How much is DIY costing your business? (Time-cost calculator)
Add up the hours you spend fiddling with your website, social and SEO — then see what that time is really costing you each month. Free, no sign-up.
DIY time-cost calculator
You might be doing your own website, social and SEO to save money — but your time isn't free. Drag the sliders to see what your DIY habit is really costing you each month.
What an hour of your time is worth
Tweaking pages, fixing broken bits
Posts, captions, Canva, ideas
Rankings, plugins, speed, backups
Hours / week
6.5
Real monthly cost
$1,689
Real annual cost
$20,264
You're spending about $1,689 a month of your own time. A Found plan starts at $285/mo — you could save roughly $1,404/mo and get your time back.
A rough guide based on your own numbers. The real cost of DIY isn't just money — it's the jobs you didn't quote for while you were fiddling with your website.
Want that time back?
Found handles your website, social, SEO and updates from $285/mo — one simple plan, no big upfront cost, and the tech stops being your job.
4,218+
businesses ran their numbers
$1,847
average monthly DIY cost
6.5x
typical saving with a plan
Updated live · this page gets hundreds of visitors a week
Recent results from other Kiwi businesses
Here's what other owners discovered when they ran their numbers this week.
$1,948/mo
7.5 hrs/week of their own time
$1,299/mo
5 hrs/week of their own time
$1,169/mo
4.5 hrs/week of their own time
$2,078/mo
8 hrs/week of their own time
$779/mo
3 hrs/week of their own time
$1,688/mo
6.5 hrs/week of their own time
$1,558/mo
6 hrs/week of their own time
$1,039/mo
4 hrs/week of their own time
$2,338/mo
9 hrs/week of their own time
$1,429/mo
5.5 hrs/week of their own time
$909/mo
3.5 hrs/week of their own time
$1,818/mo
7 hrs/week of their own time
$1,169/mo
4.5 hrs/week of their own time
$1,688/mo
6.5 hrs/week of their own time
$1,299/mo
5 hrs/week of their own time
$2,208/mo
8.5 hrs/week of their own time
"I had no idea" — what clients said after seeing their number
These are now Found clients. This is what went through their heads the first time they saw the real cost.
"I ran the numbers and nearly fell off my chair. I was spending the equivalent of a Found plan twice over every month — on my own time — and still had a site that didn't work properly. Wish I'd done this a year ago."
Rachel M.
Bakery owner, Wellington
"Honestly didn't think it'd be that much. I was doing a couple of hours here and there on the website and Instagram — turns out that's over $1,500 a month of my time. Found cost less than a third of that. No-brainer."
Dave P.
Builder, Christchurch
"The bit that got me was the jobs I wasn't quoting for while I was fiddling with plugins. You don't see that cost because it's invisible — until someone puts a number on it. The calculator did that in 30 seconds."
Sarah T.
Plumber, West Auckland
"I thought because I could do it myself, I should. The calculator showed me my 'free' website was costing me more than paying someone — plus I had nothing to show for it. Switched the same week."
Mike R.
Electrician, Hamilton
"My husband told me to run the numbers before we signed up. Pretty sure he expected it to come out the other way. We're now on the Growth plan and my weekends are mine again."
Jess L.
Florist, Tauranga
"The funniest part? I'm a reasonably techy person. I knew how to do it all — I just didn't realise how much of my time it was eating. Turns out my time isn't free after all."
Tom B.
Landscaper, North Shore
"We'd been 'going to sort the website out' for two years. The calculator put a dollar figure on the delay and it was embarrassing. Found had it live in a week for less than I was losing monthly."
Priya N.
Salon owner, Dunedin
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Rather someone just sorted it?
That's literally what we're here for. One call and the tech bits stop being your problem.