The cheapest website options, side by side
| Route | Listed price | Billing | Your address | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix free plan | $0[1] | None | A Wix address you cannot customize[2] | You pay to use your own domain |
| Square Free | $0 a month[3] | Processing fees when you take a payment[3] | A free subdomain from your business name[6] | A Square banner in the footer[4] |
| GoDaddy Airo Starter | $9.99 a month[7] | Annual[7] | Domain may be free for year one[9] | The free tier only previews; Starter is needed to publish[8] |
| Wix paid plans | From $17 a month[1] | Not stated with the $17 price | Domain voucher for year one on selected yearly plans[16] | A .com renews at $21.35 a year[17] |
| Squarespace | From $19 a month[10] | Paid annually[10] | Free domain for year one on annual plans[11] | The domain renews for $20[12] |
| Hostinger Premium web hosting | $143.52 for 48 months[13] | Paid up front[13] | A .com is $0.01 for year one[14] | Renews at $10.99 a month; the .com at $19.99 a year[13][15] |
Hostinger's row is a hosting plan, so you still build the site on it.
MightWork, which publishes this, sells a subscription that includes a website it builds and maintains.
Year one and year two, added up
GoDaddy and Squarespace quote a monthly rate but bill it annually.[7][10] Here is each route over two years for one site and one domain, before email and taxes.
| Route | Year one | Year two | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix free or Square Free | $0 | $0 | No plan fee; Square charges on payments[1][3] |
| GoDaddy Airo Starter | $119.88 | Renewal rate not stated | $9.99 × 12[7] |
| Wix, lowest paid plan | $204 | $225.35 | $17 × 12[1]; domain voucher in year one if your plan qualifies, then a $21.35 .com[16][17] |
| Squarespace, lowest plan | $228 | $248 | $19 × 12[10]; year two adds the $20 domain[11][12] |
| Hostinger Premium hosting | $143.53 | $19.99 | $143.52 covers 48 months, plus a $0.01 .com; year two is the .com renewal[13][14][15] |
Hostinger asks for $143.52 on day one, and that covers four years of hosting.[13] After month 48 the hosting renews at $10.99 a month, which is $131.88 a year.[13] Its regular price for the same 48 months is $575.52.[13]
Email on your own domain is another bill. Squarespace's own example puts Google Workspace Starter at $8.40 a month per user, or $100.80 a year for one mailbox.[18] Hostinger's Starter mailbox renews at $1.59 a month on a 48-month term.[19]
What a free plan actually gets you
Wix's free plan gives you a site on a Wix address you cannot customize.[2] Square Free gives you a subdomain based on your business information and a footer banner telling visitors the site is built with Square.[4][6] Removing that banner means upgrading to Square's Plus or Premium.[5]
GoDaddy's free Airo tier is a preview. Its own page says Starter is required to publish live.[8]
For a business that opened this month, a free page with your phone number, service area and hours beats no page. I would move to your own domain once customers start typing your address from a truck door or a flyer.
Moving the site later
The builders differ on whether you can take the site with you. Check this before you spend a weekend on a template.
- Wix: the site must run on Wix's servers.[20]
- Squarespace: you can export, but not everything comes with it.[21]
- GoDaddy Airo: GoDaddy says your code belongs to you and can be downloaded at any time.[22]
- Hostinger AI Builder: projects built in agentic mode can export their code to use outside the builder.[23]
Whichever you pick, register the domain under your own login. It is the address customers remember, so keep control of it.
The work the price leaves to you
On every route above, this list is still yours to do.
- Write a page for each service you want to be found for, with the towns you cover.
- Take and upload photos of real jobs, since a template's stock photos show someone else's work.
- Connect the domain and set up email on it.
- Change hours, seasonal offers and services when they change, from your phone if that is all you have.
- Check the contact form and phone link still work after every template or plan change.
Which cheap route fits your business
- Just opened, testing demand: Wix's free plan or Square Free, and live with the vendor address for now.[2][6]
- Already take cards through Square: Square Free, since you pay only processing when you take a payment.[3]
- Want your own domain on the smallest yearly bill, and will build it yourself: GoDaddy Airo Starter, and ask the renewal rate before paying.[7]
- Have the cash now and plan to stay four years: Hostinger's 48-month prepay, if you are comfortable building on hosting.[13]
- Want an annual price on the page and a free trial first: Squarespace.[10]
If you would rather not build or keep up the site at all, compare paying someone instead: a freelancer for a one-time build, or a subscription where someone else builds and maintains it.