Wix Pricing Plans 2023 – How to Avoid the Hidden Costs

If you weren’t already confused by Wix’s nine different plans, just wait until you check out its hidden costs. After I found myself paying ridiculous added fees even though I was on a (relatively) cheap plan, I decided that I’d had enough.

I want to make sure no one else makes the same mistakes I made with Wix. So, I went on a mission and jumped head-first into the depth of Wix’s pricing secrets. It’s my job to bring you all the information so you know exactly what you’re paying for (and, when possible, how to pay less for the same features).

Just be aware that, once I’ve opened your eyes to Wix’s hidden costs, you might decide that it isn’t the right website builder for you. One great alternative is Squarespace, which offers many of the same features (and more) for lower prices and without any hidden costs – what you see is what you pay for.

To learn about some other options, check out our Wix alternatives article.

Wix Hidden Costs – 7 Things to Keep in Mind

If you want to go directly to my Wix plan comparison, jump down now. But be aware that if you don’t pay close attention, you could be in for some unpleasant fee surprises after you commit to a plan. There are a few things you need to know in order to accurately predict how much a Wix website plan will really cost you.

1. Wix’s Advertised Plan Prices Are for YEARLY Payments

With all Wix plans, you can either pay per month, or pay for one, two, or three years in advance. The longer your subscription, the lower your total cost will be. But you have to pay for the entire subscription upfront to get those savings.

Why am I making a big deal out of this? The numbers on Wix pricing pages are for annual subscriptions, even though they’re shown as monthly fees. To find the actual cost, you have to multiply these “per month” numbers by 12 to get the total Wix yearly cost, which you’ll have to pay upfront.

In the screenshot below, for example, Business Unlimited says $32/month, but you’d actually pay $384 upfront ($32/month x 12 months). If you chose to subscribe on a month-to-month basis, you would pay a lot more.

This isn’t clear until you select a plan, either. The difference between the month-by-month plan and annual plans vary a lot, and we found that the more expensive the plan, the lower the difference is. To show you just how much the difference between monthly and annual subscriptions can be, here’s a breakdown of four Wix plans:

You can secure a cheaper monthly rate by signing up for a 2 or 3-year plan. The 3-year plan has the cheapest per-month cost overall – for example, paying for a 3-year Pro plan up front is 33% cheaper than the annual plan. And, of course, you’ll have to pay for those three years up front, too, which is a big ask for small businesses and hobbyists.

Paying for a year (or more!) up front isn’t only cheaper – it also means you get these freebies (which monthly subscribers do not get):

• Free domain for a year
• Free Site Booster and Visitor Analytics apps for a year (Unlimited, Pro, and VIP plans only)
  
• Free Events Calendar app for a year (Pro and VIP plans only)
• Free logo with Wix Logo Maker (Pro and VIP plans only)
• $700 ad vouchers – $500 for Google Ads, $100 for Bing, and $100 for Local Listings (Unlimited plan and above)

The bottom line? You’ll have to subscribe annually in order to get the full value advertised by Wix.

No matter if you’re subscribing annually or monthly, be aware that Wix will automatically renew your subscription at the end of your billing period. Almost every website builder will do this, so it’s not exactly a hidden fee. Make sure you turn off auto-renewal in your account settings so you can avoid an unexpected bill.

2. Wix Promotions Won’t Last Forever

Wix’s promotional rates usually offer huge savings for new users. With discounts of up to 50% on offer at various times of the year, grabbing yourself a discount is an awesome plan…right?

But these promotions are for a limited time only, typically for the first year. Once the first year is up, the price will go back to normal, and you might get stuck paying a much higher price than you expected.

“Stuck” really is the best word, too, because you won’t be able to migrate your Wix site anywhere else. If the price jump is too high for comfort, your only choice will be to pay it and stay on Wix or build a completely new website on another platform.

3. Free Domains Aren’t Really Free

You can connect a custom domain with all Wix paid plans, but the domain itself is not actually free. The free domain voucher included with an annual subscription is only good for the first year. After the first year, you’ll have to pay to renew your domain (at a typical cost of $12-16 per year).

There’s another catch, too: your free domain voucher does not include Private Registration. If you want to keep your information anonymous (which protects you from spam and harassment), you have to pay an additional fee of $9.90.

So as great as it sounds, a “free domain” voucher doesn’t mean that your true Wix domain cost will be zero.

4. Email Is Extra

So you’ve paid for your Wix website subscription, and you’ll be paying for your domain after the first year. But wait, there’s…less? You’ll also have to pay if you want email addresses with your domain name (e.g., [email protected]). Buying a personalized mailbox through Google’s G Suite will cost you another $6/month just for the base email plan.

5. Many Wix Apps Cost Extra

Although some of them are free, many of the most useful Wix apps (or at least their most useful features) require additional payment. Premium apps are available on the Wix App Market from both Wix and third parties, with prices ranging from around $3 to $100+ month.

I was curious to see what the competitors had to offer in this regard, so I did some research and found out that:

• While the WordPress.com Business plan is quite pricey, it offers free, robust plugins for all kinds of business services. You’ll find plugins for form building, lead generation, SEO, product discounts, and more, so you might end up paying less than you would with Wix in the long run.
• With a Squarespace Commerce plans, you can sell gift cards or set up notifications for when your stock is running low. If you want these features on your Wix site, you’ll need to pay for an app.

While you’ll get up to three premium apps with qualifying Wix plans, bear in mind that these apps are only free for the first year. If you’re paying annually, it’s not a big deal – you’ll be renewing at the end of every year anyway. However, if you’re paying for two or three years up front, you’ll have to pay extra if you want to continue using the Site Booster, Visitor Analytics, or Events Calendar apps until you renew.

In all honesty, by this point I was starting to feel a little betrayed by my beloved Wix site.

6. Storage Isn’t Unlimited

Because no Wix plan offers unlimited storage, you might eventually run out of space to upload images, videos, file downloads, or products. (As an easy point of comparison, you probably have enough photos on your phone right now to exceed the 3GB of storage provided in the Wix Combo plan.)

Of course, you can always easily upgrade your plan, but that will be yet another added cost.

7. The 14-Day Money-Back Guarantee Doesn’t Cover Everything

All of Wix’s premium plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee, so you’d think that’d cover pretty much any purchase you make related to your subscription. It doesn’t – it only applies to the cost of your subscription or Wix Ascend plan. 

So, if you forget to cancel your plan before it renews, you’ll be able to get it refunded as long as you contact Wix customer services within 14 days. But if you forget to cancel your domain renewal, app subscription, Google Workspace plan, or add-on subscription, you’re out of luck. 

I recommend turning auto-renew off on all of these subscriptions that aren’t covered by the money-back guarantee to get full control over how much you spend on your Wix website.

Wix Plan Prices Vary by Location – Here’s How to Get the Best Deal

Here’s a pro tip to help you get the absolute most out of Wix for the absolute lowest cost: Wix pricing options are different based on your geographic location. For example, the VIP plan costs $39 per month in the United States, but only ¥2,500 in Japan and €24.50 in the EU. Both of those prices are more than $10 cheaper than the US price.

Here’s a closer look at how the VIP plan is priced across different countries and regions.

Luckily, you don’t have to move halfway around the world to take advantage of these price differences. By using a VPN, you can change your current location and purchase your plan from a different country.

This is a great trick, but there is one catch. Some countries not only have different prices, but also different Wix packages. In the UK, for example, there’s also a cheaper Connect Domain plan that costs £4/month, or just under $5 USD.

Wix Price Plans – A First Look

Okay, with those tips out of the way, let’s get to the big question: How much does Wix cost? When it comes to the real cost of Wix, there’s a lot to figure out.

*As previously mentioned, Wix plans and pricing vary from country to country. For this comparison, I’m going to focus on the prices offered to US customers.

There aren’t just one or two plans to choose from. Instead, there are nine Wix pricing plans, ranging from $16 to $500+ per month. They’re divided into two categories, called Website and Business & eCommerce.

The category name “Website” is a bit confusing, too, since all Wix plans include a website. To avoid confusion, I’ll refer to the Website category as “General Website.” It’s also important to know that you certainly can create a business site with a General Website plan; you just won’t be able to sell products from the site.

It’s also good to mention that if you’d like to start selling from your site at a later stage, you can always add a store page and upgrade to one of the e-commerce plans.

If you’re already finding Wix’s pricing setup complicated, you’re not alone! To clear up the confusion and make sure you get the right features at the right price, I’m going to break down everything you need to know about Wix pricing, such as:

• What’s included in each plan (and what’s not)
• The biggest pros and cons of each plan
• Who should – and shouldn’t – use each plan

Here’s the basic pricing breakdown Wix will show you:

Which Pricing Plan Is Right for You?

First of all, which category is right for you? Well, this decision is an easy one:

• If you just need a website without an online store, then Wix’s General Website category is for you.
• If you plan to sell products online, you’ll need a Business & eCommerce plan. Jump down to see Wix’s e-commerce plans.

Wix General Website plans work great for personal websites, basic business sites, blogs, and online portfolios. Here’s a quick look at the five plans you’ll have to choose from.

Wix General Website Plans at a Glance

Let’s take a deep dive and see all the features each plan offers:

Free – A Good Starting Point for Personal Websites

Price: $0

With the free plan, you’ll be able to use any of Wix’s beautiful templates and its drag-and-drop website builder. You’ll get enough storage and bandwidth (500MB each) to create a solid foundation for your site. However, your website will display Wix branding at the top, and you won’t be able to create or connect a custom domain.

One surprisingly great feature is that even as a free user you can use Wix Email Marketing to send up to 5,000 emails per month across a maximum of three campaigns. This app makes it super-easy to send out newsletters, updates, or coupons to your subscribers.

You can use Wix Email Marketing for free with any plan. If you need to send more than 5,000 emails per month, though, you’ll have to sign up for one of two email marketing apps by Wix: Ascend or ShoutOut. (Ascend is a separate monthly subscription that offers focused business solutions like chat automation or lead capture forms. ShoutOut is a simpler app that focuses purely on email marketing.)