WordPress maintenance typically runs from around $30 to a few hundred dollars a month, depending on your site's size and what's included - hosting, updates, backups, security, and support. A simple business site sits at the lower end.
The short version
The range is wide because "maintenance" means different things. A basic plan covering updates, backups, and security monitoring for a simple site can start around $30-$50 a month. Plans that bundle in hosting, more hands-on support, or a busy online store cost more. (For reference, our own care plans start at $35/month - see our pricing.)
What you're actually paying for
Done properly, maintenance covers the work that prevents expensive problems: testing and applying updates safely, daily backups, security monitoring, speed checks, and someone to call when something breaks. The alternative - skipping it - is cheaper right up until the morning a bad update or a hack turns into an emergency repair bill plus lost business while the site's down.
Doing it yourself, or paying for it
You can handle much of it yourself if you have the time and the comfort with the technical side. Weigh a modest monthly plan against what your own hours are worth, and against the cost of a single serious outage. It's less an expense than insurance against the bad day.
A real example
A solo consultant compared options for her site: a $8/month shared host with "WordPress auto-updates" enabled, a $35/month care plan covering tested updates and backups, and hiring a freelancer for $75/hour whenever something broke. The cheap host saved money until a plugin conflict white-screened the site during a client proposal - the emergency fix alone cost triple a year of the care plan. The real maintenance cost is whichever option prevents the next emergency, not the sticker price.
Rather just have it handled?
WordPress Care Plans
From $49/month. Hosting, updates, backups and security included.