Free Wix vs WordPress Cost Calculator

Last updated: October 30, 2026

Quick answer: Wix and WordPress look like a $29-against-$42 comparison — until maintenance changes the answer: Wix Core costs a flat $29 a month on annual billing, while a WordPress site is a stack — hosting plus maintenance plus a theme plus plugins plus a domain — and the stack's price depends entirely on who maintains it. With DIY maintenance ($0), WordPress costs $42.50 a month against Wix Core at $29; with $50-a-month maintenance, WordPress costs $92.50. This free Wix vs WordPress cost calculator prices both on your Wix plan, hosting, maintenance, theme, plugins and domain over year 1 and 3 years. On the defaults (Wix Core $29, WordPress hosting $25, maintenance $0, theme $75, plugins $120 a year, domain $15 a year), Wix costs $29 a month, $348 in year 1 while WordPress costs $42.50 a month, $510 in year 1 — a $162 year-1 gap; 3-year totals $1,044 against $1,380. Prices are October 2026 list prices — verify at checkout. Everything runs in your browser; your site costs stay private.

Wix plan (annual)

WordPress hosting ($/mo)

WordPress maintenance ($/mo, $0 = DIY)

WordPress theme, one-time ($)

WordPress plugins ($/yr)

WordPress domain ($/yr)

WordPress setup, one-time ($)

Wix annual plans, October 2026 list: Light $17, Core $29, Business $39, Business Elite $159 a month. WordPress itself is free software; the stack — hosting, maintenance, theme, plugins, domain — is what you pay for. Worked checks: defaults (hosting $25, maintenance $0, theme $75, plugins $120/yr, domain $15/yr, setup $0) — WordPress year 1 = 300 + 0 + 75 + 120 + 15 = $510, monthly equivalent $42.50, 3-year = 900 + 75 + 360 + 45 = $1,380; Wix Core $29/mo, $348 year 1, $1,044 3-year; gap $162 year 1, $336 over 3 years. Cheap hosting ($4, rest default) — WordPress year 1 $258, monthly equivalent $21.50 (WordPress wins $7.50/mo). Maintenance at $50 (rest default) — WordPress year 1 $1,110, monthly equivalent $92.50. Leaving Wix means rebuilding the site on the new platform — there is no export of the Wix design — so treat any future move as a rebuild cost on top of the subscription gap. Verify at checkout before signing.

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See the full breakdown

Your result shows the monthly gap and the 3-year totals — the guide explains the flat-plan vs stack comparison, the maintenance line that flips it, and the rebuild-to-leave exit cost.

Wix vs WordPress Pricing: Renewals and the Rebuild (2026) →

How to Use the Wix vs WordPress Cost Calculator

Pick your Wix plan. Core ($29) is the everyday business comparison; Light ($17) is the brochure-site comparison; Business ($39) and Business Elite ($159) are the commerce comparisons.
Enter your WordPress hosting per month — shared hosting runs $3–$15, managed WordPress hosting $20–$50, and a busy store can exceed $100. The slider default ($25) is a managed-hosting midpoint, not a promise.
Enter your maintenance per month — $0 if you update, back up and fix things yourself, $50–$200 if an agency or care plan does it. Maintenance is the line that flips this comparison, so price it honestly.
Enter your theme one-time cost ($75 default, a typical premium theme), plugins per year ($120 default), domain per year ($15 default) and any setup one-time cost. One-time costs land in full in year 1 and in the 3-year total; yearly costs repeat each year.
Press Compare total cost. Read the monthly-equivalent gap first, then the 3-year totals — and re-run with maintenance at your real number before deciding, because DIY at $0 and agency care at $50 are different purchases.

Why Use Our Wix vs WordPress Cost Calculator?

The stack is itemised, not averaged — hosting, maintenance, theme, plugins, domain and setup are separate lines, so you can see which line makes WordPress cost $42.50 or $92.50. A comparison that quotes one WordPress number without the lines hides the maintenance decision inside it.
Maintenance is the verdict — at $0 DIY maintenance, WordPress costs $42.50 against Wix Core at $29 (a $13.50 monthly gap); at $50 maintenance, WordPress costs $92.50 (a $63.50 gap). Nobody buys 'WordPress' — they buy WordPress plus whoever maintains it, and the calculator prices both versions.
Renewal reality, not launch price — hosting renews, plugin licences renew, the domain renews, and the theme is one-time. The 3-year total ($1,380 on defaults) charges plugins and domain three times and the theme once, which is how renewals actually bill — a calculator that spreads everything evenly understates year 2 and 3.
The Wix exit cost is named — Wix sites cannot be exported to another platform, so leaving Wix means rebuilding. That rebuild is not in the monthly column, but it belongs in the decision: a site you may outgrow carries a future rebuild bill that a portable WordPress site does not.
October 2026 Wix prices — Light $17, Core $29, Business $39, Business Elite $159 a month on annual billing. WordPress costs are your inputs, because no two WordPress stacks cost the same — and a calculator that fixed them would be guessing your stack.

Common Use Cases

A brochure site, DIY maintenance: Wix Core $29 against WordPress $42.50 a month; 3 years $1,044 against $1,380. Wix wins by $336 and includes support — the brochure-site buyer pays more on WordPress for control they may never use.
A brochure site with a $50 care plan: WordPress at $50 maintenance costs $92.50 a month — $63.50 above Wix Core, $2,286 over 3 years. The care plan, not the software, is the purchase; if the agency's updates, backups and fixes are worth $50 a month, WordPress is a service buy, not a software buy.
A hobby site on cheap shared hosting: WordPress at $4 hosting with the rest at defaults costs $21.50 a month — $7.50 under Wix Core, $270 saved over 3 years. This is WordPress's winning shape: cheap hosting, DIY maintenance, and a willingness to own the stack.

Wix vs WordPress Cost Calculator vs Alternatives

Subscription model: Wix: one flat plan. WordPress: a stack of hosting + maintenance + theme + plugins + domain.
Default monthly: Wix Core $29 against WordPress $42.50 (DIY maintenance, monthly equivalent).
With $50 maintenance: Wix Core $29 against WordPress $92.50.
3-year total: Wix $1,044 against WordPress $1,380 (defaults).
Control and exit: WordPress: full code, data and plugin freedom, portable. Wix: templates, hosting and support in one bill, but leaving means rebuilding.

The honest summary: Wix wins on subscription price at every maintenance level except cheap-hosting-plus-DIY, and the gap grows with the care plan. WordPress wins on control and portability — custom functionality, data ownership and no rebuild-to-leave penalty. Buy WordPress for what it can do and for the freedom to leave, not for what it costs, because on subscription alone it usually costs more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Wix or WordPress cheaper?

Wix, on the defaults: Core at $29 a month against a $42.50 WordPress monthly equivalent (hosting $25, DIY maintenance, $75 theme, $120 plugins a year, $15 domain) — a $13.50 monthly gap, $336 over 3 years. With $50-a-month maintenance, WordPress costs $92.50 and the gap widens to $63.50 a month. WordPress only wins on subscription when hosting is cheap and maintenance is DIY.

Why is WordPress more expensive if WordPress itself is free?

Because WordPress the software is free and a WordPress site is not: hosting, premium plugins, a theme, a domain and maintenance are the bill. The software costs $0; the stack around it costs $42.50 a month before maintenance in the defaults, and $92.50 with a $50 care plan.

Does Wix really cost just $29?

For the subscription, yes — Core at $29 a month on annual billing includes hosting, SSL, templates and support. What it does not include: transaction fees on commerce tiers, email marketing, and any custom code beyond its templates — and, critically, the cost of rebuilding if you ever leave, because Wix designs do not export.

When is WordPress worth the higher stack cost?

When the site needs something Wix cannot do — a custom checkout, a membership system, a plugin Wix has no equivalent for, or full ownership of the code and data. WordPress's value is control and portability, not subscription savings; buy it for the freedom, and budget the maintenance.

What if I do my own maintenance and use cheap hosting?

Then WordPress wins: at $4 hosting with the rest at defaults, WordPress costs $21.50 a month against Wix Core at $29 — a $7.50 monthly saving, $270 over 3 years. Cheap hosting plus DIY maintenance is the one shape where WordPress undercuts Wix on subscription; add a $50 care plan and the verdict flips back hard.