The verdict in three sentences
In Zurich, a property management company website (rental management, condominium administration, letting mandates) built by a local agency costs, as a 2026 order of magnitude, between 12 000 and 45 000 CHF, more if the site connects deeply to the property management software. Kolonell builds the vacancy pages, the tenant application form, the damage report and the owner pages at a fixed price of 2 700, 4 500 or 8 200 CHF, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks for Starter and Growth. The deciding point in Zurich is language: a local agency writes in German, Kolonell writes natively in English and French, and the German version is supplied by the firm or quoted separately.
What do Zurich agencies, freelancers and Kolonell charge?
The ranges below are cautious orders of magnitude. They rest on public price lists of German-speaking Swiss web agencies, minimum project sizes shown on Clutch.co profiles, hourly rates published by Zurich digital agencies (often 130 to 220 CHF an hour) and rates visible on Malt and Upwork. None of them is an official rate.
| Criterion | Zurich agency | Local freelancer | Kolonell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build, 2026 order of magnitude | 12 000 to 45 000 CHF | 4 000 to 12 000 CHF | 2 700 / 4 500 / 8 200 CHF, fixed price |
| Hourly change rate | Often 130 to 220 CHF | Often 90 to 140 CHF | Additions quoted before work starts |
| Usual timeline | 8 to 16 weeks | 5 to 10 weeks | 3 to 4 weeks, Premium usually 4 to 6 |
| German copywriting | Usually included | Often included | Supplied by the firm or quoted separately |
| English or French copywriting | Often an option | Varies | Native, included |
| Tenant or owner portal | Quoted, often heavy | Rarely | Custom application, quoted separately |
| Ownership | Check the contract | Check the contract | Domain in your name, all access handed over |
Payment is by bank transfer or Wise: 50 % at kick-off, 50 % at delivery. Your project manager sets Google Meet calls on Zurich time and sends a written update every week; the team is in Senegal (GMT), one to two hours behind Switzerland depending on the season. Kolonell does not visit your offices and does not organise building photo shoots. The formulas are set out in the international website offer.
Which three-year cost should you use?
Kolonell maintenance after the support period is quoted separately, so the table uses the same maintenance assumption on both sides. Licences for the property management software and listing portals stay outside the comparison.
| Item over 36 months | Zurich agency (mid-range) | Kolonell Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Website build | 22 000 CHF | 4 500 CHF |
| Maintenance (same assumption) | 180 CHF a month over 33 months, 5 940 CHF | 5 940 CHF, quoted separately |
| German version | Included | Assumption 1 800 CHF (supplied or quoted) |
| New forms and pages over three years | 8 hours at 170 CHF, 1 360 CHF | Quoted before work, assumption 900 CHF |
| Photos of the team and buildings | Photographer, about 1 200 CHF | Local photographer, 1 200 CHF |
| Indicative total | 30 500 CHF | 14 340 CHF |
These figures structure the comparison and do not replace a quote. Ask each provider to price these same lines.
What does each formula include for a property management company?
| Item | Starter 2 700 CHF | Growth 4 500 CHF | Premium 8 200 CHF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacancies | Link to your listings on the portals | Listing widget or feed from your software, integrated | Pages per building or new development |
| Tenant application | Simple form | Structured form, attachments via a secure tool | Path per property, sorted by building |
| Damage report | Contact form | Dedicated form and emergency numbers | Form per type of damage |
| Owner pages (rental management, condominiums, sales) | One services page | One page per service and mandate request | Detailed pages, building references |
| Bilingual EN/FR version | No | No | Included |
| Timeline | 3 to 4 weeks | 3 to 4 weeks | Written plan, usually 4 to 6 weeks |
| Support after launch | 3 months | 3 months | 6 months |
A tenant portal with personal documents, an owner extranet connected to statements or a custom sync with your property management software is a bespoke application, quoted separately. So is ongoing SEO. For an example of a multilingual real estate site delivered by Kolonell, see Orven Properties (orvenproperties.com), an off-plan property advisory in Dubai, in French, English and Arabic.
What does a Zurich property manager need online?
In Zurich the vacancy rate stays well below 1 %: a single listing draws dozens, sometimes hundreds of applications. The site therefore serves less to find tenants than to channel requests, reassure owners and cut phone calls. A large share of tenants are expatriates (banks, insurers, tech groups, ETH, international organisations) who read English before German.
- Up-to-date listings, pulled from your software or the portals, never retyped by hand.
- A minimal application file: identity, income, a debt collection register extract only at the stage where it is needed, and deletion of unsuccessful files.
- A clear damage report, with the out-of-hours emergency number and what falls to the tenant or to the firm.
- Owner pages explaining rental management, condominium administration and relocation, with a mandate request form.
- A news page for topics that trigger calls, such as changes in the reference interest rate published by the Federal Office for Housing.
- Professional memberships, for example SVIT, presented accurately.
Compliance, without legal advice: the nLPD, in force since 1 September 2023, imposes among other things a duty to inform when collecting data; a debt collection extract and proof of income are data to protect, collected through a suitable tool rather than plain email. The FDPIC is the federal supervisory authority. Cookies and analytics tools must appear in the privacy notice. This is not legal advice.
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Which questions should you ask before signing?
- Who writes the German, who writes the English, and who checks the tenancy vocabulary?
- Are listings synced with your software, or do they have to be retyped?
- Where are application files stored, and for how long?
- Are the domain and access in your name from day one?
- Do you really need a tenant portal now, or will a well-designed form do for the first year?
- When the local agency is the better choice: if your site must be written entirely in German with a lot of content, or if deep integration with the property management software is the heart of the project, an experienced Zurich real estate agency can be worth its price.
Mini case study
Illustrative example. Martin K., managing partner of a 9-person firm in Oerlikon managing about 1 100 flats and 40 condominium associations, receives an agency offer of 26 000 CHF, delivered in 13 weeks. Kolonell proposes the Growth formula at 4 500 CHF, with a native English version; the German version goes to a translator for 2 000 CHF.
Kolonell total: 6 500 CHF, a gap of 19 500 CHF with the agency. With the same maintenance assumption of 5 940 CHF on each side, three years come to 31 940 CHF against 12 440 CHF. Martin sets part of the gap aside to have a tenant portal quoted later.
FAQ
How much does a property management company website cost in Zurich in 2026?
With a local agency, about 12 000 to 45 000 CHF as an order of magnitude, and 4 000 to 12 000 CHF with a freelancer. Kolonell charges a fixed 2 700, 4 500 or 8 200 CHF.
Can Kolonell deliver the site in German?
Kolonell writes natively in English and French. German is supplied by the firm or quoted separately; our assumption is 1 800 to 2 000 CHF.
Can listings come from our property management software?
Yes, from Growth at 4 500 CHF, if your software or portal provides a widget or feed. A custom-built sync is quoted separately.
Is a tenant portal included?
No. It is a custom application, quoted separately; a well-designed damage report form, included from Growth, often covers the first year.
How long until the site goes live?
Three to four weeks in Starter and Growth, usually 4 to 6 weeks in Premium, with 3 months of support (6 in Premium).
Let's scope your project. Send us your list of services, the name of your property management software and the languages you need, and we will propose a fixed-price formula 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.