Building a website can be done in a multitude of ways. You can choose Wix or WordPress and achieve, more or less, the same results but end up at the finish line differently. On the other hand, some people opt for reputable hosting providers and their website builders.
If you’re looking for an easier and more flexible route, a dedicated website builder is always better.
As most people deem Wix and WordPress website builders, we think we need to resort to further clarification. Namely, Wix IS a website builder designed to make website creation as simple as possible. Even total newbies can get around it and succeed easily. However, WordPress is more of a content management system, famously called CMS.
WordPress is indeed more complicated but simultaneously more customizable. Wix favors beginners, while WordPress favors people who know their deep desires and website design. We’ll compare Wix vs WordPress today and see which route you should take in 2026.
Wix vs WordPress: Quick Overview
Our final judgment is that both platforms are great but very different and thus, we can’t tell you should pick one over the other. Wix is great for building a website quickly and having all the necessary tools at your disposal. WordPress is a CMS built for scalability.
It requires more knowledge and greater patience to master and take full advantage of. Both are rewarding once you’re acquainted with them and provide world-leading website-building and management features – one through first-party and the other through third-party plug-ins.
Here’s a table for a more comprehensive WordPress vs Wix overview:
| Wix | WordPress | |
| Our current ranking | #1 | TBD |
| Starting price | $10/mo | Free or dependent on features (hosting, domain name, security, plug-ins, …) |
| Free Domain | Yes | No |
| Free SSL | Yes | No |
| Number of themes | 900+, all free | 13,000, roughly 200+ free |
| Transaction fees | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Email marketing | 2,500 free emails | 5,000 free emails with Creative Mail |
| Security | WHOIS privacy, DDoS protection, 2FA, fraud protection, constant website monitoring, … | Built-in threat detection; other security features are plug-in-dependent |
| Customer support | 24/7 live chat, contact form, community forum | Community forum |
How to Get Started With Wix and WordPress
Given their glaring differences, Wix and WordPress offer distinct “introductions” to their ecosystems.
Wix
When you first sign up for Wix, you’ll be prompted to make a website in one of two ways:
- Using an AI, also known as Wix ADI
- Using one of 900+ Wix templates
The first option is for those who have never used a website builder before. With this option, Wix guides you through a questionnaire and depending on your answers, automatically generates a website. Don’t worry – if you’re unsatisfied, you can use the editor and transform the design right away.
Using the template is also a good option; the one that doesn’t rid you of other AI tools.
Instead of letting Wix do everything for you, you’ll be able to pick the template you see fit based on the type of website you’re creating. After that, the editor will launch and you’ll enjoy its drag-and-drop functionalities that we’ll review later in our Wix vs WordPress analysis.
Overall, Wix screams intuitiveness and simplicity, which beginners and even those more experienced will like. Besides, you can start building a website in virtual seconds after signing up, so if you just got an idea, you’ll be able to make it come to fruition TODAY!
WordPress
Now, WordPress is a different beast. As this isn’t a website builder and is instead, a free CMS option, you will need to first download it to the server. Your server is… well, the hosting server you obtain from a hosting provider. Hostinger often comes to mind as a great one!
We’ll use Hostinger as our recommended pick but the setup can differ slightly depending on which provider you use. With Hostinger, you’ll need to navigate to the “Website” section of your dashboard and choose the “Auto Installer” tool.
After that, you’ll get a few options:
- WordPress
- WooCommerce
- Joomla
- Other
These are the content management systems (CMS) that you can install. By selecting WordPress, Hostinger will prompt you to provide your website name/password, and domain. Within a minute or so, WordPress will work its magic and be fully functional – splendid!
Once you access your website as an admin, you’ll immediately recognize its interface, with the tools and plug-ins on the left and the informative dashboard taking up the majority of the screen. All in all, we’d give this round to Wix because it’s a tad simpler to start with.
Get Started With Wix Website Builder
WordPress vs Wix: Templates & Website Design
Setting up WordPress on your site doesn’t mean you’re done. Remember – there are no fancy AI web-building tools to help you out. You have to pick the theme and work your way up. In the case of Wix, you’ve likely chosen one already and are on your way to success.
Speaking of themes and templates, there are clear distinctions:
- Wix has 900+ FREE templates – not a single one is paid!
- WordPress has 13,000+ paid templates – 200+ are free
WordPress Themes
WordPress’ appeal lies in a huge number of first and third-party templates often designed by hardcore professionals. In our WordPress vs Wix test, we found roughly 200+ free options and they look kinda bland. The paid options can be stunning – visually and functionally.
However, their prices vary wildly – from about $20 to over $200 for a single theme. The good news is that neither is paid monthly. It’s a one-time payment and the theme is yours to enjoy. The good thing is that WordPress themes are easy to find online on many websites.
You can buy them directly from WordPress or use, for example, Theme Forest, which sports a rich selection of premium themes. Just be aware that some are extremely pricey.
The takeaway is that free WordPress themes are far from great, so for your visitors to take you seriously, consider opting for sleeker premium options.
Wix Themes
As Wix’s themes are all free, it can’t mean all 900+ are ugly-looking – or can it?
Absolutely NOT!
Wix’s themes are some of the best around, as divulged in our review of this website builder. Moreover, there’s a high level of filter customization, which allows you to find the template for your type of website. Let’s say you’re building a professional wedding photography site.
Type in “wedding photography” in the search bar and Wix will offer ample to be excited for!
Simply click the template and voila – you’re ready to roll. Wix’s free templates look stunning, and while some are a bit “off”, neither is viciously outdated. For instance, we found plenty of ancient themes in Weebly which we also compared to Wix very recently.
Website Design: A Completely Different Ballpark!
WordPress is simpler to use than Wix but is that always a good thing? Based on our experience with WordPress and Wix, we cannot provide a definitive answer.
WordPress
So, in WordPress, you can customize things like the website name, colors, and blocks of text. We like its block editor, which allows you to play around with different layouts and edit the blocks as you see fit. However, don’t expect to go too much out of “constraints”.
There’s no drag-and-drop editor like in Wix, so most elements can’t be rearranged. You’re working on a pre-built theme that can only be slightly modified. Also, a huge downside is the inability to edit fonts and buttons, for example. These are dictated by your theme.
Of course, you can always do this through coding if you’re acquainted with CSS or HTML.
Wix
In Wix, you don’t need to know a single line of code. Heck, you don’t even need to know WHAT coding is! However, the level of freedom that Wix provides is often scary because you can twist and turn every corner of the website and mix and match unmixable and unmatchable.
This sounds quite crazy but once you’re “in”, you’ll feel like a God with superpowers.
Wix allows you to edit every element of the website, plus, there’s a crafty mobile site view, which can also be directly modified. The left-hand side menu lets you quickly drag and drop the element to the page – there are hundreds of buttons, boxes, menus, and other elements.
This allows you to, for instance, alter your buttons’ look rather than sticking to the “default” ones indicated by the chosen template.
It’s hard to judge this round because Wix and WordPress are so different. We’ll put it this way:
- Wix is more flexible but requires a bit of time to get acquainted with. It also offers free, amazing-looking templates.
- WordPress is simpler to use but lacks design freedom. It also has way more templates (13,000), alas, free ones (200+) don’t look very good.
Pick your adventure – this round is an obvious draw.
Business & E-Commerce – Wix or WordPress?
Once again, we’re facing different approaches in business and e-commerce.
Wix is great even when compared to Shopify, as it allows you to effortlessly start selling online. No need for third-party apps. Everything is on the platform, ready-made for your majesty. WordPress’ approach is more third-party-reliant.
It doesn’t have any “in-house” tools, so you’ll need various plugins you surely know about.
Setting Up an Online Store
Let’s start from the beginning. Setting up an online store with Wix is a piece of cake. An in-house solution lets you add products, digital and physical, and customize them with product images, types, variants, and other variables. We prefer this built-in solution.
That’s because it’s fairly simple to use both for product listing and setting up payment methods. We thoroughly enjoyed Wix’s e-commerce “section” where we could customize shipping options, product weight, linked products, and product-related SEO things.
Another feature is multi-channel selling. You can use it to spread your presence on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and other channels for more earnings.
WordPress doesn’t natively offer these features. But have you heard of WooCommerce?
If so, perhaps you’ve used it at some point. Well, that’s an e-commerce platform developed by no other than WordPress! While you can use other plug-ins, WooCommerce is the most popular. It’s simple to set up and get going, so it’s smooth sailing.
The thing is, WooCommerce is free but it sort of isn’t.
The base version offers very few features and if you want to sell digital memberships and subscriptions, you’ll need to shell out roughly $17/mo. Downloads and physical products are free. WooCommerce itself has a nice set of plug-ins to improve its functionality.
Again – they’re not free, so don’t get all hyped up. You can rack up dozens of them and end up paying $500/mo on top, which doesn’t sound particularly exciting. On the brighter side, populating your online store with products is equally intuitive, as expected.
The product editor looks eerily similar to WordPress, so each product can be properly described and advertised without hassle.
Transaction Fees of Wix and WordPress (WooCommerce)
Selling online is rarely devoid of fees – they’re all around us like flies!
Luckily, neither is “heavy” on fees. Both have a flat fee of 2.9% + 0.3c for each transaction.
When it comes to payment gateways, Wix offers over 80, while WooCommerce offers around 70 – not much of a difference. However, WordPress offers more plug-ins to fully customize the experience and bring your online store to a completely new level.
Not for free, though.
So, Which One to Choose?
Wix’s third-party apps are numerous as well. First-party apps are there as well but not all directed at e-commerce and business. While WooCommerce is more capable overall and better for higher sales, Wix’s in-built e-commerce tools aren’t behind that much.
In fact, given the lower starting price and identical fees, we’d say that Wix is our preferred option. You can start at $20/mo for the Core plan or even get the Business plan at $29/mo to open an online store for both physical AND digital products.
WooCommerce’s steep plug-in prices and added “taxes” for different kinds of products kill its value tremendously and make it more tailored exclusively to larger online stores.
SEO & Marketing Options: Which One Is More Efficient?
We’ll right away tell you that WordPress is a marketing and SEO giant. You can assume why – can you?
Because of a MASSIVE array of third-party plug-ins for both purposes.
Wix
Wix offers plentiful in-house tools mostly oriented toward email and social media marketing. In fact, out of the box, you can send 2,500 free emails with its email marketing tool. That’s respectable.
On top of that, you get access to tons of email templates to build something magnificent and draw in your recipients. Since we mentioned social media, Wix includes post templates too, which can be used to post related content and draw more audience from social media.
SEO is Wix’s strength, especially its SEO Setup Checklist, which guides you through all the important things you need to take care of. Moreover, its SEO tools include things like URL redirect manager, site verification, Robots.txt file editor, and much more.
As always, you can edit your alt titles, meta descriptions, and title tags, all to ensure your website SEO is improving exponentially. Speaking of that, the provider includes Site Analytics, which you can use to analyze sales, visitors, overall performance, etc.
Wix supports Semrush integration but also works with Google Analytics, both of which can extrapolate lots of useful SEO information.
By the way, we put Semrush to the test recently, so don’t hesitate to read that comprehensive review.
WordPress
WordPress has no SEO and marketing features out of the box.
The appeal lies in, as said, third-party plug-ins, most of which have free options. If you pay, you get everything – that still stands. WordPress has no shortage of these tools, and apart from the famous Yoast SEO, which is one of our favorites, you get thousands more.
But let’s say you need email marketing – which plug-in should you get?
Well, you can rely on WooCommerce’s email marketing tools if you pay a bit extra. A prevalent option is Creative Mail. You can send 5,000 emails for free and more if you, again, pay. SEO plug-ins are virtually growing like mushrooms after the rain – there are SO many!
Apart from Yoast SEO, which is virtually the most useful SEO tool we use, you can test Rank Math, SmartCrawl, SlimSEO, and more. On that note, it’s worth noticing that the WordPress store holds more “material” compared to Wix. The more, the merrier!
You’ll get all sorts of plug-ins for marketing, SEO, content optimization, website editing, etc. That’s not to say Wix has nothing in store. It does. However, the smaller number of apps means less freedom.
Plus, some of them are rated poorly, which is shameful considering they’re cooked in Wix’s oven. SEO and marketing are Wix’s strengths, as said, but WordPress blows it out of the water due to the sheer number of plug-ins and vast possibilities that follow.
No matter which option you choose in the end, we recommend reading our comparison of the best SEO tools. With them, you’ll be able to improve your strategy and drive more traffic to your site.
Wix vs WordPress: Website Performance Tests
Okay, so this is a tricky Wix vs WordPress test to do.
When comparing the fastest hosting providers, you sort of have an equal playing field. All you need are two similar websites hosted by different providers. But here, Wix provides its website builder bundled with in-house hosting, making it a ready-to-go solution.
WordPress isn’t a website builder. It’s a CMS, so it has no hosting of its own.
This opens up tons of variables that will determine the website’s performance, two of which are most important: hosting and website design. We designed two similar websites but if you remember, we hosted a WordPress website on Hostinger’s shared hosting.
Hostinger is faster than any website builder and, according to our tests, is the best WordPress hosting provider. It’s important to note, however, that website builders aren’t specifically designed for speed.
GTmetrix Tests
Anyhow, let’s look at the GTmetrix speed tests we performed using GTmetrix’s server in Vancouver.
Above are the results from Wix. They’re not bad but far from extraordinary by any means. Notice how the TTI of 2.3 seconds is a lot higher than it should be? Also, TBT, which is ideally 0, is 36 ms, and the Speed Index of 905 ms is just “okay”? Keep this in mind.
Here comes Hostinger i.e. our WordPress-made website with it:
The results are noticeably better here. Hostinger has a TTI of 294 ms, which is the time it takes for the website to become interactive. Hostinger is virtually 2 seconds faster. TBT is an ideal 0 ms, while LCP of 435 ms is ideal for blazing-fast loading.
One thing to mention in this WordPress vs Wix duel is FLT or Fully Loaded Time.
Our Wix website took roughly 5 seconds to fully load while the site made with WordPress needed only about 2.5 seconds to load. That’s a 50% difference!
The Takeaway
We could analyze their response times and other aspects but there’s no point.
This Wix vs WordPress performance evaluation could be called Wix vs Hostinger instead, with a pinch of our own doing i.e. optimization, image compression, etc.
Yes, WordPress was faster than Wix here but that’s because we used Hostinger for the WordPress site.
Would it be the same if we used SiteGround or Bluehost? Absolutely. Both are faster than Wix.
If you host a WordPress site on free web hosting, the performance will noticeably suffer, giving Wix the edge. That said, this round isn’t only impossible to judge but it’s also unfair, so we’ll leave it as “unresolved” and dependent on the said factors (mostly hosting).
WordPress vs Wix: Pricing & Plans
Another unresolved comparison could be on the way. Could be.
It’s SO hard to judge Wix vs WordPress price-wise. Or we can be lazy and say that WordPress wins because it’s free. Your mom’s lunch is free for YOU but is it really free? Or does your mom buy fresh ingredients to make the dish as tasty as possible?
WordPress Prices: Ebbs & Flows
That’s virtually the story of WordPress. In its essence, it’s free but WordPress without plug-ins is a dead horse. Oh, and you also need a domain. You can technically get a free domain for a year from Hostinger, InMotion Hosting, or DreamHost. After a year, you must pay!
Claim your free domain with Hostinger
Did you forget that you need a website theme? Oh, poor you – that’s another website cost that can range from $20 to $200+ if you’re hungry for the most eye-catching themes.
Now, what about SEO, marketing tools, and other plug-ins? Most have a free version but along the way, you’ll hitchhike some premium plug-ins to help you out, in which case, the costs pile up like crazy. WordPress is a you-get-what-you-pay-for kind of deal.
The more you pay, the more you’ll get. But pay almost nothing and you’ll get scraps.
Wix Prices: Fixed & Wallet-Friendly
There are no ebbs and flows in Wix. No tides to ride on. No winds to spark unrest in your heart.
Wix has a fixed pricing structure. Three cheap and one more expensive plan:
The Light one is light on features – no pun intended. However, you still get a free 1-year domain, a light marketing suite, 2 GB of space, and 2 collaborators. Other plans you see stack up and add more storage, e-commerce features, and more.
The Business plan is our recommendation if you opt for Wix.
With 100 GB of space, 10 collaborators, and all the essential features, you can reach great heights. This plan is $29/mo but you can get it at 10% off with the Wix coupon code divulged here. The Business Elite plan is where you’ll spend $149/mo – or 10% less, *cough*.
This plan is the only one with uncapped storage and advanced marketing, SEO, and e-commerce tools. If you don’t own a world-renowned online store or 100+ websites, the Business plan is sufficient to handle even your wildest demands.
Not to mention Wix has a free website builder to test the waters. There’s a 30-day refund policy as well, while WordPress plug-ins are usually a one-way ticket. This means no refunds and other commodities found in Wix’s calming arms.
Without a hint of a doubt, Wix will in most cases be more affordable. That’s unless you heavily strip off your WordPress website and opt for minimalism. In that case, WordPress can cost you less but also provide you scraps… or crumbs, whatever you like.
Security: Which Platform Is Generally Safer?
Don’t forget to lock your doors at night. Who knows what lurks in the shadows?
The same goes for your website. You can make a fantastic one but if the backdoor is open, you’re leaving plenty of room for nasties.
Wix is an all-in-one solution, which thankfully includes a heap of security features. During our tests, we found that it offers an SSL certificate, 2FA, a secure login area, fraud prevention with Forter for risk-free purchases, DDoS protection, incident response, and much more.
WordPress can be as secure as Wix but that depends on, guess who – YOU!
What can you do to properly secure your website? We advise a safe hosting company like Hostinger or SiteGround, both of which have modern security features and firewalls to protect your site against threats. The good news is that WordPress itself is no slouch.
In actual fact, WordPress has a few security features and plug-ins you can install and enjoy. Jetpack is a famous one, which consequently optimizes your website speed and security. WordPress, as a company, is dedicated to this cause and improves the platform daily.
This means more efficient threat detection and better overall protection over time.
Despite that, Wix still takes the lead here because ensuring sealed-shut security is more difficult in WordPress, especially for beginners who likely have no idea what precisely to do. Wix, on the other hand, manages all the security in the background.
Maximize Website Security With Wix
Customer Support
Does WordPress even have customer support? Sort of…
WordPress relies on its lively community that operates through the WordPress forum. You can get help here but there are TONS of topics, sub-topics, and articles to sift through. The internet is riddled with guides as well, so it should be easy to fetch what you want.
Be wary of outdated info, though. Plenty of that lurks even on the first page of SERPs.
Wix’s customer service is more streamlined. Live chat support is there to pick you up, and if you’re shy, you can opt for a contact form. The Help Center is another great help resource and like WordPress, Wix offers a vivacious community forum for further discussion.
During our Wix vs WordPress 2026 test, we were amazed at Wix’s customer service. It’s easier to reach and you don’t have to rely on community members to get help because everything is handled by Wix’s diligent developers and experts.
Wix vs WordPress: The Final Verdict
A recent Bluehost vs Wix comparison showed us that a website builder can outperform a hosting provider; albeit by a margin. Despite the outcome, that was one nasty duel because we compared apples to oranges. Which ones do you like more, by the way?
We prefer a steak.
And oh boy, Wix and WordPress are definitely amazing bites but each in its own right!
To conclude this Wix vs WordPress comparison for 2026, we’ll give you a few quick remarks.
Wix is great if you:
- Need to build a website as quickly and efficiently as possible
- Have no previous web-building experience and/or knowledge
- Value all the in-house SEO, marketing, and website management features
- Prefer a fixed pricing structure with no nasty surprises along the way
- Don’t want to pay for an amazing-looking website theme, as all are free
Start a Website With Wix Risk-Free
WordPress is recommended if you:
- Want an absurd number of versatile website themes (13,000+)
- Don’t mind having to pay for numerous site-enhancing plug-ins
- Are more tech-savvy and even know a bit of CSS and HTML coding
- Have a flexible budget to cover other expenses (hosting, domain name, themes, etc)
- Want total control of your website, even the important security aspect
So, to wrap it up, it’s all about choosing your adventure. Wix is a website builder, while WordPress is a content management system. If you’ve followed this comparison closely, we’re sure you already know what your route will be. We’ll leave you to it.