I've been building websites since the days of GeoCities (yes, I'm that old). I've used everything from hand-coded HTML to WordPress to every major website builder on this list.
To give you a real comparison, I built the exact same portfolio site on each platform. Same design concept, same content, same pages. This let me compare apples to apples: How long did it take? How close could I get to my original design? How fast did the final site load?
What I found might surprise you. The "easiest" builders aren't always the fastest to work with. The "most flexible" ones can be overwhelming. And the loading speed differences are huge.
Let me show you what I discovered.
How I Tested These Website Builders
Identical Site Build Test
Same Design: I started with a specific portfolio design and tried to replicate it exactly on each platform.
Time Tracking: Measured total hours from signup to finished site.
Design Fidelity: Rated how close I could get to my original design concept (some platforms were limiting).
Performance Testing: GTmetrix, Google PageSpeed, and real-world loading tests on 3G and 4G connections.
SEO Capabilities: Tested meta tags, URL structure, sitemap generation, and technical SEO features.
Customization Limits: Pushed each platform to find where the walls are.
Shopify
Leading e-commerce platform for online stores
Shopify is the leading e-commerce platform, powering millions of online stores. With comprehensive selling tools, extensive app ecosystem, and excellent support, it's the go-to choice for serious e-commerce.
- Best-in-class e-commerce features
- Massive app ecosystem
- Excellent payment processing
- Multi-channel selling
- Great for dropshipping
- 24/7 support
- Transaction fees on external payments
- Themes can be expensive
- Monthly cost adds up
Pricing
Basic
$29/mo
Shopify
$79/mo
Most PopularAdvanced
$299/mo
Wix
Drag-and-drop builder with 800+ templates
Wix is one of the most popular website builders, known for its drag-and-drop editor and extensive template library. With AI-powered design tools and a comprehensive app market, it's great for beginners and pros alike.
- Intuitive drag-and-drop editor
- 800+ designer templates
- AI website builder (ADI)
- Extensive app market
- Free plan available
- Excellent e-commerce features
- Can't switch templates after publishing
- Free plan shows Wix ads
- Some features need premium apps
Pricing
Free
$0/mo
Combo
$16/mo
Unlimited
$22/mo
Most Popular
Squarespace
Award-winning templates for beautiful websites
Squarespace is known for its stunning, award-winning templates and design-focused approach. Perfect for creatives, artists, and businesses wanting a beautiful, professional website.
- Stunning designer templates
- Clean, professional designs
- Built-in SEO tools
- Excellent blogging platform
- Great for portfolios
- All-in-one pricing
- Less flexible than Wix
- No free plan (only trial)
- Learning curve for editor
Pricing
Personal
$16/mo
Business
$23/mo
Most PopularCommerce Basic
$27/mo
Duda
White-label builder for agencies and professionals
Duda is a professional white-label website builder designed for agencies, SaaS companies, and web professionals. With industry-leading SEO performance (ranked #1 in Google Core Web Vitals), advanced AI tools, and comprehensive client management features, it's the go-to platform for building websites at scale.
- #1 in Google Core Web Vitals performance
- Excellent white-label capabilities
- Advanced client management tools
- Powerful drag-and-drop editor
- Built-in SEO optimization
- Great for scaling agencies
- No free plan available
- Higher pricing than consumer builders
- E-commerce requires add-on purchase
- Custom domains not included
Pricing
Basic
$19/mo
Team
$29/mo
Most PopularAgency
$59/mo
Webflow
Professional no-code tool with full CSS control
Webflow is a professional website builder that gives designers the power of code without writing it. Perfect for agencies, designers, and developers who want pixel-perfect control.
- Full CSS control visually
- Clean, semantic code output
- CMS and e-commerce built-in
- Great for designers
- Interactions and animations
- Client billing available
- Steep learning curve
- Expensive for multiple sites
- No native mobile editor
Pricing
Starter
$0/mo
Basic
$14/mo
CMS
$23/mo
Most Popular
Framer
Design-focused no-code builder with animations
Framer is a modern no-code website builder that feels like a professional design tool. Perfect for designers and creative teams, it offers stunning animations, AI-assisted workflows, Figma integration, and blazing-fast performance. Build beautiful, high-performing websites without writing code.
- Beautiful animations and interactions
- Figma integration for seamless workflow
- AI-assisted design generation
- Built-in CMS and analytics
- Blazing-fast page performance
- Generous free plan available
- Steeper learning curve for beginners
- Multilingual support is limited and costly
- Customer support limited to community/AI
- Advanced features require coding knowledge
Pricing
Free
$0/mo
Basic
$10/mo
Pro
$30/mo
Most Popular
WordPress.com
Hosted WordPress with no technical setup
WordPress.com is the hosted version of WordPress, offering the power of WordPress without the technical setup. Good for bloggers and those wanting WordPress without server management.
- WordPress without hosting hassle
- Great for blogging
- Free plan available
- Plugin support on higher tiers
- Strong SEO capabilities
- Large community
- Limited customization on free plan
- Plugins only on expensive plans
- WordPress.com ads on free tier
Pricing
Free
$0/mo
Personal
$4/mo
Premium
$8/mo
Most Popular
Carrd
Ultra-affordable one-page website builder
Carrd is an incredibly affordable one-page website builder perfect for landing pages, portfolios, and simple profiles. With plans starting at just $9/year, it's one of the cheapest website builders available. Easy to use with 250+ templates and no coding required.
- Extremely affordable (from $9/year)
- Very easy to use interface
- 250+ templates available
- Fast, responsive websites
- Great for landing pages and portfolios
- Build up to 25 sites on Pro Plus
- Limited to single-page websites only
- No blogging functionality
- Basic SEO capabilities
- Annual billing only (no monthly option)
Pricing
Free
$0/mo
Pro Lite
$9/mo
Pro Standard
$19/mo
Most PopularPro Plus
$49/mo
GoDaddy Builder
AI-powered builder for quick, simple websites
GoDaddy Website Builder is an AI-powered website creation tool that makes it easy for beginners to build professional websites quickly. With the Airo Site Designer, you can generate a full website from simple prompts in under a minute. Great for small businesses needing a quick online presence with integrated domain and hosting.
- Very beginner-friendly with AI assistance
- Fast website creation (under 5 minutes)
- Integrated domain and hosting services
- 24/7 customer support
- Mobile-responsive designs
- Built-in marketing tools
- Limited design flexibility compared to competitors
- Prices increase significantly after first year
- Aggressive upselling throughout the platform
- Custom domain not included in plans
Pricing
Free
$0/mo
Basic
$12.99/mo
Premium
$22.99/mo
Most PopularCommerce
$26.99/mo
Weebly
Beginner-friendly builder with Square integration
Weebly (now owned by Square) is a beginner-friendly website builder with integrated e-commerce. Great for small businesses wanting a simple website with online selling capabilities.
- Very easy to use
- Square payment integration
- Free plan available
- Good for small stores
- Built-in SEO tools
- Affordable pricing
- Limited design flexibility
- Fewer templates than competitors
- Basic blogging features
Pricing
Free
$0/mo
Personal
$10/mo
Professional
$12/mo
Most PopularFinal Verdict: Which One Should You Choose?
After building the same site across all platforms:
Wix is still the best for most people. The editor is intuitive, templates are gorgeous, and you can actually build what you envision.
Squarespace produces the most beautiful sites out of the box. If aesthetics are your priority and you don't need heavy customization, it's the answer.
Shopify is the clear winner for e-commerce. Don't try to force Wix or Squarespace to be your online store.
Webflow is what designers and developers should use. Full CSS control, clean code output, but steeper learning curve.
WordPress.com (the hosted version) is fine for blogs but limiting for everything else. Consider self-hosted WordPress if you need flexibility.
The right choice depends on what you're building and your technical comfort level.
Our Top Recommendation
Shopify
Leading e-commerce platform for online stores. Starting at $29/mo.
Get ShopifyA Note From the Author
Website builders evolve constantly. New features, updated editors, changed pricing. I rebuild this test site annually to keep these comparisons current. Last update: December 2025.