Cheapest Website Builder
The best low-cost website builders are WordPress, followed by Weebly and Square. Which is right for you? Read on to learn about pricing and features.
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Designing websites used to require coding knowledge and expertise. But that's all changed.
Now, you can create websites using templates and drag-and-drop functionality. And a lot of these website builders are pretty cheap.
The biggest decision to consider is: What's the right website builder for you?
Your answer will depend on your priority. That's why you'll find the best low-cost website builders for e-commerce, blogging, and business below.
Read on to learn about pricing, features, and best-value plans.
Best Cheap Website Builders
You can use website builders to set up an online store, a professional portfolio, a content-based blog, or a business website. And many are free or low-cost.
But their features vary depending on the plan you choose. Here's a summary of what you can get from each builder:
For eCommerce:
Weebly | Square Online | Big Cartel | |
---|---|---|---|
Price per month | $0 to $26 | $0 to $79 | $0 to $19.99 |
Free plan available | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Storage | Unlimited | Unlimited | 10 GB |
Bandwidth | Unlisted | Unlimited | Unlisted |
Connect a custom domain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free domain for a year | ✔ | ✔ | ❌ |
For Blogs:
WordPress | Webflow | Wix | |
---|---|---|---|
Price per month | $0 to $45 | $0 to $39 | $16 to $45 (on website plans) |
Free plan available | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Storage | Up to 200 GB | Unlisted | Up to 100 GB |
Bandwidth | Unlisted | Up to 400 GB | Unlimited |
Connect a custom domain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free domain for a year | ✔ | ❌ | ✔ |
For a Business or Personal Site:
Squarespace | One.com | Carrd | |
---|---|---|---|
Price per month | $16 to $49 | $4.99 to $19.99 | $9 to $49 (per year) |
Free plan available | Free trial only | Free trial only | Free trial only |
Storage | Unlimited | Up to 750 GB | Unlisted |
Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlisted |
Connect a custom domain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free domain for a year | ✔ | ✔ | ❌ |
Some website builders also offer all-in-one services like hosting packages, but you can find other hosting service. However, if you're starting, this might be a good way to begin.
Cheapest Website Builders for eCommerce
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These website builders have features specific to help you build an online store. Read on to find the 3 cheapest high-quality options.
1. Weebly
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CREDIT WEEBLY |
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Simple drag-and-drop editor
- Free online store is possible
- Industry-focused templates
- Photo gallery from Unsplash
- Can upload favicons
Cons:
- Hosting is relatively slow
- Limited templates
- Limited flexibility compared to other website builders
Weebly is not only one of the cheapest but also one of the most intuitive website builders out there. It's likely suitable for small businesses, although you can use it for larger ones too.
You can set up a store even with their free plan. This is a unique feature among website builders since others make you pay for this feature.
Their interface is simple, and the themes are minimalistic. They also have a mobile app so you can manage your website on the go.
Why we like it:
There are free eCommerce features in Weebly that you may have to pay for with other builders. For example, you can list unlimited items in your store, use an automatic tax calculator, or add coupons and gift cards.
Paid features are also fairly affordable, with the most expensive plan at $29 per month. At that price, you'll basically have everything you need to build and promote your online store.
Pricing:[1]
Price per month (billed annually) | Price per month (billed monthly) | |
---|---|---|
Free Plan | $0 | $0 |
Personal Plan | $10 | $13 |
Professional Plan | $12 | $16 |
Performance Plan | $26 | $29 |
It's best to try the free plan before committing to a paid one. But the Professional Plan offers essential features for your online store without ads. It also lets you list unlimited products so you can grow your store without limits.
Features:
Weebly offers many features that you can use to set up your online store quickly. For example, you can offer coupons and gift cards and make in-store pick-up available.
When creating your website, you can also integrate third-party apps to improve your website's functionality. That way, you can link videos of your business advertisement or share your social media posts with your audience.
SEO and social media integrations are also available to ensure your site reaches your customers.
Here's an overview of the other features you get with their different plans.
Weebly's Features | Free Plan | Personal Plan | Professional Plan | Performance Plan |
---|---|---|---|---|
Website Features | ||||
Storage | Unlisted | Unlisted | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Connect a custom domain | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free domain | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Removed Square Ads | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Security Features | ||||
SSL certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Password-protection | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Online Store Features | ||||
Abandoned cart emails | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Digital goods | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Item reviews | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Payment gateways | Unlisted | Unlisted | Unlisted | PayPal |
Inventory management | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Automatic tax calculator | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Shipping calculator | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Shipping labels | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Marketing Features | ||||
Pop-up notifications | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Advanced insights | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Support | ||||
Phone support | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Priority support | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
All plans come with Live Chat and email support. But they also have forums you can check out.
2. Square Online
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CREDIT SQUAREUP |
Pros:
- Free online store possible
- Responsive and mobile-friendly
- SEO features on all plans
- Scalable and suitable for large businesses
- Integrates with Square payment solutions
Cons:
- Transaction fees
- Limited templates
- Limited flexibility on website builder
Square Online is another website builder by Square, a mobile payment company offering various tools for businesses. Given that Square offers a point-of-sale system, your website can also sync with their POS, even with the free plan.
This seamless integration allows you to manage online and in-store sales efficiently. You can sync items, create a loyalty program (e.g., sales history and loyalty points), and manage your staff with team-based permissions.
Your site will also be mobile-friendly, so your customers can make purchases wherever they are.
Why we like it:
Square Online lets you set up an online store for free with unlimited products. It integrates with multiple payment gateways, such as Square Pay, Apple Pay, 2Checkout, and others.
You can also use the site for donations, which is great if you're a nonprofit organization. The feature is available for all plans.
With Square, it's convenient if you have multiple businesses because you can build multiple sites at no cost.
Pricing:[2]
Price per month (billed annually) | |
---|---|
Free Plan | $0 |
Plus Plan | $29 |
Premium Plan | $79 |
The Plus Plan has almost all of the features in the Premium Plan. The only difference is that you don't get real-time shipping and the transaction fee is 2.9% + 30¢ instead of 2.6% + 30¢.
Features:
One of the highlights of using Square Online is that it integrates with your Square tools in-store. For all plans, you have features offering on-demand and in-house delivery, in-store and curbside pick-up, and shipping labels and discounts.
You can also promote your products on social media by connecting your accounts to the site. This way, you can easily engage with your audience from Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Other features available are the following:
Square Online's Features | Free Plan | Plus Plan | Premium Plan |
---|---|---|---|
Website Features | |||
Storage | <500 MB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Connect a custom domain | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free domain | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Embed code | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Custom fonts | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Age confirmation | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Removed Square Ads | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Security Features | |||
SSL certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Password-protected | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Online Store Features | |||
Processing fee | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.6% + 30¢ |
Operations management | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Payment gateways | Afterpay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Square Pay, Cash App Pay | Afterpay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Square Pay, Cash App Pay, PayPal | Afterpay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Square Pay, Cash App Pay, PayPal |
Automatic tax calculator | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Abandoned cart recovery | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Product items | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Item reviews | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Gifting options | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Coupons | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Marketing Features | |||
Advanced analytics | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
3. Big Cartel
Pros:
- Free online store
- Simple and intuitive
- Stripe Integration
- All templates are free
- Responsive and mobile-friendly
Cons:
- No free domain available
- Limited themes
- Limited features
- No features for blogging
Big Cartel is a website builder made by artists for artists. If you're just starting a creative business, it's a good option.
It has all the basic features you'll need for an online store. You can start with 5 products or list up to 500 at most. However, compared to other website builders, there's not a lot of flexibility or features when editing your website.
Nonetheless, it makes it simple and easy to use. It also has a mobile app so you can manage your website on the go.
Why we like it:
It's a great tool for starting a small business. You can set up a store for free or even go for their most expensive plan, which costs a reasonable $19.99 per month.
You won't be bombarded with complex features, which means you can set up a simple yet profitable website without technical knowledge.
Big Cartel is often used by businesses selling prints or making crafts and jewelry. Instead of using other platforms such as Etsy, creating your own website with Big Cartel means you don't have to worry about paying a commission.
Pricing:[3]
Price per month | |
---|---|
Gold Features | $0 |
Platinum Features | $9.99 |
Diamond Features | $19.99 |
The Platinum Plan has all the features you need to set up your business, and you have a 50 product limit, which is more than enough for most small businesses. If you want to add more products, the Diamond Features lets you sell up to 500 products, which you can easily upgrade to.
Features:
Big Cartel integrates with the popular payment processing platform, Stripe, allowing you to easily take payments and sell to a wider audience. You can also use Stripe to take payments in person. You'll just have to order your card reader from Stripe.
You can also offer discounts and promotions regardless of the plan. Product option groups are also available, making it suitable for clothing businesses. You can add variations in colors and sizes, for example.
Big Cartel also calculates and collects sales tax automatically on all U.S. orders. After your customers make a purchase, you can notify them about shipping information through shipment tracking features.
Other features from each plan are:
Big Cartel's Features | Gold | Platinum | Diamond |
---|---|---|---|
Website Features | |||
Connect a custom domain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Theme code editing | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Bulk editing | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Online Store Features | |||
Product items | 5 | 50 | 500 |
Inventory tracking | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Image per product | 1 | 5 | 5 |
Marketing Features | |||
Real-time stats | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Google analytics | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Cheapest Website Builders for Blogging
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In addition to setting up online stores, website builders can help you manage your content. You can use them for blogs, podcasts, or videos.
If you want a content-focused website, you can choose from WordPress, Webflow, or Wix.
1. WordPress
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CREDIT: WORDPRESS |
Pros:
- Jetpack on all plans
- Dozens of free themes for all plans
- Earn ad revenue through WordAds
- Newsletters on all paid plans
- Subscriber-only feature on paid plans
Cons:
- One plan applies to one site only
- Limited free features
- Paid premium themes
WordPress is one of the most popular website builders out there. They even claim that 43% of the websites are made with WordPress. That's almost half of all websites created!
And it's popular for a reason. WordPress.com is a hosted WordPress website, but the content management system is free to use.
In this article, we'll be focusing on WordPress.com. Because it's the managed version of WordPress, you don't need much technical knowledge. Software updates are also taken care of.
WordPress.org is a content management system free for anyone to use. If you want more options and customization, it's the right choice. WordPress.com provides hosting for your WordPress websites with free and paid plans. If you want a website builder with included hosting, this is a great place to start.
Why we like it:
WordPress is one of the most flexible website builders. With over thousands of themes and plugins, you're sure to create a website suitable for your branding.
You can design through drag-and-drop editors, but you can also use custom codes for your site. If you have an idea of what you want to do, there's likely a plugin for that.
If you start with a free plan, you can upgrade without difficulty for additional customization options and features. Migrating from different hosts is also easier through export and import tools.
Pricing:[4]
Price per month (billed annually) | Price per month (billed monthly) | |
---|---|---|
Free Plan | $0 | $0 |
Personal Plan | $4 | $9 |
Premium Plan | $8 | $18 |
Business Plan | $25 | $40 |
eCommerce Plan | $45 | $70 |
If you're a content-based business, you'll get the most value from a Business Plan. You can add third-party services at no additional cost, which includes plugins, themes, or codes.
You can also start earning through ad networks such as Google AdSense. Unlike the Premium Plan, videos don't count against your storage allotment.
Features:
WordPress.com has a lot of features, especially on paid plans. It offers a lot more compared to its competitors. This gives you more flexibility on how to structure and design your website based on how you want it to look and function.
Here's a summary of what you can get in each plan. Remember that you only get free domain and live chat support in the annual or two-year plans.
Wordpress Features | Free Plan | Personal Plan | Premium Plan | Business Plan | eCommerce Plan |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Website Features | |||||
Storage | 1 GB | 6 GB | 13 GB | 200 GB | 200 GB |
Connect to a custom domain | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free domain for a year | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Premium themes available | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Upload videos | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Install plugins | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Earn ad revenue | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Removed WordPress ads | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Security Features | |||||
SSL certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Automated site back-ups and one-click restoration | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | |
Online Store Features | Online store design options | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Credit and debit card payments | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Other payment gateways (Stripe, Square, PayPal, etc.) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Shipping carriers integration | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Marketing Features | |||||
SEO | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Google analytics integration | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Support | |||||
Unlimited email support | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Live chat support | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Priority support | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
The Payment Button block uses Stripe so that you can collect credit card payments for your store. The Premium Content block, on the other hand, lets you accept regular payments for subscriptions or exclusive content.[5]
2. Webflow
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credit: webflow |
Pros:
- Unique and creative templates
- Interactions and animations
- Large CMS database available
- Hire an expert to help build the website
- 400+ free lessons from Webflow University
Cons:
- Expensive templates
- Complex website builder interface
- Expensive eCommerce plans
Webflow is a website builder that's free to use. You can design your website and export static code (JavaScript, HTML, or CSS) to host on another platform. Or, you can just host on Webflow too.
If you know how to use Adobe Photoshop, Webflow's interface looks quite similar. It can initially seem overwhelming, but the number of features increases its flexibility.
Designing and organizing your web pages will almost feel like you're designing a magazine. The editor uses a drag-and-drop feature to help you easily preview and adjust layouts. If you prefer, you can also add your own code to your pages.
Why we like it:
Even though the interface is a little different, it has a step-by-step tutorial to help you design your website. You'll love the amount of editing you can do if you're a designer.
Whether you're building a portfolio, a personal blog, or marketing your business, you can make it look its best and unique from other websites.
You can also set up an eCommerce store as needed. But the CMS plan is their most popular plan that's best for blogs and content-driven websites.
It lets you create CMS Collections, making it easier to manage blog posts and pages seamlessly through its interface.
Pricing:[6]
Price per month (billed annually) | Price per month (billed monthly) | |
---|---|---|
Starter (Free Plan) | $0 | $0 |
Basic | $14 | $18 |
CMS | $23 | $29 |
Business | $39 | $49 |
Enterprise | Contact Webflow | Contact Webflow |
The CMS plan will give you plenty of room for content at an affordable price. You can publish up to 2,000 CMS items and have up to 3 guest editors for your site. You can also organize your content for up to 20 collections, which is a lot if you're building a portfolio or a blog. The maximum monthly visit to your site is up to 250,000, which is helpful if your site runs on ads (e.g., Google AdSense).
Webflow has separate pricing plans if you plan to build an online store. They're not the cheapest, but we'll list them below if you decide to upgrade.
Pricing:
Price per month (billed annually) | Price per month (billed monthly) | |
---|---|---|
Standard | $29 | $42 |
Plus | $74 | $84 |
Advanced | $212 | $235 |
Features:
Features for eCommerce differ from general features. We'll focus on the general ones as they are most suitable for content websites.
Webflow's strength lies in its interactions and CMS. You can place pre-built interactions, trigger-based interactions, and After Effects Lottie integration on your site. Depending on your plan, you can have 10,000 or more CMS items.
If you want to set custom features, you can do so with the Enterprise Plan. But you'll have plenty of room for content with the other paid plans.
Webflow's Features | Starter | Basic | CMS | Business | Enterprise |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Website Features | |||||
Publish to webflow.io | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Connect to a custom domain | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Removed Webflow branding | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Static pages | 2 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Guest editors | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | Custom |
Site search | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Custom code | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Dynamic embeds | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Interactions | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
CMS Items | 50 | 0 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 10,000+ |
CMS Collections | 20 | 0 | 20 | 40 | 40 |
API access | Rate limited | 0 | 120 RPM | 120 RPM | Custom |
Per item and multi-item publishing | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Scheduled publishing | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Monthly visits | 1,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 | 300,000 | Custom |
SEO | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Security Features | |||||
SSL certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Site password-protection | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Page password-protection | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Backups | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Two-factor authentication | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Marketing Features | |||||
Form submissions | 50 (lifetime) | 500 per month | 1,000 per month | 2,500 per month | Custom |
Form file upload | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
3. Wix
Pros:
- Industry-specific templates
- Artificial design intelligence website builder
- Open dev platform available
- Booking and events system
- Subscriber-only feature
- Responsive and mobile-friendly
Cons:
- Fewer features
- Limited storage compared to competitors
- Slow compared to competitors
Wix is another popular website builder that's good for both content-driven websites and online stores. Like Webflow, their templates are more unique and aesthetically pleasing compared to competitors.
The editor comes with preset layouts you can easily update, such as an About page, Contact, Promotion, Services, etc. This way, you won't need a lot of brainpower when deciding what a page will look like.
It also offers a lot of flexibility. You can change the colors of the themes to match your branding and add page transitions for dynamics.
Why we like it:
Wix has an intuitive website builder. Even without tutorials, you'll be sure to figure out how to make your way around it. It's a flexible drag-and-drop builder that doesn't follow a fixed grid, so you can move elements around easily.
Templates also make it a lot easier to edit sections. Some are focused on blogs and portfolios, which is great for your content-driven business. You can select presets from their content manager, such as projects, courses, recipes, etc.
If you need more tools, you can easily add integrations through the Wix App Market built within the editor.
Pricing:[7]
Price per month (billed annually) | |
---|---|
Combo | $16 |
Unlimited | $22 |
Pro | $27 |
VIP | $45 |
The VIP plan offers the most features at an affordable price. You can run your content-based website with unlimited bandwidth and 35 GB of storage. You can also add videos for up to 5 hours. Maybe you have mini-courses you want to share. If you're a budding business owner, you can also design your logo with Wix.
Wix has separate pricing plans for eCommerce stores. Unlike the cheapest ones in the eCommerce section, Wix has storage limits for online stores. If you're interested, the pricing is as follows:
Price per month (billed annually) | |
---|---|
Business Basic | $27 |
Business Unlimited | $32 |
Business VIP | $59 |
Features:
Features for website and eCommerce plans differ, but let's focus on the website features. Before you start, you can explore over 800 templates to see which suits your business. You can also download the mobile app to manage your website on the go.
Wix offers other services such as email marketing, the creation of social posts and Facebook ads, or client management. These are all available through Ascend plans that can be integrated with your site.
Unlike other website builders, the features are available in one plan. However, these are the only ones available through Wix's website builder:
Wix's Features | Combo | Unlimited | Pro | VIP |
---|---|---|---|---|
Website Features | ||||
Storage | 2 GB | 5 GB | 50 GB | 100 GB |
Bandwidth | 2 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Connect a custom domain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free domain for a year | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Video hours | 30 minutes | 1 hour | 2 hours | 5 hours |
Site booster app (Free for 1 year) | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Visitor analytics app (Free for 1 year) | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Design a professional logo | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Removed Wix ads | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Security Features | ||||
SSL certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Support | ||||
Customer care | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | Priority customer care |
Cheapest Website Builders for a Business or Personal Site
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If your goal is mainly to have a platform for your business or a personal website, then there are website builders for that. You can choose to showcase completed projects or portfolios, for example.
The cheapest include Squarespace, One.com, and Carrd.
1. Squarespace
Pros:
- Combined website and eCommerce pricing plan
- Easy-to-use website builder
- Industry-specific templates
- Enterprise solutions available
- Student discount available
- Responsive and mobile-friendly
Cons:
- Similar-looking templates
- Only new domain names can be registered
- No menu hierarchy (deep menus)
If you prefer a minimalist website or one with a timeless design, Squarespace would be a good choice. It's got industry-specific templates so that you can choose one most suitable for photography, health and wellness, food, etc.
Compared to other website builders, however, you don't get a free plan. You can instead opt for a free trial to get an idea of their interface and features. After 14 days, you'll need to upgrade to a plan to continue.
If you prefer, you can also hire a Squarespace expert to do the work for you.
Why we like it:
Everything about the website builder is intuitive. It uses a drag-and-drop feature, but the grid layout isn't limited, so that you can place elements anywhere on the page.
You can easily add section templates for typical pages such as About, Products, Portfolios, etc. Because of this, you can finish your website in just a couple of hours.
The editor is also easy to navigate, so you can customize icons, manage your online store, review analytics, and view your audience profiles from a single sidebar.
Pricing:[8]
Price per month (billed annually) | Price per month (billed monthly) | |
---|---|---|
Personal | $16 | $23 |
Business | $23 | $33 |
Basic Commerce | $27 | $36 |
Advanced Commerce | $49 | $65 |
For a content-driven website, the Business Plan can help you get started. You'll have unlimited bandwidth, unlimited contributors, and most of the features in the commerce plans. However, if you want to offer subscriptions to your audience, you'll need to opt for Advanced Commerce. Other than that, the Business Plan will give plenty of room for content.
Features:
The Personal Plan lacks most of the features that Squarespace is known for. It's best suited for portfolios or online resumes where you don't need a lot of contributors, integrations, marketing, and online store features.
However, with the rest of the plans, you'll get unlimited contributors, access to Squarespace integrations, a professional email, custom coding, and all the marketing features.
The business plan will be lacking in eCommerce integrations, making Commerce plans best for it. Here are the rest of the features in detail:
Squarespace's Features | Personal | Business | Basic Commerce | Advanced Commerce |
---|---|---|---|---|
Website Features | ||||
Free domain for a year | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Video storage | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes |
SEO | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Contributors | 2 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Extensions | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Integrations | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Professional email from Google | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
CSS and JavaScript customization | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Online Store Features | ||||
Transaction fees | ❌ | 3% | 0% | 0% |
Product items | ❌ | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Donations | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
POS | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Customer accounts and product reviews | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Abandoned cart recovery | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Sell subscriptions | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Advanced shipping and discounts | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Security Features | ||||
SSL certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Marketing Features | ||||
Basic website metrics | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Advanced website analytics | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Google ads credits | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Pop-ups and banners | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Video studio app | Limited access | Full access | Full access | Full access |
Support | ||||
Customer Support | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 |
2. One.com
Pros:
- Responsive and mobile-friendly
- Add-ons available
- 1-click installer for WordPress
- Can set up a hierarchy of pages from the menu
Cons:
- Separate plans for online store features
- Separate plans for professional email
- No site migration service
One.com is a web hosting service that also provides a website builder together with their hosting plans. The website builder is easy to use and comes with standard and premium templates.
Before you get started, you'll be prompted to choose the industry of your business. They suggest templates specific to it. But you can still select from other templates if you prefer.
The templates' designs are simple, meaning your web pages may not be unique. But you can always make it yours by editing each section's theme's colors and layouts.
Why we like it:
You can build multiple websites depending on the plan, which is ideal if you manage multiple businesses. Because the editor uses a drag-and-drop feature and a flexible grid, you can position elements (images, text boxes, buttons, etc.) almost anywhere on a page.
You'll also access a gallery of Shutterstock images which could be useful as cover photos or placeholders. With these features, you'll get to set up your website in a few.
Pricing:
The website builder is free for the first year you purchase a hosting plan. The pricing for web hosting are:[9]
Price per month for the first year (billed annually) | Renews at (billed annually) | |
---|---|---|
Beginner | $4.99 | $6.99 |
Explorer | $7.99 | $12.99 |
Enthusiast | $9.99 | $17.99 |
Expert | $14.99 | $20.99 |
Guru | $19.99 | $26.99 |
After the first year, you'll have to pay for the website builder. The plans to choose from are:[10]
Price per month for the first year (billed annually) | Renews at (billed annually) | |
---|---|---|
Starter | $0 | $0 |
Premium | $0 | $7.49 |
Business + eCommerce | $0 | $16 |
If you're a new small business owner, the Explorer hosting plan can provide the best value with 100 GB of storage and unlimited traffic. Or, if you need an online store, you can opt for the Business + eCommerce website builder plan. You'll only need to upgrade if you need more storage and websites, but the other features are the same.
Features:
In all of One.com's hosting plans, you'll get unlimited data traffic and database sizes. Each will have a varying number of domains supported, but you can also have unlimited subdomains.
Unlike other website builders, however, SEO is an add-on for most plans. An online shop is an additional charge as well. But there are plenty of additional features which make these plans worth it.
Take a look at them below:
One.com's Hosting Plan Features | Beginner | Explorer | Enthusiast | Expert | Guru |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Website Features | |||||
Storage | 50 GB | 100 GB | 200 GB | 500 GB | 750 GB |
Domains supported | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
SEO | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | ✔ |
Security features | |||||
Daily backup | ✔ | ✔ | +Restore | +Restore | +Restore |
SiteLock find | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | ✔ | ✔ |
Domain lock | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Online Store Features | |||||
Online shop | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on |
Marketing Features | |||||
Number of mailboxes | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Mailbox size | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | Unlimited |
Support | |||||
24/7 server monitoring | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
SiteLock and domain lock are security features to protect your website. SiteLock scans your site for malware and vulnerabilities and fixes problems accordingly. On the other hand, domain lock prevents any unauthorized transfer of your domain to another registrar.
Website Builder Features | Starter | Premium | Business + eCommerce |
---|---|---|---|
Website Features | |||
Free domain for 1 year | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Desktop and mobile page editor | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Pages | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Templates | Standard | Premium | Premium |
Faster load times | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free images | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
HD image support | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Online shop | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Security Features | |||
SSL certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Backup and Restoration | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Marketing Features | |||
Web stats | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Google Analytics and FB Pixel | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Google Ads credit | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Support | |||
24/7 Support | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
3. Carrd
Pros:
- Simple website builder
- Multiple sites in a single plan
- Most affordable compared to competitors
- Automatic or manual mobile responsiveness
Cons:
- Limited features and templates
- No free image gallery
- No hierarchy of pages for the menu
Carrd is possibly the simplest website builder compared to its competitors. It's great for building single-page websites, landing pages, portfolios, forms, or online resumes.
You can choose from their pre-made templates or start with a blank canvas. It also comes with a mini-tutorial when you start editing.
It's great for freelancers or small businesses that don't need a lot of complicated features on a website. If your goal is to gain more clients, Carrd provides forms and contact pages you can easily set up.
Why we like it:
A free plan with Carrd will give you three sites. Its Pro plans are billed annually for less than $50. It's one of the most affordable ones out there. If you want to try the Pro features before committing, you can also opt for the free 7-day trial.
Pricing:[11]
Price per year | |
---|---|
Pro Lite | $9 |
Pro Standard | $19 |
Pro Plus | $49 |
You can get most of the Pro Plus features with the Pro Standard, except you can only create up to 10 websites. But for most small businesses, this is more than enough. In this plan, you also have all the features necessary to create functional and aesthetically pleasing pages.
Features:
All Pro features will let you use site icons, pro and custom templates, upload videos and quality images, and set up slideshows.
This way, you can showcase your completed projects or advertise your business simply and effectively.
If you work with other people, you can also share your site and grant full editor access to them.
Carrd's Features | Pro Lite | Pro Standard | Pro Plus |
---|---|---|---|
Website Features | |||
Number of sites | 3 | 10 | 25 |
Premium URLs | ✔ | ❌ | ❌ |
Connect a custom domain | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Removed Carrd branding | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Large images and videos | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
No element limit | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Widgets and embeds | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Meta Tags | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Redirects | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Security Features | |||
Password-protection | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Download sites | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ |
Marketing Features | |||
Share images | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Forms | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Google Analytics | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ |
Support | |||
Site transfers | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
How to Choose a Website Builder
Aside from payments, domain, and hosting, there are other things to consider in choosing a website builder. These can affect your entire website experience, so it's best to shop around and compare.
- Ease of use. Website builders are supposedly easier to use with the drag-and-drop option. But some require extra plugins to do so. You can use the free versions to test whether the editing interface works for you.
- Responsiveness. Some website builders naturally adapt to whichever device a reader or customer uses. But others don't, so you'll have to check what your pages look like on mobile devices consistently.
- Free elements. In editing mode, the elements refer to the text boxes, images, maps, forms, and other features you can place on your web page. Some elements are free, while others are paid. Paid elements typically come from plugins.
- Payment options. If you're going to set up an online store, this is one of the first things you should consider. Does the website builder integrate with PayPal, for example? Can it accept payments through debit or credit cards? These features don't always come free.
Our Methodology
In choosing the cheapest website builders, we considered the price, features, and what they're best used for.
Some website builders are best for online stores, while others are more suited for simple websites.
There are also options for personal use, such as portfolios or resumes. Usually, if you're focused on content, it's best to go for website builders that let you easily share your content - which is why we also listed them for you.
For ease of use, we considered those with drag-and-drop features - which is the majority of this list. All of them are mobile-friendly, so your audience can reach your platform wherever they are.
Basically, we made sure these choices give the most in terms of functionality and aesthetics to ensure you can create a professional website even at a low price.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the cheapest website designer? Some website designers come with free plans. But even the paid plans will cost you less than $10 per month. You can check out Weebly and WordPress, for example. Prices are typically cheaper if you choose to pay annually instead of monthly.
- What is the least costly way to build a website? It's possible to save if the website builder comes with hosting and a free custom domain. These free domains typically last a year and let you get started with no investment. When you're researching website builders, try the free plan first. If you like it and want more features, then you can pay later.
- Can I build a website myself for free? Yes, you can. Website builders with free plans let you do this. You can even set up an online store with some of them. But free plans typically come with subdomains and ads. If you want a professional-looking website with a custom domain, you'll need to spend some money.
- What is the best free website builder? Weebly is one of the best website builders, and it comes with a free plan. You can use it to create your online store or share content. It comes with free eCommerce features typically paid for in other website builders. It's affordable even if you upgrade to paid plans.
The Bottom Line
There are plenty of low-cost website builders available, and many of them come with free plans. Although some popular website builders are expensive, there are those you can use on a budget.
You could set up an online store, share content, or create a platform for yourself or your business. Typically, the more features you get, the more expensive it'll be.
Remember that many of them come with web hosting and a free domain for a year, which helps you save on costs.
References
- ^ Weebly. Pricing, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ Square. Square Online Plans, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ Big Cartel. Pricing, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ WordPress.com. Pricing, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ WordPress.com. Blocks Payments, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ Webflow. Pricing, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ Wix. Wix Premium Plans: Website Plans, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ Squarespace. Pricing, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ One.com. Web hosting, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ One.com. Website Builder, Retrieved 11/24/22
- ^ Carrd. Compare Plans, Retrieved 11/24/22
Write to Karen Eloriaga at feedback@creditdonkey.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our latest posts.
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