Report · 14 June 2026
Wix 2026 pricing, explained - what a Wix site really costs
Wix is an easy place to start a website, partly because you can start for nothing. The free plan is the hook, and it does a job, but it is not a place you can really live: it carries Wix's own adverts and it does not let you use your own web address, so visitors land on a name like yourname.wixsite.com. To get rid of the ads and put your own name over the door, you pay. And the price you pay is a little more than the price on the page.
Here is the whole bill, set out the way Bernard sets out a quote. Every line, and no surprises at the van.
What Wix charges in 2026
Wix has a free plan and four paid ones. For most people moving a small site, two of the paid plans are the ones that matter.
The Light plan is nine pounds a month if you pay for the year up front. It takes the adverts off and lets you use your own address. The Core plan, the first one that lets you sell anything and gives you room to grow, is sixteen pounds a month on the same yearly basis. Pay month by month instead of yearly and both cost more for the same site.
So far, so cheap-looking. Then the tax goes on.
The price you see is before VAT
Like Squarespace 2026 pricing, explained - what your renewal will actually cost, the prices Wix shows you are before VAT, the twenty per cent tax added on at the till. A business that is registered for VAT can hand over its number and the tax comes off. But most individuals and small businesses are not registered, and for them the twenty per cent is simply added when they pay.
So the Light plan, which reads as nine pounds a month, is £108 across the year before tax and £129.60 once it is on. Core goes from £192 to £230.40 the same way.
So what does a Wix site really cost?
For someone who is not registered for VAT, paying yearly, the bill looks like this.
| The yearly bill | Wix Light | Wix Core | Bernard, Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| The plan, paid yearly | £108 | £192 | £120 |
| VAT added at the checkout | £21.60 | £38.40 | none |
| What you actually pay, each year | £129.60 | £230.40 | £120 |
The figure that matters is the bottom line. The cheapest Wix plan that lets you use your own name and drops the adverts comes out at £129.60 a year, a touch more than Bernard charges for a looked-after site with none of the limits. The plan most growing businesses actually end up on, Core, is £230.40, getting on for double. And that is before any paid apps or the higher tiers.
How Bernard does it differently
Bernard charges £120 a year for a looked-after site, and £120 is the number you pay. No tax bolted on at the end, no free tier with his name plastered over your work, no monthly figure that turns out to be a yearly one. One number, written on the door and on the invoice, the same every year.
Bernard will move your existing Wix site across, free with the annual plan, even a free wixsite.com one, and rebuild it clean in the new home so it loads faster and stays cheap to run. He does not sell you a web address or an email account; those stay where they are, paid however you already pay for them. He will tell you plainly if your site is one he cannot move, before any money changes hands.
That is the whole difference. Wix starts free and gets dearer once it is doing a real job. Bernard's price is the same sentence start to finish.
Paste your current address and Bernard will measure up, free, and show you the new place before you decide anything.
Questions people ask
- How much does a Wix website actually cost per year in the UK in 2026?
- On the Light plan, £129.60 a year once VAT is added for a customer who is not VAT-registered, paying yearly. The Core plan, the cheapest one that lets you sell online, works out at £230.40 a year on the same basis. Paying month by month rather than yearly costs more again, and paid apps and the higher tiers add more on top.
- Is the Wix free plan actually free?
- It costs nothing, but it shows Wix's own adverts on your site and does not let you use your own web address, so visitors see a yourname.wixsite.com name rather than yours. To remove the adverts and use your own address you need a paid plan, starting at the Light plan.
- Does Wix add VAT to its prices?
- For customers who are not VAT-registered, yes. The advertised prices are shown before VAT, and the twenty per cent is added at the checkout. A VAT-registered business can enter its number and pay the price without it.
- Are there cheaper alternatives to Wix?
- Bernard moves Wix, Squarespace and WordPress sites onto a looked-after residence for £120 a year, flat, with the move included on the annual plan. It is the same idea, kept simple, with one honest number and no advert-funded free tier.