Most website builders look cheap on the pricing page and cost more once you add what a business needs: your own domain, no builder ads, and a way to take payments. Some also price the first year below the second. This guide prices nine builders plan by plan from their own US pricing pages, separates intro prices from renewal prices, and shows what each one costs in year two, which is the honest comparison.
Prices are US list prices, opened from the US at the time of our last update. Taxes are extra everywhere, and every builder that takes payments also charges card processing fees.
The website builders at a glance
| Builder | Cheapest plan with your own domain | Cheapest plan that takes payments | Store transaction fee | Intro price? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squarespace | Basic: $19 a month billed annually, $25 monthly | Basic | 2% on Basic, 0% from Core | No |
| Wix | Light: $17 a month billed yearly | Core: $29 a month billed yearly | Not listed on the plans page | No |
| Shopify | Basic: $29 a month billed yearly, $39 monthly | Basic | 2% on Basic, only with a third-party payment provider | Promo: $1 a month for 3 months |
| Webflow | Basic: $15 a month billed yearly, $25 monthly | Ecommerce Standard: $29 a month billed yearly | 2% on Standard, 0% on Plus and Advanced | No |
| WordPress.com | Personal: $4 a month in year one, then $5 | Premium: $8 a month in year one, then $9 | 4% on payments on Premium, 2% on Business, 0% on Commerce, plus Stripe's fee | Yes, yearly plans |
| Hostinger | Premium: $2.49 a month on a 48-month term, then $10.99 | Unlimited: $3.49 a month on a 48-month term, then $16.99 | Not listed | Yes, 48-month term |
| Square Online | Plus: $49 a month per location | Free plan sells, but without a custom domain | None listed; online card rate 3.3% + 30¢ on Free, 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus | No; 30-day free trial |
| Framer | Basic: $10 a month billed yearly, $15 monthly | No store listed on the pricing page | — | No |
| Carrd | Pro Standard: $19 a year | Stripe and PayPal widgets from Pro Standard | — | No |
Cheapest plan that takes payments on your own domain: first year and renewal
- First year
- Year at renewal price
Show the numbers
| First year | Year at renewal price | |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Unlimited | $41.88 | $203.88 |
| WordPress.com Premium | $96 | $108 |
| Squarespace Basic | $228 | $228 |
| Wix Core | $348 | $348 |
| Webflow Ecommerce Standard | $348 | $348 |
| Shopify Basic | $348 | $348 |
| Square Online Plus | $588 | $588 |
Squarespace: best for taking payments on the cheapest plan
Squarespace is the only big builder here whose cheapest plan sells. Basic costs $19 a month billed annually ($228 a year) or $25 billed monthly, includes 2 contributors and lets you sell products and services, with a 2% fee on online store sales. Squarespace has no free plan, but every site starts with a 14-day free trial and no credit card.
| Squarespace plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Store transaction fee | Card rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $19 a month | $25 a month | 2% | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Core | $29 a month | $39 a month | 0% | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Plus | $49 a month | $65 a month | 0% | 2.7% + $0.30 |
| Advanced | $99 a month | $139 a month | 0% | 2.5% + $0.30 |
What to watch:
- The 2% fee overtakes the upgrade. On annual billing Core costs $10 a month more than Basic, which equals the 2% fee on $500 of monthly sales. Above that, Core is cheaper.
- The free domain is for one year. Annual plans include one year of free domain registration; Squarespace says the domain then renews at its standard rate.
- Monthly billing costs more. Basic is $6 a month more billed monthly, Advanced $40 more.
Choose it if you want to take payments or bookings from day one on a modest budget, and you like starting from a finished design.
Wix: best for starting free, then a simple paid site
Wix has a free plan with no credit card, but it carries Wix branding and cannot use your own domain. Every paid plan connects your domain, removes Wix branding and includes a free domain for a year. Wix shows yearly prices only on its plans page, paid in full for the year; other billing periods are priced at checkout.
| Wix plan | Billed yearly | Collaborators | Storage | Takes payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | $17 a month | 2 | 2 GB | No |
| Core | $29 a month | 5 | 50 GB | Yes, with a store |
| Business | $39 a month | 10 | 100 GB | Yes, adds automated sales tax (100 transactions a month) |
| Business Elite | $159 a month | 100 | Unlimited | Yes, automated sales tax (500 transactions a month) |
What to watch:
- Light cannot take payments. Wix's plan comparison lists payments, pay links and invoices as not included on Light. Selling starts on Core at $29 a month billed yearly, $348 a year.
- The domain voucher is for a new domain from Wix. Wix says it cannot be used to renew a domain you already own.
- Memberships carry a fee. Selling Pricing Plans (memberships) costs a 4% transaction fee on Core, 2% on Business and 0% on Business Elite.
Choose it if you want to build on a free plan first and need a brochure site, or a store with built-in loyalty tools. Our Wix vs Squarespace guide compares the two plan by plan.
Shopify: best for a real online store
Shopify is built for selling: unlimited products, checkout, selling on social channels and in person. Basic costs $29 a month billed yearly or $39 billed monthly. Shopify was advertising a promo when we checked: 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months.
| Shopify plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Online card rate | Third-party payment fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29 a month | $39 a month | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2% |
| Grow | $79 a month | $105 a month | 2.7% + 30¢ | 1% |
| Advanced | $299 a month | $399 a month | 2.5% + 30¢ | 0.6% |
What to watch:
- The transaction fee applies only without Shopify Payments. If you use another payment provider, Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced.
- Staff accounts start on Grow. Shopify describes Basic as the plan for solo entrepreneurs; Grow adds up to 5 staff accounts.
- The $1 promo is a promo. Budget on the list price from month four.
Choose it if the store is the business: many products, shipping, inventory and in-person sales in one system.
Webflow: best for full control of the design
Webflow lets you lay out pages much as you would in code. Basic costs $15 a month billed yearly ($25 monthly) and connects your own domain, but it has no CMS and no store. Premium, with the CMS, starts at $25 a month billed yearly ($39 monthly). Selling needs an Ecommerce plan:
| Webflow ecommerce plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Items | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $29 a month | $42 a month | 500 | 2% |
| Plus | $74 a month | $84 a month | 5,000 | 0% |
| Advanced | $212 a month | $235 a month | 15,000 | 0% |
What to watch:
- Plans are priced per site. Extra full or limited seats for people who design or edit cost a separate fee.
- Premium is priced by bandwidth. The starting price includes 50 GB a month; more traffic means a higher tier.
Choose it if you, or the designer you hire, want a custom layout and you can live with a steeper learning curve. See our Webflow pricing guide for bandwidth tiers, workspaces and seats.
WordPress.com: best for the cheapest full site on a one-year term
WordPress.com is the hosted version of WordPress. Its yearly plans have an intro price for the first year and renew a little higher, both shown on the pricing page. Free sites show WordPress.com ads to visitors; Personal turns them off and includes a free domain for one year.
| WordPress.com plan | First year, billed yearly | Renews at | Billed monthly | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | $4 a month ($48) | $5 a month ($60 a year) | $9 a month | 6 GB |
| Premium | $8 a month ($96) | $9 a month ($108 a year) | $18 a month | 13 GB |
| Business | $25 a month ($300) | $28 a month ($336 a year) | $40 a month | 50 GB |
| Commerce | $45 a month ($540) | $50 a month ($600 a year) | $70 a month | 50 GB |
What to watch:
- Payments start on Premium. It adds payment buttons for collecting payments and donations with PayPal and Stripe. A full WooCommerce store is the Commerce plan.
- Payment buttons carry a fee. WordPress.com keeps 8% of payments on Personal, 4% on Premium and 2% on Business, plus Stripe's processing fee; Commerce is 0%.
- Longer terms cost less a month. WordPress.com also sells 2- and 3-year terms, at up to 63% and 69% off its monthly price.
Choose it if you mainly publish pages and posts, want the lowest yearly bill for a site on your own domain, and might take payments later.
Hostinger: lowest price, if you pay four years upfront
Hostinger Website Builder has the lowest monthly prices here, but they are intro prices for a 48-month term paid upfront, and Hostinger labels them as a sale ("Biggest deals of the year", up to 82% off, when we checked). Both plans include a free domain for the first year, a 30-day money-back guarantee and free mailboxes for the first year.
| Hostinger plan | Intro price, 48-month term | Paid today | Renews at | Websites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium | $2.49 a month | $119.52 | $10.99 a month | Up to 3 |
| Unlimited | $3.49 a month | $167.52 | $16.99 a month | Unlimited, with ecommerce |
| Cloud Startup | $7.99 a month | $383.52 | $25.99 a month | Unlimited, with ecommerce |
What to watch:
- The renewal price is several times higher. Unlimited renews at $16.99 a month, $203.88 a year, against $41.88 a year during the intro term.
- Ecommerce is listed from Unlimited. Premium's plan card does not list it.
Choose it if you are sure about the builder for four years and want the lowest total cost for that period.
Square Online: best if you already sell in person with Square
Square Online is the website and online store that comes with every Square plan. Square Free has no monthly fee and includes the website builder and online store, but not a custom domain; you pay 3.3% + 30¢ on online card payments. Square Plus costs $49 a month per location, connects your own domain and lowers the online card rate to 2.9% + 30¢. Square Premium is $149 a month per location, with 24/7 phone support. Plus and Premium come with a 30-day free trial.
What to watch:
- Your own domain needs Plus. On a site that only needs a domain and a store, that is the most expensive option here.
- Prices are per location. Square says the monthly fee applies to each location you run.
Choose it if you already take payments with Square in a shop or café and want online orders, pickup and delivery in the same system.
Framer and Carrd: for a simple site on a small budget
Framer is a design-first builder. Basic costs $10 a month billed yearly ($15 monthly) and includes a custom domain, 30 pages, 2 CMS collections and 50 GB of bandwidth; Pro is $30 a month billed yearly ($45 monthly). A complimentary domain is included on yearly plans. Framer's pricing page lists no store or checkout features.
Carrd builds one-page sites. Pro Standard costs $19 a year for up to 10 sites, with custom domains, no "Made with Carrd" branding, forms, and embeds from services such as Stripe and PayPal. Pro Lite, at $9 a year, removes the branding too, but its plan card lists premium URLs instead of custom domains.
What to watch:
- Framer lists no store. Its pricing page shows no checkout features, so sell elsewhere or pick another builder.
- Carrd Pro Lite has no custom domain. Its plan card lists premium URLs; your own domain starts at Pro Standard.
Choose one of them if you need a landing page or portfolio, not a store.
What each builder costs over two years
The chart above uses the cheapest plan that takes payments on your own domain. For a site that does not need to take payments, the cheapest plan with your own domain costs:
| Builder and plan | First year | Second year | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrd Pro Standard | $19 | $19 | Price per year |
| Hostinger Premium | $29.88 | $29.88 | $2.49 × 12, on a 48-month term paid upfront ($119.52); $131.88 a year after renewal |
| WordPress.com Personal | $48 | $60 | $4 × 12, then the $5 renewal price × 12 |
| Framer Basic | $120 | $120 | $10 × 12, billed yearly |
| Webflow Basic | $180 | $180 | $15 × 12, billed yearly |
| Wix Light | $204 | $204 | $17 × 12, billed yearly |
| Squarespace Basic | $228 | $228 | $19 × 12, billed annually |
Domain renewals come on top from the second year at Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com, Hostinger and Framer, whose free domain covers the first year only.
How to choose
- Want to take payments cheaply from day one? Squarespace Basic, and move to Core once store sales pass about $500 a month.
- Want to start free and decide later? Wix's free plan, then Light for a brochure site or Core to sell.
- Selling many products? Shopify Basic, and use Shopify Payments to avoid the extra 2% fee.
- Need the cheapest full site on a one-year term? WordPress.com Personal, and budget for the renewal price in year two.
- Designer-led site? Webflow, or Framer if you do not need a store.
- Already on Square in person? Square Online, on Plus once you want your own domain.