Plan details checked September 25, 2026 on each vendor's own site. US dollars, before tax, per site per month. Vendors change plans and promotions often, so confirm before you buy.
A website builder handles hosting, templates, security and updates, so a small business can launch and edit its own site without a developer. The five below take different approaches: all-in-one design tools, a publishing platform with plugins, a designer-grade builder, and a builder tied to a CRM. Pricing also varies in ways that matter, from first-year discounts to transaction fees on sales. This guide starts with the free plans and ends with a short method for choosing.
How this guide was built: it draws on each vendor's own pricing page. We have not hands-on tested every product, so we give no ratings or scores. Where a page doesn't state something, we say so instead of guessing.
1. Start with the free plans
Wix. You can build a site for free with no credit card, using the drag-and-drop editor and templates. Wix says a Premium plan is what lets you connect your own domain and remove Wix branding.
WordPress.com. The free plan works, but WordPress.com says free sites display its ads to visitors. Paid plans remove them.
Webflow. The free Starter plan includes a webflow.io address, 2 static pages, limited CMS, 1 GB of bandwidth and 50 form submissions. It's meant for trying the tool.
HubSpot. Content Hub's Free plan covers up to 2 users and up to 30 website pages, 30 landing pages and a blog of up to 100 posts, all with HubSpot branding.
Squarespace doesn't offer a free plan. Every site starts with a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
2. Paid plans, tool by tool
Squarespace. Billed annually, Basic is $19 a month, Core is $29, Plus is $49 and Advanced is $99. Billed monthly, they are $25, $39, $65 and $139. Squarespace says paying annually saves up to 36% and includes a free custom domain for the first year. Transaction fees are the key difference between tiers: Basic charges 2% on online store sales and 7% on digital content and memberships, Core drops store fees to 0% and memberships to 5%, and Plus and Advanced lower card rates and memberships fees further. Basic allows 2 contributors; the other plans allow unlimited contributors.
Wix. Billed yearly, Light is $17 a month, Core is $29, Business is $39 and Business Elite is $159. Wix says displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions paid in full up front. Light includes 2 GB of storage and 2 site collaborators, but its feature list doesn't include accepting payments. Core adds payments, basic eCommerce and scheduling, 50 GB of storage and 5 collaborators. Business adds standard eCommerce, 100 GB and 10 collaborators. Plans include a free domain for one year, and Wix offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.
WordPress.com. WordPress.com shows first-year discounts. Paid yearly, Personal is $4 a month for the first year and renews at $8. Premium is $8 and renews at $14. Business is $25 and renews at $35. Commerce is $45 and renews at $62. All paid plans include unlimited pages, posts and users, no ads, a free domain for one year, and access to WordPress plugins. Premium adds payment buttons for PayPal and Stripe. Business adds priority support, real-time backups and developer tools. Commerce adds WooCommerce store features.
Webflow. Billed yearly, Basic is $15 a month for simple sites without a CMS, with a custom domain, 300 static pages, 10 GB of bandwidth and unlimited form submissions. Premium starts at $25 a month and adds the Webflow CMS, site search and more bandwidth, with the price rising as you choose more bandwidth. Webflow prices per site, and ecommerce plans are listed separately.
HubSpot Content Hub. Starter is $7 per seat per month billed annually, or $20 billed monthly, and removes HubSpot branding from website pages, the blog, landing pages and live chat. It keeps the 30-page limits for website and landing pages and raises the blog to 10,000 posts. HubSpot's pricing page says its special Starter pricing is for new customers only, with select offers for a limited time. Professional starts at $450 a month billed annually ($500 billed monthly) with 3 core seats, up to 10,000 pages, smart content, A/B testing and memberships, and has a 14-day trial. HubSpot fits if you want the website and the CRM in one system. See our CRM comparison and email marketing guide.
Watch the extras
- First-year discounts: WordPress.com's yearly prices roughly double at renewal. Squarespace and Wix include a free domain for the first year only. Budget for year two.
- Transaction fees: Squarespace Basic charges 2% on store sales and 7% on digital content and memberships. Moving up a tier cuts those fees, which can pay for itself if you sell online.
- Payments by tier: Wix Light's feature list doesn't include accepting payments, and WordPress.com adds payment buttons from Premium up.
- Page limits: HubSpot Content Hub Starter caps website and landing pages at 30 each, and Webflow Basic has no CMS for a blog.
- Branding and ads: free plans on Wix, WordPress.com and HubSpot show the vendor's branding or ads.
How to choose
- Start free or with a trial. Build a draft homepage in two tools before paying for either.
- Decide whether you'll sell online. If you will, compare transaction fees and payment features, not just the monthly price.
- Count your pages and posts. A 10-page brochure site fits almost any entry plan. A growing blog or resource library needs a CMS and higher limits.
- Price year two. Check renewal rates and the cost of your domain after the free first year.
- Think about your other tools. If your CRM and email already live in HubSpot, Content Hub keeps leads in one place. WordPress.com's plugins connect to almost anything.
Quick math for a small business site with a blog, at each page's displayed yearly price:
- WordPress.com Premium: $8 a month for the first year, then $14.
- Webflow Premium: from $25 a month (Basic is $15, without a CMS).
- Squarespace Core: $29 a month (Basic is $19, with store and membership fees).
- Wix Core: $29 a month (Light is $17, without payments listed).
- HubSpot Content Hub Starter: $7 per seat per month billed annually ($20 billed monthly), with a 30-page website limit.
Treat these as list-price comparisons. Page limits, payment features and renewal rates differ between these plans, so the cheapest one may not cover what you need.
FAQ
Is there a free way to start? Yes. Wix, WordPress.com, Webflow and HubSpot all have free plans with limits, and Squarespace has a 14-day trial.
Which one is cheapest? For the first year, WordPress.com Personal ($4 a month) and HubSpot Content Hub Starter billed annually ($7 per seat) have the lowest entry prices. WordPress.com's price rises at renewal, so compare year two as well.
Can I use my own domain? Yes, on paid plans. Squarespace (annual plans), Wix and WordPress.com include a free domain for the first year.
This guide contains no affiliate links.