The verdict in three sentences
For a private or international school in Amsterdam, a professionally built admissions website from a local agency usually lands somewhere between 6 000 and 35 000+ EUR in 2026, depending on scope, languages and integrations. Kolonell delivers a comparable public site at a fixed price of 2 700, 4 500 or 8 200 EUR, written natively in English, in 3 to 4 weeks (Premium: usually 4 to 6 weeks). The real decision is less about the build price than about what is included over three years: admissions forms, Dutch translations, support and who owns the domain.
What do Amsterdam agencies and freelancers charge for a school website?
Amsterdam is one of the more expensive web markets in the eurozone. Agencies in the city and in the wider Randstad often publish hourly rates or minimum project sizes on their sites and on Clutch.co profiles, and the ranges below are a prudent 2026 ballpark built from that type of public information. They vary a lot with scope, so treat them as orders of magnitude, never as quotes.
| Option | Typical 2026 ballpark | Delivery time | What is usually included | Support after launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam full-service agency | 12 000 to 35 000+ EUR | 8 to 16 weeks | Discovery workshops, custom design, Dutch and English, CMS | Retainer, often billed monthly |
| Smaller Dutch studio | 6 000 to 15 000 EUR | 6 to 10 weeks | Template-based design, CMS, one or two languages | Hourly or small retainer |
| Freelancer (Malt, Upwork listings) | 2 500 to 9 000 EUR | 4 to 12 weeks | Depends entirely on the person | Often informal |
| Kolonell Starter | 2 700 EUR | 3 to 4 weeks | Essential school site, native English copy | 3 months included |
| Kolonell Growth | 4 500 EUR | 3 to 4 weeks | Fuller admissions journey, more sections | 3 months included |
| Kolonell Premium | 8 200 EUR | Usually 4 to 6 weeks, written schedule | Bilingual EN/FR available, richest scope | 6 months included |
Agency hourly rates in the Netherlands are commonly published in a range of roughly 80 to 150 EUR, so every extra round of revisions or every new page template has a visible cost. Ask each provider to state its rate in writing before you sign.
You can see how the three formulas are presented on our international website offer.
What does an international school website in Amsterdam actually need?
The families reading your site are often relocating: a parent offered a role at a tech company, a bank or an EU agency, sometimes still abroad, comparing three or four schools from a phone in another time zone. The site has to answer their questions before they ever call admissions.
- Admissions clarity: age groups, curriculum (IB, British, American, bilingual Dutch and English), entry points during the year, waiting list policy and the documents required.
- Tuition and fees page: published fees or a clear explanation of how fees are communicated, plus what employers sometimes cover.
- Open days and visits: a booking form or embedded calendar so families can request a tour or a video call.
- Languages: English is the default for most international families, and many schools also want Dutch for local families and for the Inspectorate of Education context. Kolonell writes natively in English and French; Dutch, German or other language versions are supplied by the school or quoted separately.
- Children's data and privacy: the site falls under the GDPR, supervised in the Netherlands by the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens. Enquiry forms should collect the minimum, with a clear privacy notice and consent wording. Photos of pupils need the consent your school already manages.
- Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA is the usual reference, and the European Accessibility Act, applicable since 28 June 2025, covers certain services. Check with your advisers whether it applies to your school.
A full online admissions portal, with parent accounts, document uploads and application tracking, is a custom application: Kolonell quotes it on request, it is never part of the fixed grid. This is not legal advice: your school's data protection officer or counsel should validate forms and notices.
What will you spend over three years?
The build price is only the first line. Here is a simple 3-year view with explicit assumptions. Maintenance after the included support period is quoted by Kolonell, so the table uses the same monthly maintenance assumption (200 EUR) for every option to isolate the difference that comes from the build and the included support.
| 3-year line item | Mid-range Amsterdam agency | Kolonell Growth | Kolonell Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build | 18 000 EUR (assumed mid-range) | 4 500 EUR | 8 200 EUR |
| Included support after launch | Often none, retainer from day one | 3 months | 6 months |
| Paid maintenance months (assumption 200 EUR/month) | 36 months: 7 200 EUR | 33 months: 6 600 EUR | 30 months: 6 000 EUR |
| Dutch translation | Usually in the agency quote | Supplied by school or quoted | Supplied by school or quoted |
| Admissions portal | Separate quote | Quoted on request | Quoted on request |
| Indicative 3-year total | about 25 200 EUR | about 11 100 EUR | about 14 200 EUR |
These totals are illustrative. Your actual numbers depend on the quotes you receive, but the method works for any provider.
How do you compare quotes without getting caught out?
| Question to ask every provider | Why it matters for a school |
|---|---|
| Who registers the domain, and in whose name? | The school must own its domain; Kolonell registers it in the client's name |
| Are all accesses handed over at delivery? | Avoids being locked in when staff or providers change |
| How many revision rounds are included? | Hourly billing on revisions inflates agency totals |
| Which languages are written, and by whom? | Machine-translated Dutch reads poorly to local families |
| Is the admissions form GDPR-ready? | Children's data needs minimal collection and a privacy notice |
| What happens after the support period? | Ask for the maintenance price in writing before signing |
| What is the payment schedule? | Kolonell: 50 % at start, 50 % at delivery, bank transfer or Wise |
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Red flags: a quote with no page list, hosting or domain held by the agency, a mandatory multi-year retainer, or a vague "SEO package" with no deliverables.
Mini case study
Illustrative example, fictional persona: Marieke, head of admissions at a 400-pupil bilingual primary school in Amsterdam Zuid, receives an agency quote of 18 000 EUR plus a 200 EUR monthly retainer. Over three years that is 18 000 + 7 200 = 25 200 EUR. She compares it with Kolonell Premium: 8 200 EUR, 6 months of included support, then the same 200 EUR monthly assumption for 30 months, so 8 200 + 6 000 = 14 200 EUR. The difference, 11 000 EUR, covers the Dutch translation by a local translator and a scoped admissions portal quote she can request separately. Her board now compares two written totals, not two build prices.
For a sense of how Kolonell handles booking and multilingual flows, two real projects are public: TR Signing Group (trsigninggroup.com), a bilingual EN/FR notary and apostille site in New Jersey with quote requests, a booking calendar and a back office, and Orven Properties (orvenproperties.com), a trilingual FR/EN/AR off-plan real estate site in Dubai with project pages and investor guides.
FAQ
Can Kolonell work with a school in Amsterdam from abroad?
Yes. Your project manager schedules Google Meet calls at a time that suits Amsterdam (CET), the team is based in Senegal (GMT), only one or two hours apart, and you receive a written update every week. Delivery is 3 to 4 weeks for Starter and Growth.
Do you write the Dutch version?
Kolonell writes natively in English and French only. The Dutch version is supplied by the school or quoted separately, and the bilingual EN/FR option starts at Premium, 8 200 EUR.
Is an online admissions portal included?
No. A portal with parent accounts and document uploads is a custom application, quoted on request. The fixed grid of 2 700, 4 500 and 8 200 EUR covers the public website.
How do we pay?
By bank transfer or Wise, 50 % at the start and 50 % at delivery. The price is fixed in EUR in the written quote.
What support do we get?
3 months after launch, 6 months on Premium, covering fixes, small changes and monitoring. After that, maintenance is quoted to fit your site.
Ready to compare a real number with your agency quotes? Request a free quote with your page list and languages.
Let's scope your project. Send us your sections, languages and admissions needs, and we will confirm the right formula, from Starter 2 700 EUR to Premium 8 200 EUR, with a 3 to 6 week schedule. 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.