Cheapest Website Builders: Get Online for Under $15

💡 Best for AI fans

💰 Hostinger pricing: $2.99 to $3.99 per month, billed annually

💻 Read our Hostinger website builder review to find out more

Hostinger’s website builder plans range from $2.99 to $3.99 per month (billed annually). To unlock Hostinger’s full suite of AI tools and ecommerce features, you’ll need the $3.99 Business Website Builder plan.

However, the majority of core website features, such as a free domain name and marketing integrations, come with the cheaper plan.

Is Hostinger Good Value for Money?

Hostinger performed well in our value for money research. Still, it’s not as cost-effective as GoDaddy or Squarespace which offer a better quantity and quality of features for their price points. Hostinger is let down by its tunnel vision on AI tools, introducing new features this year, including the AI Product Information Generator and Kodee, a built-in AI assistant to help you set up and manage your website. These are incredibly useful, especially for beginners, but it means other fundamental features, such as email marketing, have been neglected.

Additionally, Hostinger’s cheap introductory deals don’t last forever. The initial $2.99 per month on the Premium plan jumps up to $9.99 per month when it’s time to renew. Still, that introductory price is worth it, since Hostinger is considerably cheaper than other builders, costing just $2.99 per month (billed annually). GoDaddy’s cheapest plan is more than double the price of Hostinger!

Hostinger doesn’t offer a free plan, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee and you can get up to three months for free if you choose the 48 month subscription.

Plus, you can test the AI website builder for yourself with Hostinger’s 30-day free trial.

Hostinger is a fantastic option if you’re looking to build a website on a budget! Its plans are so affordable compared to other builders, but don’t compromise on great features and Hostinger will give you the freedom to create a great-looking website.

Ollie Simpson Research Executive

💡 Best for online stores

💰 Shopify pricing: $5 (with Shopify Starter) to $299 per month, billed annually

💻 Read our Shopify review to find out more

Shopify’s pricing ranges from $29 to $299 per month (billed annually). Now, these might seem expensive, especially when compared to cheaper options like Hostinger, but you don’t have to spend this immediately. Luckily, the $5 per month Shopify Starter plan exists!

If you’re simply interested in selling via social media platforms – and don’t need to build an entire online store – then the $5 per month Shopify Starter plan is an affordable entry point to our top-rated ecommerce website builder. The Shopify Starter plan offers:

• Social selling on platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp through product links
• A Linkpop page to drive customers to products
• Basic inventory management tools
• Analytics to monitor selling
• Customer support from Shopify

When you’re ready, you can upgrade to one of Shopify’s fully-fledged commerce plans – you’ll need this if you want advanced selling features like abandoned cart recovery and greater customization options to showcase your brand. While the full website builder plans start from $29 per month, you can get your first month for just $1.

Is Shopify Good Value for Money?

Shopify doesn’t perform well in our value for money testing – it’s the weakest option out of the five builders mentioned in this list due to its expensive prices and the fact that not everyone needs its suite of ecommerce features. If your business requires ecommerce functionality, Shopify is a top website builder and worth the cost, but there’s no need to splurge on a Shopify plan if you’re not looking to build an online store.

Given the high costs, Shopify does give you access to powerful ecommerce features from its cheapest plan. The same can’t be said for other website builders, like GoDaddy or Squarespace.

Keep reading to see our Q&A with a real Shopify business:

Peter Martinzez

Co-Founder & Fashion Stylist

Leather Skin Shop is a thriving online leather fashion brand with a vast variety of apparel and accessories for men and women made from the highest quality real leather. Besides their ready-to-wear collections, they offer impeccable customization services for leatherwear.

Choosing the right Shopify plan was crucial […] we carefully evaluated features and pricing to find a plan that perfectly fit our needs and growth projections.

Q&A

1. What did you initially think about Shopify's pricing, and how did you decide that it was a good fit for your business?

Initially, Shopify’s pricing structure felt very reasonable, especially considering the features offered. We started with the Basic Shopify plan, which was perfect for launching our online leatherwear store. We could showcase as many products as we wanted, track our inventory across multiple locations, and still have good checkout capacity on big sales events. 

As our sales grew, upgrading to the Advanced plan provided the additional features we needed to manage inventory and discounts more effectively. The feature of localized selling with custom markets with the advanced plan was a huge plus, allowing us to scale our business growth.

2. Which Shopify features do you think are great value for money?

Several Shopify features have been immensely helpful for us. The built-in abandoned cart recovery has been fantastic for capturing missed sales, and the discount code functionality allows us to run targeted promotions that resonate with our customer base. We also find the ease of adding high-quality product photos and descriptions to be invaluable. It allows us to showcase the rich textures and craftsmanship of our leather goods beautifully.

Customizing our selected Shopify theme, Turbo!, to align with our store’s unique style and objectives proved to be an invaluable investment. The ability to tailor every aspect to our brand’s vision not only justified the cost but also enhanced the overall shopping journey for our customers, ensuring a seamless and delightful experience from start to finish.

3. Do you have any budgeting tips when using Shopify?

Here are a couple of budgeting tips we’ve learned along the way:

We embraced a “start small, grow big” mentality. We began with a modest budget, focusing on core functionalities rather than fancy extras. This allowed us to test the waters and refine our approach before scaling up our spending alongside our business growth.

Choosing the right Shopify plan was crucial. We didn’t get swept up in the most expensive option.  Instead, we carefully evaluated features and pricing to find a plan that perfectly fit our needs and growth projections. This ensured we maximized the value we received from Shopify’s platform.

Shopify offers a treasure trove of free apps and tools. We took full advantage of them to enhance our store’s functionality without breaking the bank. We only invested in premium apps when they addressed a specific need that couldn’t be met with a free alternative.

Keeping a watchful eye on inventory costs has been essential. We’ve implemented strategies to avoid both overstocking and understocking. This helps us minimize carrying costs and ensure we always have the right products in stock to meet customer demand.

Visit Leather Skin Shop here

💡 Best for portfolios

💰 Pixpa pricing: $8 to $25 per month, billed annually

Pixpa’s plans range from $8 to $25 per month. But, if you’re happy to commit to a two-year subscription, you can get Pixpa’s cheapest plan for just $3 per month!

The cheapest website builder plan, Basic, offers the following features:

• 10 website pages
• Up to 200 images
• Password-protected pages
• A free SSL certificate
• SEO tools
• Social media integration
• Ecommerce functionality

I was impressed that you can sell online with Pixpa’s cheapest plan, especially since this costs less than $10. For example, with GoDaddy, ecommerce tools will set you back $20.99 per month.

Is Pixpa Good Value for Money?

Pixpa’s Basic plan does offer a lot of the standard features you’d expect from a website builder, such as SEO, which is good considering the low price point. But you’ll need to upgrade to at least the Creator plan ($15/mo) for unlimited website pages and images, blogging functionality, a free domain name, advanced SEO like 301 redirects, and additional selling tools, such as coupons. For advanced features like abandoned cart recovery, you’ll have to sign up for the Advanced plan, which costs $25 per month (billed annually).

To get the most out of your money, I recommend choosing the Professional plan since this unlocks almost every feature – this will cost you just $10 per month (billed annually) since you can get 50% off with a yearly subscription.

💡 Best for beginners

💰 GoDaddy pricing: $9.99 to $20.99 per month, billed annually

💻 Read our GoDaddy review to find out more

GoDaddy offers three plans, ranging from $9.99 to $20.99 per month (billed annually). Not only is GoDaddy incredibly cheap for a website builder, but it’s also one of the best options if you’re looking to get online quickly – I got my test website up and running in less than 30 seconds.

GoDaddy’s cheapest plan, Basic, includes:

• Free SSL certificates
• Website analytics to track performance
• GoDaddy Payments integration
• Marketing tools, such as business listing management and email automation

You’ll need to upgrade to the $14.99 per month Premium plan to offer appointments online or choose the $20.99 per month Commerce plan to start selling online. But, if you’d like to test things out before spending a cent, you can try out GoDaddy’s editor and features with its free plan.

However, GoDaddy’s free plan is a little limited. It includes basic features, such as email marketing and website security, but your website will have a GoDaddy banner ad at the top of the page.

Is GoDaddy Good Value for Money?

GoDaddy’s plans are very affordable, and it dropped the price of its Basic plan from $10.99 to $9.99 per month (billed annually) in August 2024. This cements its position as the best value for money builder on this list! You get a decent amount of features for the price point, and its ecommerce plan is a cheaper alternative to builders like Wix or Squarespace.

Plus, GoDaddy offers a free plan which you can stay on for as long as you’d like. However, I’d recommend upgrading to remove ads and unlock additional features, such as ecommerce.

💡 Best for creatives

💰 Squarespace pricing: $16 to $52 per month, billed annually

💻 Read our Squarespace review to find out more

Squarespace is one of the more expensive website builders on this list, but you get a lot of bang for your buck. Squarespace’s four plans range from $16 per month to $52 per month (billed annually) – you can get the cheapest plan for just $14.40 if you use our code “WBE10” at checkout.

Squarespace’s cheapest plan, Personal, includes:

• Free custom domain
• Unlimited bandwidth
• SEO features
• Free SSL security
• Email marketing tools

This is a good starting point, and you can use Squarespace’s revamped AI website builder (Blueprint AI) to help you get up and running in minutes. However, you’ll need to upgrade to the Business, Commerce Basic, or Commerce Advanced plans to sell products or services online.

Is Squarespace Good Value for Money?

If you’re looking for a cheap website builder, Squarespace is great value for money, sitting just behind GoDaddy in our research. On paper, this might seem surprising considering its cheapest plan is more expensive than Hostinger or Pixpa. But, you get a lot for your money with Squarespace – the majority of features, besides ecommerce, are available on the cheapest Personal plan.

Plus, Squarespace’s pricing doesn’t leap up when upgrading. Despite pricing increases in April, Squarespace’s most expensive plan only costs $52, whereas Shopify’s top plan costs $299 per month (billed annually).

Read the Q&A below to discover an insightful first-hand experience with Squarespace:

Lauren Galvez

SEO Consultant

Lauren Galvez is an SEO marketing consultant for small businesses and she runs her business from her website built on Squarespace. She’s been a Squarespace fan for the last 5 years having tried many popular CMSs (Wix, Weebly, Duda, WordPress, and Shopify).

Take advantage of Squarespace’s 14-day free trial and see how you like using their platform.

Q&A

1. What appealed to you the most about Squarespace’s pricing?

I found Squarespace’s pricing to be competitive with other popular hosted CMSs and it was easy to get started with the 14-day free trial. It’s also not hard to find Certified Squarespace users who advertise their 20% discount offer for your first year.

2. Which Squarespace features do you think are great value for money?

My favorite things about Squarespace are its ease of use and aesthetic design elements. Squarespace offers just enough customizability without overcomplicating the web design process. As someone who has analysis paralysis, this was just what I needed to get up a beautiful and professional website quickly. I enjoy being on the Squarespace platform because of its user-friendliness and this is one less potential headache for all that comes with managing a business.

3. Do you have any budgeting tips for other businesses who are considering using Squarespace?

Take advantage of Squarespace’s 14-day free trial and see how you like using their platform. Experience what it will be like designing or making edits to your website by trying the different design blocks. Explore Squarespace’s settings and business integrations to ensure it’ll have everything you need to manage your unique business. Compare your experience to the free trials with other website builders. If you commit to using Squarespace, find a discount for your first year and consider paying annually for more savings.

Check out Lauren’s website here

Thinking about building a website? A cheap website builder is a great place to start since you won’t break the bank as you figure things out, but there are a few factors to consider when looking:

• Review the website builder’s pricing and plans – Is there an affordable option that suits your needs? Is there a free trial or plan to test things out first? Is there a steep price increase between plans or can you scale your website steadily?
• Assess your website’s “must-haves” – For example, if you want to create an online store, you’ll need a plan that lets you accept payments. Thinking about writing content? Then your plan should include blogging tools. Shop around to find the right fit for your needs, or consider upgrading to a higher plan if you need access to certain features.
• See which builder suits your style of learning and skill level – Is the website builder easy to use? Are there templates that you like? Can you design the website you want to create with the builder’s editor? Is there support available if you need a helping hand?

Should You Choose a Free Plan?

Of the five builders in this list, GoDaddy is the only one that offers a free plan. A free plan will save you more money than a cheap plan, but you’ll miss out on a lot of features. Depending on the website builder, this could mean no ecommerce tools or SEO features. Usually, free plans come with ads that take attention away from the content on your site, and you won’t be able to connect a custom domain name until you upgrade.

For a more professional look and better backend management, I recommend opting for a paid plan as soon as possible. But you can take a look at our list of the best free website builders to see what’s out there.

We put every website builder through our rigorous testing process to create our data-backed recommendations. We want you, our readers, to have all of the information you need to make an informed decision when it comes to deciding what website builder to pick.

Our research is broken down into seven categories: website features, sales features, design functionality, help and support, user experience, customer score, and value for money.

To determine our list of the cheapest website builders, we’ve assessed the average pricing plans for each builder and reviewed the cheapest introductory deals on the market.

Are you looking for an affordable way to get online? Or, maybe you think you’re paying too much with your current website builder and want to find a cheaper alternative? I’ve shared the cheapest introductory deals across five top website builders to help preserve your budget.

Hostinger is the cheapest website builder out there, starting from $2.99 per month with its Premium Website Builder plan. And, its very affordable $3.99 Business plan includes a suite of AI features and ecommerce functionality. So, because of its easy-to-use platform, I highly recommend Hostinger for beginners.

Just remember to keep an eye out for renewal prices and upgrade costs. The cheapest plan might only offer some of your website or business needs, but it can be a great place to start!