Website builder questions: prices, AI and catches

Most website builders cost between $0 and $30 a month for a personal or small business site. Free plans exist but show ads or the builder's branding and use its address. Paid plans that add a custom domain start around $10 to $25 a month, store plans cost more, and long prepaid deals can renew at three or four times the starting price.

For a free site, Google Sites has no paid tier at all. For a custom domain at the lowest price, Carrd Pro Standard is $19 a year for one-page sites. For multi-page sites, Hostinger starts at $2.99 a month but only on a 48-month prepaid plan that renews at $10.99. Over three years, the cheapest option depends on how many pages you need.

Canva is good for simple, design-led sites: a one-page portfolio, event page, link-in-bio page or landing page you design like a poster. It is free for up to five sites on a my.canva.site address; a custom domain needs Canva Pro. It is weaker for multi-page business sites, blogs, stores and search rankings, where a dedicated builder does more.

Hostinger's builder is good value for a simple site if you are happy to prepay. The Premium plan is $2.99 a month on a 48-month term ($143.52 upfront) and renews at $10.99, with hosting, a first-year domain, up to 3 sites and AI tools included. It is less flexible than Wix or Squarespace, and the price only holds if you commit for four years.

Square Online is good if you already take payments with Square: the free plan has no monthly fee, syncs with your Square items and inventory, and handles pickup, delivery and shipping. You pay card fees per sale. It is weaker as a general website builder, with less design flexibility than Wix or Squarespace. Plus costs $49 and Premium $149 a month per location.

Wix's AI builder asks about your business, generates a full site, then lets you keep editing by chatting or by hand. Since January 2026 it runs on Wix Harmony, where an agent called Aria makes changes from plain-language requests inside Wix's editor. You can build and publish free with Wix ads; Light at $17 a month yearly removes ads and adds a custom domain.

Yes. Squarespace's AI builder, Blueprint AI, asks for your business type, style and brand personality, then generates a starting site with layout, text and images that you finish in the normal Squarespace editor. It is available on the 14-day trial and paid plans; there is no free plan. Basic is $19 a month billed yearly, about $25 monthly.

GoDaddy's builder is fine for a quick, simple business site, especially if your domain is already at GoDaddy. Plans start at $9.99 a month on yearly billing and renew higher, at $16.99 for Basic, according to TechRadar. Its Airo AI generates a starting site from a description. Design flexibility is limited compared with Wix or Squarespace.