Comparison, updated 9 Nov 2026
A website builder costs far less, and in the speed data we read it is no longer the slow option. A custom site buys you someone else doing the work, a design that is yours and files you can take with you. We sell custom sites, so here are the published numbers, and the case for not buying from us.
By Ahmed Durić, founder of Worvik
Three years, on published prices
Cash only. Your own hours are not counted.
01Short answer
From Wix, Squarespace and Hostinger pricing and help pages, and two public sets of speed data, all opened on 9 Nov 2026. We did not build the same site on each platform.
02Compared
What actually changes when you pick one or the other.
| Question | Website builder | Custom site, built for you |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | You, in the evenings | The designer. You answer questions and approve. |
| Who writes the text | You | Depends on the package, so ask. Ours include it. |
| Cash to start | A free plan, or roughly $95 to $215 up front for a paid year or more | $475 to $2,500 for up to 5 pages at the agencies we read |
| Speed on a phone | Good on Wix and Squarespace | Depends on who builds it. There is no public number. |
| Design | A template you can adjust | Whatever you are paying for |
| Changes after launch | You, any time | Often through the provider, so ask how fast |
| Online store | Built in. Squarespace Basic takes 2% of sales. | Usually costs more. JDM's 40-page store package is $3,999. |
| Moving somewhere else | A Wix site cannot move. Squarespace exports part of it. | You can, if the contract gives you the files |
| If you stop paying | Wix adds ads and drops your domain. Squarespace goes offline. | Depends on who hosts it |
Builder details from Wix and Squarespace help pages, opened 9 Nov 2026. Agency prices from our list of 11 US agencies, checked 28 Oct 2026.
03The money
Cash out of your pocket. The hours you spend on a builder are the part nobody publishes.
| Option | Published price | Three years at that price | Not counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Premium | $95.52 up front for 48 months | $95.52 | Renews at $10.99 a month. Your hours. |
| Squarespace Basic | $12 a month, paid yearly | $432 | The domain after year one. 2% on store sales. Your hours. |
| Squarespace Core | $17 a month, paid yearly | $612 | The domain after year one. Your hours. |
| Wix Light | About $18 a month, paid yearly | About $640 | The domain after year one. Your hours. |
| Wix Core | About $30 a month, paid yearly | About $1,070 | The domain after year one. Your hours. |
| Agency site, up to 5 pages | $475 to $2,500, then $49 to $199 a month for care | $2,239 to $9,664 | Text and SEO setup, in some packages |
| Worvik $0 website, with Site Care | $0 to build, $99 a month, first month free, 12-month minimum | $3,465 | Text, SEO setup, hosting and edits are included |
Our arithmetic from published prices. The agency row pairs the lowest build price with the lowest care plan, and the highest with the highest. Wix says prices and currency vary by location, and the page we read included tax. Prices opened 9 Nov 2026. Agency prices are from 28 Oct 2026.
04The speed
That used to be the first argument for custom. On this data it no longer holds, so we are not going to make it.
| Platform | Sites measured | Main content on time | Reacts to a tap on time | Layout stays still |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | 6,087 | 94% | 96% | 98% |
| Shopify | 8,982 | 95% | 93% | 94% |
| Squarespace | 2,373 | 87% | 99% | 91% |
| WordPress | 68,171 | 70% | 97% | 91% |
| Other or custom | 17 | 75% | 91% | 69% |
Share of sites that pass each of Google's Core Web Vitals, real visitors on phones. From The State of Web Vitals, November 2026 edition, 219,633 sites, published by a consultant who sells speed work. Seventeen sites is too few to mean anything. An older count from the HTTP Archive Web Almanac (July 2025 data) has 74% of Wix sites and 45% of WordPress sites passing all three at once.
05Our advice
Three years on a builder can cost less than the deposit on a custom site. Do not go into debt for a website.
A builder swaps money for your hours. If you enjoy that kind of work, it is a good trade.
If the business might change in six months, keep the cost low until you know.
One service, one town and a few pages is what templates are made for.
New photos and specials, whenever you like, with nobody to wait for.
06Our advice
A builder is only cheap if the site gets finished. If it has been on your list for a year, pay someone.
A Wix site has to run on Wix. With a custom site you can get the code and take it to any host, if the contract says so.
In a trade where the first impression sells the job, it can be worth paying for a site that looks like yours and nobody else's.
A price calculator for your trade, a booking flow that fits how you work, or a tie-in with the software you already use.
The text, the SEO setup, the speed and the fixes all sit with whoever built it, so there is someone to call.
07Good to know
Not every site sold as custom is written from scratch.
Many are a WordPress theme with your logo on it, which is fine if the price matches. All six maintenance plans in our maintenance guide are built for WordPress, and WordPress is the slowest big platform in the table above.
So ask what the site is built with, whether you get the files, and who can host it if you leave.
08Good to know
We build websites in hand-written HTML, CSS and JavaScript, so we have a side in this.
If your budget is small, your business is simple and you have the time, use a builder. You will have a working site for a few hundred dollars.
If you would rather not do it yourself, the $0 website is built for $0 and yours to keep, code and files included, then $99 or $295 a month with a 12-month minimum.
Other ways to pay are in what a website costs.
09Sources
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Page date: 9 Oct 2026
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Page date: November 2026Sells speed consulting
Page date: 15 Jan 2026
Page date: not shown
Page date: 28 Oct 2026
Every page opened on 9 Nov 2026, except our own agency list from 28 Oct 2026. "Not shown" means the page carries no date. GoDaddy's builder page refused our visit, so it is not here. Prices change, so check before you compare.
10Questions
For many, yes. On the data we read, Wix and Squarespace are fast on phones, and three years can cost under $1,000. The catch is your own time, and that the site stays on their platform.
We did not build the same site on each one, so we cannot name a winner. Of the three we priced, Hostinger is cheapest up front, and Squarespace and Wix have the speed numbers above.
About $18 to $160 a month on a yearly plan on the page we read, and there is a free plan. Wix says prices and currency vary by location. Most paid plans include a domain for the first year only.
$12 to $25 a month paid yearly, or $19 to $36 paid monthly. Yearly plans include a domain for the first year. On the Basic plan, store sales carry a 2% fee.
Nothing on the Google pages we read says a platform ranks better or worse. Google's starter guide says that with a CMS you might not need to do anything technical for your titles. The work that counts is in our local SEO checklist.
No. Wix says a site must run on its servers. The content is yours, but the site gets rebuilt somewhere else. If you buy the domain from another provider, the address at least stays with you.
On Wix, the site stays online at a free Wix address with Wix ads. On Squarespace, it goes offline 15 days after a failed renewal, and after 30 days expired the content may be permanently deleted.
Not always. Plenty of custom sites are WordPress themes. Ask what it is built with and whether you get the files.
Yes. We write it again in code and carry over your text and photos if you want them. See what a redesign costs elsewhere.
11Explore
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