A website price calculator and a website cost calculator are the same worksheet read in opposite directions. Forwards, you enter what the site needs and see what it should cost. Backwards, you enter a quote's total and its page count and see what the designer is charging per page, which tells you in seconds whether the quote is for templated pages, bespoke pages or something else entirely. This page explains both readings, the figures a quote has to state for the backwards reading to work, and what the per-page number means when it comes out high or low.
Forwards: pricing the site you want
Enter the pages, the hours each takes, the rate of whoever builds them, the content cost per page, the features and the monthly platform cost. The worksheet returns the cost to launch, the cost per page and the first-year total. That is the number to carry into any conversation with a designer, because it is the price of your site under your assumptions, and every difference between it and a quote is a difference of assumption you can ask about by name.
Backwards: reading a quote per page
Take the quote's total, subtract any features, content or photography it lists separately, and divide what remains by the number of pages. That per-page figure is the designer's hours per page times their rate. A low figure means templated pages: a builder theme, your content dropped in. A high figure means bespoke pages, or a rate that includes a project manager, a strategist and a margin. Neither is wrong, but a buyer who wanted templated pages and is being quoted bespoke ones should know before signing, and the per-page figure is how they find out.
What the quote has to state for this to work
A page count, or a page list from which one can be made. Any separately priced items named as such. The monthly platform cost, so it can be kept out of the build figure. If a quote states none of those, it cannot be read per page, and that is a reason to ask for a version that can be. Designers who itemise are not more expensive; they are easier to compare, and the ones who will not itemise are usually the ones whose per-page figure would surprise you.
Questions people ask about website price calculator
Is a website price calculator accurate?
It is arithmetic on your assumptions, so it is exactly as accurate as your page count, hours and rate. It is a way to make a quote comparable, not a substitute for one.
What is a reasonable price per page?
There is no reasonable price per page in general; there is a reasonable price for a templated page and a very different one for a bespoke page. The per-page reading tells you which you are being sold.
Does the calculator include the domain and email?
No. Domain, email and similar fixed costs are small and the same on every route, so they are left out to keep the comparison clean. Add them to the monthly line if you want a complete running cost.