“Your professional website for only CHF 199 per month with nothing upfront!” This sales pitch wins over many freelancers, shop owners and SME managers in Switzerland. At first glance, spreading the cost seems painless for cash flow.
Yet behind that apparent convenience lies one of the most toxic models on the web: the website leasing contract with a 24 to 48-month commitment. Let’s do the math transparently.
The hard numbers over 36 months
Let’s compare the real cost of a subscription with buying a 100% owned website built by Klickstudio:
| Cost item | Subscription agency (CHF 199/mo) | Subscription agency (CHF 299/mo) | Klickstudio (Showcase Pro) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial build cost | CHF 0 to 500 | CHF 0 to 900 | CHF 690 (one-off payment) |
| Monthly fees over 3 years (36 months) | CHF 7,164 (199 × 36) | CHF 10,764 (299 × 36) | CHF 0 / month |
| Swiss hosting (Infomaniak) | Included in the subscription | Included in the subscription | ~CHF 290 over 3 years (~CHF 8/mo) |
| Total cost after 3 years | CHF 7,164 to 7,664 | CHF 10,764 to 11,664 | CHF 980 all-in |
| Ownership of code and content | 0% (owned by the agency) | 0% (owned by the agency) | 100% yours for life |
| Net savings | — | — | + CHF 6,184 to + CHF 10,684 |
After your 36-month commitment, you have paid over CHF 7,000 and you still own NOTHING.
If you refuse to renew, the agency shuts down the servers: your website disappears overnight and you have to start from scratch.
The 4 hidden flaws of website subscription contracts in Switzerland
- Technical lock-in: these agencies often use closed proprietary platforms. You cannot export your website or switch providers.
- Slow changes: to change a line of text or a photo, you open a ticket and sometimes wait 2 to 3 weeks.
- Poor performance: to maximize margins, these agencies pile hundreds of client sites onto overloaded shared servers, resulting in terrible Google PageSpeed scores (often below 40/100).
- Huge cancellation penalties: trying to cancel early leads to debt collection or paying all the remaining installments.
Are you currently paying a locked-in website subscription?
Klickstudio helps you take stock: we review your contract and rebuild your website in a modern, 100% owned version with no downtime.
The Klickstudio philosophy: clarity, independence and performance
We believe a Swiss business owner should have full control over their digital assets. When you work with Klickstudio:
- You pay a transparent, final fixed price (from CHF 690 for the Essential package).
- You own 100% of the source code, admin access, domain name and content.
- Your website is hosted in Switzerland (Infomaniak), in your own name, fully compliant with the Swiss Data Protection Act (nFADP).
- You get an ultra-fast Next.js website with a Google score above 95/100 guaranteed at delivery.