Compare · Honest tables
DIY subscriptions look cheap until you count your own hours, broken mobile menus, and agency upsells to fix what the template cannot do.
Use a builder when you need a single page live tonight and you enjoy tinkering with templates yourself.
Move to a retainer when aggregator commission, booking deposits, or Search competition mean the site must earn, not just exist.
Honest rows, updated when tiers change in lib/pricing.
| Factor | Yusuf Choudhury retainers | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost headline | From £500/mo Websites ex VAT, 12-month minimum | Lower SaaS fee plus your time |
| Custom ordering or booking | Growth and Scale tiers scoped on a call | App marketplaces; limited logic |
| SEO depth | Search retainers with Multi-site option | Basic SEO wizards; you do the work |
| Who fixes breakages | Included in retainer | You or a hired fixer |
| Export and portability | You own content; code licensed while subscribed | Export often messy; rebuild common |
| AI and llms readiness | llms.txt and structured data maintained | Varies; rarely prioritised |
| Books integration | Books from £299/mo optional | Not part of builder subscription |
Websites replaces template limits with sector demos you can click on /work.
Search fixes the local visibility builders advertise but leave you to implement.
Books picks up when DIY tools do not reconcile tills and suppliers.
Prices before VAT. 12-month minimum on Websites and Search retainers. Scoped on a call before anything is charged.
Starter
£500/mo
Site live, hosted and edited each month. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.
Growth
£2,500/mo
Orders or bookings, monthly SEO page, report. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.
Scale
£4,000/mo
Multi-branch or lead engine. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.
Starter
£500/mo
Starter, one location. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.
Growth
£1,250/mo
Growth. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.
Multi-site
£2,250/mo
Multi-site, several locations. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.
Scale
£4,250/mo
Scale. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.
One office
£299/mo
one office
Several branches
£899/mo
several branches
Multi-entity
£1,299/mo
only for multi-entity