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Looking for a free website builder that doesn’t include ads? So was I. The catch is that most truly free plans do include some form of branding or advertising. That doesn’t mean you’re out of luck.
I tested the top website builders that let you start for free and keep costs low as you grow. The ones below stood out for coming closest to a clean, professional website – either with minimal, unobtrusive ads or affordable upgrades to remove them completely.
Wix comes out on top, thanks to its 2500+ templates and beginner-friendly drag-and-drop editor. It gives you maximum creative freedom to build your ideal website. You can try Wix now for free, or keep reading to see other free website builders that offer minimal branding or cost-effective ad-free plans.
What We Look For in the Best Website Builders Without Ads
To find the best ad-free website builders, I tested platforms based on features that help you create a clean, professional online presence. Here’s what I focused on:
Minimal or no branding on free plans. Ads are hard to avoid on free plans, so I looked for free builders that keep branding minimal. Small banners or footers make sure your content remains the main focus.
Ad removal on affordable plans. Most of my recommended website builders remove ads on their entry-level plans, letting you maintain a polished, professional website without spending a lot.
Ease of use. All the builders on my list have an intuitive drag-and-drop editor that lets you design and publish your website, even if you have no technical experience.
Clean, professional templates. All my recommendations have modern, responsive templates that you can easily customize to present a professional online presence.
Domain and branding control. Ads aren’t the only distraction. I selected builders that let you use a custom domain for a more branded appearance.
Important: All free website builders display some form of branding, but we’ve ranked the ones with the least intrusive ads, plus those that offer the best value for completely ad-free websites.
Top Free Builders Without Obnoxious Ads
Many free website builders come with distracting ads that can hurt your site’s credibility. These top three picks have generous free plans with minimal branding so you can create a clean and professional site at no cost.
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Wix’s free plan shows a small ad with minimal impact on designWix has 2500+ free, customizable templates that are organized by industry, so you can quickly find designs for portfolios, online stores, and blogs. Best of all, Wix’s templates come with useful features built in, such as Google Maps, booking tools, and social media integrations.
You can fully adapt any Wix template to your branding using its intuitive drag-and-drop editor, which lets you freely move elements to create your ideal layout. Wix also has an AI website builder that can generate a complete site for you based on a short questionnaire.
Wix’s free version displays a discreet banner ad on your site, but a paid plan removes it. For $29.00/month, Wix’s Core plan gives you a free custom domain for a year, 50 GB of storage, abandoned cart recovery, and support for up to 50,000 products. You can try Core (or any other premium Wix plan) risk-free for 14 days to see if it’s the right fit for you.
Wix App Market. You can extend your site’s functionality with 800+ integrations from the Wix App Market, including booking systems, membership tools, and marketing apps.
Built-in SEO tools. Wix’s SEO Setup Checklist creates a step-by-step optimization plan to help your site rank higher on search engines.
Online payment options. Wix supports over 100 payment providers, including Wix Payments, PayPal, Stripe, and Square.
Multi-channel selling. Aside from selling through your site, Wix lets you reach more shoppers on TikTok, Instagram, Amazon, and eBay.
SITE123’s bottom banner ad doesn’t disrupt user experience
Among the website builders I tested, SITE123 stands out as one of the most beginner-friendly options. Its editor includes a top-bar menu that makes it easy to add or change pages and customize your site’s design. You can add pre-designed content blocks for FAQs and testimonials, so you don’t have to create them from scratch.
SITE123 lets you translate your site into any of 350+ languages, including French, German, and Arabic, making it a great option for reaching an international audience. You also get built-in multilingual SEO features to help you rank higher on search engines in your chosen languages.
You can start with SITE123’s free plan, which displays a non-intrusive ad on your site. Upgrading to the Premium plan removes this ad, and gives you 3 GB of storage and bandwidth, an online store, and a free custom domain for one year.
Robust App Market. SITE123’s App Market has useful integrations such as maps, Google Analytics, and Zendesk Chat for improving your site’s performance and user experience.
Free image and icons library. You get free images, icons, and videos for designing your website.
Custom form builder. The built-in form builder lets you choose from various form layouts, customize form fields, and create auto-reply messages.
Multilingual live chat support. SITE123 offers 24/7 live chat support in English and in 16 other languages during business hours.
Webador’s templates are simple and mobile-friendlyWebador has an incredibly intuitive editor that makes it quick and easy to build simple, effective, ad-free sites. With its drag-and-drop functionality, you can place elements directly onto your page, and they will automatically snap into a grid for a clean, organized layout. It’s not as flexible as Wix, but that’s not an issue if you prioritize speed over customization.
Webador includes basic e-commerce features for small online stores, letting you sell up to 10 products on its Pro plan or unlimited products on its Business plan. You don’t get advanced features like abandoned cart recovery, but you can still track orders, add tax rates, create checkout forms, and manage custom discounts.
Both Webador’s free and entry-level plans display minor ads on your site, so you need to sign up for the Pro plan to go ad-free. The good news is that you can use Webador’s Pro plan for free for 6 months, and then it’s just $9.00/month. It comes with a free domain name, free stock photos, an online store, password-protected pages, and blogging tools.
Zero transaction fees. Webador doesn’t charge transaction fees, which helps maximize your e-commerce profits.
Great media sharing tools. Widgets let you share files and stream audio, video, or documents directly on your site.
Rating system. You can add a five-star rating system anywhere on your page, which is a great way to engage with your audience, especially if you’re selling products.
Comments box. Add a comments box anywhere on your site to encourage visitor discussions and customer feedback, to give credibility to your site.
Affordable and Completely Ad-Free Website Builders
These builders don’t have permanent free plans, but they offer an affordable way to build a polished, ad-free site. With free trials and/or low introductory prices, they’re perfect if you want to get online without making a big upfront investment.
Squarespace’s designs are well-suited for creativesSquarespace lets you create an ad-free website with its 14-day free trial. You get full access to its template library, a beginner-friendly drag-and-drop editor, Squarespace AI, and website analytics.
Squarespace’s templates are visually appealing and mobile-responsive. You can customize any of them to match your style by adding content blocks such as image galleries and social media feeds. You don’t get the same level of customization as Wix, but it’s still good enough to create a professional-looking site.
While there’s no permanent free plan, its free trial is a great opportunity to test all the builder has to offer without any cost. Once your free trial is up, you can try Squarespace’s Personal plan which includes a free custom domain, unlimited bandwidth and storage, SSL security, and 24/7 customer support.
Features
Squarespace Extensions. You can integrate Mailchimp, Weglot Translate, and Xero through Squarespace’s Extensions marketplace to handle your marketing, translations, and accounting.
Built-in SEO tools. Automatic sitemaps, clean URLs, and meta tag customization can help your site rank well. Squarespace also suggests keywords and tracks your search performance.
Blogging platform. If you plan to launch a blog, you can use Squarespace’s beginner-friendly blog editor to create compelling content and encourage readers to share your posts on social media.
Free logo maker. Squarespace lets you create a professional logo at no cost to build brand recognition and make your business instantly identifiable.
Hostinger has 150 templates but also generates unique designs for youHostinger Website Builder has 8 AI tools to streamline website creation and optimization. From AI text generators to logo makers and heatmap analyzers, these tools can help you launch a site quickly and improve it as you go. Hostinger’s 7-day free trial gives you the chance to test everything before committing.
When I tried the AI builder, I created a portfolio site in under 5 minutes by describing my needs to Hostinger’s AI builder. The generated design was great, though I needed to adjust the colors and fonts to match my branding. These tweaks were straightforward thanks to Hostinger’s drag-and-drop editor.
You have to be on the Business Website Builder package to access Hostinger’s AI tools, which is a bit disappointing since this is Hostinger’s second-tier plan. However, it costs just $3.99 per month, which is cheaper than most website builders’ entry-level plans. Plus, you can use Hostinger’s 30-day money-back guarantee to test the platform risk-free.
Features
Built-in marketing integrations. Connect Google Analytics and Meta Pixel directly from your dashboard to track performance and campaigns.
Mobile-responsive designs. All Hostinger templates and AI-generated sites automatically adapt to mobile devices. You also get a dedicated mobile editor to fine-tune your site on your phone.
E-commerce capabilities. You can sell up to 600 products with 100+ payment options and no transaction fees from Hostinger.
AI email marketing. Hostinger’s AI can automate and personalize your email campaigns to boost engagement and drive conversions.
IONOS lets you optimize images on its templatesIONOS MyWebsite Now lets you build ad-free websites for just $1.00/month in your first year of subscription. It’s a great option for beginners with a tight budget looking to get online quickly.
With MyWebsite Now’s Starter plan, you get prebuilt page sections and color palettes, but with limited typography options. You can create a good-looking website with these, but if you want more creative freedom and custom code embeds, you need to upgrade to MyWebsite Now’s Plus plan.
Both MyWebsite Now plans include the 1-year discount and come with a free domain for one year, a free professional email, 30+ templates, and social media integration. Note that after the first year, IONOS’s renewal prices become over 10 times higher than the introductory rate. That said, prices are still relatively low at $12 and $18 per month for Starter and Plus, respectively.
Features
Integrated photo editor. IONOS MyWebsite Now lets you crop, resize, or add overlays to photos directly in the editor.
Competitor monitoring. This built-in tool lets you track your competitors’ social media and Google activity, so that you can always be on top of current trends.
RankingCoach and ListLocal. RankingCoach provides SEO tools while ListLocal helps increase your ranking by listing your company details in important online directories.
Dedicated consultant. All MyWebsite Now plans include access to a personal consultant for setup advice and optimization tips.
WordPress.com is a good option for content-rich websitesWordPress.com has 300+ professional, customizable, and mobile-responsive themes, plus thousands of third-party options if you’re on the Business plan. WordPress.com also provides helpful features for blog-focused websites, such as custom titles and descriptions, post-scheduling, automatic social updates, and automatic redirects.
The permanent branding on WordPress.com’s free sites is short – typically a small line of text reading “Proudly Powered by WordPress”. However, WordPress.com partners with various advertisers and third-party services, so unlike my other recommendations, the branding goes beyond just that single line of text.
That said, you do have some control over the types of ads that appear on your site. However, if you prefer a completely ad-free website with no branding or ads, WordPress.com’s Personal plan costs just $4.00/month. Upgrading to the Business plan gives you plugins, developer tools like Git commands, and SEO and analytics tools.
Features
Extensive third-party plugins. On the Business plan or higher, you can access WordPress.com’s 50,000+ free and paid plugins for everything from galleries and online booking to virus scanning.
Earn money from ads. With the Premium plan or higher, you can monetize your website with ads through WordPress.com’s WordAds program.
Sell online with WooCommerce. Add a shopping cart, checkout process, and payment options with WooCommerce, WordPress’s dedicated e-commerce plugin.
Jetpack essentials. Jetpack is a built-in tool that gives you faster-loading pages, video uploads, paid content protection, and real-time backups to keep your content safe.
When choosing the best website builder without ads, you can go with either a free plan with minimal, unobtrusive ads, or an affordable premium plan that removes all ads entirely. The platforms I recommend cover both options.
For full creative control, Wix stands out with 2500+ free templates and a flexible drag-and-drop editor that lets you customize your site however you want. Its app market offers 800+ integrations, letting you expand your site well beyond the built-in tools.
If simplicity and multilingual support are your top priorities, SITE123’s editor is a great choice. Its beginner-friendly editor makes setup quick, and it lets you translate your site into one of 350+ languages with ease.
Or, if you want to launch a completely ad-free website at no cost, Webador gives you 6 months totally free. You get everything you need for a professional site, basic online store, or blog, including a simple editor for launching websites fast.
Below is a summary comparison table of the top website builders without ads to help you decide which fits your needs.
Wix is the best website builder without ads because it offers the most features and flexibility. You can use its 2500+ free templates, drag-and-drop editor, AI site builder, and 800+ app integrations to build any type of site. It also supports online payments, multi-channel selling, and built-in SEO tools. While its free plan shows a small ad, all premium plans remove it.
Are there any 100% free website builders?
Yes. Wix’s free plan lets you build indefinitely on a subdomain with 500 MB storage, 1 GB bandwidth, 2500+ templates, a drag‑and‑drop editor, and third-party integrations. SITE123 is another good free option with a subdomain, 250 MB storage, 250 MB bandwidth, 80+ templates, and an easy editor.
Can I upgrade from a free plan with ads to an ad-free plan later?
Yes. Many builders let you start on a free plan and upgrade when you’re ready. For instance, you can sign up for Webador’s free plan to get a feel for the platform. Then, when you’re ready, upgrade to Webador’s Pro plan to get unlimited storage, a free domain name for 1 year, an online store, and third-party integrations.
What is the best free website builder?
Wix is the best free website builder overall. It gives you 2500+ free templates, an intuitive drag‑and‑drop editor, built-in SEO and marketing tools, AI‑powered tools, free hosting, and third-party integrations – all for free. You can also check out our other free website builders for more options.
Kamso specializes in writing about credit card processing and website builders. He has worked on comparisons, product reviews, and news stories about software products and digital tools. He has a mechanical engineering degree and a strong fondness for anything in the tech space.
After earning her degree in architecture, Ashleigh swapped blueprints for bylines, writing for industry magazines before diving into digital content. Since joining Website Planet, she’s reviewed everything from website builders to LLC formation services, helping small business owners cut through the clutter. When she’s not testing new platforms, she’s traveling to small towns or overplaying the same album for the hundredth time.
I agree. They just want to make money out of you. By the way, the title is a little misleading but that\'s ok. Thanks for writing this it helped me. I was going to use wix but not anymore.
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