Short answer
In cash, a website builder is cheaper. Three years of Squarespace Core or Wix Light on annual billing costs about $640 to $1,050 in plan fees, plus domain renewals. A designer-built site usually costs a few thousand dollars up front, plus hosting. The designer only comes out ahead if the better site brings in enough extra customers, or saves enough of your hours, to cover the difference.
What does a website builder cost over three years?
Builders charge a monthly fee that includes hosting. Both Wix and Squarespace include a free domain for the first year on annual plans, so you pay domain renewal starting in year two. GoDaddy puts a typical domain at $10 to $20 or more a year.
These are the published US prices on annual billing as of November 2026. Monthly billing costs more: Squarespace Core is $39 a month billed monthly, versus $29 billed yearly.
| Plan (annual billing) | Per month | Three years of plan fees |
|---|---|---|
| Wix Light | about $17 | about $610 to $640 |
| Wix Core (adds payments and scheduling) | about $29 | about $1,050 |
| Wix Business | about $39 | about $1,400 |
| Squarespace Basic | $19 | $684 |
| Squarespace Core | $29 | $1,044 |
| Squarespace Plus | $49 | $1,764 |
What does a web designer cost over three years?
A designer charges once for the build, then you pay for hosting, and optionally for someone to keep the site updated. Prices vary widely. Clutch says most web development projects reviewed on its site cost less than $10,000, while its average is pulled up to $66,499 by larger builds.
Hosting for a simple small business site is cheap. GoDaddy puts shared hosting at $5 to $15 a month, which is $180 to $540 over three years. A monthly care plan that includes hosting and changes costs more, and is covered in our guide to website maintenance cost.
Side by side: three years of real costs
Here is the same comparison using a $3,500 designer build as the example. Swap in any designer's quote to run your own numbers.
| Option | Up front | Three-year total |
|---|---|---|
| Wix Light, you build it | $0 | about $660 to $680 with domain renewals |
| Squarespace Core, you build it | $0 | about $1,064 to $1,084 with domain renewals |
| Designer-built, you pay for basic hosting | $3,500 | about $3,710 to $4,100 with hosting and domain |
| Designer-built, with a $199 a month care plan | $3,500 | about $10,664, plus the domain |
What does the builder price leave out?
The builder table only counts dollars. It leaves out the hours you spend building and keeping the site current, and those are real.
Try your own numbers. Say you spend three hours a month on the site, and an hour of your time is worth $50 to your business. That is $5,400 over three years, more than the designer's build fee. If you enjoy the work and it takes you less time, the builder wins easily.
- Your time to learn the editor, write the pages, and choose photos.
- Paid apps or add-ons for booking, reviews, or forms the plan does not include.
- Higher plan tiers once you need online payments or scheduling.
- Getting stuck: if you cannot move the site later, you rebuild it from scratch.
Can I move my site off a website builder later?
Usually not the site itself. Wix's own help center says that because Wix is a software service, your site must run on Wix's servers. You can move your domain, but a new host means rebuilding the pages.
That is not a reason to avoid builders. It is a reason to count a possible rebuild in your three-year math if you expect to outgrow the platform. Ask the same question of any designer: who owns the code, and can you take it with you? See who owns my website.
When does paying a web designer make more money?
A designer is worth it when the site's job is to bring in calls and bookings, and a better site brings in more of them. The math is the same for a gym, a salon, or a plumbing company.
Take the gap between the two options and divide it by what one new customer is worth to you. In the table above, a designer-built site with basic hosting costs about $2,600 to $3,000 more than Squarespace Core over three years. If one new customer is worth $300 to you, the site needs to win about 9 or 10 extra customers in three years to pay for itself. That is roughly one every four months.
If you are not sure a better site would win you that many, start with a builder. If you are already losing jobs because people cannot find you, call you, or book you, the designer usually pays for itself.
Who should pick which?
- Pick a builder if you are just starting, your budget is tight, and you like doing it yourself.
- Pick a builder if most of your work comes from referrals and the site is mainly a business card.
- Pick a designer if your phone and booking calendar depend on people finding you online.
- Pick a designer if you do not have hours each month to spend on the site.
- Pick a designer if you need things a template does not do well, like a second language or service pages for each job you do.
How does Veshtera price a designer-built site?
Our prices are published. Launch is $3,500 for a new site of up to 5 pages, live in about 14 days, with your domain and hosting set up for you. Pro is $6,500 and adds online booking, a second language, your Google reviews, and up to 10 pages. The Website Care and Hosting Plan is optional, at $199 to $499 a month.
Once your project is paid in full, the custom work is yours. See every price on our pricing page, or get a fixed quote before any work starts.
Common questions
Is Wix or Squarespace cheaper?
On annual billing as of November 2026, Wix Light at about $17 a month is the cheapest of the two. At the middle tiers they are close: Wix Core is about $29 and Squarespace Core is $29. For a third option, see is the GoDaddy website builder any good. Price is only one part of should I use Squarespace or Wix.
Can a web designer build my site on Wix or Squarespace?
Yes. Many designers do, and it can be a good middle path. You pay the designer once and the builder's monthly fee after that, and you can still edit the site yourself.
Do I have to pay monthly for a designer-built site?
You pay for hosting and a domain either way. A monthly care plan for updates and changes is usually optional, so ask before you sign.
Is monthly billing on a builder more expensive?
Yes. Squarespace Core is $29 a month on annual billing and $39 a month billed monthly, and the free first-year domain comes only with annual plans. Over three years that gap is $360.
Want a fixed price for your site?
Tell us what your business needs. You get a fixed quote before any work starts.