WordPress vs Wix: which is right for your business?

The short answer: Wix suits you if you want to build a simple website yourself, quickly, and don't want to deal with hosting or updates. WordPress is the better fit if you want to own your whole site, add to it later, or be free to move it to another provider.

We build websites in WordPress ourselves, so we're not neutral. That's exactly why this article also shows when Wix is the better choice.

The difference in brief

Wix is a website builder where everything comes from one company. You create an account, pick a design and build your site in the Wix editor. Wix takes care of hosting, security and updates. You pay a subscription.

WordPress is open-source software. You can use it for free under the GPLv2 (or later) licence. You install it on hosting from a provider you choose. So you're dealing with two things: the software, and the place where your site runs.

One note: in this article, WordPress means the software from wordpress.org that you install on your own hosting. WordPress.com is a separate service with its own plans, and we leave it out here.

What does it cost?

Wix

Wix has four Premium plans: Light, Core, Business and Business Elite. You pay a fixed amount, depending on the plan. According to Wix, the prices shown are for a yearly subscription, paid in full when you buy it, and they don't include applicable taxes, which depend on your billing address. So check what you'll actually pay at checkout.

The current prices are on Wix's pricing page. We don't list them here, because Wix shows different prices and currencies depending on where you are, and they change over time.

According to that page and its FAQ, the Premium plans come with:

• a custom domain, with a free domain for the first year on most yearly plans;
• the option to remove the Wix branding from your site;
• 24/7 customer care;
• a 14-day money-back guarantee.

One difference between the plans is worth knowing up front: on Wix's pricing page, accepting online payments is listed from Core upwards, not for Light. If you ever want to sell something or take payments in advance through your site, plan for Core or higher. Storage differs too: Light has 2 GB, Core 50 GB, Business 100 GB and Business Elite unlimited.

WordPress

The software is free, but a WordPress site isn't. Every year you pay for:

• a domain name;
• hosting;
• maintenance: updates, backups and security. If you do this yourself, it mainly costs time;
• sometimes a licence for a paid plugin or theme. Many small sites don't need one.

In our article on what a website costs per year, we go through the yearly costs of a small WordPress site, both when you do the maintenance yourself and when you hand it over.

If you have the site built for you, there's also a one-off cost. With us, that's $299.99 for a one-pager and $499.99 for a site of up to 5 pages. You can see what's included on our page about having a WordPress website built. We don't supply hosting or a domain name. You buy those yourself, in your own name.

Which is cheaper?

That depends on your situation. If you build a simple site yourself, with Wix you only pay the subscription and nothing for building it. If you have a WordPress site built, you pay once for the build and after that mainly for hosting, your domain name and, if you want it, maintenance.

Put the numbers for your situation side by side, over two or three years. And count your own time. An evening a week spent on your website is a cost too.

Ease of use: building and looking after it

This is where Wix is strong. You build your site in an editor where you drag blocks around and type text, and you see right away how it looks. According to Wix's own help article, Wix takes care of hosting, 24/7 security monitoring, the SSL certificate and software updates. You don't have to think about any of that.

WordPress gives you more choice in themes, plugins and hosting. But more choice also means more work. WordPress, your theme and your plugins get regular updates. Someone has to install them, make backups and check that everything still works.

Is that difficult? Editing your texts and photos happens in a normal editor. With a site we build, we walk you through it in plain English. Updates and backups mostly take discipline: checking in regularly and not letting things slide.

If you'd rather not think about it, you can outsource the maintenance. With us, that starts at $19.99 a month, and you can cancel any month.

Ownership and moving to another provider

This is the biggest difference between the two. You often only notice it when you want to switch.

Wix. The content you create on Wix belongs to you. Wix says so in its help article about exporting. But your site can only run on Wix's servers. According to Wix, the technology behind it doesn't support hosting with another provider. You can register and manage your domain name elsewhere, though, and connect it to your Wix site.

So if you later want to move from Wix to WordPress, you don't move the site itself. You build a new site and bring your texts and images over, by hand or with a tool. How much work that is depends on the size of your site.

WordPress. You can move your entire site to another hosting provider. WordPress has a built-in export tool. It creates a file with your pages, posts, comments, categories and users, among other things.

To be fair: your theme and plugin settings aren't in that file. For a complete move, you copy your site's files and database. Any WordPress host or developer can do that for you. So you're never tied to one company.

With us, you always own your website and your domain name. You get all the files and login details. If you ever want to go elsewhere, you take everything with you.

Looking at a website subscription from a web designer instead? Ownership is the question to ask there too. Read who owns your website when you stop paying, and what to check before you sign.

Growing: webshop, bookings and more

A website often grows along with your business. A few pages first, maybe a webshop or online bookings later.

Wix. You can accept online payments from the Core plan. Wix lists basic eCommerce for Core, standard for Business and advanced for Business Elite. What exactly each plan includes is on Wix's pricing page. You add extra features with apps from the Wix App Market. A developer can also add custom code, but your site stays on Wix's platform.

WordPress. Here you add features with plugins. For a webshop, WooCommerce is a well-known choice. We build WooCommerce webshops with iDEAL, the Dutch online bank payment, where you manage your own products. Because the software is open source, a developer can change anything, and the result runs with any hosting provider.

Keep in mind that every plugin needs looking after. More plugins means more updates.

Want customers to book appointments online? Both platforms have solutions for that. Check beforehand which plan or plugin you need and what it costs per year. If you're a coach or therapist, see also the ways clients can book an intro call with you.

Speed and search rankings

You sometimes read that one platform ranks better in Google than the other. We're careful with claims like that. Whether people find you depends mainly on your content, how fast your site loads and how the technical side is set up. You can build a fast site on both platforms. And a slow one.

What counts: clear page titles, good copy about what you do and where you work, and a site that loads quickly on mobile. Also read why websites get slow and what you can do about it.

When Wix is the better choice

Wix is a good choice if:

• you enjoy building it yourself and have the time for it;
• your budget is small and a simple site is enough, for example a few pages with your services and contact details;
• you don't want to arrange anything around hosting, updates and backups;
• you want something online quickly, for example to test an idea before you put more money into it;
• you don't plan to move and don't mind your site staying with Wix.

Sound like you? Then having a WordPress site built may be more than you need right now. That's fine.

When WordPress fits better

WordPress is the better fit if:

• you want to own everything, including the files, and decide where your site lives;
• your site needs room to grow, for example with more pages or a webshop;
• you don't want to build it yourself, but do want to edit texts and photos afterwards;
• you don't want to depend on one platform and want to be able to switch to another host or web designer later.

The trade-off is that you arrange more yourself: hosting, a domain name and maintenance. Or you outsource it.

How to choose: three questions

1. Do you want to build it yourself or have it built? If you want to get started yourself and your site is simple, Wix is a logical place to start. If you'd rather have it done for you, look closely at who builds your site and whether you own everything afterwards. See also how long it takes to build a website.
2. How important is it that you can move later? If you never want to be tied to one company, WordPress fits better. If you're fine with your site staying at Wix, this matters less.
3. What should your site be able to do in two years? Think of online payments, a webshop, more pages or a second language. With Wix, that decides which plan you need. With WordPress, it decides which plugins you need and how much maintenance comes with them.

Still not sure? Send us your question and we'll think it through with you. You'll get honest advice, even if the answer is Wix.

The information about Wix and WordPress was checked on 25 October 2026.