Best Website Builders for Small Business: Compared for 2026

Before I dive into each builder’s key features for small businesses, take a look at our quick comparison table:

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BEST ALL-IN-ONE	BEST FOR SELLING	BEST FOR ONLINE BOOKINGS	BEST FOR EASY USE	BEST FOR SOCIAL TOOLS
Wix	Shopify	Squarespace	Hostinger	GoDaddy
Overall Rating 4.8	Overall Rating 4.8	Overall Rating 4.7	Overall Rating 4.2	Overall Rating 4.0
Today's best price $17 $15.30 with code “TAKE10”	Today's best price $29 $1/mo for 3 months	Today's best price $16 $14.40 with code “WBE10”	Today's best price 85% off in the current Sale: $12.99 $1.99/month + 3 months for free	Today's best price $9.99
Free plan or free trial Free plan	Free plan or free trial 3-day free trial	Free plan or free trial 14-day free trial	Free plan or free trial 7-day free trial	Free plan or free trial Free plan
Number of templates 2,000+	Number of templates 1,000+	Number of templates 190+	Number of templates 300	Number of templates 200+
AI website builder	AI website builder	AI website builder	AI website builder	AI website builder
Transaction fees 2.9% + $0.30	Transaction fees 0.6 – 2% (without Shopify Payments)	Transaction fees 0% – 2%	Transaction fees No transaction fees	Transaction fees 2.7% + $0.30

How Much Do Small Business Website Builders Cost?

Watch our video if you’d rather have someone talk you through the key pros, cons, features, and pricing of our top five small business website builders:

Play

• Overall rating: 4.8/5 ⭐
• Wix pricing: $0 – $159 per month
• Read our Wix review for a detailed look at the website builder

How Much Does Wix Cost?

• Overall rating: 4.8/5 ⭐
• Shopify pricing: $29 – $299 per month
• Read our Shopify review for a detailed look at the website builder

How Much Does Shopify Cost?

What the researchers think...

I’d recommend Shopify as a great option for small businesses because of its simple backend tools that let you add products easily, as well as its huge app store which is great for helping small businesses grow and adapt. You’ve got apps like TikTok that can help grow your audience or Klaviyo which is great for setting up email and SMS marketing!

Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive

• Overall rating: 4.7/5 ⭐
• Squarespace pricing: $16 – $99 per month
• Read our Squarespace review for a detailed look at the website builder

How Much Does Squarespace Cost?

• Overall rating: 4.2/5 ⭐
• Hostinger pricing: $1.99 – $2.99 per month
• Read our Hostinger website builder review for a detailed look at the website builder

How Much Does Hostinger Cost?

What our editor thinks...

I think busy entrepreneurs would really benefit from Hostinger’s suite of time-saving AI tools. This is what makes Hostinger a smart choice for small businesses – it gives you a helping hand with things like website creation, content generation, and tracking customer engagement.

With no app market and limited plans, it’s not the most scalable option, but when you’re a new business owner juggling all the tasks that come with those early days of building and running a website, these AI tools can make a real difference and help you set up fast!

Lucy Carney Editor

• Overall rating: 4/5 ⭐
• GoDaddy pricing: $0 – $23.99 per month
• Read our GoDaddy review for a detailed look at the website builder

How Much Does GoDaddy Cost?

There are a plethora of additional fees to expect after your initial subscription fee, including domain renewal rates (around $20 per year), the cost of paid apps and additional website functionality, such as scheduling tools, and subscription price hikes after introductory offers have expired.

• Renewal costs – some website builders, like Hostinger and GoDaddy, will increase your subscription price after the initial term ends (for example, Hostinger’s Premium plan jumps to $10.99 after the first 48 months)
• Domain names – most builders include a domain name for free for your first year, but you’ll need to pay around $10 to $20 per year after this offer ends (rates are decided by the length, authority, and popularity of your domain name)
• App subscriptions – some plugins will charge a one-time fee or operate a subscription model
• Additional functionality – for example, Squarespace’s Acuity Scheduling tool starts from $16 per month, doubling the cost of its cheapest website builder plan

Websites can be migrated by using a website builder’s built-in import tools, third-party migration apps, or manual content transfers, depending on the platforms you’re moving to and from. For example, Squarespace has a plethora of import tools in its dashboard, whereas Wix is much more rigid, requiring everything to be copied over manually.

Most website builders want you to stay within their ecosystem, so the migration process is difficult.

Migrating an ecommerce store is more straightforward, thanks to third-party apps that support customer and product data transfers, such as Shopify’s Store Migration plugin.

To choose the right website builder, evaluate your business model: use Wix for general promotion, Shopify for high-volume sales, or Squarespace for service bookings. Of course, we’ve discussed our top five options in this article, but how do you know which one is right for you? What do you need to consider?

• Identify your primary goal – Does the builder accommodate your selling needs? Are you mostly looking to promote your business? Do you need to take online bookings?
• Determine your budget – Compare plans to see how much you need to pay for the features your business requires.
• Recognize your skill level – If you’re new to building websites, choose a builder with an easy-to-use editor, like Hostinger or Squarespace, or look out for good AI tools to simplify the process.
• Plan for your future – Does the builder you’re looking at offer scalable plans? How many products can you sell? Will you need to switch platforms eventually?

Our research team have spent over 300 hours conducting in-depth analysis to find the best website builders for small businesses, and I’ve built websites with each of our top choices to share genuine insights and examples with you. Our goal is to deliver data-led recommendations – we cover the good, the bad, and everything in between, so you have all of the facts.

We focused on seven core areas of investigation:

• Sales Features: 30%

We look at the ecommerce features on offer to support your online store, from payment options to abandoned cart recovery.

• Help and Support: 15%

We test a builder’s contact options and knowledge centers because we know every small business might need a helping hand now and then.

• User Experience: 15%

We look at a website builder’s ease of use and accessibility by testing the builders ourselves.

• Website Functionality: 15%

We look at the quality and quantity of a builder’s features, such as SEO, AI, and email marketing.

• Design Features: 10%

We cover a website builder’s aesthetic capabilities and design options, such as templates and mobile editors.

• Pricing: 10%

We review a website builder’s pricing plans and what you can get for your money.

• Reputation: 5%

We see how a website builder performs in the market and against competitors.

Based on our 2025 testing, Wix is the best choice for small businesses. The builder offers a powerful all-in-one platform, providing essential website features and sales tools that cater to a range of industries, such as hotels and restaurants.

Of course, the builder you choose will depend on your small business needs and priorities. You can see how Wix compares head-to-head with our other recommended choices: Wix vs Shopify, Wix vs Squarespace, Wix vs Hostinger, and Wix vs GoDaddy.