5 Best Free Website Builders 2024: The Definitive List

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BEST IN TEST
Wix	GoDaddy	Square Online	Pagecloud	Webflow
Overall Rating 4.9	Overall Rating 4.4	Overall Rating 3.6	Overall Rating 3.5	Overall Rating 3.2
Cheapest plan $16 $14.40 with code ‘GET10!’	Cheapest plan $9.99	Cheapest plan $29	Cheapest plan $20	Cheapest plan $14
Number of free templates 800+	Number of free templates 100+	Number of free templates 50+	Number of free templates 50+	Number of free templates 40+
Storage space on free plan 500MB	Storage space on free plan Unlimited	Storage space on free plan 500MB	Storage space on free plan Unlimited	Storage space on free plan 1GB
On-site ad on free plan Sticky top banner	On-site ad on free plan Top banner	On-site ad on free plan Bottom banner	On-site ad on free plan Footer disclaimer	On-site ad on free plan Limited ads
Visit Wix	Visit GoDaddy	Visit Square	Visit Pagecloud	Visit Webflow

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Editor's Choice

Wix

Best overall website builder with a variety of free features

Outstanding

4.8

out of 5

• 800+ customizable designs
• Easiest builder to use
• Tons of creative freedom

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $16 - $159 / month

Pros

• Plenty of features on the free plan
• 250+ apps to add more power to your site
• Free SEO wizard helps gain more traffic

Cons

• Free plan ads are very noticeable
• Can’t switch templates after publishing
• Cheapest upgrade costs $16/month

Wix Review

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If you are looking to make the best website for free, we can’t recommend Wix enough. While all the free plans on this list come with some limitations, it’s the versatility of the Wix editor that makes even its free plan head and shoulders above the competition!

On the free plan, you’ll still get a choice of over 800+ impeccably designed templates, ranging across a number of varying industries. You can also use Wix’s ADI feature and have AI build a custom website template for you.

From Wix ADI, Wix Booking, Wix Menu, Wix Video, Wix Forms, and a whole host of other free-to-install apps, Wix sets itself apart by giving you the best variety of features to use and make your website your own – no matter what type of website you want to make.

However, there are some drawbacks to the free plan. You’re limited to only 500MB of storage, meaning your site cannot be too large to have too many images. Additionally, while you do get a lot of customization options, some of our testers found Wix’s editor to have too many creative options – even on the free plan! If you do get stuck, Wix’s Help Center can guide you through its handy search bar directly in the editor.

To see a free Wix website in action, check out our demo site: carnagelucy.wixsite.com/lucyscupcakes 

What We Like:

• Customization options – We could drag anything anywhere, making it easy to line things up exactly how we wanted them! The text options were also incredibly varied, letting us choose between fonts, sizes, colors, shadows, and even letter spacing.

• Template choices & designs – We used ADI to build our chosen template by answering a few questions from a questionnaire. The generated template had great pre-made menu options and features based on our answers, saving us time in the design.

• SEO options – We’ve seen Wix’s SEO options greatly improve since we last tested, letting you access Google Search Console directly from the dashboard. It also has onboarding video tutorials to help teach you.

What We Don’t Like:

• Ads – On the free plan, Wix places a banner ad at the top of your website, urging visitors to go check out Wix. This is quite distracting and may harm your website’s perceived professionalism.

• No custom domain – You can’t use a personal domain (a custom website address) with Wix’s free plan, so your domain will follow the format: yourusername.wixsite.com/yoursite. So instead of lucyscupcakes.com, you’ll be stuck with a much lengthier https://carnagelucy.wixsite.com/lucyscupcakes.
• Limited storage – With only 500MB of storage on the free plan, you will be limited to the number of images and videos you can have on your site. You’ll also only get 500MB bandwidth, limiting how much traffic you can handle, though Wix will helpfully let you know when you’re close to exceeding this limit.

Upgrade Cost: $16 per month

Wix’s pricing begins with the Light plan for $16 per month, billed annually. This plan removes any ads from your site, lets you use a custom domain, and increases your storage to 2GB.

If you are looking to sell, you’ll need to upgrade to the Core plan, which begins at $27 per month.

These plans are slightly more expensive than others on this list, so we understand you may not be entirely convinced to upgrade. But with all the features on offer, it works out as being better value for money, getting second in total in our research ranking with 3.7 out of 5.

If you love getting deals, at Website Builder Expert we can offer our readers an exclusive 10% off at checkout if you use code GET10.

More Information

• See Wix’s potential for an online store with our Wix Ecommerce Review.
• What’s better? Wix ADI vs Wix Editor? See our detailed breakdown to find out.

GoDaddy

Best for getting online quickly for free

Very Good

4.2

out of 5

• User-friendly with ADI
• Quickest builder to use
• SEO Wiz to help optimize

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $6.99 - $469.99 / month

Pros

• Plenty of features on the free plan
• Switch templates when you want
• Improved site performance

Cons

• Lack of creative control
• No mobile editor
• Upgrade for custom domains

GoDaddy Review

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GoDaddy is a lot like Wix in that it comes with plenty of features and templates, even on the free plan. GoDaddy also has ADI functionality and even suggests you use it before looking at its templates. Ease of use is the name of GoDaddy’s game, and thanks to its ADI functionality, the builder even matches Wix for user experience in our research with 4 out of 5.

With ADI and a breezy editor, you can build a GoDaddy website in under an hour! But this does reveal a weakness in GoDaddy, which is its lack of customization options. This can appeal to beginners who may agonize over creative choices with a builder like Wix or Webflow, because GoDaddy gives you a much more limited array of options for creating a website. However, we don’t recommend it if you’re looking for lots of creative freedom.

To see a free GoDaddy website in action, check out our demo site: samspetgrooming.godaddysites.com

What We Like:

• Efficiency – The speed at which GoDaddy sets you up with a website template and then lets you edit and publish it stands out amongst other free website builders. If you are looking for the most painless building experience, this is it!

• SEO features – By heading over to “Get found by Google” in the Settings, you can start optimizing your website in just a few clicks. No need to soak up any SEO knowledge before building!

• ADI – GoDaddy’s ADI is simple to use and very effective. We used it and it generated a different website template every time, so you know it’s personalized to your answers!

What We Don’t Like:

• Ads – GoDaddy places a “Powered by GoDaddy Websites + Marketing” banner at the top of your website.

• No custom domain – Your domain name will automatically have a .godaddysites.com placed at the end of it.
  
• SEO locked by upgrade – The full suite of SEO tools by GoDaddy is locked unless you upgrade, meaning you don’t get access to rank tracking or SEO tips.

Upgrade Cost: $10.99 per month

GoDaddy’s pricing begins at $10.99 per month when billed annually with the Basic plan. With this plan, you get access to a custom domain, no ads, plus improved marketing capabilities like advanced SEO and the ability to send 100 emails per month for your business.

If you want to dive into the world of ecommerce, the dedicated Commerce plan is your go-to, setting you back $14.99 per month. It has everything you need – from selling on Facebook and Instagram to connecting with marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy.

More Information

• Everything you need to know about building an online store in a flash with our GoDaddy Ecommerce Review.
• We compare the differences between Wix and GoDaddy to help you decide.

Square Online

Best for selling online for free

Good

3.6

out of 5

• Sell online for free
• Speedy set up
• Mediocre templates

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $12 - $79 / month

Pros

• Good value for money if upgrading
• Simple to navigate dashboard
• Unlimited products on free plan

Cons

• Hard to customize
• Pay for the best features
• Weak design options

Square Online Review

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Square Online is the only builder on this list that lets you sell for free. This is a huge advantage for those who want to create an online store without breaking the bank in website costs. However, Square Online does charge transaction fees for each purchase made on your site, meaning you’ll have to pay 2.9% + 30¢ on each transaction for your store.

Square Online’s editor and design customization are some of the weakest we’ve seen, earning only 1.5 out of 5 in our research. Unless you upgrade, you won’t be able to access themes, remove Square Online ads, use custom fonts, or connect a custom domain.

However, being able to make a profit (transaction fees notwithstanding) for free is an incredible feature, and one not shared by any other on this list.

To see a free Square Online website in action, check out our demo site: lucys-cupcakes.square.site

What We Like:

• Selling for free – Being able to create an online store for free is Square Online’s biggest selling point. With every other website provider asking you to upgrade before accepting purchases, Square Online still allows for the cheapest way to start an online store, though notably limited in scope.

• Dashboard – While the editor is limited in customization, you can quickly switch between it and the dashboard, allowing you to add products and change your store’s settings in a more user-friendly manner.

What We Don’t Like:

• Ads – Square Online, like GoDaddy and Wix, brands your website with its logo, this time in a large unmovable footer at the bottom of your website.

• No custom domain – On the free plan, your site’s URL will have a .square.site/ following your website’s name.
  
• Lack of customization options – The free plan lacks many customization and feature options, trying to lead you into upgrading to a paid plan. You even have to upgrade to get website themes!

Upgrade Cost: $29 per month

Square Online’s pricing begins with the Plus plan for $29 per month when billed annually. This plan is more expensive than others on this list due to the fact Square Online is primarily an ecommerce platform, meaning it needs a wider range of features to accommodate businesses. These features include accepting PayPal, scheduled product drops, subscriptions, and personalized ordering – as well as giving users custom domains and no ads.

More Information

• Read our How to Customize a Square Online Website to get the most out of your plan.

Pagecloud

Best for one-page websites

Average

3.5

out of 5

• Not ideal for beginners
• Lots of customization
• Drag-and-drop editor

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $20 / month

Pros

• Unique website elements
• Build with other people

Cons

• No autosave feature
• Difficult to navigate

Pagecloud Review

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Coming in fourth place on our list of the top five free website builders is Pagecloud, scoring an overall 3.5 out of 5. When building our demo website with Pagecloud, the editor and dashboard were fairly easy to navigate but it didn’t feel as intuitive or user-friendly as other builders, such as Wix.

In fact, we faced a lot of slow loading times when editing, and some steps felt unnecessarily complicated. For example, you can edit text directly on the page, but editing an image opens up a separate menu.

Pagecloud’s free plan also only lets you edit on one page. One-page website builders do exist, but they are limiting in the type of website you can make. They can be especially good for portfolio websites, making it a solid choice if you need a website for a presentation or job interview.

To see a free Pagecloud website in action, check out our demo site: lucys-cupcakes.mypagecloud.com

What We Like:

• Customization – Pagecloud gives you a ton of creative freedom thanks to its detailed editor. If you have the time to figure it all out, you can build something wonderful.

• Drag-and-drop editor – The familiar drag-and-drop style makes it easy to format the pages to your liking.

What We Don’t Like:

• Ads – Pagecloud has a “Powered by Pagecloud” banner at the bottom of your one page if you’re on the free plan. Nothing too intrusive, but not as discreet as Webflow’s.

• No custom domain –  Without a custom domain, Pagecloud’s free plan will present your site with a .mypagecloud.com at the end of the URL.
• Lack of features – On top of only giving you one page on the free plan, Pagecloud also limits access to critical website features, such as AI tools, redirects, and team members for editing and management.

Upgrade Cost: $20 per month

Pagecloud’s pricing begins at $20 per month billed annually on the Launch plan. With this plan, you get 100 pages, redirects, no ads, a custom domain, plus free Google Workplace (priced at $72 value).

While the Launch plan is closer in price to an ecommerce plan, it does not have sales features. If you require them, Pagecloud’s ecommerce pricing begins with the Starter plan for $29 per month.

Webflow

Best free plan with limited ads

Above Average

3.2

out of 5

• Advanced customization
• Section block editor
• Industry-specific themes

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $14 / month

Pros

• Virtual design assistant
• Ideal for experienced builders
• No ads on free plan

Cons

• Overwhelming for beginners
• No drag-and-drop editor
• Hardest free builder to use

Webflow Review

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Webflow is a website builder with advanced customization features and superb-looking templates, plus its free plan has the least amount of ads on it – a small, unintrusive “Powered by Webflow” at the bottom of the page!

So what’s the catch? Well, those advanced customization features are pretty technical. Webflow is designed with professional web developers in mind, and in our own experience, we’ve documented that beginner website builders find its non-drag-and-drop editor overwhelming.

But, if you have web developer experience (or just the patience to learn), Webflow’s free plan will give you a great-looking website for free with limited ads.

To see a free Webflow website in action check out our demo website: lucys-cupcakes-e53b96.webflow.io

What We Like:

• Template choice and designs – Webflow makes it clear which templates are best for which industries, offering users a pretty wide selection of free templates (when compared with other builders).

• Creative freedom – Webflow gives a lot of creative control to users and its free plan comes with an array of customizable features, as well as adding comments for team collaboration.

• Limited ads – While it is a shame that Webflow could not be devoid of any ads, we still give it special mention for having the least amount of ads.

What We Don’t Like:

• No drag-and-drop editor – Webflow got the lowest user experience score in our research with 2 out of 5 due to its confusing layout and reliance on code to add new features or templates.
• No custom domain – Once again, you must upgrade if you wish to have a custom domain. On the free plan, Webflow users will have .webflow.io at the end of their domain names.

Upgrade Cost: $14 per month

Webflow’s pricing is split between two types of paid plans: General and Ecommerce plans.

Of the General paid plans, the Basic plan costs $14 per month when billed annually. You will get:

• Custom domain
• No ads
• Increase in traffic from 1K visitors to 250K
• 150 pages to edit instead of just two

If you want ecommerce, then the Standard plan starts at $29 per month when billed annually, giving you access to over 500 product slots to sell, which is disappointing when compared to Square Online which, for the same upgrade cost, gives you unlimited items to sell.

More Information

• See which of these website builders wins the battle of design in our Squarespace vs Webflow head-to-head.

When choosing a free website builder, you must first accept that you will be receiving a lesser product than if you paid for it. Website builders are businesses after all, and they charge their subscription fees so they can make a profit where no one else can.

That being said, it doesn’t mean you should lower your standards when looking for a free website builder. You can have it all if you know what to look for. That’s why we have come up with three important questions you should consider when looking over the potential candidates for your free website builder:

• Do the limitations outweigh the benefits?
• Will there be any other costs?
• Would you be better off with a paid subscription?

You should consider each of these carefully when choosing. For instance, if you want to build a free online store with Square Online, you have to take into account that its customization is weak and you will still have to pay transaction fees. In the end, it may be worth just spending the money for a full ecommerce platform subscription.

Can You Actually Make a Website for Free?

Yes, as long as you are fine with the limitations. It all depends on the type of website you want to make. If you want to start a business with a professional website front, then we recommend shelling out a bit to make sure you look like a trustworthy business someone could spend money with.

But if you just want a website to journal thoughts, post art, or info-dump on niche topics, a free plan on any of these builders mentioned is absolutely fine for that purpose. Ads, non-custom domains, and limited design options won’t matter if the website is predominantly for you – and if you can’t accept the ads or non-custom domain, the builders tend to do a thorough job of directing you to the upgrade button!

At Website Builder Expert, we pride ourselves on sharing data-led recommendations with our readers. To bring you the best free website builders on the market, our in-house research team has put over 50 builders through our expert research methodology.

While the most important aspect was whether they had a free plan or not, we also wanted to evaluate each free plan by its own merits. This involved changing the weighting of our research categories, so that website features and sales features counted the same because being able to sell for free is a significant advantage for a website builder.

Here is the full list of our unique category weightings for free website builders:

• Website Features – 25%
• Sales Features – 25%
• Design Functionality – 15%
• Help and Support – 12%
• User Experience – 10%
• Customer Score – 8%
• Value for Money – 5%

To recap, we recommend Wix as the best free website builder. While its ads and no custom domain can be annoying, the free plan offers the best features and editing tools of any builder on this list. You can truly build an extremely professional website with Wix, even for free.

As we hope you’ve been able to see, it is possible to create a website for free – as long as you don’t mind the limitations. They may not seem like much in the beginning, but they can lead to further frustration down the line once your website takes off.

That’s why we suggest you make the most of the free plans by building, playing, and experimenting with the different website builders, but we don’t recommend staying on a free plan forever. There’s no time limit for the free plans, meaning you can have all the practice you need to nail the look and purpose of the website before upgrading to a paid plan.

So enjoy trying out our favorite free builders – come back and let us know which one you liked the most!