Private or international school website cost in Geneva: local agencies vs Kolonell (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

In Geneva, a private or international school website built by a local agency costs, as a 2026 order of magnitude, between 12,000 and 50,000 CHF, and the English version is often quoted as an extra. Kolonell writes natively in French and English and delivers at a fixed price: 2 700, 4 500 or 8 200 CHF, with the bilingual FR/EN site included from Premium. For a Geneva school, the real calculation is the three-year cost of both languages and of back-to-school updates, while campus photography stays with you.

This version is written for the English-speaking heads and admissions directors of private and international schools in Geneva.

What do Geneva agencies, freelancers and Kolonell charge?

The amounts below are cautious orders of magnitude: public price lists of agencies in Geneva and the Lake Geneva region, minimum project sizes on Clutch.co profiles, hourly rates published by French-speaking Swiss agencies (often 130 to 200 CHF per hour), freelance rates visible on Malt and Upwork. Some freelancers working for Geneva clients are based in neighbouring France, with lower rates.

A Geneva agency remains the right choice if you want on-site workshops with leadership and the foundation board, filming on campus and a regular physical presence. Kolonell suits schools that want both languages written by native speakers, a price known upfront and a project manager reachable in their time zone, with a written update every week. The team is based in Senegal (GMT), one to two hours behind Geneva depending on the season. Payment by bank transfer or Wise, 50% at kickoff and 50% on delivery. Packages are detailed in our international website offer.

What is the real three-year cost of a bilingual site?

The table applies the same maintenance assumption on both sides (quoted on request at Kolonell after the support period), taking into account the 6 months of support included in Premium.

If you compare with a freelancer, ask who writes the English: a quickly proofread machine translation shows immediately to English-speaking families paying high tuition fees.

What does each package include for a Geneva school?

A custom parent portal, online enrolment with payment or an intranet are applications quoted on request, as is ongoing SEO.

What do families choosing a school in Geneva expect?

Geneva concentrates families from international organisations, permanent missions, multinationals, commodity trading and private banks. Diplomatic rotations bring pupils at any time of year, not only at the late August start, and many families also compare schools in the canton of Vaud or live in neighbouring France. The site must answer plainly:

• The language model: bilingual immersion, English programme with strong French, Swiss curriculum, IB, depending on what the school actually offers.
• Tuition fees and what they cover, since many families must pass them on to their employer or organisation.
• Places available per class and the procedure for a January or April arrival.
• Transport, canteen, after-school care and activities.
• Two languages of equal quality, since French and English-speaking parents read the same school.

Compliance, facts only. Private schools in Geneva are subject to authorisation and supervision by the canton, through the department in charge of public education; only display an accreditation or affiliation (IB World School, CIS, etc.) the school actually holds. Pupil and parent data fall under the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP, nLPD), in force since 1 September 2023; for families living in France, the GDPR may also come into play, to be checked with your counsel. Pupil photos require written parental consent. WCAG 2.1 AA is the technical accessibility reference. This is not legal advice.

Which questions should you ask providers?

• Who writes the English, and is the English version included in the price?
• What does the back-to-school update cost: fees, calendar, staff?
• How does the admissions form protect children's data, and where is it hosted?
• Will the admissions team be able to edit pages without going through the provider?
• Will the domain and hosting be in your name?
• Are the proposed photos of real pupils, with consent?

Mini case study

Illustrative example. Claire D., head of a bilingual early years and primary school with 260 pupils on the left bank, receives an agency quote of 31,000 CHF for the French site, plus 5,000 CHF for English: 36,000 CHF. Kolonell Premium costs 8 200 CHF with both languages written natively; she adds 2,200 CHF for a local photographer. Total: 10,400 CHF, or 25,600 CHF less at build stage, with a virtual tour embedded from her own footage.

FAQ

Is the bilingual site really included? Yes, in Premium at 8 200 CHF the site is delivered complete in French and English, written by native speakers. Starter and Growth are delivered in one language.

Can Kolonell travel to Geneva? No, Kolonell does not hold in-person meetings or on-site shoots. Exchanges happen on Google Meet calls and a local photographer, often 1,800 to 3,000 CHF, produces the images.

Can we keep our admissions software? Yes, Kolonell integrates or links the tool the school has already chosen from Growth. A custom parent portal is quoted on request.

What timeline for the August start? Premium usually takes 4 to 6 weeks on a written plan. Starting in March means being online before spring enquiries.

How does payment work? By bank transfer or Wise, 50% at kickoff and 50% on delivery. After the 6 months of Premium support, maintenance is quoted on request.

Let's scope your project. Send us your school stages, your admissions tool and your current copy, and we will propose a fixed-price package, bilingual in Premium, deliverable in 4 to 6 weeks. Request your free quote or see the international offer.