I've done both. I've hired developers to build business websites, and I've built them myself with Claude Code. Here's an honest breakdown of what each actually costs, how long it takes, and where each one makes sense.
No hype. Just numbers and experience.
The Cost of Hiring a Web Developer
I've hired three different freelance developers over the years for business websites. Here's what I actually paid:
Developer #1 — Local freelancer. Built a 5-page business site for my hotel. Clean design, mobile responsive, contact form. Took about 3 weeks. Cost: $3,200.
Developer #2 — Agency. Redesigned the same site two years later. New branding, photo gallery, booking integration. Took 6 weeks. Cost: $5,800. Plus $150/month for "maintenance and hosting." That's another $1,800/year.
Developer #3 — Freelancer from a platform. Simple landing page for a side project. Took a week. Cost: $1,200.
After the initial build, every change costs money. Need to update your hours? That's a $50-100 invoice. Want to add a new page? $200-500. Swap out some photos? Another invoice. These small charges add up fast.
The Cost of Claude Code
Claude Code uses the Anthropic API, which charges based on usage. For building a complete business website from scratch, here's what I've spent:
- Building a full 5-page site: About $3-8 in API costs. Depends on how many revisions you make, but it's single digits.
- Making changes: Pennies. Updating text, adding a page, changing colors — each interaction costs fractions of a cent.
- Hosting on GitHub Pages: $0. Free forever.
- Custom domain: ~$12/year.
Total first-year cost for a professional website: roughly $20. That's not a typo.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Web Developer | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Initial build | $2,000 – $10,000 | $3 – $8 |
| Timeline | 1 – 6 weeks | 1 – 3 hours |
| Monthly hosting | $10 – $50/mo | $0 (GitHub Pages) |
| Small changes | $50 – $150 per change | Free (do it yourself) |
| Revisions | Usually 2 – 3 included | Unlimited |
| Annual cost | $500 – $3,000+ | ~$12 (domain only) |
| You own the code | Sometimes (check contract) | Always, 100% |
What You Get With a Developer That Claude Code Can't Do
I want to be fair. Developers offer things that Claude Code doesn't:
Design expertise. A good designer has years of experience knowing what looks right, what converts, what users expect. Claude Code can build a clean, professional site, but it won't have the nuanced design instincts of a senior designer. That said, for most small business sites, "clean and professional" is all you need.
Complex backends. If you need user accounts, a database, payment processing beyond a simple Stripe link, inventory management, or custom web applications — you need a developer. Claude Code builds static sites (HTML, CSS, JavaScript). That's plenty for most businesses, but not all.
Accountability. When you hire someone, you can point at them when something goes wrong. With Claude Code, you're responsible. For some people, that's a dealbreaker. For me, it's a feature.
What Claude Code Does Better
Speed. I can go from idea to live website in a couple of hours. No meetings, no briefs, no waiting for mockups, no feedback rounds. I describe what I want, see the result instantly, and iterate until it's right.
Unlimited revisions. "Make the heading bigger." "Actually, smaller." "Change the blue to green." "Go back to blue." Nobody's billing me for these changes. Nobody's getting annoyed. I can experiment freely.
Independence. My website doesn't depend on someone else's availability, timeline, or pricing. If I want to add a holiday notice to my site at 10pm on a Sunday, I just do it.
Learning. Every time I use Claude Code, I understand a little more about how websites work. I can read the HTML now. I understand what CSS does. I couldn't say that after hiring developers for years — they did the work, I didn't learn anything.
Who Should Hire a Developer
- You need a complex web application (not just a website)
- You need e-commerce with inventory, shipping, and a shopping cart
- You have a large budget and zero interest in doing anything yourself
- You need custom integrations with enterprise systems
Who Should Use Claude Code
- Small business owners who need a professional online presence
- Freelancers and consultants who want a portfolio site
- Anyone tired of paying monthly for Squarespace or Wix
- Side project builders who want to move fast
- Anyone who wants to actually own their website
My Honest Take
For 80% of small businesses, hiring a web developer is overpaying for something you could do yourself in an afternoon. I say this as someone who spent thousands before figuring it out.
The quality gap between a Claude Code site and a $3,000 developer site is smaller than you'd think. Both can be professional, fast, and mobile-responsive. The difference is usually in custom design flourishes that most visitors don't notice.
What they do notice: whether your site loads fast, whether it looks good on their phone, and whether they can find the information they need. Claude Code handles all of that.
Save the developer budget for when you actually need one. For your business website, you probably don't.