Wix vs Squarespace vs Webflow (2026)
All three platforms restructured pricing within the last 12 months. Wix replaced its old Combo/Unlimited/VIP lineup with Light/Core/Business/Business Elite. Squarespace renamed Personal/Business/Commerce plans to Basic/Core/Plus/Advanced. Most recently, Webflow merged its CMS and Business tiers into a single new $25/month Premium plan on May 13, 2026 — more CMS capacity, but less bundled bandwidth than the old Business plan.
Find yourself first
Small business owners building their first website
Weighing all-in-one simplicity against design flexibility.
Designers and agencies wanting pixel-perfect control
Evaluating Webflow's visual CMS against Wix and Squarespace's templates.
Anyone selling products online
Comparing transaction fees and ecommerce depth across all three.
Budget-conscious builders comparing entry prices
All three restructured plans and pricing within the last year.
Existing Webflow CMS or Business plan users
The May 2026 Premium plan merger directly affects your renewal.
Anyone reading an older comparison guide
All three platforms' plan names and prices have changed since early 2025.
Webflow's change is brand new
The 10-second answer
Wix
Free plan, Light $17/mo, Core $29/mo (needed for ecommerce). Restructured 2025 from Combo/Unlimited/VIP naming. Watch for first-year-only pricing — renewals jump 25-50%+. Business Elite $159/mo eliminates transaction fees.
$17 → $29 → $39/moSquarespace
No free plan (14-day trial), Basic $16/mo, Core $23/mo (0% transaction fees on physical goods). Renamed from Personal/Business/Commerce in late 2025. Polished templates, strong for service businesses and creatives.
$16 → $23 → $39/moWebflow
Free Starter, Basic $15/mo (no CMS), Premium $25/mo (NEW — merges old CMS+Business, May 13 2026). 20,000 CMS items but only 50GB bandwidth. New Team plan $2,500/mo for larger orgs.
Free → $15 → $25/moMatch your situation
| Your situation | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You want the simplest all-in-one builder, no design experience | Wix | Largest app market, AI site generator, drag-and-drop simplicity. |
| You run a service business (coach, consultant, photographer) | Squarespace | Most polished templates, strong for portfolio and booking-driven sites. |
| You want pixel-perfect custom design and a powerful CMS | Webflow | Visual CSS/HTML control, most flexible CMS of the three. |
| You're migrating from Webflow's old Business plan | Check bandwidth needs first | New Premium plan ($25/mo) doubles CMS items but halves bandwidth (100GB→50GB). |
| You want to sell online with minimal transaction fees | Squarespace Core+ or Wix Business Elite | Both eliminate/minimize transaction fees at their respective tiers. |
| You're on a Wix annual plan approaching renewal | Budget for a price increase | Wix's advertised rates are first-year-only — renewals commonly jump 25-50%+. |
| You need a content-heavy blog or marketing site | Webflow Premium ($25/mo, new) | 20,000 CMS items — the highest capacity at this price point among the three. |
| You're a growing team needing publishing workflows | Webflow Team ($2,500/mo, new) | 10 seats, review/approval flows, localization — new tier not previously available. |
Compare plans side by side
Select a tier for each platform to compare monthly cost on annual billing. Note Wix's first-year-only pricing and Webflow's recently restructured Premium plan.
⚠️ Wix's shown rates are first-year-only — budget for a renewal increase of 25-50%+. Webflow's Premium plan is brand new as of May 13, 2026 and replaces both the old CMS and Business tiers with different bandwidth/CMS-item tradeoffs.
The numbers that matter
merges old CMS ($23) + Business ($39) tiers
2x the old Business plan's 10,000 limit
half of old Business plan's 100GB
advertised annual rates are first-year-only
10 seats, publishing workflows, localization
vs 2-3% on Basic (physical products)
Three platforms, three philosophies
Wix — All-In-One Simplicity, Watch the Renewal Price
$17 → $29 → $39/moWix restructured its entire plan lineup in 2025, replacing the old Combo/Unlimited/Business Basic/Business Unlimited/Business VIP naming with four simpler tiers: Light ($17/mo), Core ($29/mo, needed for ecommerce), Business ($39/mo), and Business Elite ($159/mo). Wix remains the most beginner-friendly of the three, with the largest app marketplace (500+ third-party integrations) and a built-in AI site generator. The most important gotcha: advertised annual rates are first-year-only — renewals commonly jump 25-50%+, with some users reporting multi-year renewal bills exceeding $500-600.
- Easiest platform for complete beginners — drag-and-drop, AI site generator
- Largest third-party app marketplace (500+ integrations)
- Free forever plan available (with Wix branding and subdomain)
- Business Elite eliminates transaction fees entirely
- Advertised prices are first-year-only — renewals jump 25-50%+ (significant, well-documented gotcha)
- Transaction fees apply on Core (4%) and Business (2%) — only Business Elite eliminates them
- Ecommerce requires at least Core ($29/mo) — Light cannot sell anything
- Design flexibility is more template-constrained than Webflow
Squarespace — Polished Design, Simple Commerce Fee Structure
$16 → $23 → $39/moSquarespace renamed its plans in late 2025 — Personal/Business/Basic Commerce/Advanced Commerce became Basic ($16/mo), Core ($23/mo), Plus ($39/mo), Advanced ($99/mo). Squarespace has no permanent free plan, but offers a 14-day free trial. Its design templates remain the most polished and design-forward of the three, making it a strong default for service businesses, photographers, and creative professionals. Transaction fees are simpler than Wix's: roughly 2-3% on Basic, dropping to 0% on Core and above for physical products.
- Most polished, design-forward templates of the three
- Transaction fees eliminated (physical products) starting at Core, the second-cheapest tier
- Strong built-in scheduling and booking tools (Acuity integration)
- Blueprint AI site builder speeds up initial setup
- No permanent free plan — only a 14-day trial
- Advanced e-commerce features (abandoned cart recovery, subscriptions) require Plus ($39/mo) or higher
- Less design/code flexibility than Webflow for fully custom layouts
- Digital products/memberships retain a ~1% fee even on Plus and Advanced
Webflow — Design Power, Recently and Significantly Restructured
Free → $15 → $25/moWebflow remains the choice for designers and agencies wanting pixel-perfect, code-level control without hand-writing HTML/CSS. Its pricing changed significantly and very recently: on May 13, 2026, the old 4-tier Site plan structure (Starter free, Basic $14/mo, CMS $23/mo, Business $39/mo) was consolidated into 3 tiers — Starter (free), Basic ($15/mo, no CMS, now with 300 static pages), and a new Premium plan at $25/month that merges the old CMS and Business tiers. Premium roughly doubles CMS item capacity (to 20,000) but halves included bandwidth (to 50GB) compared to the old Business plan. A new Team workspace plan launched at $2,500/month for growing teams needing publishing workflows and collaboration at scale.
- Best-in-class visual design control — real HTML/CSS output, no template lock-in
- New Premium plan ($25/mo) offers significantly more CMS capacity than the old $23/mo CMS plan for barely more cost
- New Team plan adds real collaboration workflows (publishing approvals, page branching) previously unavailable
- Free Starter plan genuinely useful for prototyping and learning before committing
- Premium's bandwidth (50GB) is half of the old Business plan's 100GB — high-traffic sites may need paid add-ons now
- Steepest learning curve of the three — not beginner-friendly like Wix
- Add-ons (Optimize, Analyze, Localize) stack on top of Site plans and can add significant cost — Optimize alone starts around $299/mo
- Team plan at $2,500/month is a major jump from individual Site plans — no smooth mid-tier for growing teams
Strengths at a glance
| Criteria | Wix | Squarespace | Webflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner-friendliness | Best — drag-and-drop, AI generator | Easy — polished templates | Steepest learning curve |
| Design flexibility | Good — template-based | Good — most polished templates | Best — real code-level control |
| Entry price | Free, then $17/mo Light | $16/mo Basic (no free tier) | Free Starter, then $15/mo Basic |
| CMS / content power | Basic blog tools | Good blog tools | Best — 20,000 items on Premium (new) |
| Transaction fees | 4% Core, 2% Business, 0% Elite only | 0% from Core up (physical goods) | Varies by ecommerce add-on |
| Pricing stability | First-year-only rates, steep renewals | Renamed 2025, stable since | Just restructured May 2026 — verify current renewal terms |
🟢 STRONG · 🟠 ACCEPTABLE WITH CAVEATS · 🔴 WEAK / WATCH OUT
Feature by feature
| Feature | Wix | Squarespace | Webflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | ✓ Yes (with branding/subdomain) | ✗ 14-day trial only | ✓ Yes — Starter (2 pages, no custom domain) |
| Cheapest paid entry | Light $17/mo | Basic $16/mo | ✓ Basic $15/mo — cheapest |
| CMS-capable tier | Core $29/mo and up | Core $23/mo and up | ✓ Premium $25/mo (new) — 20,000 items |
| Ecommerce entry | Core $29/mo | Basic $16/mo (limited) | Ecommerce add-on plans, separate pricing |
| Design control | ⚡ Template-based | ⚡ Template-based, more polished | ✓ Best — full CSS/HTML-level control |
| Team collaboration | ⚡ Basic multi-user | ⚡ Basic multi-user | ✓ Best — new Team plan, publishing workflows |
| App/integration ecosystem | ✓ Best — 500+ third-party apps | ⚡ Good — smaller marketplace | ⚡ Good — developer-focused integrations |
| Renewal pricing transparency | ✗ First-year-only rates — steep jumps | ✓ More stable annual pricing | ⚡ Just restructured — verify renewal terms |
Every plan, verified
All three platforms have new plan names and prices compared to what many older guides still show. Webflow's change is the most recent — just two months old at time of verification.
| Tier | Wix | Squarespace | Webflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Yes — Wix branding, subdomain | No — 14-day trial only | Starter — 2 pages, webflow.io subdomain |
| Entry paid | Light $17/mo (no ecommerce) | Basic $16/mo (limited ecommerce, ~2-3% fee) | Basic $15/mo (no CMS, 300 static pages) |
| Mid tier | Core $29/mo (ecommerce unlocked, 4% fee) | Core $23/mo (0% transaction fee) | Premium $25/mo (NEW, May 13 2026) — 20,000 CMS items, 50GB bandwidth |
| Upper tier | Business $39/mo (2% fee) | Plus $39/mo (cart recovery, subscriptions) | Team $2,500/mo (NEW) — 10 seats, workflows |
| Top tier | Business Elite $159/mo (0% fee) | Advanced $99/mo (lowest processing rates) | Enterprise — custom quote |
| Watch out for | First-year-only pricing — renewals jump 25-50%+. | Digital products retain ~1% fee even on Plus/Advanced. | Premium halves bandwidth vs old Business plan (100GB→50GB). Add-ons (Optimize ~$299/mo+) stack on top. |
Choose by fit
Choose Wix if…
- You want the simplest possible setup with no design experience
- You value a large app marketplace for extending functionality
- You're comfortable budgeting for a renewal price increase after year one
- An AI site generator to speed up initial build matters to you
- You want a genuinely free tier to start with, even with branding
Choose Squarespace if…
- You run a service business, portfolio, or creative brand
- Polished, design-forward templates matter more than raw flexibility
- You want transaction fees eliminated without needing the top tier
- Built-in scheduling and booking tools are valuable to your business
- You're comfortable without a permanent free plan
Choose Webflow if…
- You or your team have design/development skills and want full control
- You're building a content-heavy site and need Premium's 20,000 CMS items
- You're evaluating the new Team plan for real publishing workflows
- You've checked your bandwidth needs before migrating from the old Business plan
- You want a free tier to prototype before committing to a paid plan
Match the tool to your project
Complete beginner, first website
WixDrag-and-drop simplicity, AI site generator.
Service business / portfolio
SquarespaceMost polished templates, strong booking tools.
Custom design, agency work
WebflowFull code-level control, no template lock-in.
Content-heavy blog/marketing site
Webflow Premium (new)20,000 CMS items at $25/mo — best capacity per dollar.
Lowest transaction fees
Squarespace Core+0% on physical products from the second-cheapest tier up.
Largest app ecosystem
Wix500+ third-party integrations.
Growing team, publishing workflows
Webflow Team (new)$2,500/mo — 10 seats, approvals, localization.
Cheapest overall entry
Webflow Basic ($15/mo)Cheapest paid tier among the three, plus a genuine free tier.
What vendors won't lead with
💸 Wix's advertised prices are first-year-only
The $17/$29/$39/$159 rates apply to your first year of annual billing. Renewals commonly jump 25-50%+, with some users reporting multi-year renewal bills exceeding $500-600. Budget for the renewal rate, not just the intro price.
📉 Webflow Premium's bandwidth cut catches migrating Business users off guard
Teams moving from the old $39/month Business plan to the new $25/month Premium plan save money on the base price but get half the bundled bandwidth (50GB vs 100GB). High-traffic sites should check actual bandwidth usage before assuming Premium is a clean win — bandwidth add-ons could offset the savings.
💳 Wix's transaction fees only disappear at the top tier
Core charges 4% and Business charges 2% on transactions — only Business Elite ($159/mo) eliminates fees entirely. For a store doing meaningful volume, these fees can exceed the price difference between tiers.
📦 Webflow's add-ons stack fast on top of Site plans
Optimize, Analyze, and Localize are all usage-priced add-ons separate from the base Site plan cost, with Optimize alone starting around $299/month. A seemingly affordable $25/month Premium site can balloon well beyond that once add-ons are factored in.
🏷️ Squarespace's digital product fee doesn't fully disappear
While Core and above eliminate the transaction fee on physical products, digital products, memberships, and subscriptions retain roughly a 1% fee even on the Plus and Advanced plans — factor this in if digital sales are a meaningful part of your business.
🆕 Webflow's Team plan is a big jump with no smooth middle ground
Individual Site plans top out around $25/month (Premium), but the next collaboration-focused tier, Team, costs $2,500/month on an annual contract. There's currently no mid-tier option for a small team of 2-5 people wanting basic workflow features without the full Team commitment.
Quick answers
Yes, significantly — on May 13, 2026, Webflow consolidated its Site plan lineup from four tiers into three. The old CMS ($23/month) and Business ($39/month) tiers were merged into a single new Premium plan at $25/month, which doubles CMS item capacity (to 20,000) but halves included bandwidth (to 50GB) compared to the old Business plan. A new Team workspace plan also launched at $2,500/month.
Wix's advertised annual rates ($17/$29/$39/$159 per month) are first-year promotional pricing. Renewals commonly increase 25-50%+ above the initial rate, and some users report multi-year renewal bills exceeding $500-600. This is a well-documented pattern — budget for the renewal cost, not just the intro rate, when comparing platforms.
Webflow has the cheapest paid entry point (Basic at $15/month) and also offers a genuinely free Starter tier. However, "cheapest" depends on your needs: Squarespace eliminates transaction fees starting at its second-cheapest tier (Core, $23/month), which can matter more than the base price difference for an ecommerce-focused site.
Yes. Wix replaced its old Combo/Unlimited/Business Basic/Business Unlimited/Business VIP structure in 2025 with Light, Core, Business, and Business Elite. Squarespace renamed Personal/Business/Basic Commerce/Advanced Commerce to Basic, Core, Plus, and Advanced in late 2025. Both changes predate Webflow's more recent May 2026 restructuring.
It depends on your bandwidth usage. Premium costs less ($25/month vs the old $39/month Business rate) and offers double the CMS item capacity (20,000 vs 10,000), but includes only half the bandwidth (50GB vs 100GB). If your site is bandwidth-heavy, check whether you'll need a paid bandwidth add-on before assuming Premium is a straightforward cost saving.
Ready to choose your website builder?
Wix and Webflow both offer free tiers to start. Squarespace offers a 14-day trial. All three recently changed plan names and pricing — verify current rates directly before committing.