What Wix actually costs in 2026
Wix's headline price starts at $17/month for the "Light" plan (billed annually). But most small businesses don't stay on that plan — and the true cost for a functional business website is higher than the marketing suggests.
Here's what each tier actually includes and who actually needs it.
Wix plan breakdown
Light — $17/month (billed annually)
Includes: 2GB storage, 1GB bandwidth, basic site with Wix branding removed, 1 collaborator
What's missing:
- No ability to accept payments
- No booking system (you can add one via app, but it costs extra)
- No custom email addresses
- 2GB storage fills up quickly with photos
Who it's actually for: The rare small business that only needs a static information page with no bookings, no shop, and minimal photos. Most businesses outgrow this immediately.
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Core — $29/month (billed annually)
Includes: 50GB storage, 5GB bandwidth, basic eCommerce ($0.5% transaction fee per sale), video hours, 5 collaborators
What's missing:
- The 0.5% transaction fee adds up — 100 sales at $50 each = $25/month in fees
- No abandoned cart recovery
- No subscriptions or recurring payments
- No branded app
Who it's actually for: Early-stage eCommerce or service businesses that want the option to take payments. The transaction fee is the key watch-out.
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Business — $36/month (billed annually)
Includes: Everything in Core plus no transaction fees, recurring payments, subscriptions, multiple currencies
What's missing:
- Still limited to basic analytics (no priority support)
- No advanced shipping tools
- No dropshipping connections (needs the higher Business Elite tier)
Who it's actually for: Most small eCommerce businesses. This is where Wix gets genuinely useful for selling — and genuinely more expensive.
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Business Elite — $159/month (billed annually)
Includes: Unlimited storage, advanced eCommerce, priority support, advanced shipping
Who it's actually for: Businesses doing significant eCommerce volume who need advanced features.
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The real cost of Wix for a typical small business
A restaurant, contractor, or salon that needs:
- A professional site
- A contact/booking form
- The ability to take payments (even just for gift certificates or deposits)
- A gallery section with multiple photos
...will realistically need the Business plan at $36/month, billed annually. That's $432/year.
But that's billed annually — if you want to cancel month-to-month, most Wix plans cost 30–50% more when billed monthly. The Business plan billed monthly is approximately $49/month.
Add a Wix booking app for reservations or appointments: $16–$49/month extra.
What Wix doesn't tell you
You still build it yourself. Wix's AI assistant (Wix ADI) gives you a starting template, but you're responsible for filling in your content, adjusting the design, adding pages, and making it look right. For most non-designers, this takes 10–20 hours.
Wix branding on free/trial. If you test Wix on a free account, your site URL will be username.wixsite.com/yoursite until you upgrade.
Template lock-in. Changing your Wix template after you've built your site requires rebuilding from scratch. Many users feel trapped in their original template choice.
App marketplace costs. Wix has an extensive app marketplace but many of the most-used apps — Wix Bookings, Wix Chat, advanced forms — carry additional monthly fees on top of the base plan.
What $39/month gets you elsewhere
For the price of Wix's entry plan (or significantly less than their Business plan), an AI website builder like websiites.com builds your entire site from your description — all pages, all copy, all layout — and shows you the finished result before you pay anything.
The key difference: with Wix, you pay to access the tools to build your site. With websiites.com, you pay for the finished site itself.
websiites.com Foundation ($39/month):
- AI-built website from your description
- Hosting, SSL, and unlimited rebuilds included
- No design skill required
- See the result before subscribing
For most small service businesses that don't need complex eCommerce, an AI-built subscription site is a more practical choice than a DIY builder at higher cost.
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Compare plans and see what websiites builds for your business: websiites.com/pricing