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Most website builders advertise a free plan, but “free” can mean anything from a genuinely usable site to a short trial that stops accepting visitors or orders. We compared the builders by what you can actually publish without a recurring builder subscription, the address visitors receive, branding, storage, page limits, commerce fees, and how much control you retain.
Onepage has the best free plan for a small business or freelancer who needs a professional-looking site that captures leads: its permanent Free plan includes AI-generated sections, a built-in CRM, and analytics. Google Sites is the best truly free choice for a straightforward informational site. WordPress.com is better for blogs and large collections of pages, while Wix offers the most approachable visual editor. Carrd is excellent for a single-page site, and Square Online is the practical free option for selling products—although transaction fees still apply.
Best free website builders at a glance
| Best for | Builder | What you get free | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small-business site that captures leads | Onepage | One website with up to three pages, AI-generated sections, visual editor, hosting, CRM, analytics | Onepage subdomain, three-page limit, and 20 one-time AI credits |
| Simple informational site | Google Sites | Hosting, editor, publishing, Google integrations | Basic design and limited CMS features |
| Blog or content-heavy site | WordPress.com | Hosting, free subdomain, unlimited posts and pages, 1 GB storage | Ads, no custom domain, and no plugins on the free plan |
| Drag-and-drop design | Wix | Templates, editor, hosting, publishing | Wix branding and a long Wix subdomain |
| One-page portfolio or landing page | Carrd | Free one-page sites on Carrd subdomains | Custom domains, forms, widgets, and advanced features require Pro |
| Online store | Square Online | Store, products, checkout, shipping, pickup, hosting | Transaction fees and no custom domain on the free plan |
| Learning professional visual design | Webflow | Free Webflow-hosted site | Two static pages, 50 CMS items, and 1,000 monthly visits |
| Visual experiments | Framer | Free Framer-hosted site | “Made in Framer” branding and no custom domain |
1. Onepage: the best free plan for small-business sites
Onepage is the strongest free option when the site has a business job to do: presenting a service, collecting enquiries, and showing which visits turn into leads. It is an AI-powered website platform from Onepage GmbH in Frankfurt am Main, and its permanent Free plan lets you build and publish without entering payment details.
The Free plan covers one website with up to three pages on an Onepage subdomain. It includes the no-code visual editor, the built-in CRM for form leads, website analytics, limited use of the Onepage MCP connection for building from Claude, and 20 one-time AI credits. Those credits let the AI generate complete sections from a short description, and every generated section stays fully editable with its own controls for text, colors, spacing, and behavior.
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How to publish a free Onepage site
- Create an account and log in.
- Build your first page from a template or with AI from a short description.
- Adjust text, colors, sections, and animations in the visual editor.
- Publish the site on your free Onepage subdomain.
- Optionally, capture leads through the built-in CRM and review traffic in Analytics.
Pages are hosted on EU servers, and Onepage provides a data processing agreement and full data deletion on request, which helps when a site collects personal data.
Where the free plan stops
Three pages is enough for a landing page or a compact service site, not for a blog or a large information site. The free subdomain cannot be replaced by your own domain until you move to Essential at €19.99 per month, which also raises the limit to seven pages and adds 25 AI credits per month. The 20 free AI credits are one-time, and multi-step forms and funnels run through the Forms & Funnels add-on, whose free tier is limited.
2. Google Sites: the best genuinely free builder for informational sites
Google Sites is the easiest recommendation when your definition of free is “publish a useful site without paying for hosting or a builder subscription.” It works particularly well for school projects, clubs, events, internal documentation, community groups, and simple personal sites.
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How to publish a Google Site
- Open Google Sites and select a template or create a blank site.
- Build pages and add content using the insert panel.
- Click Publish.
- Enter the address you want to use and click Publish again.
- Set visitor access through Share → Published site → Public or Restricted.
Publishing the site and controlling its visibility are separate actions. A site can be published but still restricted to selected people.
Google Sites is not a strong choice for a polished marketing site. Its templates and layout controls are deliberately simple, and it lacks the blogging, ecommerce, plugin, and detailed SEO controls available elsewhere.
Custom-domain catch
Google Sites supports custom domains, but it does not give you a free domain name. You must already own or register one. The connection path is Settings → Custom domains → Start setup, followed by your registrar’s DNS instructions.
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DNS changes can take up to 48 hours. The site must be public when using a custom domain, and Google allows up to five custom domains for one site. Mapping can also become problematic if you delete the site, transfer ownership, or move it into a Team Drive. A domain normally needs a subdomain such as www.
3. WordPress.com: the best free builder for blogs
WordPress.com is the strongest free option when the site’s main purpose is publishing articles, updates, documentation, or other regularly expanding content. The free plan includes a .wordpress.com address, hosting, SSL, CDN delivery, security, unlimited posts and pages, and 1 GB of storage.
The important limitations are substantial: WordPress.com displays advertisements on free sites, does not provide a custom domain, and does not allow plugin installation on the free plan. This is the hosted WordPress.com service, not self-hosted WordPress.org.
Creating and launching a WordPress.com site
- Open the WordPress.com dashboard.
- Choose the W icon in the upper-left corner.
- Select Hosting Dashboard → Add new site.
- Choose Create it yourself, Create with AI, or Migrate to WordPress.com.
- Create pages from Dashboard → Pages → Add page, then click Publish.
- Launch the whole site through Settings → Reading → Site Visibility → Launch site.
- Set the site to public with Settings → Reading → Site Visibility → Public → Save Changes.
That last step matters. Publishing an individual page does not necessarily make the entire site publicly available. New sites can remain in Coming Soon mode even when pages have been published. If the public address still shows Coming Soon, check the visibility setting, then try an incognito window or clear the browser cache.
WordPress.com is a better long-term free choice than Wix for a content library, but it is a poor fit for a business site that must be ad-free or use its own domain at no cost.
4. Wix: the best free drag-and-drop editor
Wix gives beginners more visual freedom than Google Sites or WordPress.com. Its templates, section layouts, image tools, and drag-and-drop editor make it easy to build a portfolio, personal site, brochure site, or small project without writing code.
The free plan includes hosting, templates, the editor, and publishing. The address follows a format similar to siteprefix.wixsite.com/siteaddress, and Wix branding remains visible. A custom domain and removal of Wix advertising require a Premium plan.
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Publishing in Wix
- Open the site dashboard and click Edit Site, or choose Design Site for a new project.
- Make changes in the Wix Editor.
- Click Publish in the upper-right corner.
- Choose View Site if you want to check the live version.
Saving or previewing is not the same as publishing. After every later edit, click Publish again or the live site will retain the previous version.
Wix is a good free design playground, but the free address can look unprofessional and may be difficult to remember. If a Premium plan expires, Wix disconnects the custom domain and returns the site to its free Wix URL.
5. Carrd: the best free one-page builder
Carrd is purpose-built for a single page. It is ideal for a personal profile, link page, event announcement, campaign landing page, simple portfolio, or coming-soon screen. The editor is faster and less overwhelming than a full website platform.
The free plan publishes to a Carrd-controlled subdomain, with addresses available through domains such as carrd.co, carrd.com, crd.co, and others. It does not turn Carrd into a free multi-page CMS.
Basic Carrd workflow
- Open a template or blank site in the Carrd builder.
- Edit elements directly on the canvas.
- Use the properties panel to change text, images, colors, and layout.
- Check desktop and mobile views.
- Click Publish.
Do not assume every feature mentioned in Carrd’s documentation is included in Basic. Custom domains, custom code, widgets, iframes, redirects, password protection, advanced metadata, and many form features require a paid Pro tier. Carrd is excellent when one carefully designed page is enough; it is the wrong tool for a blog, store, membership site, or large navigation structure.
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Square Online is the only option on this list that makes a genuinely free storefront practical. Its Free plan includes a website builder, product catalog, hosting, checkout, customer accounts, shipping, pickup, local delivery, and Square POS integration.
The catch is that free does not mean cost-free for a working business. In the US, Square lists online card processing on the Free plan at 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. You pay when you sell rather than through a monthly builder subscription.
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Setting up the free Square address
- Open Square Dashboard → Channels → Square Online → Website → Domains.
- Find the preset Square subdomain.
- Publish from the site editor.
- To change the name, select Website → Domains → Connect domain → Use a Square subdomain.
The free address usually resembles mybusiness.square.site. A custom domain, expanded customization, custom fonts, custom widgets, and removal of Square branding require a paid plan. For a restaurant, local shop, or service business already using Square, those limitations are often acceptable. For a normal brochure site, Square’s commerce-first interface is unnecessary.
7. Webflow: best free tool for learning advanced visual design
Webflow’s free Starter Site plan is aimed more at learning and prototyping than at hosting a complete production website. It provides a .webflow.io address, but the current limits are restrictive: two static pages, up to 50 CMS items, and 1,000 monthly visits. Ecommerce can be tested, but live checkout requires payment.
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Webflow is valuable if you want to learn responsive layouts, visual interactions, CMS structure, and more professional design workflows. It is not a sensible free host for an ordinary multi-page site. Changing the Webflow staging subdomain also immediately changes the address and invalidates previously shared read-only links.
8. Framer: best for visual experiments
Framer is a polished visual design tool for landing pages, personal projects, prototypes, and experimentation. Its free plan publishes to a Framer domain and displays a Made in Framer banner. A custom domain requires a paid plan.
Framer itself positions the free plan toward hobbyists, learning, testing, and personal projects. That makes it a good place to explore modern layouts and animation, but visible platform branding makes it less suitable for a permanent professional site.
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Be careful when comparing Framer limits: its pricing page separates workspace and site features. A page or usage limit may apply to a particular site or workspace plan, so do not treat an isolated limit as a universal rule for every Framer project.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Builders that are not really free
Shopify
Shopify offers a free trial, not an indefinitely free published store. During the trial, the storefront may be password-protected or checkout may be inactive. Accepting customer purchases requires selecting a paid plan, and an account freezes when the trial ends without one.
Free domain offers
A hosted subdomain is not a free custom domain. Addresses such as sites.google.com, .wordpress.com, .wixsite.com, .square.site, .webflow.io, and Framer-hosted addresses belong to the platform. You can use them without paying, but they are not portable domain names that you own.
How to choose the right free builder
- Choose Onepage if you need a compact business site or landing page that captures leads and can move onto your own domain later.
- Choose Google Sites if you need a simple, dependable information site and can accept basic design.
- Choose WordPress.com if you expect to publish many articles or pages.
- Choose Wix if visual editing matters more than having a short, professional free address.
- Choose Carrd if one page is all you need.
- Choose Square Online if the site must take orders and transaction fees are acceptable.
- Choose Webflow to learn advanced visual design or create a tiny prototype.
- Choose Framer for a visually ambitious experiment or personal project.
Our final ranking
- Onepage — best free plan for small-business sites that capture leads.
- Google Sites — best genuinely free builder for simple informational sites.
- WordPress.com — best for blogs and content-heavy sites.
- Wix — best free drag-and-drop editor.
- Carrd — best one-page builder.
- Square Online — best free commerce option.
- Webflow — best for learning advanced visual design.
- Framer — best for visual experiments and personal projects.
FAQ
What is the best completely free website builder?
Onepage has the best free plan for a small-business site: it publishes one website with up to three pages, AI-generated sections, a built-in CRM, and analytics without payment details. Google Sites is the better choice for a larger simple site, with free hosting, editing, and publishing without a recurring builder subscription, although it uses a Google-hosted address and has limited design and CMS features.
Can I get a free custom domain with a website builder?
Usually not. Free plans generally provide a platform subdomain, such as a Onepage, WordPress.com, Wix, Square, Webflow, or Framer address. A custom domain must normally be registered separately and may also require a paid builder plan.
Which free website builder is best for a blog?
WordPress.com is the strongest choice because its free plan supports unlimited posts and pages and includes 1 GB of storage. The trade-offs are WordPress.com advertising, a WordPress.com subdomain, and no plugin installation.
Can I build an online store for free?
Square Online has a free storefront plan with products, checkout, shipping, pickup, and hosting. However, online payments incur transaction fees, and a custom domain and several branding and customization features require a paid plan.
The Bottom Line
For a small-business site that needs to capture leads, start with Onepage; for most other simple sites, start with Google Sites. Use WordPress.com for publishing, Carrd for one page, Wix for visual flexibility, and Square Online for selling. Every option gives up something—usually a custom domain, platform branding, advanced features, or transaction costs—so check those limits before moving an existing site.
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