How much to charge for a website in Tunisia, a method that works

There is no single price for a website in Tunisia, and this article will not tell you what other people charge. It gives you a method to work out your own price: your time multiplied by an hourly rate you choose, plus your real costs, all checked against what the site is worth to the client. You will leave with a figure you can explain, which changes everything when the moment comes to say it.

Work out your floor: your time and your costs

Your floor price is the time the project takes you, multiplied by what an hour of your work is worth.

Count every hour, not only the hours spent building the site:

• the demo and the conversations before the sale,
• collecting texts and photos, then the changes,
• going live, the quote, the invoice and chasing the payment.

Then choose your hourly rate. A simple way: start from the amount you want this activity to bring you each month, and divide by the number of hours you can really sell in that month. Hours spent prospecting without selling are not billed, so that number is smaller than your total working time. For example, if you aim for 1,200 TND a month and you can sell 30 hours, your rate is 1,200 divided by 30, which is 40 TND per hour. Both figures are made up to illustrate the calculation. Use your own.

Add your real costs

List what each project truly costs you:

• Your tools. Subscriptions, software, internet and phone plans. Divide the monthly cost by the number of projects you do in a month.
• The domain name. If you pay for it on the client's behalf, it is a cost to pass on. Prices and conditions, especially for a .tn name, vary by registrar: check before you quote.
• Hosting, if any of it is on you.
• Your own taxes and contributions. What the client pays is not what you keep. Depending on your tax regime (forfaitaire, réel, auto-entrepreneur status), you will have taxes, social contributions and possibly TVA to handle. Ask an accountant how much to set aside from each payment.

Finally, add a safety margin that you choose, for surprises: a client who asks for one more change, a project that runs two hours over.

One thing not to mix up: if your regime requires you to charge TVA, it is added on top of the price excluding tax at the standard rate of 19%, and it is not yours to keep. Always say clearly whether your price is before tax or all taxes included. This is covered in quotes and invoices in Tunisia.

A worked example, to redo with your numbers

The table below is an example of the method, with made-up inputs. It is not the market price and it is not a recommended price. Replace every line with your own values.

In this example, 300 TND is your floor: below it, you work at a loss. If you charge TVA, 360 TND excluding tax becomes 360 x 1.19, which is 428.400 TND including tax, plus the fiscal stamp (check the amount in force). Time yourself on your first projects: if the work takes 15 hours instead of 6, everything changes.

Check it against the value for the client

Your calculation gives you a floor. The value for the client tells you whether your price is reasonable from their side, and it gives you an argument.

The question to ask is simple: what is one extra customer a month worth to you? Let the owner answer with their own numbers:

1. How much does a customer spend on average per visit?
2. How many times does a loyal customer come back in a year?
3. Multiply the two: that is what one new customer is worth over a year.
4. Multiply by 12 for one extra customer every month.

An example with made-up numbers: in a salon where a customer spends 40 TND per visit and comes back 4 times a year, a new customer is worth 40 x 4, which is 160 TND over the year. One extra customer every month adds up to 12 x 160, which is 1,920 TND.

Be honest: you cannot guarantee the site will bring that customer. You are only showing how many customers it takes for the site to pay for itself.

Present your offer in two parts

A single price mixes two different things. Separate them.

• The build, paid once. The site, the texts, the photos, going live. State what is included: number of pages or sections, languages, number of rounds of changes. To decide what goes in, see what a small business website should contain.
• Yearly maintenance, optional. Domain renewal, small changes, your availability. Price it with the same method: the hours you expect over the year multiplied by your rate, plus the yearly costs.

Splitting the two makes the starting price easier to read. If the owner can change their own hours and photos, as in the small back office that comes with a LeadMax site, say so: it is a selling point, and it reduces your maintenance hours.

Announce the price on WhatsApp

Order matters. The price comes after the owner has seen their site, never before. That is the whole logic described in how to sell websites to local businesses in Tunisia.

A good price message is a few lines long and contains five things: what is included, the price, the deposit, the deadline, and how long the offer is valid.

Hello Mr Hatem, glad you like the site. Here is my proposal: the full site in French and Arabic, with your photos, your opening hours and the call button, online under your name, for 360 TND. Two rounds of changes are included. A 50% deposit to start, the rest when the site goes live. Delivery in 5 days. Offer valid for 15 days.

The amount in this message comes from the example table, it is not a recommended price. State your figure without apologising, then send the written quote. With LeadMax, you can send a proposal the owner accepts online, then generate the quote and the invoice as numbered PDFs.

Handling "it's too expensive"

That sentence often means "I do not yet see why it costs this much". A few useful replies:

• Ask compared to what. "Too expensive compared to what?" The answer tells you whether they are comparing with a nephew, a Facebook page or this month's budget.
• Go back to their calculation. "You told me a loyal customer brings you this much a year. How many customers does it take to pay for the site?"
• Cut the scope, not the price. One language, fewer sections, no maintenance. The price drops because the work drops.
• Offer payment in two or three instalments. The total stays the same, the strain on their cash does not.
• Accept the no. If the budget is not there, say thank you and move on.

Deposits and discounts

The deposit. Always ask for part of the price before you finalise. It proves the client is committed and it pays for your first hours. The percentage is your choice, for example half or a third. Write it in the quote, with the date the balance is due.

When to give a discount:

• in exchange for full payment when the order is placed,
• in exchange for something clear, such as the right to show the site as a reference or an introduction to two neighbouring owners,
• for your very first clients, presented as a launch price limited in time.

When not to: when the client asks out of habit, when it takes you below your floor, or when they have already asked for more than was agreed. A discount with nothing in return teaches the client that your first price was not real.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average price of a website in Tunisia?

This article gives no average on purpose, because a figure with no reliable source does not help you. Prices depend on the time spent, the content and who is selling. Work out your floor with the method, then adjust after your first sales.

Should I charge by the hour or a fixed price?

Calculate by the hour, quote a fixed price. The owner wants one clear amount. Your hourly rate stays an internal tool to check that the fixed price pays you properly.

Do I need to add TVA to my price?

It depends on your tax regime. If you are liable for TVA, it is added to the price excluding tax at the standard rate of 19%. Confirm your situation with an accountant before you send your first quote.