Website builders and CMSs compared on the plan a business actually needs and what it costs on both billing bases, whether a non-developer can build and run the site, how it does on search and speed, what it plugs into (CRM, payments, an API and an MCP server), whether you can take the site elsewhere, and who owns the vendor and where your data sits.
The easiest way for a UK small business to get a good-looking site live, and the first to feel basic once you need more than pages, a blog and a shop.
Shape: Hosted builderScored plan: £17/mo annual · £24/mo monthly (Core)Month-to-month: £24/mo (+41%)
Still simple to run but with far more room to grow than Squarespace, a full export if you ever leave, and an owner having a difficult year.
Shape: Hosted WordPressScored plan: £29/mo annual · £32/mo monthly (Business)Month-to-month: £32/mo (+10%)
The CMS Saaskly runs on and the developer's pick here: open source, code-first and not something a business owner builds alone.
Shape: Developer CMSScored plan: Free open source (MIT) + £22/mo hosting (2 vCPU / 4 GB VPS plus a database)Month-to-month: n/a
The agency standard for marketing sites, with CSS-level design control and a real CMS, priced in dollars and best bought with a designer.
Shape: Hosted builderScored plan: $25/mo annual · $39/mo monthly (Premium)Month-to-month: $39/mo (+56%)
The most complete toolbox for a non-designer, and the tightest lock-in: nothing leaves Wix's servers but CSV data.
Shape: Hosted builderScored plan: £16/mo annual (Core)Month-to-month: Not published
The managed host to put real WordPress on, with a London data centre, staging and daily backups on every plan, priced in dollars.
Shape: Managed WordPress hostingScored plan: $30/mo annual · $40/mo monthly (Single site entry tier)Month-to-month: $40/mo (+33%)
The row for a business that mainly sells online: no caps on pages or products, a UK entity billing in pounds, and a plan ladder built around checkout rather than content.
Shape: Commerce-first builderScored plan: £19/mo annual · £25/mo monthly (Basic)Month-to-month: £25/mo (+32%)
The fast-growing designer's builder from Amsterdam, with pound prices and public security reports, and no export or self-hosting path by design.
Shape: Hosted builderScored plan: £23/mo annual · £35/mo monthly (Pro)Month-to-month: £35/mo (+52%)
The best tool here for a business built on a newsletter and a site: memberships, paid subscriptions and email are native, and Ghost takes none of the revenue.
Shape: Developer CMSScored plan: $29/mo annual · $35/mo monthly (Publisher)Month-to-month: $35/mo (+21%)
The cheap end done competently, with a UK data centre and no platform fee on ecommerce, as long as you read the renewal price first.
Shape: Hosted builderScored plan: £13.99/mo annual · £14.99/mo monthly (Unlimited)Month-to-month: £14.99/mo (+7%)
The agency editor's CMS: structured content, live preview and native localisation, built and maintained by a developer.
Shape: Developer CMSScored plan: $220/mo annual · $240/mo monthly (Craft Cloud Pro)Month-to-month: $240/mo (+9%)
The website that lives beside the CRM, with forms straight into contacts and pounds pricing, at a Professional-tier price for a fifty-page site.
Shape: CMS in a suiteScored plan: £396/mo annual · £440/mo monthly (Professional)Month-to-month: £440/mo (+11%)