of the payment gateway’s fee, because Shopify Payments isn’t available in India.
Checklist
Who you’ll work with
I design every site in Figma and code it myself. I’m based in Mumbai, and you talk to me directly on WhatsApp, not to an account manager.
How it works
From free audit to launch, in four steps.
I check your website, Google listing and Instagram, and we agree the goals, pages and must-haves.
Free
What I will build, by when, and the exact price, in writing before you pay anything.
Fixed price
You approve real screens in Figma, desktop and mobile, before I code them and test on phones.
20% to start · 20% on design sign-off
Domain, hosting, Google Search Console and a final check on real phones. Then I hand over every login.
60% on launchFAQ
For a small business with a simple site, a freelancer or one-person studio is often enough: you talk directly to the person doing the work, decisions are faster, and you don’t pay for account managers. Choose an agency for large sites that need a team working in parallel.
For testing an idea on a small budget, yes. You pay a monthly plan and spend your own time, the design is a template, and online stores pay fees on every sale. A custom site makes sense once your website is where most new customers first see you.
A bit of both. U Scale is one person, Mehul Karotra, working with an agency’s process: a written scope, a fixed price agreed before work starts, and design approval before the build.
You. Whoever builds it, the domain should be registered in your business’s name with your email, and you should get the admin and hosting logins at launch.
Tell me about your business. I reply within 24 hours, usually much faster on WhatsApp.
Email: uscalewithus@gmail.com