There are thousands of website builders available today. Some are very simple, while others offer advanced features such as drag & drop page building or eCommerce functionality. The choice can seem overwhelming at times, especially since each has its pros and cons.
We compared the most popular free website builders including HubSpot CMS, Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. Each offers unique advantages and disadvantages, so we hope our comparison helps you decide which option is best for you.
Lets have a look at the best free options you can choose from to build your own website.
What is The Best Free Website Builder?
Here is the best free website builders available in the market today:
- HubSpot CMS
- Zyro
- Weebly
- Wix
- Jimdo
- Strikingly
- Site123
1. HubSpot CMS
HubSpot CMS comes with a free option where you can build and launch a website including connecting a custom domain. The best part is that HubSpot is completely free, allowing you to try it risk-free. If you decide to upgrade later, you can do so without losing anything.
With WordPress, you get everything you’d expect from a CMS — including content management systems, theme and template options, security features, and an integrated CDN to ensure fast page loads.
It integrates well with HubSpot CRM so you don’t need to use two separate It makes it easy to add contact forms, live chat request forms, and more, so it’s perfect for businesses already using Hubspot’s CRM tools.
HubSpot has some unique marketing tools that aren’t available in most other website building software. These include advanced SEO settings, conversion focused landing pages, content blocks for showcasing testimonials and client logo, and customizable form fields that can even be linked to an e-mail campaign.
You can create multilingual websites using HubSpot’s free CMS.
Integrating your website with other sales and marketing tools is a big plus.
The best part about this is all these sales and marketing tools are available completely free inside of HubSpot. You can generate leads by using free landing pages, run email marketing campaigns, and set up automation for your prospects when they fill in forms.
HubSpot CMS Pricing Plans
HubSpot offers a limited free version available. The premium CMS plans include additional functionality starting at $23 per month when billed annually.
2. Zyro
Zyro is another great free website builder that allows you to easily create beautiful websites. It also includes many useful features like responsive design, mobile optimization, and SEO. You can get webhosting completely free with Zyro and connect a custom domain allowing you to sell online with the easy to use site builder.
It’s easy to customize your site with the drag & drop editor. This makes it easier than ever to add new elements to your site.
The best part about Zyro is that you don’t need any technical knowledge to make a beautiful site. With just a few simple steps, you’ll be able to create a fully functional website within minutes.
You can choose from over 50 pre-designed templates, each one carefully crafted to look good on every device. If you’re feeling creative, you can even customize your template yourself.
Once you’ve chosen your theme, you’ll still need to add some custom elements to make your site unique. Zyro offers tons of customization options including headers, footers, menus, widgets, plugins, etc.
Zyro Pricing Plans
If you are looking to connect a custom domain you will have to upgrade to a paid plan.
Zyro is one of the cheapest if not the cheapest website builders in the market today with plans that can go for as low as $2.59/ month with free domain for 1 year, free email for 3 months, 24/7 customer support and integration with marketing tools to help you grow your business online. These include google analytics, google tag manage, Facebook pixel and visitor remarketing on their basic website plan.
To sell up to 500 products on your online store you will have to go with the business plan which goes for $14.99 when not on sale. You can get some google deals as low as $3.59/ month when you choose longer
3. Weebly
Weebly is a free website builder that allows anyone to make a professional-looking site within minutes. You can use it to create blogs, portfolios, online stores, and even social media profiles. The free version gives you 500 MB of storage space and a free domain name. But if you want to go beyond the basics, you
There are no limits to what you can do with Weebly, and there are tons of templates and themes to choose from. If you’re looking for a fast and easy way to start building a website, we recommend checking out Weebly today.
The best part about Weebly is that you can do everything for free. There are no limits on the number of pages, domains, or products you can add to your website. Plus, you’ll never pay another cent for hosting.
But what sets Weebly apart from other website builders is the ease of use. All you really need to do is just follow the step-by-step instructions. Once you’re done, you can publish your site immediately. And because Weebly is built on WordPress technology, you can easily import your existing content into your new site.
Weebly Pricing Plans
Apart from the free plan, Weebly also offers paid plans for more advanced features and functionality. These include he connect plan for $10 per month (when paid annually) which allows you to connect your custom domain with the same features as the free plan.
The Pro plan goes for $12 per month (When paid annually). With this plan you get a free custom domain ($20 in value) plus $100 google ads credit to help you get started with advertising. They also offer unlimited storage, site search, and no Weebly ads. This plan is great when you want to start selling online and accept online payments as includes a shopping cart.
The Business plan goes for per month when billed annually, and offers more ecommerce tools like inventory management, automatic tax calculator, coupon codes square gift cards, item reviews, shipping calculator, shipping discounts, shipping labels and more marketing tools like advanced ecommerce statistics and pop up notifications.
The free plan has its limitations but it’s a great place to start and test out how the platform can best work for your business. The pro plan is ideal if you want to sell online and take online payments.
If you want to build an ecommerce store, then the business plan is perfect for you. It comes with all the tools needed to run an online store including: product listings, inventory management, coupons, gift card codes, shipping options, and much more.
4. Wix
Wix is one of the most popular website builders out there. Wix is the easiest way for anyone to build a professional-looking website without having any technical experience or coding skills needed.
In fact, it’s used by millions of people around the world every day. And while many web designers are still intimidated by the idea of building a website, Wix makes it simple enough to do so. You don’t even need to know how to code. Simply choose a template, add some images, and start creating your very own website.
The best part about Wix is that it doesn’t require any technical skills to set up. All you need to do is sign up for a free account and follow the instructions. Once you’re done, you’ll have a fully functional website ready to go. If you want to make changes later on, simply log into your dashboard and edit what you need to change.
With Wix, you don’t have to worry about making sure your site looks great across every device. Our responsive designs adapt automatically to fit whatever screen size visitors are viewing from. Plus, you can preview your site on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices side-by-side. This lets you see how your site will look before publishing it live.
Wix Pricing Plans
If you’re looking for something more robust, Wix also offers paid plans. These include everything you see in the free version plus additional features like mobile responsiveness, ecommerce capabilities, and more.
Wix pricing starts from as little as $4.50 per month when billed annually. to connect a custom domain but displays Wix Ads.
5. Jimdo
Jimdo is a web design software that allows you to build a beautiful website without knowing how to code. Just choose one of the many pre-designed templates and start building your site. If you want to customize something, there are plenty of options like adding social media buttons, changing colors, etc.
Jimdo offers AI-powered website building software for independent small business owners. The builder, Dolphin (a web design tool), asks its user questions and then suggests designs for them. You can see some examples of these AI-powered designs at Jimdo’s page.
With 500MB of storage, you’ll likely have enough space to build your website, and it even includes an SSL certificate, which means your visitors’ personal info will be kept secure. You can also integrate your site with social networks.
Jimdo is also a good option for international businesses because it allows them to create mobile-friendly websites in over nine languages (including English).
Jimdo Pricing Plans
A limited free plan is available with a Jimdo branded domain. Premium plans start at $9/month when billed annually. for more features ad free and custom domain.
The best part about Jimdo is that it works on mobile devices too. So whether you’re working on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone, you can access your website wherever you go.
6. Site123
Site123 is a powerful website building tool that lets you create a professional website without having to know HTML code. You can use it to make a personal blog, portfolio site, online store, or even a corporate website.
With Site123, you don’t need to spend hours learning HTML code. Just choose one of their prebuilt templates and start adding your content. Then customize everything yourself.
You’ll find dozens of tools and widgets that help you quickly add functionality to your website. And Site123 makes it easy to integrate popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest into your website.
Site123 is a great choice for beginners because it offers a lot of flexibility and power while still being simple enough for anyone to understand.
Site123 Pricing Plans
The Free plan is available and offers 250 MB Storage, 250 MB Bandwidth and a site123 branded Subdomain
7. Strikingly
Strikingly is one of the best free landing page builders out there. It offers unlimited landing pages, drag & drop functionality, and a ton of features. You can even use it to build responsive templates.
Strikingly launched in 2012 and quickly became one of the most popular website builders because it allows anyone without coding experience to easily build beautiful websites. With over 200 million unique visitors per month, Strikingly is now used by millions of people around the world to create professional looking websites.
The free version offers unlimited site creation, up to five gigabytes of space, and a custom domain name. There are many different features included in the premium plans, including eCommerce support, responsive design templates, and email marketing tools.
The interface is very easy to navigate and you don’t need any coding knowledge to make stunning landing pages.
You can easily add images, videos, forms, buttons, and much more.
Strikingly Pricing Plans
If you want to try it out, just sign up for free form their website.
In Summary: The Best Free Website Builders
HubSpot CMS is the best free website builder we’ve tested. We looked at how easy it is to use, how many features it offers, how intuitive it is, and whether it makes sense to pay extra for additional functionality. You can use the platform completely free with a custom domain, which just makes it stand out from the rest.
There is more than just the website builder for free, it comes with a bunch of sales tools , marketing tools and operations tools that you can incorporate in to your site to get great results. Though there is a limit to the number of pages and landing pages you can build, its enough to get you started.
HubSpot’s free CMS comes with HubSpot’s free CRM allowing you to manage customer relationships and craft some great experiences for them with free automation features.
If you want to build a professional website, you’ll probably want to spend some money. In fact, we recommend spending $23 per month on premium starter plan, which gives you access to more features.
However, if you’re just starting out, a free plan might be enough. It won’t cost you anything, and you can always upgrade later.
Frequently Asked Questions: Free Website Builders
What is the best website builder for free?
For us though the best website builder depends on your needs, HubSpot seems to take the crown for the many features and organization it offers for fee including a CRM and other marketing and sales tools. Most free website builders offer the same basic features, but HubSpot goes out their way to offer you the best CMS for your business for free with a custom domain.
How much does it cost to start a website?
You will need to purchase a domain name ($17.99/year) and web hosting service($2/month to $30/month). A domain name is the address of your website. Web hosting services store your website files so that other computers can view them.
Is there a really free website builder?
You will need to purchase a domain name ($17.99/year) and web hosting service($2/month to $30/month). A domain name is the address of your website. Web hosting services store your website files so that other computers can view them.
Which website builder has the best support?
Give our experience with some of the websites we built on their platform, HubSpot has been the most helpful company for us. Their documentation is clear and concise, and their team responded quickly to our questions.
They even go an extra mile to try and make their product more affordable for small businesses to the extent of offering great premium tools for free.
