The verdict in three sentences
For a Berlin industrial group with 4 subsidiaries and 650 employees, a serious corporate website costs 35,000 to 70,000 EUR excluding VAT in 2026, depending on the number of templates (30 to 60) and the depth of integrations. The real cost plays out over three years: the headless CMS licence (0 to 900 EUR a month) and maintenance (8 to 15% of the initial budget per year) can double the gap between two quotes that look close at first. Plan 4 to 6 months, a third of it spent on alignment with subsidiaries and on the editorial approval chain.
The budget, line by line
A group website is not a big brochure site. It must serve several audiences (customers, candidates, investors, press, public authorities) and several content owners (holding and subsidiaries), with an approval chain that protects the brand. In Germany, it must also meet the accessibility requirements of the BFSG in force since June 2025 for many B2C services, and BITV 2.0 good practice.
| Item | Low range | High range |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery, subsidiary workshops, UX | 4,000 EUR | 8,000 EUR |
| Design system and 30 to 60 templates | 9,000 EUR | 18,000 EUR |
| Front-end and headless CMS development | 12,000 EUR | 24,000 EUR |
| Multi-level approval workflow | 2,500 EUR | 5,000 EUR |
| Investor relations (releases, reports, calendar) | 2,500 EUR | 5,000 EUR |
| Careers and ATS connector | 2,000 EUR | 4,000 EUR |
| 3-language integration (excluding translation) | 1,500 EUR | 3,000 EUR |
| QA, accessibility, performance | 1,500 EUR | 3,000 EUR |
| Indicative total | 35,000 EUR | 70,000 EUR |
Professional translation into English and French is priced separately: about 0.12 to 0.18 EUR per word, so 6,000 to 9,000 EUR for 50,000 source words. Template count is the best savings lever: 35 well-designed templates cover most groups of this size.
Choosing the CMS: licence, workflow and hosting
The approval workflow (subsidiary editor, group communications reviewer, management sign-off) often decides the choice. Some CMSs offer it natively in higher tiers, others need custom development.
| Headless CMS | Monthly licence (2026 ballpark) | Approval workflow | Data hosting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payload CMS | 0 EUR, hosting 40 to 80 EUR | to configure (2 to 4 days) | EU, your choice |
| Self-hosted Strapi | 0 EUR, hosting 40 to 80 EUR | native in Enterprise edition | EU, your choice |
| Sanity | about 15 EUR per editor, 150 EUR for 10 | configurable | cloud, check region |
| Storyblok | 100 to 450 EUR | native depending on plan | EU available |
| Contentful | 300 to 900 EUR and more | native in higher tiers | EU available |
With 10 to 15 contributors across subsidiaries, a self-hosted open-source CMS remains the cheapest over time, provided your agency knows how to maintain it.
Total cost over three years
| Scenario | Build | Licence and hosting over 3 years | Maintenance over 3 years | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload, 40 templates | 45,000 EUR | 2,880 EUR | 13,500 EUR (10%) | 61,380 EUR |
| Sanity, 40 templates | 45,000 EUR | 5,400 EUR | 13,500 EUR (10%) | 63,900 EUR |
| Contentful, 55 templates | 60,000 EUR | 21,600 EUR | 21,600 EUR (12%) | 103,200 EUR |
| Storyblok, 35 templates | 38,000 EUR | 10,800 EUR | 9,120 EUR (8%) | 57,920 EUR |
| Payload, 60 templates and SSO | 70,000 EUR | 2,880 EUR | 31,500 EUR (15%) | 104,380 EUR |
Always ask the agencies you consult for this table: it is the only honest way to compare quotes.
Mini case study
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Katrin, head of communications at an industrial group in Berlin (4 subsidiaries, 650 employees), hires 120 people a year at an average job board cost of 600 EUR per role. If the new careers section captures 30% direct applications, the group saves 36 x 600 = 21,600 EUR a year. The approval workflow also cuts the publishing cycle from 5 days to 1.5 days, about 40 hours a year freed up for her team. On a 50,000 EUR budget, the site pays for itself in just over two years from recruitment alone.
FAQ
What budget for an industrial group's corporate website in 2026?
Expect 35,000 to 70,000 EUR for 30 to 60 templates, three languages, investor relations and careers. Translation comes on top, about 6,000 to 9,000 EUR for 50,000 words.
How long does delivery take?
4 to 6 months is realistic. Alignment with subsidiaries alone takes 4 to 6 weeks.
Do we have to pay for a CMS licence?
Not necessarily: self-hosted Payload or Strapi have no licence, only 40 to 80 EUR a month of hosting. SaaS CMSs cost 150 to 900 EUR a month depending on editors and features.
What does maintenance cover?
It covers security updates, fixes and small changes, for 8 to 15% of the initial budget per year. On a 50,000 EUR site, that is 4,000 to 7,500 EUR a year.
Can each subsidiary publish on its own?
Yes, with per-subsidiary roles and central approval before publication. A 3-level chain takes 2 to 4 days of development to configure.
Let's scope your project. Share the number of subsidiaries, languages and contributors, and we will send a build budget plus a three-year total cost with two CMS options. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
