Website Builders Have Got a Lot More Expensive

01Shopify: about a third more, from 2023

On 26 January 2023, TipRanks reported a Citi analyst note on Shopify raising its prices: an average increase of 33% across its three main plans, which until then had cost $29, $79 and $299 a month.

Shopify's own community forum shows customers being charged $39 a month for Basic by 2024, with $29 now the price only if you pay for the whole year.

Those are US dollar figures, because that is how the change was reported. In the UK, Basic is £19 a month if you pay for the year or £25 if you pay monthly. I checked that on Shopify's UK pricing page on 14 October 2026.

02Wix: up to 61% more, from September 2025

By the end of July 2025, Wix had emailed its subscribers to say that from 26 September its older plans would be replaced with new ones. PriceTimeline, a site that tracks subscription prices, published the figures from that email.

Unlimited, at $18 a month, became Core at $29, a rise of 61%. Pro and Business Basic, both at $23, also became Core, a rise of 26%. Combo went from $14 to Light at $17, up 21%. VIP stayed at $39 as the new Business plan, with more storage.

In the UK today, Core is £16 a month and Business is £25, both on yearly billing and both before VAT.

03Squarespace: new names, and old prices I cannot confirm

Squarespace renamed its plans. Personal became Basic, Business became Core, and the two commerce plans became Plus and Advanced. Several price trackers say the prices went up at the same time, but they disagree with each other about what the old prices were, so I am not going to quote a percentage I cannot stand behind.

What I can tell you is what it costs now. On 14 October 2026 the UK prices were £12 a month for Basic, £17 for Core, £29 for Plus and £79 for Advanced, all on yearly billing.

04The part the pricing page leaves out

Wix and WordPress.com both say on their pricing pages that their prices do not include tax. If your business is not VAT registered, and most small ones are not, you pay a fifth on top. Wix Core at £16 a month is really £19.20.

Shopify and Squarespace do not say either way on their pricing pages, and the guides that claim to know disagree, so I have not added VAT to theirs.

I am not VAT registered, so £400 is £400.

05What it adds up to over five years

Over five years, Wix Core comes to £1,152 with VAT, and Squarespace Core to £1,020. A site built here is £400 and then £100 a year for the hosting and the domain, which is £900, and you do not have to build it yourself.

The cheapest plans do still come out cheaper. WordPress.com Premium is £504 over five years with VAT, and Wix Light is £648. If you want a small site, have the evenings to build it, and do not mind a template, those are sensible choices and I would rather say so.

Every figure, plan by plan, with the date I checked it, is on my price comparison page, linked at the bottom.

06If you are on one of these now

Look at your last invoice rather than the pricing page. The invoice shows the plan you are actually on and whether VAT is being added, and that is the only number that matters.

If the site brings in work, the platform fee is a fair price for never having to think about hosting.
If you are paying every month for a site nobody visits, fix that first. The price is the smaller problem.
If you are thinking of moving, check that you can take your domain with you before you cancel anything.

Website builders have quietly got a lot more expensive.