The verdict in three sentences
In Vancouver, an architecture firm website built by a local studio costs, as a 2026 order of magnitude, 15 000 to 60 000 CAD (about 11 000 to 44 000 USD), and a local agency is the better choice when you need new project photography, site visits and in-person workshops with the partners. A remote studio such as Kolonell fits when your project images already exist and you want a fixed price of 2 900 USD, 4 900 USD or 8 900 USD, a project manager available on Pacific time and native copywriting. Decide on the criteria below first, then compare the three-year cost, not only the build quote.
How do a Vancouver agency and a remote studio compare, criterion by criterion?
The local ranges below are cautious orders of magnitude, not official figures. They come from public price pages of studios in Metro Vancouver, minimum project sizes shown on Clutch.co profiles, hourly rates published by local agencies (often 130 to 200 CAD per hour) and rates visible on Upwork. USD equivalents use about 0.73 USD per CAD.
| Criterion | Vancouver agency | Remote studio (Kolonell) |
|---|---|---|
| In-person meetings | Workshops in your office in Gastown, Yaletown or Mount Pleasant | None: Google Meet calls booked at your hour |
| Project photography and drone footage | Often arranged or subcontracted locally | Not included: you supply images or book a local architectural photographer |
| Time zone | Pacific time, same working day | Team on GMT: calls in your morning, written update every week |
| Build price, 2026 order of magnitude | 15 000 to 60 000 CAD (about 11 000 to 44 000 USD) | 2 900 USD / 4 900 USD / 8 900 USD, fixed |
| Timeline | Often 8 to 16 weeks | 3 to 4 weeks, Premium usually 4 to 6 with a written plan |
| Ownership | Check theme licences and who holds hosting | Domain in your name, every access handed over |
| Post-launch support | Retainer, often 150 to 600 CAD per month | 3 months included, 6 in Premium, then on quote |
A Vancouver freelancer is a third option: roughly 5 000 to 15 000 CAD (about 3 600 to 11 000 USD) for a portfolio site, sometimes less than Kolonell's Growth plan. The trade-off is usually copywriting, project management and continuity if that person becomes unavailable. The full scope of each plan is on the international offer page.
When is a Vancouver agency clearly the better choice?
Say it plainly: choose a local agency if your best projects have never been properly photographed and you want one partner to direct a shoot, a drone flight over a mass timber building and a short film. A local studio also makes sense if you want brand workshops around a physical table, if the agency already knows your competition submissions and award entries, or if you expect frequent in-person reviews with three or four partners. Finally, if the brief includes a searchable project database tied to your practice management software or a client extranet, that is a custom application: an agency will quote it, and Kolonell quotes it separately too.
When does a remote studio like Kolonell fit?
A remote studio works well when the raw material exists: licensed photographs of completed work, drawings you are allowed to publish, credits for consultants and builders. The partners are comfortable with video calls, the budget sits between 3 000 and 9 000 USD and the goal is a sharp portfolio site that brings qualified briefs from developers, homeowners and public owners. The team is based in Senegal on GMT, so a 9 am call in Vancouver is late afternoon for the project manager, and the weekly written update keeps decisions moving. The site is bilingual FR/EN from Premium; Cantonese, Mandarin or Punjabi pages are supplied by you or quoted separately.
What does a Vancouver architecture website need, and which rules apply?
Vancouver practices work on a mix of laneway homes, multiplexes encouraged by recent provincial changes on small-scale multi-unit housing, mass timber institutional buildings, interiors and North Shore custom homes. Typical pages: portfolio filtered by typology, project pages with credits and photographer licence, process and fee approach, team with registration status, awards and publications, careers, and a brief form asking for site address, project type, budget range and timeline.
On compliance, stay factual. The Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC) regulates the profession, and the title architect is reserved for registered members, so the team page and the about page should describe each person accurately; check AIBC guidance before publishing. Personal information collected by private organizations in the province falls under PIPA (British Columbia), and PIPEDA can apply to some commercial or cross-border flows: a privacy policy and a clear consent line on the brief form are the minimum. The Accessible British Columbia Act currently focuses on prescribed public sector organizations, but WCAG 2.1 AA is the sensible technical reference, especially if you bid for public work. This is not legal advice.
What does each option cost over three years?
The hosting and maintenance lines are hypotheses applied identically on both sides; photography is booked locally in both cases.
| Item over 3 years | Vancouver agency (mid range) | Kolonell Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Build | 30 000 CAD (about 22 000 USD) | 4 900 USD |
| Copywriting | 3 000 to 6 000 CAD (about 2 200 to 4 400 USD) | Included, native English |
| Photography of 3 projects (hypothesis) | 3 000 USD | 3 000 USD |
| Hosting and domain (hypothesis, 300 USD per year) | 900 USD | 900 USD |
| Maintenance after support (hypothesis) | 1 800 USD | 1 800 USD |
| Indicative total | about 29 900 to 32 100 USD | about 10 600 USD |
Which questions should you ask before signing?
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- Who owns the domain, the hosting account and the CMS logins on day one?
- Is copywriting included, and who checks the wording on registration and titles?
- How many revision rounds are in the price, and what is the hourly rate after that?
- Are photographs licensed for web use, with credits stored per project?
- What happens to the site if the freelancer or agency stops trading?
Red flags: a quote with no written scope, a theme licence in the agency's name, a request for 100 % upfront, or a promise of first place on Google.
Mini case study
Exemple illustratif. Daniel R., managing partner of a six-person practice in Mount Pleasant working on multiplexes and custom homes, receives a local agency quote of 38 000 CAD (about 27 700 USD) including a new shoot. He chooses Kolonell Growth at 4 900 USD and books a local architectural photographer for two buildings at 5 000 CAD (about 3 650 USD). Total: 8 550 USD, about 19 150 USD less than the agency quote. In exchange, the partners run the shoot themselves and hold every meeting by video.
FAQ
Can a remote studio build a site good enough for an award-winning practice?
Yes, if the images are strong: the design, layout and copy are done remotely. Premium at 8 900 USD adds advanced animation and deeper project pages.
How are calls handled with a 7 or 8 hour time difference?
Calls are booked in your morning, usually between 8 am and 11 am Pacific time. A written update arrives every week, so no decision waits more than a few days.
Do you write the project descriptions?
Yes, native English copywriting is included in every plan. You validate facts such as areas, consultants and awards in one or two review rounds.
Who owns the site at the end?
You do: the domain is in your name and every access is handed over at delivery. Payment is 50 % at kick-off and 50 % at delivery, by bank transfer or Wise.
Can you connect the site to our project management software?
A live link to practice software is a custom application, quoted separately. Most practices start with a manually updated portfolio of 10 to 30 projects.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current site, ten project images and the typologies you want to win, and we will propose a fixed-price plan delivered in 3 to 4 weeks. Request your free quote or see the international offer.
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.
