Is a WordPress site cheaper than a custom-built website?

Usually, at first: a template is faster to set up. A custom site costs more up front but is often faster, easier to secure and cheaper to keep running, because there are no paid plugins or themes to renew.

Why does an app cost more than a website?

An app usually needs everything a website has plus a backend, sign-in, notifications and Play Store publishing. That is why turning an existing website into an app (NPR 18,000 with me) costs far less than a new app (from NPR 75,000).

Should I hire an agency or a freelancer in Nepal?

An agency gives you a team and more cover if one person is away; a freelancer is usually cheaper and you talk to the person building it. Either way, ask for live work you can open yourself and a written quote.

What should I pay every year after the website is built?

Plan for the domain (free for .com.np), hosting (free on some cloud platforms, otherwise a yearly plan) and, if you want help with updates and backups, a care plan. Apps add the one-time Google Play fee and occasional updates.

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By Sanjay GuptaOctober 23, 2026 6 min read

Website and Android App Cost in Nepal (2026 Guide)

What a website and an Android app really cost in Nepal in 2026: the price ranges agencies publish, what moves a quote up or down, the running costs nobody puts in it, and my own fixed rates.

PricingWeb DevelopmentAndroidFreelance

"How much will it cost?" is the first thing people in Nepal ask me about a website or an app, and the honest answer is a range. This post gives the ranges Nepali agencies publish for 2026, what actually moves a quote, the running costs that are usually left out, and what I charge. I sell these services, so treat my prices as one data point; the market figures come from agencies' own published price guides.

Website prices in Nepal in 2026

Nepali agencies that publish their prices for 2026 land in roughly the same bands. There is no independent survey of the market, and most of these figures come from agencies selling the work (Websnp's guides are the most detailed), so read them as ranges rather than rules.

Basic brochure or WordPress site: about NPR 15,000 to 40,000. One agency quotes NPR 25,000 to 45,000 for a standard company site.
A site you can edit yourself through a CMS: about NPR 30,000 to 80,000.
E-commerce: a simple WooCommerce store from about NPR 40,000 to 60,000; bigger catalogues with more payment options NPR 60,000 to 2,00,000 or more.
Custom web applications (booking, inventory, dashboards): from about NPR 1,00,000, with agency tables running to NPR 2,50,000 to 8,00,000 for larger builds.

Android app prices: why there's no price list

I couldn't find a single Nepali price list for Android apps, and that makes sense: an app is almost always custom work. The useful way to estimate it is time. Nepali job sites put a web or app developer's salary at roughly NPR 40,000 to 1,20,000 a month, and a real app with sign-in, a backend, an admin panel and Play Store publishing is usually four to eight weeks of work for one experienced developer, before design and testing.

That is why a quote for a proper custom app starts in the high tens of thousands of rupees, and a marketplace with payments, maps and chat runs to several lakh. The cheap exception is turning an existing website into an Android app: the screens already exist, so the work is packaging, publishing and polish.

What actually moves the price

Two projects with the same name, "a website" or "an app", can differ by ten times in price. These are the things that do it:

User roles: a site with one kind of visitor is simple; buyers, sellers and staff who each see different screens are not.
An admin panel, so you can change prices, photos and text yourself instead of paying a developer each time.
Payments: eSewa or Khalti checkout needs a merchant account and careful handling of failed or repeated payments.
English and Nepali: every screen, email and message exists twice and has to stay in sync.
Custom design versus a template, and whether you supply the text and photos or the developer has to.
Android and the web together: two separate apps cost almost double; one shared codebase (React Native) costs much less.
Extras such as maps, SMS alerts, chat or sign-in with Google.

The running costs nobody puts in the quote

The build is a one-time cost; these come every year. A .com.np domain is free for Nepali individuals and companies through Mercantile's register.com.np, while a .com costs roughly NPR 1,500 to 2,500 a year. Hosting ranges from paid shared plans to nothing at all: modern cloud platforms have free tiers that cover many small sites, and Duleko, a full marketplace I built and run, costs NPR 0 a month to host.

Apps add their own: a Google Play developer account is a one-time USD 25, and Apple charges USD 99 every year if you also want iOS. SMS alerts are paid per message, and someone has to update the app when Android and Play Store rules change. Ask for these to be listed in writing before you agree to a price.

How to avoid paying twice

Most of the expensive stories I hear are not about the first price; they're about paying a second developer to fix or rebuild the first one's work. A few checks prevent most of it:

Get a written scope, price and timeline, not just a total.
Make sure the domain, hosting, source code and Google Play account are in your name.
Ask for an admin panel so small changes do not need a developer.
Pay in milestones (half in advance, half on delivery is common) rather than everything up front.
Open the developer's live projects on your own phone, not just screenshots.
Ask how long bug fixes are free after launch, and what support costs after that.

What I charge

I keep my prices at or below the agency ranges above: I work alone, so there's no office or sales team in the quote, and I build with the same stack as my own live products (React, React Native, Node.js and PostgreSQL). Every price is fixed in a written quote, and you own the code, domain and accounts after the final payment. These are my rates as of October 2026:

Starter Website: NPR 12,000, 5–7 days.
Business Website: NPR 25,000, 1–2 weeks.
E-commerce Store: from NPR 50,000, 3–4 weeks.
Custom Web Application: from NPR 90,000, 4–8 weeks.
Website to Android App: NPR 18,000, 1 week.
Android App: from NPR 75,000, 4–6 weeks.
Android + Web (one codebase): from NPR 1,25,000, 6–10 weeks.
Marketplace / Platform: from NPR 2,00,000, 8–14 weeks.
Changes and fixes: NPR 1,000 an hour; care plans from NPR 1,500 a month.

Frequently asked questions

Is a WordPress site cheaper than a custom-built website?: Usually, at first: a template is faster to set up. A custom site costs more up front but is often faster, easier to secure and cheaper to keep running, because there are no paid plugins or themes to renew.
Why does an app cost more than a website?: An app usually needs everything a website has plus a backend, sign-in, notifications and Play Store publishing. That is why turning an existing website into an app (NPR 18,000 with me) costs far less than a new app (from NPR 75,000).
Should I hire an agency or a freelancer in Nepal?: An agency gives you a team and more cover if one person is away; a freelancer is usually cheaper and you talk to the person building it. Either way, ask for live work you can open yourself and a written quote.
What should I pay every year after the website is built?: Plan for the domain (free for .com.np), hosting (free on some cloud platforms, otherwise a yearly plan) and, if you want help with updates and backups, a care plan. Apps add the one-time Google Play fee and occasional updates.

Whatever you choose, compare quotes on scope and ownership, not just the total. If you want a fixed price for your website or Android app, every package, care plan and add-on is on my services page, with a PDF rate card you can download and share.

See my packages and rates