Cheapest AI Website Builder in 2026: Real Pricing Compared (No Marketing Tricks)
TL;DR: The “cheapest” AI website builder depends on what you actually need. We compared advertised prices vs. real costs across Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Hostinger, 10Web, Jimdo, B12, Durable, Framer, Butternut AI, and WebZum. Spoiler: the lowest advertised price is almost never the best deal.
Why “Cheapest” Is the Wrong Question (But We’ll Answer It Anyway)
When you search “cheapest AI website builder,” you want a simple answer. We get it. But the reason this search exists is that pricing in the website builder industry is deliberately confusing.
Every platform optimizes for one thing: making their price look low in comparison articles. That means:
- Advertising the cheapest plan (which is usually useless for businesses)
- Quoting annual prices per month (so $144/year becomes “$12/month”)
- Excluding essential features from base plans
- Burying add-on costs in the fine print
So instead of just listing prices, we’re going to show you what a functional business website actually costs on each platform. Because a $5/month plan that can’t connect a custom domain isn’t really a business tool—it’s a demo.
What a “Functional Business Website” Requires
Before comparing, let’s define the minimum requirements:
- Custom domain (yourbusiness.com, not yourbusiness.wix.com)
- SSL certificate (the padlock—required for trust and Google ranking)
- No platform branding (no “Made with…” on your site)
- Mobile responsive design
- Contact form (at minimum)
- Reasonable storage and bandwidth
- SEO basics (meta tags, sitemap)
If a plan doesn’t include all of these, it’s not a business-ready website. We’ll note what’s included and what costs extra.
The 2026 AI Website Builder Price Comparison
Wix (AI Site Builder)
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Advertised starting price | $17/month (Light plan) |
| Business-ready plan | Core at $29/month or Business at $36/month |
| Custom domain | Included on paid plans (1st year free) |
| SSL | Included |
| Remove branding | Core+ ($29/month) |
| AI features | AI text generator, AI image generator, ADI builder |
| Storage | 2GB (Light) to 100GB (Business Elite) |
| E-commerce | Business plan+ ($36/month) |
Real cost for a business website: $29–$36/month
The catch: Wix’s AI builder (ADI) is more of a questionnaire than true AI generation. You still make most of the design decisions. The new AI features are add-ons scattered across the editor, not a unified generation experience.
Squarespace (Blueprint AI)
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Advertised starting price | $16/month (Personal) |
| Business-ready plan | Business at $33/month |
| Custom domain | Included (1st year free on annual plans) |
| SSL | Included |
| Remove branding | Business+ ($33/month) |
| AI features | Blueprint page generator, AI text, AI image suggestions |
| Storage | Unlimited on all plans |
| E-commerce | Business ($33/month, with 3% transaction fee) |
Real cost for a business website: $33/month (or $36/month for Commerce Basic to remove transaction fees)
The catch: Squarespace’s Blueprint AI helps you set up, but you still build everything manually. Beautiful templates, but the “AI” is limited to initial suggestions and text generation.
GoDaddy (AI Builder)
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Advertised starting price | $10/month (Basic) |
| Business-ready plan | Standard at $15/month or Premium at $20/month |
| Custom domain | Separate purchase ($20/year) |
| SSL | Included |
| Remove branding | Included on all plans |
| AI features | AI-generated site from prompts, AI content writer |
| Storage | Varies by plan |
| E-commerce | Commerce at $25/month |
Real cost for a business website: $15–$20/month + domain
The catch: GoDaddy’s AI builder generates a decent starting point but customization is limited. SEO tools are basic. The platform is known for upselling additional services aggressively.
Hostinger (AI Website Builder)
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Advertised starting price | $2.99/month (48-month commitment) |
| Business-ready plan | Business at $3.99/month (48-month) or Premium at $2.99/month |
| Custom domain | Included (1st year free) |
| SSL | Included |
| Remove branding | Included |
| AI features | AI page generator, AI writer, AI images |
| Storage | 100GB–200GB |
| E-commerce | Included on Business+ plans |
Real cost for a business website: $3–$4/month (if you pay for 4 years upfront = $144–$192)
The catch: That $2.99/month price requires a 48-month commitment ($144 upfront). Monthly pricing is $12–$15/month. The AI builder generates basic pages but offers limited control. Renewal prices are significantly higher.
Durable
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Advertised starting price | $15/month (Starter) |
| Business-ready plan | Business at $25/month |
| Custom domain | Included |
| SSL | Included |
| Remove branding | Included |
| AI features | Full AI site generation, AI-written content |
| Storage | N/A (hosted) |
| E-commerce | Invoicing included, no storefront |
Real cost for a business website: $15–$25/month
The catch: Durable generates sites quickly but customization is very limited. The design options are narrow. Good for a basic web presence, but you may outgrow it fast.
Butternut AI
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Advertised starting price | Free (with branding) |
| Business-ready plan | $29/month (Pro) |
| Custom domain | Pro plan only |
| SSL | Included |
| Remove branding | Pro plan ($29/month) |
| AI features | Full AI generation from text prompts |
| Storage | Varies |
| E-commerce | Limited |
Real cost for a business website: $29/month
The catch: The free plan includes Butternut branding and no custom domain—unusable for a real business. The Pro plan at $29/month is the minimum viable option.
B12
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Advertised starting price | $0 (free tier) |
| Business-ready plan | Professional at $49/month |
| Custom domain | Paid plans only |
| SSL | Included |
| Remove branding | Professional+ |
| AI features | AI draft + human designers refine |
| Storage | Varies |
| E-commerce | Professional+ plan |
Real cost for a business website: $49/month
The catch: B12 combines AI generation with human design review—which is why it’s expensive. The free tier is extremely limited and mostly a lead generation tool for their paid service.
WebZum
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Advertised starting price | $19/month |
| Business-ready plan | $19/month (same plan) |
| Custom domain | Included |
| SSL | Included |
| Remove branding | Included |
| AI features | Full agentic AI generation, AI chatbot, AI regeneration |
| Storage | Included (no limits for standard sites) |
| E-commerce | Contact forms, lead capture |
Real cost for a business website: $19/month
The difference: One plan. Everything included. No tiers, no upsells, no “upgrade to unlock.” The price you see is the price you pay.
The Comparison Table
| Builder | Advertised Price | Real Business Cost | AI Quality | Customization |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | $2.99/mo* | $3–$15/mo | Basic | Limited |
| GoDaddy | $10/mo | $15–$20/mo | Decent | Limited |
| Durable | $15/mo | $15–$25/mo | Good | Limited |
| WebZum | $19/mo | $19/mo | Advanced | Good |
| Wix | $17/mo | $29–$36/mo | Basic | Extensive |
| Butternut AI | Free* | $29/mo | Good | Limited |
| Squarespace | $16/mo | $33–$36/mo | Basic | Extensive |
| B12 | Free* | $49/mo | Good (human+AI) | Moderate |
*Requires long-term commitment or is feature-limited to the point of being unusable for business
How to Choose (Beyond Just Price)
Price matters, but it shouldn’t be the only factor. Ask yourself:
1. What do I actually need?
If you’re a local service business (plumber, cleaner, trainer, notary, handyman), you need a professional web presence with strong local SEO. You don’t need e-commerce, a blog platform, or advanced customization. An AI builder that nails the basics is your best bet.
2. How much time can I invest?
Wix and Squarespace offer more customization—but that customization takes time. If you want to tweak every pixel, they’re worth considering. If you want to describe your business and be done, an AI-first builder is faster.
3. What’s the total cost of ownership?
Include your time. If you spend 20 hours building a site on a “cheaper” platform, and your time is worth $50/hour, you just spent $1,000 in time alone. A builder that costs $7 more per month but saves you 19 hours is the better deal.
4. Will I actually finish?
The cheapest website is the one you actually launch. If a complex builder means you never finish, the money saved is money wasted. 73% of people who start on template-based builders never launch—the simplicity of an AI builder might be worth a few extra dollars per month.
The Bottom Line
The cheapest AI website builder in 2026 by advertised price is Hostinger at $2.99/month—but only if you commit to 4 years upfront and accept limited AI capabilities.
The cheapest functional, no-hidden-fees AI website builder that generates a complete business website from a single sentence is WebZum at $19/month.
The most expensive option? Not having a website at all. Every month without one is a month of lost customers, lost credibility, and lost revenue that no amount of savings can justify.