What each free plan, preview and trial really includes, where it stops (address, ads, domain, payments, AI credits) and what the first paid step costs.
Search for a free AI website builder and you will find plenty, and most really will draft a site for nothing. The catch is what comes next: an address on someone else's domain, a banner advertising the builder, no checkout, a handful of AI credits, or a site only you can see. We should be upfront that WebNewBiz is not free (the first month is $1, then plans start at $9), so we have no free plan to defend. Here is what each free option actually includes, where it stops, and what the first paid step costs.
"Free" covers several quite different offers, and the difference matters more than the AI demo. Everything below was checked against each company's own pricing and help pages at the time of writing (October 2026).
Only the first lets you run a site indefinitely without paying. The others are ways to try before you buy, which is fine as long as you know it before you spend a weekend writing copy.
Every free tier we checked runs into at least four of these.
What each option gives you without paying, at the time of writing. Free tiers change often, so check before you build.
| Builder | Kind of free | Address on the free tier | Branding or ads | AI on the free tier | Take payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Free plan, no time limit | yourname.wixsite.com | Wix banner ad and favicon | Harmony editor and Aria agent included | No |
| Webflow | Starter plan, no time limit | yoursite.webflow.io | "Made in Webflow" badge | Some Webflow AI | No |
| Framer | Free plan, which Framer calls ideal for non-commercial use | Framer subdomain | "Made in Framer" badge | 500 credits to try | No built-in checkout on any plan |
| Durable | Free plan, private preview only | Not published | Durable branding | 300 credits to try | No |
| WordPress.com | Free plan, no time limit | yoursite.wordpress.com | Ads shown to visitors | None; AI tools need a paid plan | No |
| Google Sites | Free with a Google account | sites.google.com link, or a domain you own | None | Not an AI builder | No cart or checkout |
| Mixo | Free plan, one page | yoursite.mixo.io | Mixo branding | AI-written page and design | Not listed on the free plan |
| Squarespace | 14-day trial, no card needed | Private; share with a password | Not public | Builder to try | No |
| Hostinger | Trial (7 days, per its help centre) | Cannot be published | Not public | AI builder to try | No |
| 10Web | Free AI draft, then a one-week trial | Trial site | Not applicable | Site generation free | On paid plans, via WooCommerce |
| WebNewBiz | None: $1 for the first month | Paid plan from the start | Not applicable | Full AI builder and Copilot | From Starter ($29) |
Wix has the most useful free plan for an AI-built site: the same editor as paying customers, Harmony included, and you can publish. Wix also says Google Analytics cannot be connected to a free site, and you can upgrade the same site later.
Webflow and Framer free plans are sandboxes. Webflow's two static pages and 50 lifetime form submissions suit one landing page; Framer is generous on pages but limited to 1 GB of bandwidth, fine for a portfolio.
WordPress.com gives you real WordPress free, but with ads to your visitors, no plugins and no AI help. Google Sites has no ads and takes your own domain, but you lay out pages yourself and selling means a button linking to a PayPal or Stripe payment page.
The trials are test drives. Squarespace needs no card, but trial sites are private, are not indexed and are marked for permanent deletion if the trial expires (you can extend it by seven days). Hostinger's help centre, updated September 2026, says trial sites cannot be published. Durable's free site stays a preview until you pay. With 10Web, read the trial terms, including whether a card is needed and when the first charge lands.
Prices are US dollars per month on annual billing, as each company showed them at the time of writing, before tax. Paying month to month costs more on almost every builder.
| Builder | Cheapest paid plan | What it adds | Cheapest way to sell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Light, $17 | Your own domain, no Wix ads | Core, $29 (Light cannot take payments) |
| Webflow | Basic, $15 | Custom domain, 300 static pages; a CMS needs Premium at $25 | Ecommerce plans from $29, 2% fee on Standard |
| Framer | Basic, $10 per site | Custom domain, no badge, 1,000 AI credits a month | No built-in checkout; connect Shopify or use a payment link |
| Durable | Launch, $22 ($25 monthly) | Goes live, free custom domain up to $20, 1,000 AI credits a month | Durable says it is not designed specifically for e-commerce |
| WordPress.com | Personal, $4 | No ads, free domain for the first year, 6 GB storage, AI tools | Payment buttons on Premium ($8); a full store on Commerce ($45) |
| Google Sites | None needed | Connecting your own domain is free; you pay only the registrar | No checkout; link out to a payment provider |
| Mixo | From $16, per Mixo's own guide | Custom domain, no badges, more pages | Check the plan before you buy |
| Squarespace | Basic, $19 | Publishes the site | Basic, with a 2% fee on sales; Core ($29) removes it |
| Hostinger | Premium, $2.99 on a 48-month term ($143.52 upfront) | Publishing, ecommerce included | Included; renews at $10.99 a month |
| 10Web | AI Starter, $10 ($120 for the year) | Hosting, 100 AI credits a month; about $20 paid monthly | WooCommerce |
| WebNewBiz | Lite, $9 billed monthly ($1 first month) | AI builder and Copilot, hosting, SSL; no store or CRM | Starter, $29 |
The pattern: a site on your own domain without the platform's ads costs roughly $4 to $22 a month, and a proper store usually starts around $29. Hostinger is cheaper still, but only if you pay four years upfront.
A free plan is the right answer more often than upgrade prompts suggest: whenever nobody is deciding whether to trust you with money.
Once the site is meant to bring in enquiries or sales, free gets expensive.
This is our platform, so weigh this section accordingly. WebNewBiz has no free plan. Every plan costs $1 for the first month, which is the cheapest way to try it with your own content on the full product rather than a preview. You describe your business in plain language, the AI drafts the pages, layout and copy, and the AI Copilot changes copy, sections, pages, design and images when you ask in a chat.
After the first month, Lite is $9 a month for one website with the AI builder and Copilot. Starter, at $29, adds the online store (cards through Stripe, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay) and the Design Studio visual editor. Growth, at $79, adds the AI CRM and a free domain for the first year. Hosting, SSL, a full WordPress CMS and 24/7 chat support come with every plan. Yearly billing is cheaper, there is no minimum contract, and if you cancel you keep access to the end of the period you paid for. The details are on the pricing page.
The honest catches: it is a young platform, with a much smaller app ecosystem and community than Wix, Squarespace or Shopify. The AI first draft still needs your own edits, photos and facts. And Lite has no store or CRM. If you need a site that costs nothing at all, a free plan above will serve you better. Our round-up of the best AI website builders compares the paid options.
Whichever builder you pick, the draft is only as good as the description you give it. How to write the prompt that builds your website shows what to include, and our AI website checklist covers what to fix before you share the link.
Is there a completely free AI website builder?
Yes, with limits. Wix's free plan includes its Harmony AI editor and Aria agent and lets you publish on a wixsite.com address, with a Wix banner ad. Framer and Webflow have free plans with small AI allowances, and Mixo publishes a one-page site free. None of them includes your own domain or a checkout.
Can I use my own domain with a free website builder?
Only with Google Sites, which lets you connect a domain you already own without paying Google; you pay just the registrar. Wix, Webflow, Framer, Durable, WordPress.com and Mixo all need a paid plan for a custom domain.
Can a free website take payments?
Not on any free plan we checked. Wix says its free plan has no way to take payments, Squarespace trial sites cannot accept them, and stores built during Hostinger's trial cannot connect payment methods. Google Sites has no cart, so selling means linking out to a payment page.
Will Google find a website on a free plan?
A site published on a free plan can be found in search, but previews and trials are not public. Squarespace says search engines do not index trial sites, Durable's free plan is a private preview, and Hostinger trial sites cannot be published at all.
Is WebNewBiz free?
No. Every plan costs $1 for the first month. After that, Lite is $9 a month, Starter (with the online store) is $29 and Growth (with the AI CRM) is $79. Yearly billing is cheaper and you can cancel any time.
What is the cheapest way to get a site on my own domain?
Google Sites is free if you already own a domain. Among builders with AI, WordPress.com Personal at $4 a month and Framer Basic at $10, both on annual billing, are among the cheapest. Hostinger is $2.99 a month only if you pay 48 months upfront, and it renews at $10.99.
If you have outgrown free, or simply want to see what an AI builder makes of your business on the full product, describe it to the AI Website Builder and judge the draft yourself. You can start for $1, keep a free site running elsewhere while you compare, and cancel if it is not right. Our guide on how to build a website with AI walks through the first hour. And if a free plan turns out to be all you need for now, that is a perfectly good outcome too.