Wix suits small business owners who want a drag and drop builder with thousands of templates and business tools like bookings and online selling. Webflow suits designers and teams who want fine control over layout and a CMS for content-heavy sites. Both free plans publish on the builder's own address, so you'll upgrade either way to use your own domain.
Wix and Webflow both let you build a website without hiring a developer, but they're aimed at different people. Wix is built for business owners who want a site up this week. Webflow is built for people who think like designers and want every margin under their control. I went through both companies' plan pages so the comparison sticks to what they publish.
Wix and Webflow plans compared
| Wix | Webflow | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, Free with no credit card | Yes, the Starter site plan is free |
| Address on the free plan | username.wixsite.com/sitename | A webflow.io domain |
| Your own domain | On a Premium plan | From the Basic site plan |
| Builder style | Drag and drop editor, no-code design features | Visual canvas with code components on Premium |
| Templates | Thousands of templates | Not covered on the plans page |
| Free plan limits | Wix branding shows on the site | 2 static pages, 1 GB bandwidth, 50 form submissions |
| Content management | Blog and business tools inside the editor | Limited CMS on free, Webflow CMS on Premium |
| Business tools | Accept payments, eCommerce and scheduling from Core | Site search and form file upload on Premium |
| Built-in AI | Creation tools on all plans | Webflow AI and an MCP server on free |
| Team working | 2 to 100 site collaborators depending on plan | Publishing workflows on the Team plan |
Wix: the builder for running a business
Wix lets you create a site for free, and its Plans FAQ is clear about what upgrading gets you: a Premium plan lets you connect your own domain and remove Wix branding. Most yearly Premium plans include a domain voucher for the first year. The real draw is everything around the site:
- Core adds the ability to accept payments, basic eCommerce and scheduling for services.
- Business and Business Elite add more storage, more collaborators and stronger eCommerce.
- Its plan comparison also lists tools for bookings, events, restaurants, hotels and online courses.
Webflow: the builder for designers
Webflow's free Starter plan is described as being "for exploring and experimenting". You can build, but it caps you at 2 static pages, 1 GB of bandwidth and 50 form submissions on a webflow.io address. Basic, which Webflow says is for simple sites that don't need a CMS, adds a custom domain, 300 static pages, unlimited form submissions and password protection, and removes the Made in Webflow badge.
Premium is where Webflow's strength shows. It adds the full Webflow CMS for content-rich sites, site search and code components, so a design team can build a blog or resource library with exact control over every template.
The two-page detail on Webflow's free plan
Here's what catches people out. Webflow's free plan lets you publish just 2 static pages, which is enough to test the editor but not to run a small business site with a home page, about page, services and contact. Wix's free plan doesn't list a page cap on its plans page; its limit is that the site stays on a wixsite.com address with Wix branding. So for trying a real site for free, Wix lets you go further. For learning a professional design tool, Webflow's free plan is the sandbox.
Who should pick which
Pick Wix if you run a service business, shop or local business and want bookings, payments and marketing tools without stitching apps together. It's the faster route from nothing to a working site. My piece on how Wix markets its eCommerce tools goes deeper on that side.
Pick Webflow if you or your designer care about precise layouts, clean structure and a CMS you can shape. It's popular with agencies and startups for that reason, and Webflow's own marketing strategy shows who it's chasing. For the wider picture, see the features to look for in a website builder.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
My advice before you build anything
Write down the pages and tools your site needs on launch day: how many pages, whether you take bookings or sell products, and who'll update it every week. If the person updating it isn't a designer, Wix is the kinder choice. If a designer will own it and content matters, Webflow repays the learning curve. Moving between them later means rebuilding, so it's worth getting this right first.
Do you make a website builder? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Is Wix free?
Yes. Wix lets you create a website for free with hosting, a drag and drop editor and thousands of templates. A Premium plan is needed to connect your own domain and remove Wix branding.
Is Webflow free?
Yes. Webflow's Starter site plan is free, with a webflow.io domain, 2 static pages, 1 GB of bandwidth and 50 form submissions.
Can I use my own domain on the free plans?
No. Wix needs a Premium plan to connect your own domain, and Webflow adds custom domains from its Basic site plan.
Which one is easier for beginners?
Wix is built around a drag and drop editor and templates for business owners. Webflow is a visual design tool that rewards people who understand layout.
