If you’re starting a business or want to showcase your work to prospective clients, you need a website. Thankfully, you don’t need to know how to code to launch a professional-looking site on your own. A good website builder guides you through the process of designing and publishing everything from a blog or portfolio to a full online store.
The best website builders’ prices vary. A simple site with minimal customization costs around $10 per month, while a fully featured e-commerce site for large businesses is upwards of $300 per month. A $20 – $30 monthly investment gets you access to website builders from trusted brands like Wix and Squarespace. There are a handful of free website builders to consider, but these come with some limitations.
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What’s the best website builder overall?
At ZDNET, we’ve tested a wide range of website builders to find the best options for different needs and business types. Wix is my top pick for most users. It has plenty of options to customize your design, integrate apps and media, and build out marketing and e-commerce tools to promote and sell goods and services. Squarespace is a close competitor for users who value good design, and Shopifycan’t be beat if you have a large online store.
Read on for the rest of our picks for the best website builders on the market now.
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The best website builders of 2025
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Why we like it: Wix is a widely used and highly popular website builder, and with good reason. The platform is flexible, with lots of design options and features. Wix guarantees 99.99% uptime and has caching on by default for faster loading. Wix sites also include SSL certificates and use HTTPS. Wix offers 24/7 customer support in English via phone and chatbot.
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You can get started with Wix for free, but your website will have a Wix-branded subdomain and Wix ads. The Light plan costs $17 per month and comes with 2GB of storage space, a free custom domain for one year, and limited marketing tools. It’s a good option for freelancers or business owners who don’t sell products or services online, but this certainly isn’t the cheapest choice if you aren’t bringing in revenue.
The Core plan — $29 per month, billed annually — adds e-commerce and online payment features. The Business — $39 per month — and Business Elite — $159 per month — tiers come with more robust e-commerce, marketing, and storage features.
Who it’s for: Wix is an excellent choice for users who want lots of control over site design. The platform has more than 900 templates to create your website manually. It’s easy to add, drag, drop, and delete page elements and hundreds of embedded apps as well as upload your own media. Alternatively, you can book design and development services through Wix Professionals.
In testing, I used the AI chat assistant to generate design elements, themes, and text by answering a few questions about my business and services. The content and visuals were lackluster, but this feature may be useful if you don’t know where to start or want to get your site up quickly.
Who should look elsewhere: Wix may be overwhelming for some users new to website builders. You can’t change templates once you’ve started your design — you’ll have to create a new site entirely — so it’s not the best option for those who want to go the trial-and-error route.
Wix features: 900+ templates | SSl certification | Google Workspace integration | Wix Professional design services | 24/7 customer support | 14-day money-back guarantee
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Why we like it: Squarespace runs a very close second behind Wix. The platform’s interface is clean and easy to navigate and produces a beautifully designed website. In testing, I used Squarespace AI for the initial site design and to generate and refine text. The tool is more collaborative than a chatbot, which led to a more visually appealing site than what I got with Wix’s AI builder. It was also easier to add and edit page elements and text. In terms of performance and security, Squarespace has 99.9% uptime and page caching, and your site includes an SSL certificate and HIPAA-compliant scheduling via Acuity if needed.
Squarespace plans start at $16 per month, billed annually, which includes a custom domain for one year and basic e-commerce and payment features. It also offers higher tiers like Core for $23 per month, Plus for $39 per month, and Advanced for $99 per month. These come with more e-commerce functionality and progressively lower payment processing and transaction fees, as well as a year of Google Workspace. All tiers have unlimited bandwidth and storage. There’s no free plan, but Squarespace offers a 14-day trial period.
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Who it’s for: Squarespace is an excellent choice for building beautiful websites for everyone from freelancers who need a portfolio to small businesses selling products and services — especially those that offer online booking and/or memberships. If you create your site manually, Squarespace has fewer templates than some other site builders, but this makes the process less overwhelming. Plus, you can change templates anytime without starting your site from scratch.
Who should look elsewhere: Those who don’t want to budget for a website should consider no-cost alternatives to Squarespace, which lacks a free tier. And if you rely heavily on customer service, know that Squarespace doesn’t have phone support — you can connect 24/7 via email and chat, but only live during specific hours.
Squarespace features: SSL certificate | HIPPA-compliant scheduling with Acuity | AI site builder | Squarespace Design services | 14-day free trial
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Why we like it: Shopify makes it easy to build a digital storefront for customers, whether they’re buying in person, online, or via social or digital marketplaces. There is a guided setup wizard for adding products, designing your storefront, and setting up payments and shipping, as well as basic AI tools for generating text and media for your site. If you need additional support to get up and running, you can hire a professional through Shopify’s partner directory.
All plans have unlimited bandwidth and storage, page caching, and an SSL certificate, and Shopify promises 99.99% uptime and 24/7 customer support via live chat if any issues arise.
Shopify plans start at $29 per month, billed annually, with additional tiers at $79 and $299 per month. A more expensive plan comes with lower processing fees, greater shipping discounts, and additional staff accounts. If you have a higher sales volume and more inventory, the savings could easily offset the increased annual fee.
There’s also a $5 monthly Starter subscription for users who sell products via social, such as Instagram or WhatsApp. Shopify doesn’t have a fully free tier, but it does offer a three-day free trial followed by one month for $1.
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Who it’s for: If you have a business with product inventory or that sells goods and services, Shopify should be on your radar. Shopify users get robust marketing and e-commerce features for both in-person and online sales like inventory tracking, point of sale, abandoned cart recovery, and email marketing.
Who should look elsewhere: If you don’t need e-commerce functionality, you’ll be better served by other website builders. Plus, Shopify’s website builder isn’t as intuitive to use or as easy to customize as some other platforms. In addition, there are nearly 240 themes to choose from, but only a handful are free.
Shopify features: SSL certificate | 99.99% uptime | Basic AI tools | 24/7 customer chat support | Three-day free trial
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Why we like it: Weebly and Square Online are two related alternatives for business owners seeking a free or low-cost website builder with e-commerce and marketing features. Weebly was acquired in 2018 by Square, the payment processor. Free plan users can sell an unlimited number of items via secure online checkout, with additional features like in-store pickup and inventory management as well as email and chat support.
Weebly’s free tier does have a few important limitations. You get just 500MB of storage and can’t connect to or add a custom domain. For that, you’ll need to upgrade to the $10 monthly Personal plan. Your site will also show Square ads unless you have a Professional or Performance subscription for $12 or $26 per month, respectively.
On the Square Online side, the free plan doesn’t appear to have any storage limits, but the $49 monthly Plus and $149 monthly Premium plans offer more features.
Confusingly, signing up with Weebly actually requires you to create a Square account, and you’ll be routed to the Square website builder. If you previously had a Weebly site, , but new users will default to the Square interface. Alternatively, you can sign up for Square Online’s free plan, which will get you to a similar endpoint.
Who it’s for: Square Online is a great option for business owners wanting to set up a basic digital storefront at no cost and integrated with a popular payment processor. With most website builders, access to e-commerce features requires at least a mid-tier paid subscription.
Who should look elsewhere: If you want a custom domain or branding or any granular control over your site’s design, you’ll want to consider another service or upgrade to one of Square’s paid plans. There are very limited template and customization options available for free sites via either account type.
Weebly/Square Online features: Custom domains on paid plans | SSL certificate | Chat and email customer support
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Why we like it: GoDaddy is known for its domain registration and hosting services, but its website builder is also worthy of consideration especially for newcomers. Getting the basics of your website in place is easy with GoDaddy Airo, the platform’s AI tool. From there, you can go through a guided setup wizard to get oriented to the interface. Though there aren’t as many template or customization options as you get with some other website builders, it’s easy to add and edit on-page elements either manually or with AI support. GoDaddy also has design, SEO, and marketing services for hire.
GoDaddy promises 99.9% uptime, and you get 24/7 access to customer support via phone, text, and chat, a potential selling point for new users.
You can get started for free with a GoDaddy subdomain, or you can upgrade to the Basic plan, which costs $10 per month, billed annually, to get a custom domain and basic email marketing. The Premium plan, $15 per month, comes with the ability to accept online payments, appointment booking, and email marketing features. You can choose the Commerce plan, $21 per month, for GoDaddy’s full e-commerce suite. GoDaddy offers a seven-day free trial of its premium features, and you don’t lose your work if you let the trial expire before upgrading to a paid tier.
Review: GoDaddy
Who it’s for: GoDaddy is an excellent website builder for users who want to create a simple, visually appealing website without feeling overwhelmed by customization or a complex interface. GoDaddy sits in the sweet spot between Square Online’s free plan and the paid tiers at Wix and Squarespace.
Who should look elsewhere: GoDaddy’s advantage is its simplicity. Those looking for a design-forward platform may want to consider Squarespace or Wix. Large e-commerce businesses are likely to get the most out of Shopify.
GoDaddy features: 99.9% uptime | SSL certificate | AI site builder | 24/7 customer support | Seven-day free trial
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Wix is my top pick for building a website, with its extensive options for customization, user-friendly platform, and phone support. Here’s how the best website builders compare:
Website builderFree plan?Free trial?Cost per month (first year, billed annually)Customer supportKey featureWix✓x (14-day money-back guarantee)$17–$15924/7 phone + chatTemplate and customization optionsSquarespacex14 days$16–$9924/7 email + chatCollaborative AI builderShopifyx3 days$29–$29924/7 chatDiscounted payment processing and shipping feesWeebly/Square Online✓14 days$10–$149Chat + emailSquare integrationGoDaddy✓7 days$10–$2124/7 phone, text, chatCustomer support
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Choose this website builder…
If you want…
Wix
An all-around solid website builder with a range of price points and customization options.
Squarespace
A design-forward website builder for showcasing portfolios and blogs.
Shopify
A platform with robust e-commerce and marketing tools for your online shop.
Weebly/Square Online
A free option for selling products and services with Square integration.
GoDaddy
A beginner- and budget-friendly website builder.
When selecting a website builder, you’ll first want to determine the purpose of your website. An online store with hundreds of physical products in inventory will need a different solution than a freelance design portfolio or blog. You may also consider the following factors:
- Pricing: You can build a website for free if you don’t mind some limitations, like a branded subdomain, but premium plans are available at a range of price points depending on functionality and features.
- Features: Basic website builder plans allow you to put together a simple website to showcase your business or your work, while others come with more robust e-commerce and marketing features to reach customers and drive sales.
- Design: Some website builders have hundreds of templates and apps to customize your site and set it apart, while others have more limited options. If you aren’t sure what you want your site to look like or need to get it up and running quickly, consider platforms with good AI tools.
- Customer support: If your website is your business, you’ll want quick access to customer support for potential problems, setup, and maintenance.
To find the best website builders, I identified the tools and services available and compared their features, costs, and overall experience as well as user feedback. I also conducted hands-on testing to determine ease of use.
Latest information on website builders in 2025
While we call out Square Online for the free plan, it’s important to note that the service’s prices for paid tiers have increased significantly since our original review. The Plus plan increased from $29 per month to $49 per month. The Premium plan increased from $79 per month to $149 per month.
In addition, Wix’s Business tier jumped from $36 per month to $39 per month. Wix also introduced a few new features including an AI optimization tool and PayPal and Pinterest integrations.
A website builder is a relatively quick and cost-effective way to get your website up and running. Website builders allow you to create professional pages without paying for custom design and development or needing to learn how to code. Some website builders offer more robust e-commerce and marketing integration and AI tools as well as design, development, and optimization support for an additional fee.
The cost of building a website varies widely based on the features and customization included in your plan. There are a handful of website builders available for free, though you’ll typically be limited to a subdomain address and visible branding. E-commerce and marketing tools may require an upgrade to a more expensive plan. The basic plans for our top website builders range from $3 to $29 per month for the first year and may increase upon renewal. Of course, you’ll pay even more if you hire an agency for design and development.
GoDaddy is my pick for beginners, thanks to its clean and easy-to-navigate interface, helpful AI tools, competitive pricing, and 24/7 customer support options. Plus, you can get started with GoDaddy for free.
Most website builders integrate AI tools for selecting a design or layout or generating text or images. That said, some AI assistants are better than others. For example, Squarespace’s collaborative AI offered more options for user feedback than Wix’s AI chatbot. GoDaddy’s Airo is one of the more user-friendly AI interfaces.
Latest updates
- September 2025: We made significant changes to formatting and added the latest information on website builder features and pricing.
Other website builders worth considering
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Web.com is a user-friendly website builder with significant discounts on the first year of your subscription, AI tools, 24/7 chat support, and an hour of live design help.
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Suppose you’re primarily creating and publishing content on your website. In that case, WordPress has a free plan with a branded subdomain, and budget-friendly paid tiers with limited themes and lower storage capacities. However, the platform’s e-commerce plan is pricey compared with some competitors.
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Hostinger offers great deals for long-term commitments. At the time of writing, under $4 per month with a 4-year contract.
All plans come with marketing integrations and 24/7 support, and business customers have access to additional AI and e-commerce features.
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For more, check out our top picks for web hosting and favorite VPN services.
