Wix vs a web designer: what a website really costs over 3 years
Wix looks cheaper, and sometimes it is. Here’s what a Wix or Squarespace site really costs over three years, what a web designer costs, the time you’ll spend, and how to decide.
- Wix’s UK plans for a business site run from £16 to £25 a month for most small businesses, and Squarespace’s from £12. Over three years that’s roughly £430–£900 in plan fees.
- A professionally built site in Birmingham starts at a median of £1,240, plus hosting and upkeep.
- The hidden cost of DIY is your time: UK guides put it at 20–40 hours to get a builder site right.
- Wix suits a new business testing an idea. A designer makes more sense when you rely on Google for enquiries.
“Why pay a web designer when Wix is £16 a month?” It’s a fair question, and for some businesses Wix is the right answer. But the monthly fee isn’t the whole cost, and the cheapest site isn’t always the cheapest way to get customers.
This guide compares the real three-year cost of Wix and Squarespace with hiring a web designer, using current UK prices, and helps you decide which one you need.
What Wix and Squarespace cost in the UK
These are the prices shown on each company’s UK pricing page in November 2026. Builders often show the monthly price for yearly billing, so check before you sign up.
| Plan | Price a month | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Wix Light | £9 | A simple site with the basics |
| Wix Core | £16 | Small businesses that want basic selling or bookings |
| Wix Business | £25 | Businesses selling online |
| Wix Business Elite | £119 | Larger shops and advanced features |
| Squarespace Basic | From £12 | A simple business website |
| Squarespace Core | £17 | Service businesses that want to sell |
The three-year cost, side by side
| Wix Core | Squarespace Basic | Local web designer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build | £0, plus your time | £0, plus your time | £1,240 (Birmingham median starting price) |
| Running costs over 3 years | £576 (£16 × 36) | £432 (£12 × 36) | About £300 for basic hosting, or more with a care plan |
| Your time | 20–40 hours | 20–40 hours | A few hours of calls and feedback |
| Total over 3 years | About £580, plus your time | About £430, plus your time | About £1,540 or more |
Add a domain name (about £10–£15 a year for a .co.uk) to each, and any copywriting or photography. The web designer figure is the median starting price from our check of 22 Birmingham web designers; real projects often cost more.
Now put a value on your time. If you’d otherwise bill or earn £30 an hour, 30 hours building a Wix site costs you £900. That alone puts DIY close to a designer over three years.
What you get with each
| Wix or Squarespace (DIY) | Web designer | |
|---|---|---|
| Design | A template you adapt | Designed around your business |
| Text | You write it | Often written for you (check the quote) |
| SEO | The tools are there; doing it well is up to you | Service pages, area pages and local SEO set up for you |
| Changes | Easy to edit yourself | You or the designer, depending on the setup |
| Leaving | A Wix site can’t be moved to another host; you rebuild | You should own the domain, content and site |
When Wix or Squarespace is the right choice
- You’re just starting out and want to test an idea cheaply.
- Customers mostly come from word of mouth and just check you’re real.
- You need a few simple pages and enjoy doing it yourself.
- Your budget is genuinely tight this year.
There’s no shame in starting on a builder. Many businesses do, and move to a designed site once the business has grown.
When a web designer is worth it
- You want enquiries from Google. That takes a page for each service and area, written around what people search, which is where most DIY sites fall short.
- You have several services or cover several areas. The site needs structure, not just pages.
- You need booking, quotes or live stock that a template doesn’t handle well.
- Your time is worth more running the business.
For the full picture of UK prices, see how much a website costs in the UK. If you’re in the West Midlands, see how we approach web design in Birmingham.
Sources
- Wix: Plans and pricing (UK), checked November 2026
- Squarespace: Pricing (UK), checked November 2026
- Pixelish: How much does a website cost in 2026? UK pricing guide (time to build a DIY site)
- Axarez price check of 22 Birmingham and West Midlands web designers, 14 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Wix website cost in the UK?
Wix’s UK pricing page lists plans at £9 (Light), £16 (Core), £25 (Business) and £119 (Business Elite) a month in November 2026. Most small businesses that want to take bookings or payments need Core or Business. Check whether the price you see assumes yearly billing.
Is Wix good for SEO?
Wix sites can rank on Google, and it covers the basics such as page titles, descriptions and mobile layouts. What decides ranking is mostly what you put on the site: one clear page per service, the areas you cover, and a good Google Business Profile. Those take time to do well whichever platform you use.
Can I move my Wix website to another host later?
Not as it is. A Wix site runs on Wix, so if you leave you usually rebuild the site elsewhere and copy your text and images across. Squarespace lets you export some content, but not the full design. A site built on an open platform or as your own code can be moved.
Is it cheaper to use Wix or a web designer?
Over three years, Wix plan fees usually come to less than a professionally built site. But if you count your own time, and the enquiries a better site brings in, the gap can close quickly for a business that relies on Google.
What are the downsides of Wix?
The main ones are lock-in and ongoing cost. A Wix site can’t be moved to another host, so leaving means rebuilding, and the plan fee continues for as long as the site is live. Some features need a higher plan or paid apps. And while Wix covers the SEO basics, ranking still depends on the pages and text you put in.