Website Budget Worksheet: Compare Canadian Web Development Quotes

Start with a budget you can actually compare

A five-page website quote can include very different work from another five-page quote. One may cover a template and client-supplied copy; another may include planning, content, integrations, hosting, and an ongoing update allowance. Comparing only the headline price hides those differences.

This worksheet helps you separate the price of getting a site live from the cost of keeping it useful. It does not estimate an average Canadian market price. It uses published Astra plan figures as a transparent example, then gives you a structure for entering the actual amounts from any supplier.

Download the website budget worksheet (CSV). Open it in Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet app. Keep a copy of each written quote beside it so every number has a source.

What the published monthly figures mean over a year

Astra’s public pricing currently lists the monthly figures below, checked on October 14, 2026. The twelve-month column is simply the monthly amount multiplied by twelve. It is the recurring plan component, not a complete project quote or a claim about your contract length.

Illustrative recurring plan costs using published dollar amounts

Plan	Posted monthly amount	Twelve-month component
Ignition	$149	$1,788
Launchpad	$299	$3,588
Starfinder	$499	$5,988
Ascension	From $1,200	From $14,400

Your written quote should confirm currency, applicable tax, setup charges, delivery dependencies, included work, and billing terms. A lower monthly number does not establish that two proposals include the same service.

Fill in these seven cost lines

1. Initial project work: planning, design, development, migration, and any setup amount. Check which tasks depend on material you must supply.
2. Content: copywriting, photography, editing, translation, and product or service information. “Client supplies content” is a responsibility, even if it is not a supplier fee.
3. Recurring website service: the actual monthly hosting, maintenance, or development plan. Record when billing starts and any minimum commitment.
4. Domains and renewals: registrar charges, renewal dates, and the account that controls the domain. Avoid paying for the same item twice if it is already included elsewhere.
5. Software and integrations: booking tools, email services, payment or ecommerce tools, premium licenses, and other subscriptions. Record whose account owns each one.
6. Changes beyond the allowance: new pages, new features, substantial content work, and urgent requests that fall outside the agreed service. Ask how those are approved and priced.
7. Exit and handover: cancellation, data export, access transfer, and any migration work. Establish the process before you need to use it.

The planning formula is: one-time amounts + twelve months of recurring amounts + annual renewals. Keep taxes separate until you know which quoted amounts already include them. For a three-year comparison, count one-time work once, recurring monthly amounts thirty-six times, and renewals for the years in which they occur. Do not multiply the setup fee three times.

Ask for evidence of the scope

Alongside the money columns, add a yes/no/unknown column for copywriting, mobile testing, form delivery, backups, analytics configuration, ongoing updates, and handover. Mark “unknown” until the quote explains the item; do not treat a polished sales page as the full agreement.

• What exactly is delivered at launch, and what counts as acceptance?
• How are contact forms tested, including notification delivery?
• What updates are included, how is an allowance measured, and what happens when it is used?
• Who maintains integrations and renews licenses?
• What response expectations are agreed, and which requests are outside the plan?
• Which accounts, files, and data are transferred when the relationship ends?

Make the next decision smaller

You do not need to settle every future feature before starting. Write down the business task your site must support now: a qualified enquiry, a booking, a purchase, or a workflow. Then identify the minimum scope needed to make that task reliable and what can be added later.

For example, an explicitly hypothetical business might first need clear service pages and a dependable enquiry form, while a customer portal belongs in a later phase. Splitting those decisions can make the quote easier to assess without pretending that the later work is free.

If you are comparing website options, see our DIY versus professional development guide and small-business website service. For a portal, dashboard, or integration-heavy project, use the web application service scope instead.

Sources and how to use this guide

The plan examples come from Astra’s published pricing. Specific commitments are confirmed in the accepted written quote and service terms. This is a comparison worksheet, not a binding quote or a substitute for reviewing your own agreement. Bring your completed worksheet to a project discussion and ask for clarification on every unknown item.