WordPress vs Wix, and the third option nobody compares

On the displayed price, Wix and WordPress.com look alike, and WordPress.org looks free as long as you forget hosting and hours. The table below repeats the amounts read on 27 August 2026 on wix.com/plans, on wordpress.com and on wordpress.org, in the currency displayed at that moment, with no conversion. Wix shows its plans in dollars on its US site and notes that prices vary by location, WordPress.com shows Swiss franc prices valid for the first year followed by a higher renewal price, and WordPress.org simply lists the software as free, hosting being your own cost at the provider you choose.

On ownership, the three options don't compare at all. Wix writes in its help center that the content you build belongs to you, but that the site needs to be hosted and operated on Wix's servers to work, and that it's currently not possible to export blog posts to other platforms. With WordPress.org, the files and the database live at your host and move with you if you change host. With the monthly plan, the domain is registered in your name, the code is yours from the order and the full export is delivered within fifteen days, free, at any time, even during the twelve month commitment.

On design, a template stays a template however well you tune it. Wix advertises more than 2000 free templates, which means yours also serves other businesses, sometimes in your town and in your trade. WordPress runs on a theme, free or paid, customized more or less depending on budget, and I've spent years looking at sites built on the same theme with the same blocks in the same order. A site coded for a single business has neither that ceiling nor that weight, every page is drawn for what you sell, and two of my clients never get the same site.

On speed, accessibility and search, everything depends on what gets stacked on the page. A Wix site loaded with apps or a WordPress site heavy with plugins slows down, and nobody warns you. Before every launch I run the site through a check on speed, accessibility and technical SEO, and I fix what fails. After that, Essential covers fixes, updates and a monthly report on traffic and uptime, and Visibility adds four pages and four articles a month written on verified keywords and a monthly report on local positions. If your hesitation is with Squarespace instead, I wrote the same comparison for Wix vs Squarespace.

Pick Wix if the site is a side project, if you enjoy setting things up yourself and if staying on Wix for good doesn't bother you. A club, a yearly event, a project that lasts a few months or a business testing its market before investing all get something out of a template published in one evening. Just check that the plan you pick covers what you need, since on wix.com/plans accepting payments only appears with the Core plan and above. If you're already on Wix and want out, the Wix alternative page explains how I recover your texts and images.

Pick WordPress if you care about owning your files, if you already have someone who knows how to maintain it, or if you plan a shop, a member area or a large blog that will use its plugin directory. Prefer WordPress.org at a host if you want full freedom, and WordPress.com if you accept a subscription so you don't manage the server. In both cases, set aside time every month for updates, and remember that the site won't write itself, which is why so many WordPress sites stop after the home page and a contact page.

Pick the plan if your site has to bring you clients and you'd rather spend your hours on your trade than in an editor. For €1 then €39 a month, you receive a complete first version to review, usually less than 48 hours after the order depending on how fast you review, then the adjustments, then the launch after your approval. The plan runs twelve months minimum, then cancels any month with one month's notice, with no financing company and no lease. An online shop, a booking system or a client area get a separate quote on top of the plan, and I say so before the order rather than after.