Use profit, not revenue
The honest number is what you keep after materials and your time. That is what really pays down the cost of the site.
Free calculator
Website Cost Recoup Calculator
A website is an investment, not just a bill. Enter your figures below to see how many jobs it takes to cover the cost, and how quickly a simple, well-built site starts making you money.
Your numbers
Adjust these to match your business. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
What you pay to have the site built.
£
Profit after materials and your time, not the headline quote.
£
A conservative estimate keeps the result believable.
/ month
Hosting, care plan, or updates, if any.
£
Jobs to cover the build cost
3 jobs
At £300 profit each, 3 jobs pays off a £799 website.
Time to break even
2 months
At the pace of extra jobs you entered.
Profit in year one
£6,401
Left over after paying for the site and any upkeep.
Even one or two decent jobs a month can cover the cost of a website. After that, every extra enquiry is profit. It is an asset you own instead of paying again for every lead.
Disclaimer: These calculators are provided for general guidance only. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and may not reflect your full costs, tax position, legal obligations, or business circumstances. They are not financial, tax, legal, or professional advice. You should check the figures yourself and speak to a qualified adviser where needed. Kwise Web accepts no liability for decisions made using these tools.
How to read the result
Be conservative on jobs
If the maths works on one or two extra jobs a month, the decision is easy. Anything above that is a bonus.
Think in years, not weeks
A good site keeps working for years. Once it has paid for itself, the enquiries it brings in are close to free.
How this is calculated
Every result comes straight from these formulas, with no hidden assumptions.
Jobs to cover the build cost
Website cost ÷ Profit per job (rounded up to a whole job)
Profit per month
(Extra jobs per month × Profit per job) − Monthly upkeep
Time to break even
Website cost ÷ Profit per month (rounded up to whole months)
Profit in year one
(Extra jobs × Profit per job × 12) − Website cost − (Monthly upkeep × 12)
Questions
How many jobs does it take to pay for a website?
Divide the one-off cost of the website by the average profit you make on a single job. If a site costs £799 and you clear £300 profit per job, three jobs it brings in cover the build. Everything after that is upside.
Should I use revenue or profit per job?
Use profit, which is what's left after materials, subcontractors, and your time, not the headline price you quote. That gives you a realistic picture of when the website has actually paid for itself.
What is a realistic number of extra jobs from a website?
It varies by trade and area, but many local businesses only need one or two extra enquiries a month for a simple, well-ranked site to pay for itself quickly. The calculator lets you test conservative numbers so the result is believable.
Related resources
Pair the maths above with real pricing and the case for a website that brings in work.
How much a website costs in the UK
See our fixed-price packages so the cost you plug into the calculator is a real number, not a guess.
Day rate calculator
Work out what to charge per day and hour so your profit-per-job figure is accurate.
Job pricing calculator
Price a job properly so the profit you plug in above reflects what you actually keep.
Markup vs margin calculator
Check your margin is set correctly so the profit-per-job figure above holds up in practice.
How to get more work
The lead-generation thinking behind why a website pays for itself instead of renting leads.