Best website builders 2026: independent ranking
We rank website builders for small businesses and individuals by verifiable facts only: whether there is a free plan, the price of the cheapest paid plan that connects your own domain, a free domain, an online store, AI site generation, free SSL, whether you can export your site, the App Store rating of the editor app and transparency. Every fact links to the builder's official page and carries the date we checked it. Paid placement never changes the Score.
| # | Company | Who it serves | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WordPress.com | 88 | Yes | $4.00 | Yes | Free plan Online store AI site generation Site export |
| 2 | Squarespace | 73 | No | $17.50 | Yes | Online store AI site generation Site export |
| 3 | Webflow | 71 | Yes | $15.00 | Yes | Free plan Online store AI site generation Site export |
| 4 | Wix | 70 | Yes | Not verified | Yes | Free plan Online store AI site generation |
| 5 | Strikingly | 69 | Yes | $8.00 | Yes | Free plan Online store AI site generation |
| 6 | IONOS MyWebsite | 69 | No | $1.00 | Yes | Online store AI site generation |
| 7 | Tilda | 66 | Yes | $10.00 | Yes | Free plan Online store AI site generation Site export |
| 8 | Hostinger Website Builder | 57 | No | Not verified | Yes | Online store AI site generation Site export |
| 9 | Shopify | 43 | No | $20.04 | Yes | Online store AI site generation |
-
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest plan with your own domain, per month (annual billing)
- $4.00
- Online store
- Yes
Pros
- Low price of the entry paid plan
- Built-in online store with checkout
- Free plan with no time limit
- Publishes incidents on a public status page
Details Visit site ↗ 92% backed by facts
-
- Free plan
- No
- Cheapest plan with your own domain, per month (annual billing)
- $17.50
- Online store
- Yes
Pros
- Built-in online store with checkout
- Publishes incidents on a public status page
- Generates a site from a text prompt
- You can export your site (HTML or WordPress file)
Cons
- No free plan, only a trial
Details Visit site ↗ 100% backed by facts
-
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest plan with your own domain, per month (annual billing)
- $15.00
- Online store
- Yes
Pros
- Built-in online store with checkout
- Free plan with no time limit
- Publishes incidents on a public status page
- Generates a site from a text prompt
Details Visit site ↗ 83% backed by facts
-
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest plan with your own domain, per month (annual billing)
- Not verified
- Online store
- Yes
Pros
- Built-in online store with checkout
- Free plan with no time limit
- Publishes incidents on a public status page
- Generates a site from a text prompt
Details Visit site ↗ 73% backed by facts
-
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest plan with your own domain, per month (annual billing)
- $8.00
- Online store
- Yes
Pros
- Built-in online store with checkout
- Free plan with no time limit
- Generates a site from a text prompt
- Free domain for the first year
Details Visit site ↗ 78% backed by facts
-
- Free plan
- No
- Cheapest plan with your own domain, per month (annual billing)
- $1.00
- Online store
- Yes
Pros
- Low price of the entry paid plan
- Built-in online store with checkout
- Publishes incidents on a public status page
- Generates a site from a text prompt
Cons
- No free plan, only a trial
Details Visit site ↗ 83% backed by facts
-
- Free plan
- Yes
- Cheapest plan with your own domain, per month (annual billing)
- $10.00
- Online store
- Yes
Pros
- Built-in online store with checkout
- Free plan with no time limit
- Generates a site from a text prompt
- You can export your site (HTML or WordPress file)
Details Visit site ↗ 76% backed by facts
-
- Free plan
- No
- Cheapest plan with your own domain, per month (annual billing)
- Not verified
- Online store
- Yes
Pros
- Built-in online store with checkout
- Publishes incidents on a public status page
- Generates a site from a text prompt
- You can export your site (HTML or WordPress file)
Cons
- No free plan, only a trial
Details Visit site ↗ 70% backed by facts
-
- Free plan
- No
- Cheapest plan with your own domain, per month (annual billing)
- $20.04
- Online store
- Yes
Pros
- Built-in online store with checkout
- Highly rated editor app on the App Store
- Publishes incidents on a public status page
- Generates a site from a text prompt
Cons
- No free plan, only a trial
Details Visit site ↗ 72% backed by facts
Not ranked yet: not enough verified data
These services are known to us, but we haven't verified enough facts to rank them fairly.
- Carrd (55% backed by facts)
- Framer (69% backed by facts)
- Jimdo (52% backed by facts)
- SITE123 (55% backed by facts)
- Ucraft (62% backed by facts)
- Weebly (69% backed by facts)
How we calculate the Score
40%
Price
A free plan with no time limit, the monthly price of the cheapest paid plan that lets you connect your own domain on annual billing ($0 scores 100, $30 or more scores 0; non-USD prices converted at the ECB rate), and a free domain for the first year with that plan.
35%
Features
An online store with a cart and checkout on at least one paid plan, a builder that generates a site from a text prompt with AI, a free SSL certificate, and site export — to static HTML code or a WordPress-compatible file — described in the official documentation.
10%
Reputation
Rating of the official site-editor app in the US App Store (3 stars scores 0, 5 stars scores 100), weighted by the number of ratings.
15%
Reliability
A public status page with incidents and the company's track record (20+ years gets full credit).
How to choose a website builder
Start from what your site must do
A portfolio or a one-page site fits almost any builder; an online store, bookings or a blog with many posts narrow the choice. List the must-have features first, then compare prices.
Compare the price with your own domain
The free plan is fine for testing, but a business site needs its own domain. Compare the cheapest plan that allows it, the billing term and the price after the first year.
Check the online store terms
If you plan to sell, look at the plan that includes checkout, transaction fees and the number of products allowed.
Think about leaving before you start
Find out whether you can export your site or its content. Without export, moving to another platform means rebuilding the site from scratch.
Keep the domain in your name
A free domain for the first year is convenient, but make sure it is registered to you and can be transferred if you change builders.
Frequently asked questions
Which website builder is the best right now?
The builder at the top of the ranking above has the highest Score by our public methodology. The best choice for you depends on your site: check the factor bars — price, features, reliability — and pick the leader in what matters most to you.
Can I build a website for free?
Yes, many builders have a free plan with no time limit. It usually puts the builder's ads on your site and gives you a subdomain like name.builder.com. To connect your own domain you need the cheapest paid plan — we show its price.
Can I move my site to another builder later?
It depends on the builder. Some let you export static HTML code or a WordPress-compatible file; others keep the site on their platform only. We mark site export only when the builder's official documentation describes it.
How do you rank website builders?
By facts from official pages, each with a link and a check date, combined by a fixed public formula. We do not run our own speed or design tests, so the ranking is reproducible and cannot be bought.