Updated October 18, 2026 · ForgeCue Editorial Team
Top website builders compared
We earn a commission when you sign up through links on this site. Partner status can affect where a brand appears in our rankings. How we rank
| # | Software product | Score | Features | Key facts | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 181 |  Webzi México Webzi Partners activation bonus: approx. 10 USD | 9.1/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 182 |  Wordpress.com Free domain for one year with annual plans: Free custom domain for the first year | 9.1/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 183 | BrandCrowd | 9.1/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 184 | 3dcart / Shift4Shop | 9.0/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 185 | aHOST Free domain name .UZ, .ART, .ASIA, .CLOUD and others for 1 year: 1 free domain year | 9.0/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 186 |  Ashewa Cloud VPS billing-period discount: 5% semi-annual, 10% annual | 9.0/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 187 |  Blacknight Hosting for WordPress first month offer: 0.99 EUR for the 1st month | 9.0/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 188 |  Buy Me a Coffee | 9.0/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 189 |  Centro AO Free setup and free activation on VPS plans: Setup free, activation free | 9.0/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 190 |  ClickFunnels 14-day free trial with 30-day money back guarantee | 9.0/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
About Top website builders compared
Website builders charge twice: once to start and again to keep going. This ranking of 309 brands pulls the entry price away from the renewal price, sets out what each plan includes, and notes the market each one runs from. The median entry price here is €7.89 and the median renewal price is €6.06, so the second payment deserves as much attention as the first. A free plan is common, with 39.3% of the brands offering one, and the median free trial is 14 days. Most members build a full site and most also build a store, while a few stick to a single job. The main trade-off is that focused tools cost less at entry and broader ones charge more, and some take a cut of every sale on top of the plan fee. Support ranges just as widely, from a phone line to a help centre alone.
How we picked
Ranking is scored on three weighted inputs: cost at 40%, offer at 40% and trust at 20%. Cost covers the entry price, the renewal price and any per-sale fee. Offer covers what the plan builds, whether a free plan or free trial exists, and how many support channels are open. Trust leans on published terms, company details and support pages rather than marketing copy. Prices come from each brand's own pricing and plan pages, free tier and fee terms from those same pages, company and legal names from terms or company pages, and support channels from contact and help pages. Every brand figure in a blurb comes from that brand's own pages, and the comparison figures come from the dataset behind this ranking, drawn from 309 brands across the category. Partners are listed first, in the order the ranking gives them, and the remaining members follow by score. Currency differences are flagged rather than converted, since each member sets its own price in its own market. Where a plan sits behind a partner, the same price and fee rules apply as for any other member.
How we rankWhat to look for
- Entry price next to renewal price
- Both numbers decide the real cost of a year. The median entry price in this ranking is €7.89 and the median renewal price is €6.06, so check what the second payment looks like before you sign up.
- Free plan or free trial
- A free plan lets a shop keep running after a trial ends, and 39.3% of the brands here offer one. The median free trial is 14 days, so a short trial means deciding fast.
- What the plan actually builds
- A full site builder is the most common type at 92.8%, with a store builder close behind at 80.2%. Landing pages are rare at 27%, so a store-only member is a narrower choice.
- Per-sale fees on top of the plan
- The median transaction fee in this ranking is 0% and the top of the range reaches 10%. A per-sale charge sits outside the plan fee, so read the fee before the plan price.
- How you get help
- A help centre is the most common channel here at 90%, with phone at 73.1% and chat at 67.6%. If you need a person rather than an article, read the channel list first.
- Who the plan is built for
- Small business is the main audience at 96.8%, with beginners at 73.9% and enterprise at 64%. Members aimed at larger teams usually cost more at entry in this group.
Frequently asked questions
Which website builder in this ranking costs the least to start?+
The median entry price in this ranking is €7.89 and the median store plan is €11.40. Ko-fi pairs a free plan with fees of $12 for a site and a store, while Mitienda Uruguay and Shafrik open on a free plan with store plans at UYU 400 and XOF 9,900 in their own currencies. Check the currency before comparing any two figures.
Is a free plan enough, or do I need a free trial?+
39.3% of the brands here offer a free plan and 60.7% do not. The median free trial across this ranking is 14 days. A free plan keeps working after a trial runs out, so members such as Ko-fi, Tiendanube Asociados and Renderforest suit a cautious first step.
What is the difference between a site builder and a store builder?+
A site builder focuses on pages and content, while a store builder adds product listings, checkout and payment handling. A full site builder is the most common type here at 92.8%, with a store builder close behind at 80.2%. Members that do one job only, such as Mitienda Uruguay for stores or Canva for sites and landing pages, keep the entry price low but limit later additions.
Will I pay a fee on top of the plan price?+
Most members list no transaction fee, and the median here is 0%. Two charge one: Ko-fi at 0% to 5% and Shopify at 0.2% to 2%. On a busy store that per-sale charge can outweigh a small plan fee, so weigh it against the plan price before you pick.
Which members answer by phone?+
Phone support is less common than a help centre here, at 73.1% against 90%. Shopify, sm-web.nl and Masarib Sudan list a phone line, with channel sets of chat, phone and help centre, email and phone and email, chat and phone. If you build and sell in the same week, that line matters.
Are the prices in my currency?+
Each member prices in its own currency, so the figures are not directly comparable without a conversion. Ko-fi and ClickFunnels list US dollars, sm-web.nl lists euros, Mitienda Uruguay pesos, Shafrik a West African currency and Tiendanube Asociados Argentine pesos. Across the wider set we track, entry prices run €0.49 to €587.56 and store plans run €0.45 to €1,100, which shows how wide the spread is.
Top website builders compared by country
Related by the facts
The data behind this ranking
| Metric | Value | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Median price from | 7.89 EUR | 182 |
| Lower quartile price from | 2.89 EUR | 182 |
| Upper quartile price from | 15.73 EUR | 182 |
| Lowest price from | 0 EUR | 182 |
| Highest price from | 587.56 EUR | 182 |
| Free plan: true | 39.3 % | 234 |
| Free plan: false | 60.7 % | 234 |
| Median free trial days | 14 | 98 |