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The Best Free Website Builders for 2026

Creating a site won't cost you a cent with the top free website builders we've tested.

 & Jordan Minor Principal Writer, Software

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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You needn't rely on huge corporate platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter/X, to have an online presence: You can create a website instead. Although businesses spend good money on top website builders to create online destinations that customers can't resist, you don't have to follow in their footsteps. Many website builders let you create a site without spending a dime. We've been testing website builders for more than 10 years, and many of our favorites offer a free tier. Wix is our top pick overall, thanks to its intuitive interface and hundreds of available templates, but it isn't the only free option worth your attention. So read on for more of the best free website builders we've tested and what makes them great—you'll surely find one that works for you.

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Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks

  • Wix Website Builder
    Credit: Wix
    Best Overall

    Wix Website Builder

    4.5 Outstanding

    Pros & Cons

      • Remarkably intuitive interface
      • Numerous widgets
      • Hundreds of templates for specific businesses and other uses
      • Good tools for mobile site building
      • Rich web store features
      • Excellent uptime and customer service support
      • Many commerce options, including the ability to sell digital downloads
      • Free option
      • Third-party apps offer better analytics
      • Doesn't let you switch templates

    Why We Picked It

    Wix has nearly everything you could want from a website builder. An intuitive interface enables you to create beautiful pages from hundreds of available category-specific templates, while a comprehensive widget library and mobile-specific toolset enhance the site-building process.

    Who It's For

    Webmasters on a budget: Wix's feature-rich free tier offers many no-cost tools for quickly spinning up a website. In fact, they're some of the best we've tested in the category, thanks to helpful, information-laden menus and a robust App Market with many free widgets. You'll lose premium features (a shopping cart and an ad-free website), but Wix is far and away the best option for anyone looking to build attractive sites without paying monthly fees.

    Webmasters who want to optimize page performance: Wix gives you the ability to A/B test, serving your audience different spins on a page to see which performs best. It's a valuable tool for monitoring traffic, ad views, and other key metrics.

    Specs & Configurations

    Basic Image Editing
    Blogging Tool
    Download Selling
    Free Version Offered
    Site Membership
    Web Store
    Get It Now
  • GoDaddy Websites + Marketing Website Builder
    Credit: GoDaddy
    Best Marketing and SEO Tools

    GoDaddy Websites + Marketing Website Builder

    4.0 Excellent

    Pros & Cons

      • Good-looking sites on desktop and mobile
      • Unlimited storage and monthly data transfers
      • Great marketing and SEO tools
      • More than 100 templates that you can swap with ease
      • Excellent uptime and customer service
      • AI tools
      • Free tier
      • Limited layout customization
      • E-commerce option not available with all tiers

    Why We Picked It

    GoDaddy's free website builder helps you quickly create a great website to pair with a GoDaddy domain. With GoDaddy Websites + Marketing, you get unlimited monthly data transfers and unlimited storage at every tier, including the free one. It also comes with AI tools to get things done faster.

    Who It's For

    Businesses that need help with marketing: GoDaddy Websites + Marketing provides the features you need to get your site in front of as many eyeballs as possible. It includes SEO tools, a logo maker, a digital advertisement plan, and other essentials to promote your business with efficiency. 

    Site owners struggling with a domain name: Airo, one of GoDaddy's AI tools, helps you come up with snazzy, SEO friendly URLs. Just enter a site description in the text field and hit enter. A few seconds later, you'll have a list of available and purchasable domain names.

    Specs & Configurations

    24/7 Phone Support
    Basic Image Editing
    Blogging Tool
    Download Selling
    Drag-and-Drop Site Editor
    Free Version Offered
    Live Chat
    Point of Sale Support
    REST API
    Site Membership
    SSL Certificate Included
    Transaction Fees
    Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers With All Plans
    Unlimited Storage With All Plans
    Web Store
    Get It Now
  • Strikingly Website Builder
    Credit: Strikingly
    Best for Previewing Sample Sites

    Strikingly Website Builder

    3.5 Good

    Pros & Cons

      • Easy-to-use site-building tools
      • Attractive themes, with responsive designs
      • Lets you switch templates without rebuilding your site
      • Less customization than competing website builders
      • Many standard features require a premium account
      • Free tier limited to single product

    Why We Picked It

    Strikingly is a website builder that's incredibly easy to use, featuring design options that make your site look great on any device. Strikingly lacks the deep template well that rivals possess, but it lets you create unlimited free websites.

    Who It's For

    People who frequently switch templates: Strikingly has a surprising amount of flexibility. With its ability to switch templates, the builder allows you to preview your site, make changes, or update the look quickly without committing to a lot of extra work. That's a combo that many website builders lack.

    Users who want a responsive design: One of the best ways to make your site look modern is to adopt a responsive design, which involves layouts that adjust seamlessly to any screen size. As a result, Strikingly makes it easy for you to make beautiful sites for desktops, phones, and tablets.

    Specs & Configurations

    Basic Image Editing
    Blogging Tool
    Download Selling
    Free Version Offered
    Site Membership
    Web Store
  • Ucraft Website Builder
    Credit: Ucraft
    Best for Free E-Commerce

    Ucraft Website Builder

    3.5 Good

    Pros & Cons

      • Strong mobile site customization options
      • Modern site templates
      • Useful image repository
      • Collaborative site editing
      • Good online store options
      • Placing elements on the page was wonky in testing
      • Limited free version lacks visual editor

    Why We Picked It

    Ucraft is a serviceable website builder that has become even more competitive thanks to recent design and feature improvements. Although Ucraft doesn't have the most intuitive interface, it lets you quickly create an online shop—even with its free tier.

    Who It's For

    Small businesses that need e-commerce tools: Ucraft's free tier offers several e-commerce options, including the ability to sell up to five physical items and digital payment support via Ucraft Pay & Cash, making it a good choice for entrepreneurs opening a small online store.

    Teams: In line with its business focus, Ucraft offers the Team App, a collaboration tool for teams. Using it, you can invite additional team members and assign permission roles (Owner, Admin, Billing Admin, Marketer, Editor, Designer, and Store Manager) as you build your dream website.

    Specs & Configurations

    Basic Image Editing
    Blogging Tool
    Download Selling
    Free Version Offered
    Site Membership
    Web Store
  • Webflow Website Builder
    Credit: Webflow
    Best for Creating Apps

    Webflow Website Builder

    3.5 Good

    Pros & Cons

      • Impressive CMS
      • Robust third-party app store
      • Useful AI tools
      • Strong community assistance
      • 24/7 live chat
      • Free tier
      • Many templates cost extra money
      • Tight bandwidth and storage limits
      • Separate e-commerce tier
      • Lacks phone customer support

    Why We Picked It

    Webflow is a well-designed website builder with intuitive, modern tools that let novice and seasoned webmasters create capable sites with ease. Its notable features include AI site-building tools, an easy-to-use content management system, and a marketplace with apps, themes, and other items for expanding your site's functionality.

    Who It's For

    App developers: Like other website builders, Webflow offers an app marketplace where you can find useful widgets. If you need something custom, however, fire up Webflow App Gen, the platform's AI tool. With it, you use prompts to generate apps that match your site's branding.

    Companies needing extra help: For a variable fee, the Certified Webflow Partner Program matches you with agencies or individual freelancers who can assist you in building a website, branding, and other essential site-building areas.

    Specs & Configurations

    Basic Image Editing
    Blogging Tool
    Download Selling
    Free Version Offered
    Site Membership
    Site Portability
    Web Store
  • Weebly Website Builder
    Credit: Weebly
    Best for Site Stats

    Weebly Website Builder

    3.5 Good

    Pros & Cons

      • Attractive, responsive-design themes
      • Full commerce options, including the ability to sell digital goods
      • Site stats included
      • Lets you switch themes without rebuilding your site
      • Unlimited data transfers with all plans
      • Free tier
      • Limited theme customization
      • Lacks reusable photo storage
      • No interface-wide undo feature

    Why We Picked It

    Weebly doesn't offer the most extensive customization options, but it allows you to create high-quality sites with its free and premium themes. In a nice touch, the website-building platform offers unlimited monthly data transfers across the board, so you won't run into annoying bandwidth caps. 

    Who It's For

    Webmasters who value simplicity: Some people are more than happy to give up advanced features if it means an easier overall experience. With Weebly, you don't need to tinker with themes to create a good-looking website. It's also one of the few builders that lets you switch themes without rebuilding the site, which is a significant time-saving advantage.

    Data nerds: Weebly's dashboard provides several helpful statistics, such as total sales, marketing performance, unique visitors, and popular pages, which you can use to optimize your content and site design more effectively.

    Specs & Configurations

    Basic Image Editing
    Blogging Tool
    Download Selling
    Free Version Offered
    Site Membership
    Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers With All Plans
    Web Store
    Get It Now
The Best Free Website Builders for 2026

Compare Specs

Select Up To 3Select Up To 2
Our Pick
Rating
4.5 Outstanding
4.0 Excellent
3.5 Good
3.5 Good
3.5 Good
3.5 Good
4.5 Outstanding
4.0 Excellent
3.5 Good
Best For
Best Overall
Best Marketing and SEO Tools
Best for Previewing Sample Sites
Best for Free E-Commerce
Best for Creating Apps
Best for Site Stats
Best Overall
Best Marketing and SEO Tools
Best for Previewing Sample Sites
Free Version Offered
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers With All Plans
Unlimited Storage With All Plans
Web Store
Blogging Tool
Download Selling
Basic Image Editing
Site Portability
Site Membership

Buying Guide: The Best Free Website Builders for 2026


Which Free Website Builder Is Best?

A free website builder is, more often than not, the no-cost tier of a larger paid website builder. Not all website builders offer free tiers; some opt for affordable base tiers that cost a few dollars per month. Other services offer some features for free while locking more powerful functionality behind premium paywalls. If you don’t need those extra perks, the free tier may be more than enough.

What can you expect from a free website builder? Some common limits include only letting you make one website with a handful of pages, restricting your storage options, and forcing you to use the builder’s domain instead of a custom one. Some free tiers are more like free trials; they let you test the tools as much as you want, but you have to spend money to publish. Other free services, however, are respectable hosting offerings, even if the paid tiers are "better."


Which Free Website Builder Is Best for E-Commerce?

Having a website is a must for small businesses. The internet is a massive marketplace you simply need to tap into. A free website builder is an easy way to establish your web presence. That said, truly professional users should opt for a paid plan sooner rather than later. Customers will trust a business with a custom domain because it looks legitimate. More importantly, free website builders typically lock their e-commerce features and the ability to sell products online behind paywalls. You must spend money to make money. 


Which Free Website Builder Is Best for Photographers?

Image editing is hit-and-miss with website builders, even paid ones. Some offer robust ways to tweak photos on your site, while others will let you crop, and that’s about it. Regarding free site builders, Wix has full photo editing options, and GoDaddy has also improved its offerings. Weebly’s editor is fine, but Strikingly’s is pretty basic, aligning with its limited customization features. 

You’ll need a traditional web hosting service for a more robust experience when creating your online presence. If you’re on a budget, check out the best cheap web hosting services.

About Our Expert

Jordan Minor

Jordan Minor

Principal Writer, Software

My PCMag career began in 2013 as an intern. Now, I'm a senior writer, using the skills I acquired at Northwestern University to write about dating apps, meal kits, programming software, website builders, video streaming services, and video games. I was previously a senior editor at Geek.com and have written for The A.V. Club, Kotaku, and Paste Magazine. I'm the author of the gaming history book Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977, and the reason everything you know about Street Sharks is a lie.

The Technology I Use

I use the newest Android and iOS smartphones for testing, but I currently use an iPhone 14 as my personal phone. I just hate that we gave up headphone jacks.

I've always favored gaming laptops over desktops. On that note, I have a 16-inch HP Envy with an Intel Core i9-13900H CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. No matter what machine I’m working on, an alarming amount of my personal and professional life revolves around cloud-synced Google Drive files.

For food subscriptions, my household sticks with CookUnity and HelloFresh for meals. Video streaming is a bit more complicated. While there are too many services to list, we're subscribed to most of the major ones. These days, I find myself drawn to HBO Max's movies and shows, as well as Peacock's reality trash.

I've been a lifelong Nintendo fan, and I sincerely believe the Nintendo Switch will go down as one of the best gaming consoles of all time. It has an unbelievable library of new and old games from Nintendo and third-party companies. The handheld/console hybrid approach makes playing games so much more flexible, a legacy that continues with the Nintendo Switch 2 and Valve’s Steam Deck.

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