Best Cheap Website Builder: Create a Professional Site on a Budget! (July 2025)
Times have changed. There is no reason why creating your own website should cost a fortune. You could of course ask someone to design the website for you, but our suggestions below are some of the cheapest website builders that might be a better option for you.
With the following tools, you can create websites at a low cost. You can use these tools to create websites for businesses or even for personal projects.
Table of Contents
These Are the 5 Best & Cheapest Website Builders:
| Top 5 | Best For | Rating 🌟🌟 | Starting Plans | Click Here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | Website Builder – Best value for money. | 4.8 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 | $2.99/mo | Visit Hostinger |
| Webnode | Durably affordable | 4.7 🌟🌟🌟🌟 | $4.00/mo | Visit Webnode |
| GoDaddy | Feature rich | 4.6 🌟🌟🌟🌟 | $5.99/mo | Visit GoDaddy |
| Carrd | Cheaper than a domain name | 4.5 🌟🌟🌟🌟 | $9/Year | Visit Carrd |
| One.com | Cheap but limited | 4.4 🌟🌟🌟🌟 | $0.3/month | Visit One.com |
One thing to keep in mind: Many of the website builders listed below also offer free plans. The biggest limitation of these free plans is that you can’t use your own domain name, and the website will also display advertisements. That’s why it’s often a good idea to opt for a cheap one instead of a free one.
Let’s dive into the full list with all the details now
1. Hostinger Website Builder (Zyro)
If you like Wix’s bright designs and flexible editor, but are put off by the price (more on that in the Wix profile below), Hostinger Website builder (formerly Zyro) is an option to look at.
It offers many similar, easy-to-use features (including an online store builder), but at a much lower price. This makes it an ideal choice if you just need a basic website builder. Hostinger Website Builder is also the best cheap website builder with unlimited storage and bandwidth.
However, there is one drawback: Hostinger Website Builder does not offer a free plan, and you cannot try it for free. You have to subscribe first, although you get a 30-day money-back guarantee if it’s not right for you.
See Hostinger Website Builder in action here
The prices listed are for annual subscriptions and are valid for the first year only. However, further discounts are available for 2- and 4-year subscriptions – a great way to save even more money if you’re ready to commit.
2. Webnode
Even though Webnode lacks many of the features of other website builders (such as advanced e-commerce options), you can easily create a multilingual website. It’s an easy-to-use solution with modern website designs that are automatically optimized for mobile devices. For more information, check out our Webnode review.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective solution, both the Limited and Mini plans are quite attractive. Limited still displays the small Webnode ad in the footer, but you can attach a domain name. Mini doesn’t display ads and includes a free domain name for 1 year. It is a great plan for a small personal or professional website. However, Webnode’s e-commerce features are relatively basic.
Webnode’s Prices
More details about Webnode’s pricing plans can be found here.
3. GoDaddy
Internet giant GoDaddy also offers its own website builder, which happens to be one of the best website builders we’ve tested. It includes a wide range of features and extras, including an online store, an appointment booking tool, marketing integrations, and email marketing – all at an affordable price.
The best news is that a free plan is also available, allowing you to test most features and publish a website on a GoDaddy subdomain. However, with the paid plans, you get an ad-free website and access to more features, with different plans designed to meet a wide range of needs.
While the blogging, SEO and customization features aren’t the strongest, there’s more than enough here for small business owners and freelancers to build a professional-looking online presence.
GoDaddy’s Pricing
Prices shown are for annual subscriptions, which offer savings of 15-30% compared to monthly plans.
4. Carrd
Carrd is completely focused on one-page websites. Remember that there is no option to add additional pages to your website.
If that’s okay with you, you can create a website for less than what a domain name costs: just $9/year on the Pro Lite plan. This allows you to join an existing domain name and create up to 3 one-pager sites. You only need to upgrade to the next level if you want to use a web form or Google Analytics to track your visitors.
With the Carrd website builder, you can create a small but nice website, but the options are quite limited. There’s no blog, no online store, and formatting text is a bit more complicated than with simpler website builders. But maybe you don’t need all these features anyway – so why pay for them? Carrd is great for creating an efficient little portfolio website or landing page for your social channels (like one of those “link in bio” mini sites).
Carrd Prices
5. One.com
If you want to build a website on a limited budget, there are few cheaper website builders than One.com. Prices start at Free and if your website is 5 pages or less. However, if you need more than 5 pages, you will have to pay Renews at $ 7.49 /mo Billed yearly, which is not cheap. You should keep in mind that other solutions offer more comprehensive packages (Wix or Weebly, for example), and on occasions they hold discounts & Free packages. The good news is that these packages include hosting in addition to the website builder, so you can integrate WordPress or similar content managers.
For more information, read our One.com review.
One.com’s Prices
6. Weebly
Weebly is also easy to use thanks to its powerful drag-and-drop editor. It also offers a wide range of high-quality templates that automatically adapt to all devices (tablets and smartphones, for example). What I like most about Weebly is the high flexibility of the blog and the very useful features for bloggers like tags, categories, post scheduling, etc. For more information, check out our Weebly review.
A small advantage is that Weebly also offers plans that you can pay monthly. They do charge a little extra for this, but at least it’s possible – most other website builders don’t offer this option.
Weebly Prices
7. Ucraft
Their designs are pretty cool, they look very modern and are a bit different from those of most competitors. However, we wish there were more templates available. Besides creating a website or an online store, Ucraft also offers a landing page builder that is great for collecting email signups. If you plan to create more complex websites, you’ll need to upgrade to the Pro Website plan, which starts at $10 per month.
Ucraft Prices
8. Wix
No cheap website builder combines design and usability like Wix. Its system is so flexible that you can move the elements around as you like. It also has useful tools for freelancers and businesses that make your daily life easier (e.g. Wix Hotels, Wix Restaurants or Wix Bookings), which makes it one of the best website builders for small businesses.
The e-commerce features are also great and offer good value for money, as Wix doesn’t charge additional transaction fees. One downside, however, is that if you want to switch to a completely new template, you’ll have to start from scratch. Learn more in our review of Wix and why we think it’s the best website builder.
Wix Prices
After Wix changed its premium plans some time ago and raised its prices, it’s not really a cheap website builder anymore. Especially in the US, where the low-cost Connect Domain plan is not available. You’re more likely to choose Wix for the quality and feature set than the cost. Compared to other providers, Wix has some handy SEO tools built in, for example.
9. Jimdo
After the prices were raised with the launch of Jimdo Dolphin, Jimdo Dolphin is not really a cheap option anymore. The focus is on usability, as you are guided step-by-step through the process of creating your website. Considering that, Jimdo Dolphin may still be cheaper than other website builders if the guided creation process eliminates the need for a programmer or designer. It’s a shame that Jimdo doesn’t offer a monthly payment, as all plans require an upfront payment for 12 months.
Jimdo Prices
10. HostGator
Hosting giant HostGator launched its Gator website builder in early 2019. The company has an impressive collection of chic, mobile-friendly templates (more than 200). These are categorized by niche, so it should be easy to find one that suits your needs. The Gator editor is just as flexible as Wix’s and includes some pre-made blocks (such as “Meet the team”) that can simplify your website design.
Since it is still a young product, you occasionally encounter some limitations. For example, it is not possible to schedule blog posts, and there are no post categories, only tags. Another clear drawback is that there is no free plan or free trial.
HostGator Prices
11. DreamHost’s Website Builder for WordPress
DreamHost is one of my top 3 favorite hosting providers. They are fast, reliable and their support is friendly – that’s why 1.5 million websites are hosted with DreamHost. All hosting plans offer a website builder for WordPress (Boldgrid), which makes it easy to create and manage WordPress.org websites.
There are over 200 modernly designed templates to choose from. Several building blocks are available, such as texts, images, sliders, buttons, videos, maps and forms. The editor also allows you to customize various styling options (e.g. padding, frames, background images or shadows). It’s a solid option to get started on the cheap if you don’t mind using WordPress (a more technical platform).
DreamHost Prices
12. Shopify
You can create online stores with many of the tools mentioned here. But if you are serious about e-commerce and don’t want to use complicated platforms like Magento or WooCommerce, Shopify is the best option. Shopify is not the cheapest, but it is the most stable online store creator.
Shopify’s Prices
13. WordPress.org (the Open-Source Version)
As we saw above, these website builders (like Weebly and Wix) are meant for creating simple websites. If you are working on something more complicated and want to build your website yourself to save some money, WordPress.org is a good option.
WordPress itself is not a website builder, as it is a bit more complicated and requires technical knowledge. Even though the software is free, you will need to find a service provider to host your WordPress website. One option is the One.com hosting service. However, there are also many other cheap WordPress hosting options.
You can also build your site directly on WordPress.com (more on that below), where you’ll find a handful of affordable offerings. However, to get the same features as WordPress.org, you’ll need at least the business plan, which unfortunately is anything but cheap.
WordPress is ideal for creating directories (for example, classifieds), your own social networks, marketplaces (like eBay or Amazon) or any other type of complex website. The easiest and cheapest option would be to create it using a template (such as Themeforest or Elegant Themes), which will make your job easier. But even then, you will need technical knowledge at some point.
14. WordPress.com
The most popular website platform in the world is undoubtedly WordPress. It is estimated that 43% of all websites run on it. This is mainly thanks to the free open source version WordPress.org (which we discussed above). The downside is that it’s not really free, as you have to host your site somewhere.
This extra cost is why we’re talking about WordPress.com here, which makes everything much easier: web hosting and a custom domain name for the first year are included, and as you’ll see, at a very low price.
Prices start at $4/month for the Personal plan. Included in that is a tidy 6GB of web space and unlimited pages!
The only minor downside is the advertising in the footer: “Powered by WordPress.com” is displayed. However, you can customize it to show only “WordPress.com”, or you can show only the WP logo, which is very small. You can see an example here (at the very bottom).
You also have access to around 100 free templates and personal support. Unfortunately, the plugins and SEO tools that make WordPress so popular are only available in the higher-end business and eCommerce plans.
WordPress.com Prices
Prices shown are for subscriptions to annual plans. Monthly subscriptions are also available, but at a higher cost.
15. Web.com
This is an interesting question. On the one hand, Web.com offers a straightforward user interface that borrows many elements from Weebly (which is positive). The template designs aren’t mind-blowing, but they serve their purpose.
But here’s the catch. Like Bluehost, Hostgator, Constant Contact and many other companies, Web.com is now owned by web hosting giant EIG. Unfortunately, in this case, they’ve kept the questionable pricing strategy that the previous owners put in place. This means a lot of fine print and hidden fees.
The domain name is free for the first year, but then renews for $37.99/year, which is an absurd amount for a .com domain (a normal price would be around $12). But that’s not all, because you also get to “enjoy” the privacy protection for your domain name, which is free only for the first month and costs $1.95 every month after that.
A taste of Web.com’s fine print (enlarged so it’s actually readable).
Understanding website builder pricing is a similar adventure with lots of fine print. They mainly advertise cheap looking prices like $2.95, or $3.95, but on closer inspection it turns out that this low price is only for the first 4 weeks (and no, not for a whole month, billing is in blocks of 4 weeks for goodness sake!). The renewal price is $10 per month for 4 weeks after that.
The website builder itself isn’t bad, but the pricing very much is. And I’m not even sure I’ve uncovered all of their surprises. This offer is a crystal clear no from us.
Web.com’s Prices:
Website Builders vs Professional Website Designers
Designing a professional website costs money because the work requires time and skills that not everyone has. It’s like a custom suit – you can’t really expect the tailor to charge you only $200 for the suit, can you?
There are some offers from cheap (pseudo) web designers who claim they can create your website for $100 or $200. But this kind of cheap website design usually has some disadvantages as well:
Here is another good example of the relationship between quality and cost
The other option is to create your own website. Some of the cheapest website builders allow you to create and publish your own website (some of them even offer free website creation). The best part is that these solutions are not difficult to use. They have visual layouts where you can insert sections, texts, images or even videos, and sometimes they include templates that you can customize to your needs.
If you are not sure how to start creating your own website, you can download our free website creation guide. It will help you plan, design and publish your website.
Cost of Creating (& Maintaining) a Website
| CREATE IT YOURSELF WITH A WEBSITE BUILDER | LOW-COST WEB ‘DESIGNER’ | PROFESSIONAL WEB DEVELOPER | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.45 – $26 a month | $250 – $600 once | $25 – $60 per hour |
| Domain name | Included – 15/year | $15/year | $15/year |
| Hosting | Included | $5 – $50/month | $5 – $50/month |
| Plugins | Includes the basics | $15 – $70/year | $15 – $70/year |
| New designs | Included | Extra cost | Extra cost |
| Maintenance and updates | Included | Extra cost | Extra cost |
| Support | Included | Extra cost | Extra cost |
| Cost | Between $7 to $25 a month | Between $5 to $150 a month + $250 to $600 in development | Between $5 to $150 a month + $800 to $1500 in design |
All websites cost money, but some cost more than others. If you want a low-cost website, the cheapest option is to build it yourself with a low-cost website builder.
The advantage of a web builder is that you don’t have to pay a professional (or pseudo-professional) to create the website for you. This is the point where you save the most.
Also, some professionally built sites may require extensions (plugins) that have an annual cost, such as a plugin for processing online payments or creating modern image galleries. These features are usually included for free with website builders like Wix and Weebly.
Your website must be hosted on a server to be online. This is much like how a book is “hosted” on a library shelf. There are many types of web hosting services available for a wide price range, but even cheap web hosting costs around $4 or $5 per month. With website building kits, hosting is included so you don’t have to pay a penny more.
If you want to make changes to your website, it’s hard to do it yourself if you don’t have technical knowledge. Then you’ll have to hire a developer who will charge you for it. Tools like Wix or One.com are easy and intuitive to use, and you can quickly make the changes yourself.
The same goes for updates and maintenance, which are inevitable. If you use WordPress or something similar, you may need to contact the programmer. Website builders, on the other hand, take care of these tasks, and you don’t have to lift a finger.
For more information on specific costs, check out our detailed guide on website costs.
Pros & Cons of Making Your Own Website With a Website Builder
Of course, website building kits are not always the right solution. For this reason, I would like to give a brief overview of the advantages and disadvantages so that you know whether they are suitable for you.
FAQ’s
Can a cheap website builder still provide quality features and functionality?
Yes, even a cheap website builder can offer high-quality features and functions. They may not offer all the advanced features of premium website builders, but they often include important features like customizable templates, responsive design, basic SEO tools, and hosting services. It’s important to choose a reputable, affordable website builder that offers the features you need within your budget.
Can I customize the design and layout of my website with a cheap website builder?
Yes, most cheap website builders offer customization options for the design and layout of your website. They offer a range of templates and themes that you can customize to your liking. You can often change colors, fonts, and images, and drag and drop content to create a customized look.
Are there any limitations to using a cheap website builder?
While inexpensive website builders can be a cost-effective solution, they may have some limitations compared to higher-end options. These limitations include restrictions on advanced features, limited storage space or bandwidth, and possible branding or advertising on your website. It is important that you review the features and limitations of any cheap website builder before making a decision.
Can I upgrade my plan if I need more features or resources?
Yes, most affordable website builders offer upgrade options that allow you to take advantage of additional features or resources as your website needs increase. These upgrades often come with higher price plans that offer advanced features, more storage, better support, and the ability to remove branding or advertising.
Can I connect my own domain name with a cheap website builder?
Yes, connecting your own domain name is possible with most affordable website builders. They often offer the option to use a custom domain name you already own or purchase a new one directly through their platform. This way you can create a professional web presence with a personalized domain name.
Alan Brock is an entrepreneurship-focused tech blogger with a track record of founding several startups and involvement in the tech startup scene for many years. Eric’s blog delves into startup funding, team building, and product development. He provides a critical perspective on the challenges and opportunities that come with starting a business, as well as the latest trends in the startup world. Alan’s experience as a startup founder has made him a go-to source for anyone looking to launch their own tech startup.
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