Everyone quotes you for one piece. Nobody adds it up. Here's the honest total — hiring professionals for each part, doing it all yourself, or having it done for you. Real 2026 Canadian rates, sourced at the bottom.
Set your time to $0 if evenings genuinely cost you nothing. The tool will tell you honestly if doing it yourself wins.
Both options above have a hole in them. It isn't the cost — it's what nobody in the quote is actually responsible for.
It was never that we're cheaper. It's that nobody else does all of it — the registration and the licence filing and the branding and the website and the Google profile — as one job, with one person accountable, at any price. You end up registered, online, and taking bookings. Every account in your name.
We prepare and submit your business name registration, business registration, and municipal licence application using the information you give us. Approvals, processing times, and licensing decisions rest with the applicable authority. Insurance and WorkSafeBC registration remain yours to arrange — we hand you a plain-English guide on both — read the WorkSafeBC one here.
We used the conservative end of every published range. Real quotes routinely come in higher. Nothing here is inflated to make a point — the honest numbers are persuasive enough.
| Line item | Freelancer | Studio mix | Agency |
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Sourcing (2026, CAD): Logo and brand identity — freelancers $500–$2,500, agencies $3,000–$15,000+.
Professional website — freelance builds $1,500–$5,000, agency builds $6,000–$15,000+ for a standard small-business site.
SEO copywriting — $1,500–$7,000 for a medium site.
Local SEO and Google Business Profile optimisation — typically bundled into the $1,500–$5,000 website tier; ongoing SEO retainers run $500–$3,000/month.
Booking and payment integration — billed at freelance rates of $40–$100/hour.
Government fees (name approval, sole proprietorship registration, municipal licence) reflect typical BC amounts and vary by municipality.
On the licensing point: securing the registrations and permits a business needs to operate legally is the owner's responsibility — design and marketing agencies do not do this, and generally do not claim to.
Honest caveats: Your quotes will differ. Some freelancers charge less; most agencies charge more. Time estimates assume you have never done any of this before. This is an estimating tool for comparison, not a quote, and not financial advice. Government fees are set by the applicable authority, not by us.
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Registration, licensing, branding, a professional website, your Google profile, online booking, and card payments — done for you in about 10 business days. Every account in your name, day one.
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