# Website subscription or buy for estate agents | Salamander

> Website subscription or buy as an estate agent? The four-year maths, what happens after launch and what to check in a subscription.

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## Website subscription or buy as an estate agent: the maths

Buying a website looks cheaper, until you count the costs after launch. Hosting, updates, security and new features keep costing money, even when the build is paid for. A subscription puts all those costs into one fixed monthly price, and gives you the same website.

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Article · Choosing or switching · 5 min read · By Bram Van Langendonck · 1 November 2026

![The Century 21 Sophimo website on a laptop](https://salamander.be/en/media/mockup-c21-sophimo-laptop.webp)

![The Salamander team at work](https://salamander.be/media/team-broll-16x7-2.webp)

- Subscription or buy

<aside class="res-article__summary" aria-label="In short">
      <p class="t-small">In short</p>
      <ul>
        <li>A purchased website ages. You still pay for hosting, updates and security afterwards.</li>
        <li>With a subscription, you pay one fixed monthly price for the build and the upkeep together.</li>
        <li>At Habbi, Essential costs €249 per month. With an annual contract you pay €2,990 per year. Over four years that is €11,960, excl. VAT. Buying out is possible too: get in touch and we will make you an offer.</li>
        <li>A subscription is not a stripped-down version. You even get more: with a monthly subscription, you get every update straight away.</li>
      </ul>
    </aside>

<h2 id="wat-je-echt-koopt">What you really buy when you buy a website</h2>
<p>Buy a website and you get a site as it is on launch day. From then on, it starts to age.</p>
<p>That is not the builder's fault. It is down to everything around the site. Browsers get updates, Google changes how it reads pages, your property CRM changes its integration. A site that stands still falls behind.</p>
<p>That is why the cost does not stop at the build invoice. Three things keep running:</p>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Hosting.</strong> The site has to run somewhere, every day.</li>
  <li><strong>Updates and security.</strong> Software that is not kept up to date gets slower and more vulnerable.</li>
  <li><strong>The integration with your CRM.</strong> It has to keep working, even when your CRM changes something.</li>
</ul>
<p>A purchased website is rarely "pay and done". You pay upfront for the build, and then for maintenance.</p>
<p>Buying, leasing or a subscription: the words differ, the question is the same. What counts is what you pay over the whole term, and what you get for it.</p>
<h2 id="de-rekensom-over-vijf">The maths over four years</h2>
<p>Always count over several years. You cannot compare a monthly price with a build price without adding them up. We count over four years, because most websites are renewed after 3 to 5 years.</p>
<p>For Habbi, the sum is simple. There is no set-up fee, so what you pay is the annual price times the number of years.</p>
<div class="res-article__table">
<table>
<thead><tr><th scope="col">Package</th><th scope="col">Per month</th><th scope="col">Per year</th><th scope="col">After 4 years</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>Essential</td><td>€249</td><td>€2,990</td><td>€11,960</td></tr>
<tr><td>Pro</td><td>€499</td><td>€5,990</td><td>€23,960</td></tr>
<tr><td>All-in</td><td>€749</td><td>€8,990</td><td>€35,960</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p>All amounts are with an annual contract and excl. VAT.</p>
<p>Prefer to pay in one go? Buying out your website is possible too. <a href="/contact/?reden=prijs">Get in touch</a> and we will make you an offer. Discuss in advance what still runs after the buy-out.</p>
<p>For a purchased website, you do the same sum yourself. Add up the build, the hosting, the maintenance contract and every change over four years. Don't forget the hours your agency puts into the site. Only then is it a fair comparison.</p>
<h2 id="wat-er-gebeurt-na">What happens after launch</h2>
<p>After launch, the real work of a website begins. An estate agency website changes every day, because your listings change every day.</p>
<p>With a purchased site, a lot depends on your maintenance contract. Small changes are sometimes included. A new feature, an extra integration or a new page often means a new quote.</p>
<p>With a subscription, that work carries on within the same price. With Habbi, the site is always up to date. Properties and agents sync automatically with your property CRM, and leads from your forms go to your CRM. New integrations are added regularly, usually at no extra cost.</p>
<p>"What is one-off, and what do you monitor after launch?" is a good question for any builder. The answer tells you more about the real price than the quote itself.</p>
<h2 id="wanneer-kopen-of-afkopen">When buying or buying out does make sense</h2>
<p>Buying or buying out makes sense if you prefer to fix the budget in one go. Some agencies would rather book an investment upfront than a monthly cost.</p>
<p>A few situations where it is logical:</p>
<ul>
  <li><strong>You want a fixed investment.</strong> You set the amount once and have no monthly invoice for the website.</li>
  <li><strong>You have a regular maintenance partner.</strong> Someone who looks after the site technically and follows up the integration with your CRM.</li>
  <li><strong>You keep the same site for a very long time.</strong> We sometimes see agencies that use their website for 8 years without major changes. That is exceptional, but then buying out is more attractive than a monthly model.</li>
</ul>
<p>In practice, most agencies renew their website after 3 to 5 years. Then the monthly model works out cheaper.</p>
<p>Discuss this with your accountant. A subscription and a buy-out are booked differently, and that can matter in your situation.</p>
<h2 id="waar-je-op-let">What to check in a subscription</h2>
<p>A good subscription can be cancelled, is clear about what is included and gives you the whole website. Check these three points before you sign.</p>
<ol>
  <li><strong>Can you cancel?</strong> A long contract with no way out takes away the benefit of a subscription. Habbi can be cancelled monthly.</li>
  <li><strong>What is included?</strong> Hosting, updates, security, the integration with your CRM and support. Ask what is paid for separately.</li>
  <li><strong>Do you get the same website?</strong> A subscription should not be a stripped-down version. With Habbi, you get a fully custom design: the same engine, a different body.</li>
</ol>
<p>"Is a subscription a stripped-down version of a purchased site?" We hear that a lot. Not with Habbi. You even get more, because with a monthly subscription you get every update straight away.</p>
<p><strong>Also read</strong></p>
<ul>
  <li><a href="/prijzen/">The packages and their monthly price</a></li>
  <li><a href="/product/vastgoedwebsite/">An estate agency website that is always up to date</a></li>
  <li><a href="/kennisbank/vastgoedwebsite-kosten/">What an estate agency website costs</a></li>
</ul>

- [An estate agency website that is always up to date](https://salamander.be/en/en/product/estate-agent-website)
- [What an estate agency website costs](https://salamander.be/en/en/knowledge-base/estate-agent-website-cost)

Contents

Written by

Bram Van Langendonck

Founder · CEO

Founded Salamander with Yannick, with Frederiek joining shortly after. Talks to estate agents every week about their website, their leads and their CRM, and turns that into Habbi.

All articles

- What you really buy when you buy a website
- The maths over four years
- What happens after launch
- When buying or buying out makes sense
- What to check in a subscription

[All articles](https://salamander.be/en/knowledge-base)

## Frequently asked questions

About subscriptions, buying and buying out. Your question isn't here? Call us, or book a demo.

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- **Do I own my website?**: Your domain name is yours. Salamander is only registered as the technical contact. Your properties and contacts live in your own property CRM. The software the site runs on is Salamander's platform.
- **What if I stop?**: Habbi can be cancelled monthly. Your domain name stays yours, and your properties and leads stay in your CRM.
- **Is a subscription more expensive in the long run?**: Always count over several years. With Habbi, the build, the upkeep and the updates are in the monthly price. With a purchased site, those costs come on top.
- **Is there a set-up fee?**: No. With Habbi, you only pay the monthly price: €249, €499 or €749, excl. VAT.

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## Keep reading.

- What does an estate agency website cost in Belgium?
- Getting found as an estate agent on Google and AI: the guide
- Why your website still matters when nearly everything comes via Immoweb

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Source: https://salamander.be/en/knowledge-base/website-subscription-or-buy

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