Key Takeaway
Under $20/month, the best website builder depends on what you’re building. Carrd ($19/year) is unbeatable for single-page sites like landing pages and link-in-bio pages. WordPress.com Personal ($4/month) is the cheapest multi-page option but strips out most useful features. Squarespace Basic ($16/month) is the best full-featured builder under $20, with unlimited storage and professional templates. Wix Light ($17/month) is comparable but gives you less storage. Webflow Basic ($14/month) is for designers, not general users.
Every website builder advertises a low starting price. The problem is that “starting price” often means “here’s a plan so limited you’ll upgrade within a month.” A $4/month plan with 1 GB of storage and no e-commerce is technically a website builder. It’s not technically useful for most people.
Here’s what you actually get at each price point under $20, and what’s missing that might push you over that budget.
The lineup under $20/month
All prices are annual billing. Monthly billing adds 30-60% depending on the platform.
| Builder | Cheapest plan | Price/mo (annual) | Multi-page | Storage | Custom domain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrd | Pro Standard | $1.58 ($19/yr) | No (single page only) | N/A | Yes |
| WordPress.com | Personal | $4 | Yes | 6 GB | Yes (1 yr free) |
| Webflow | Basic | $14 | Yes (150 pages) | 10 GB bandwidth | Yes (bring your own) |
| Squarespace | Basic | $16 | Yes (unlimited) | Unlimited | Yes (1 yr free) |
| Wix | Light | $17 | Yes (100 pages) | 2 GB | Yes (1 yr free) |
Carrd: $19/year for a single page
Carrd is not competing with Squarespace or Wix. It’s solving a different problem: you need one page, fast, for almost nothing.
Pro Standard ($19/year) includes:
- 10 single-page sites
- Custom domain with SSL
- Contact and signup forms
- Third-party widgets (Stripe, PayPal, Mailchimp)
- Google Analytics
- Custom meta tags for SEO
Who this is for: Freelancers who need a portfolio landing page (pair it with the right invoicing tool from our best accounting software for freelancers guide). Creators who need a link-in-bio page. Businesses testing an idea with a simple landing page before committing to a full site. Event pages, waitlist pages, product launch pages.
Who this is NOT for: Anyone who needs more than one page per site. Carrd builds single-page sites only. No blog, no multi-page navigation, no e-commerce catalog. If you try to cram a full business website into one Carrd page, you’ll end up with an unusably long scroll.
At $19/year, Carrd costs less than one month of any other builder on this list. If a single page is genuinely all you need, nothing else comes close on value.
WordPress.com Personal: $4/month
WordPress.com’s Personal plan is the cheapest multi-page website builder from a major platform. The price is real, but what you get at $4/month is heavily restricted.
What $4/month includes:
- 6 GB storage
- Custom domain (first year free, then $12-30/year to renew)
- Ad-free experience (the free plan shows WordPress ads you don’t control)
- Premium themes
- Plugin installation
- Email support
What $4/month does NOT include:
- Google Analytics integration
- Video uploads in 4K
- WordAds monetization
- Advanced analytics
- E-commerce of any kind
- Advanced design customization
The real cost: $4/month is the annual billing rate. Monthly billing is $9/month. The domain is free for year one, then costs $12-30/year to renew. Business email is $3.50/month extra. If you need all that, you’re looking at $7.50-10.50/month in year one and $9-12/month from year two onward.
Who this is for: Personal blogs, hobby sites, and simple informational pages where the site needs to exist and look clean but doesn’t need to do much. If you’re a photographer who just needs to show a gallery and contact info, or a writer who wants a blog without paying Squarespace prices, Personal works.
Who this is NOT for: Businesses, e-commerce, anyone who needs analytics, or anyone who wants significant design control. WordPress.com Personal is WordPress with training wheels. If you want the full power of WordPress (plugins, themes, custom code), you need the Business plan at $25/month, which is above our $20 threshold.
Webflow Basic: $14/month
Webflow occupies a different niche than the other builders on this list. It’s a visual development tool that generates clean HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The target user is a designer or developer, not a small business owner looking for the simplest path to a website.
What $14/month includes:
- 150 static pages
- Custom domain with SSL
- 10 GB bandwidth per month
- Unlimited form submissions
What $14/month does NOT include:
- CMS collections (blog, portfolio items, product pages that pull from a database)
- Content editors (no way to give a client editing access)
- Site search
- E-commerce
The Basic plan is a static site host. You design pages visually, Webflow generates the code, and it hosts the result. There’s no content management system, no blog functionality, and no way for non-technical people to update content.
The hidden cost: workspace seats. Webflow’s site plans cover hosting. But if you want team collaboration (multiple designers working on the site), workspace seats cost $19-$49/month per person on top of the site plan. A two-person team on Basic costs $14 + $38 = $52/month minimum. Wix and Squarespace include collaboration in the site price.
Who this is for: Designers building client sites who want pixel-perfect control and clean code output. Developers who prefer visual tools over hand-coding. Agencies that want to design in Webflow and export the code. If you know what CSS Grid is and have opinions about it, Webflow might be your tool.
Who this is NOT for: Small business owners, bloggers, or anyone who wants to build a site without thinking about web design concepts. The learning curve is steep. If you’ve never used Figma or Sketch, Webflow will feel overwhelming.
Squarespace Basic: $16/month
Squarespace Basic is the most complete website builder under $20. It includes unlimited pages, unlimited storage, and unlimited bandwidth, three things that most competitors cap at this price range.
What $16/month includes:
- Unlimited pages and bandwidth
- Unlimited storage
- Free custom domain (first year)
- Free SSL
- All templates (professionally designed, responsive)
- Basic analytics
- 2 contributors
What $16/month does NOT include:
- E-commerce (requires Core at $23/month)
- CSS/JavaScript access (Core tier)
- Unlimited contributors (Core tier)
- Advanced analytics (Core tier)
The renewal trap: Squarespace’s $16/month is the introductory annual rate. At renewal, the price rises to $25/month on annual billing. This is the biggest pricing gotcha in the website builder category. Budget for $25/month from year two, not $16.
Business email requires Google Workspace at roughly $6/user/month. Scheduling (for appointment-based businesses) costs $16-49/month extra. These add-ons aren’t unusual, but they matter for total cost of ownership.
Who this is for: Portfolio sites, service businesses, restaurants, small agencies, and anyone who wants a professional-looking site with minimal effort. Squarespace’s templates are consistently the best-designed in the industry. If visual quality matters and you don’t need e-commerce, Basic is the right starting point.
Who this is NOT for: Online stores (Core at $23/month is the minimum for e-commerce, and the 3% transaction fee makes Plus at $39/month the real e-commerce tier). Developers who want code access. Budget-constrained users who can’t absorb the renewal increase.
Wix Light: $17/month
Wix Light is Wix’s cheapest plan that includes a custom domain. It’s positioned as a simple site builder for individuals and small informational sites.
What $17/month includes:
- 2 GB storage
- Custom domain (first year free)
- No Wix branding
- Google Analytics
- 100 pages
What $17/month does NOT include:
- E-commerce
- Booking features
- Online payments
- More than 1 collaborator
2 GB of storage is the problem. At $17/month, Wix gives you 2 GB. Squarespace gives you unlimited storage at $16/month. If your site has more than a few dozen high-resolution images, you’ll run out of space on Wix Light. Photographers, restaurants with food photography, and portfolio sites will hit this limit fast.
For $1/month less, Squarespace gives you unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and arguably better templates. Wix Light’s advantage is the drag-and-drop editor (some people find Wix easier to use than Squarespace) and the Wix App Market, though most useful apps require paid subscriptions themselves.
Who this is for: People who specifically prefer Wix’s drag-and-drop editing style and need a simple, small informational site. If you’ve already tried both editors and prefer Wix, the $1 premium over Squarespace is irrelevant.
Who this is NOT for: Anyone with significant media needs (2 GB is very tight), e-commerce users (Core at $29/month), or businesses that need collaborator access (Core or above).
The real cost in year one vs. year two
First-year pricing is misleading across the board. Here’s what you actually pay.
| Builder | Year 1 total (annual) | Year 2 total (annual) | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrd Pro Standard | $19 + domain (~$12) = $31 | $19 + domain (~$12) = $31 | Nothing. Carrd’s pricing doesn’t change. |
| WordPress.com Personal | $48 + email (~$42) = $90 | $48 + domain ( | Domain renewal kicks in |
| Webflow Basic | $168 + domain (~$12) = $180 | $168 + domain (~$12) = $180 | No change if using external domain |
| Squarespace Basic | $192 (domain included) = $192 | $300 + domain (~$20) = $320 | Price rises to $25/mo, domain renewal |
| Wix Light | $204 (domain included) = $204 | $204 + domain (~$15) = $219 | Domain renewal only |
Carrd is by far the cheapest across both years. But it only builds single-page sites. Among multi-page builders, WordPress.com is cheapest in raw dollars but most limited in features. Squarespace has the biggest year-two jump because of its renewal price increase.
Decision guide
“I just need a landing page or link-in-bio page.” Carrd Pro Standard. $19/year. Done.
“I need a blog and nothing else.” WordPress.com Personal at $4/month. It’s a blogging platform at its core, and the Personal plan handles blogs well. Add Premium ($8/month) if you want WordAds monetization.
“I need a professional portfolio or business site.” Squarespace Basic at $16/month. Best templates, unlimited storage, and the most polished end result. Budget for $25/month from year two.
“I’m a designer who wants code-level control.” Webflow Basic at $14/month for static sites, or CMS at $23/month for dynamic content. Expect to spend time learning the platform.
“I want the easiest drag-and-drop editor.” Wix Light at $17/month, but consider Wix Core ($29/month) if you need more than 2 GB storage or e-commerce. For the same price range, test both Wix and Squarespace and pick whichever editor clicks for you.
“I need e-commerce under $20.” You don’t have a good option. The cheapest e-commerce capable plans are Squarespace Core ($23/month with 3% transaction fee), Wix Core ($29/month), or WordPress.com Business ($25/month with WooCommerce). E-commerce under $20/month isn’t realistic from any major builder.
The verdict
Squarespace Basic ($16/month) is the best full-featured website builder under $20. Unlimited storage, professional templates, and a polished building experience make it the default recommendation for most people who need a real website.
Carrd ($19/year) is the best value in the entire category if a single page meets your needs. At roughly $1.58/month, it’s almost free.
WordPress.com Personal ($4/month) is the cheapest multi-page option, but the severe feature limitations make it hard to recommend unless budget is the only factor that matters.
Webflow and Wix serve specific audiences well but don’t win the general under-$20 comparison. Webflow is a professional design tool. Wix Light’s 2 GB storage cap makes it a tough sell against Squarespace’s unlimited tier at a lower price.
Pricing sourced from Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, WordPress.com, and Carrd. Last checked February 2026.