Wix and WordPress can both run a good small business website. The difference is in what you're trading: Wix gives you one monthly bill and everything in one place, while WordPress gives you a site you own outright and can take anywhere, in exchange for managing more of it yourself. Here's how they compare on cost, SEO and control, and how to tell when it's time to switch.
Wix vs WordPress: which is better for a small business?
Wix is better if you want a site live this week with no technical upkeep and your needs are unlikely to grow much. WordPress is better if you want to own your site, need features or integrations Wix doesn't offer, or expect the site to grow. The key difference is portability: a Wix site can only run on Wix, while a WordPress site can move to any host.
This comparison is about self-hosted WordPress (the free software from WordPress.org on your own hosting), which is what most businesses mean by "a WordPress site".
How do Wix and WordPress compare?
| Wix | WordPress (self-hosted) | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | One subscription covering hosting, the builder and support | Hosting, a domain, and any premium themes or plugins |
| Setup | Drag-and-drop editor, live in hours | Install, choose a theme, configure plugins |
| Upkeep | Wix handles updates and security | You (or a maintenance plan) handle updates, backups and security |
| Features | Wix's own apps and App Market | Tens of thousands of plugins, plus custom code |
| E-commerce | Built in on Core plans and up | WooCommerce, free to install, with paid extensions |
| Ownership | Your content is yours, but the site must run on Wix's servers | Your files and database are yours to move to any host |
| Leaving | A rebuild on the new platform | Copy the site to a new host |
How much does Wix cost compared with WordPress?
On Wix's plans page, checked on September 30, 2026, the paid plans run from about $17 a month (Light) through about $30 (Core) and $40 (Business) to about $160 (Business Elite), billed yearly, with a free custom domain for the first year. A self-built WordPress site costs about $400–$500 in its first year in platform costs, as our WordPress cost breakdown shows.
Here's a three-year comparison at list prices. It assumes you build the site yourself on either platform:
| Three years of... | Cost |
|---|---|
| Wix Core (about $29.77 a month, billed yearly) | About $1,072, plus domain renewals after year one |
| Wix Business (about $39.77 a month, billed yearly) | About $1,432, plus domain renewals after year one |
| WordPress on SiteGround StartUp at its $17.99 regular price, a .com domain at $11.08 a year and a premium theme up to $100 | About $781 |
WordPress comes out cheaper on platform costs, but it isn't free: the difference is paid in time. Someone has to keep plugins updated and backups running, and if that's a paid maintenance plan, WordPress can cost more than Wix. Hiring someone to build either site is a separate cost; the website cost calculator estimates it.
Is WordPress or Wix better for SEO?
Both can rank. Google doesn't favour a platform; it ranks pages. What differs is control:
- WordPress lets you change anything: URL structures, structured data, how pages load, and which scripts run. SEO plugins handle titles, sitemaps and redirects, and you can fix speed problems at the hosting level.
- Wix covers the SEO basics (editable titles and descriptions, sitemaps, redirects) inside its editor, which is enough for many small sites. You can't change how Wix's servers or code work, so there's less you can do when something is slow.
If your site is small and local, the platform matters much less than the content and the links pointing to it. If search traffic is central to the business, WordPress's control is worth more.
When should you switch from Wix to WordPress?
Consider switching when:
- You need something Wix can't do. A specific integration, a complex store, membership features or custom functionality.
- Your costs are climbing. Stacking apps and higher plans can overtake WordPress hosting plus a maintenance plan.
- You want to own the site. If losing the platform would mean losing the site, that's a business risk.
- Search traffic has become important. And you're hitting limits on speed or site structure.
If none of those apply, staying on Wix is a perfectly good decision. A move costs money and effort, so switch for a reason.
What does switching from Wix to WordPress involve?
Because a Wix site can't be exported, moving is a rebuild: new hosting, a new theme, and moving pages, posts, images, forms and products across, then 301-redirecting every old URL so your rankings follow. Our Wix to WordPress migration guide walks through it step by step. For a 40-page Wix site with 5,000 monthly visitors and no store, our migration cost estimator puts a professional move at $1,900–$2,850 over 6–11 days.
What about Squarespace?
Squarespace sits between the two. Like Wix, it's an all-in-one builder with one subscription. Unlike Wix, it exports a WordPress-format file, though the export leaves out store pages, products and styling. That makes Squarespace a little easier to leave, but still more work than moving a WordPress site between hosts.
