TL;DR: $10,000 is the top of the studio range. It buys a 6–10 page custom site with motion, a real design system, dynamic case study and writing pages, considered visuals, AEO setup, and a 4–6 week timeline. Built by a studio that has shipped this exact shape before. Three rounds of design revisions. Mobile, desktop, and tablet all considered, not derived. Per-case visual treatments. CMS for case studies, writing, and pages. Above $10k you are paying for agency overhead. Below it you are scoping down craft. The cases where you need $25k+ instead: full content production (copy, photo, illustration), e-commerce, complex integrations, or a multi-stakeholder approval process.
$10,000 is the top of the studio range. Above it, you're paying for agency overhead. Below it, you're scoping down craft. This is where the project does real conversion work, the design system is real, and the case studies have visuals that don't exist on a template anywhere.
Here is what $10k actually ships, where the money goes, and the cases where you need $25k+ instead.
The one-line version
A 6–10 page custom site with motion, a real design system, dynamic case study and writing pages, considered visuals, AEO setup, and a 4–6 week timeline. Built by a studio that has shipped this exact shape before.
What is in scope
Design
- 6–10 distinct page layouts. Home, services overview, services detail (1–3), work index, individual case template, writing index, individual post template, about, contact, plus pages like privacy and terms.
- Three rounds of design revisions. Macro, mid, polish. Beyond that, billable.
- Mobile, desktop, tablet. All three considered, not derived.
- A real design system. Type scale, color tokens, spacing scale, motion tokens, component states. Documented enough that the next page is a 1-day add, not a 1-week add.
- Custom hero treatment with motion. Not a 3D scene unless that's the brief, but considered motion that works on mobile.
- Per-case visuals. Each portfolio case gets its own visual treatment — a custom scene, video, or designed asset that's specific to that case.
- Scroll-driven motion or considered animation moments on 2–3 pages where they earn their weight.
Development
- Next.js 16, TypeScript, Tailwind. Modern, fast, accessible.
- All pages coded to match design pixel-accurately at all three breakpoints.
- A dynamic case studies system with a templated detail page driven by a CMS or content config.
- A dynamic writing system — markdown or CMS — with index and detail pages, search-friendly URLs, and structured data.
- Custom motion implemented natively or with a small motion library (Framer Motion, GSAP). Not a generic pre-built kit.
- A real contact form with validation, multi-step or single-step depending on intent, source attribution, and email routing.
- Performance budget. Lighthouse 99 on desktop, 95+ on mobile, LCP under 1.2s on simulated mobile.
- Responsive down to 320px. No horizontal scroll on any phone we can buy.
- Accessibility foundation. Keyboard nav, ARIA where needed, color contrast verified, focus states designed.
SEO and AEO
- Per-page meta tags, OG images, structured data.
- Organization, ProfessionalService, BreadcrumbList, Article, BlogPosting, Person schema.
- Sitemap, robots, llms.txt at the root.
- Internal linking strategy — every post and case links to 3 related items.
- Question-shaped H2s with first-paragraph answers tuned for AI search citation.
- Original numbers and named examples built into the content scaffolding.
Launch
- Domain pointed, SSL, redirects mapped from the old site, 30-item launch checklist.
- A real DNS handoff. You own the domain, we point it.
- A two-week post-launch tuning window. Real fixes, not just typos.
Handoff
- Source code in a GitHub repo you own.
- Documentation: README, design system reference, deployment guide, env var glossary.
- A 30-minute Loom walkthrough of the codebase, the CMS, and how to change anything.
What is out of scope at $10k
These don't fit, even at this tier. If a studio quotes $10k and implies these are included, ask hard questions.
- Custom 3D scenes that require their own production pipeline. Bespoke WebGL scenes, custom shaders, full immersive experiences. That's a different project, $15k+ for the scene alone.
- A full brand identity. Logo, color, type, photography direction. Brand work is $8k–$25k separately.
- Original photography or video production. We embed and direct what you have. We don't shoot it.
- Custom illustration sets. Spot illustrations are billable at $300–$800 each.
- Localization beyond the structural setup. A 5-language site is a different project.
- Authentication, accounts, gated content. These cross the line into product.
- Ecommerce of any meaningful complexity. $10k buys you a marketing site. Not a storefront.
- Ongoing retainers. Post-launch tuning is included. Ongoing work is separate.
Where the $10,000 actually goes
Roughly, by hours and discipline:
- Discovery, research, and brief (8 hours, $800): intake, research call, written brief, sign-off.
- Design (50 hours, $5,000): 6–10 layouts, 3 revision rounds, motion direction, design system documentation.
- Development (40 hours, $3,200): all pages, design system, motion, integrations, CMS wiring.
- QA, launch, and tuning (12 hours, $1,000): cross-device, Lighthouse, AEO checks, deploy, post-launch fixes.
That's roughly 110 hours. A studio quoting $10k and spending 200+ hours is losing money. A studio quoting $10k and spending 60 hours is undershipping. The 100–120 hour range is the honest fit.
Hidden costs you pay outside the $10k
Same recurring stack. At this tier they're a small percentage of total spend.
- Domain: $12–$40/yr.
- Vercel hosting: $0–$240/yr (Hobby or Pro).
- CMS: $0–$948/yr (Sanity Growth at $79/mo if you outgrow free).
- Email: $72/yr per mailbox on Google Workspace.
- Form backend: $0 on Resend free tier or $144/yr on Basin.
- Analytics: $0 on Vercel Analytics or $108/yr on Plausible.
- Stock imagery or licensed assets: $0–$500 for the project.
Typical year-one run cost: $200–$1,200, most of it optional or already in your stack.
Who this tier is right for
Three buyers.
1. Founders with a visible brand. You have a real positioning, a strong identity, customers who recognize you. The site has to honor what you've already built.
2. Studios and agencies whose site is a sales tool. Other studios, design agencies, branding shops. The site needs to demonstrate the work you do, which means the site itself has to do the work.
3. Mid-market service businesses where the website does sales work. SaaS marketing sites, premium service firms, consultancies. The site converts qualified leads into demos or briefs.
Who this tier is wrong for
- Pre-revenue founders. $10k is overkill if you don't yet know what you're selling. Start at $3–5k, ship, learn, upgrade later.
- Local service businesses. A $5k site does this work fine. $10k is unnecessary unless your competition is in the same craft band.
- Brands that need a full identity rebuild. Don't put $10k on top of an unfinished brand. Do the brand first.
- Anyone who needs a custom 3D scene or interactive product demo. That's a different project shape, $15–25k+.
When $10k isn't enough
If your project includes any of these, $10k is the wrong number and you should plan for $15–25k or up:
- A full custom brand identity rolled in with the site build.
- A custom 3D scene or interactive demo in the hero.
- A 50-page content site with editorial workflows.
- An ecommerce experience.
- A client review process with multiple stakeholders, legal, and brand committee.
- A 12+ month roadmap with phased launches.
For these, $25k–$50k from a studio is the honest range. Above that and you're back in agency land, which is sometimes the right answer and usually isn't.
How we price a $10k project
We send a detailed scope before signing. The scope is 2–3 pages, lists every deliverable above, and explicitly calls out what's out of scope. If a studio writes a one-line $10k quote, that's a red flag. The scope is how the project survives week three.
If you want a $10k site that does real work, send us what you're selling, your brand status, and your launch deadline. We send a tiered proposal back within two days.