The 6 best free website builders in 2024

If you want people to find you online, you need a website. But most smaller businesses don't have the budget to hire an expert developer. That's where free website builders come in: these tools make it easy to build a website for free.

You don't need to know what CSS is or how to tinker with HTML—these apps do the heavy lifting. And with the advent of AI, building a website has become even quicker.

I spent a few weeks testing all the free website builders I could find, and these are the six best.

The best free website builders

• Google Sites for basic sites (without SEO)

• Yola for simple, no-fuss websites

• Wix for an all-around site builder

• HubSpot CMS for growing businesses

• Webflow for advanced designers

• Webnode for the best AI features

What makes the best free website builder?

There are plenty of lists of the best free website builders, so what makes this one different? I didn't just read customer reviews or the marketing materials for these website builders. I spent dozens of hours researching the best free site builders that users love—and then tested them myself. 

I've always used WordPress and Squarespace to build sites for myself, so I was keen to see how these tools stacked up. For each one, I signed up and created a site from one of its templates or AI builder—adding pages, adjusting copy, exploring SEO features, uploading my own images, and trying the various design elements.   

I excluded any free website builders that require you to purchase their hosting (e.g., Bluehost, Hostinger, GoDaddy) since they aren't technically free. I also eliminated any website builders that were too hard to use or didn't offer valuable free plans. Then I re-tested the remaining ones until I settled on the best of the best. Some are perfect for building basic sites with no design experience at all, while others are ideal for creating commercial sites but have a steeper learning curve. And some include AI functionality, while others don't—that was a nice-to-have this year.

As I was testing, I was focusing on the following criteria:

• Ease of use. Is the website builder easy to use, or do you need to be a junior dev to add a form? All the site builders on this list will be relatively easy for most users. I've mentioned which ones are newbie-friendly and which are better for those with more design experience. None require coding knowledge, but some do let you access the code. 

• Customization options. Not all of us want a one-page website. I assessed how easy each builder is to customize, including the number of templates, if they offer drag-and-drop features, and whether you can adjust styles, colors, and elements. If there's a trade-off between ease of use and customization, I've tried to make that clear. 

• SEO tools. Building a site is just half the battle—you also need to rank on search engines. I looked at the SEO tools each website builder offers, such as the ability to adjust page titles and meta descriptions, add alt tags, and upload a site map. 

• Value of free plans. Is the free plan really free, or does the builder ask you to upgrade every time you make a change? I made sure I was only looking at truly free options. Of course, there will almost always be features you'll need to upgrade for, but all of these tools let you launch a website for free.

• Primarily a website builder. Some website builders are actually another tool with website-building capabilities. Although some of these tools are part of a suite of other marketing tools, they can all operate independently.

A quick note on domains: Most free website builders come with an ugly-looking free domain—like azaharmedia.hubspotpagebuilder.com—but allow you to purchase or add a custom domain. In my experience, I've always found it preferable to buy a domain independently on a site like Namecheap. This gives you more flexibility if you decide to move from one platform to another; e.g., if you purchased a domain on Wix and wanted to move to Webflow, it could be more problematic.

The best free website builders at a glance

Best free website builder for basic sites (without SEO)

Google Sites

Google Sites pros:

• Easy to use (like Google Docs)

• Great for collaboration

Google Sites cons:

• No SEO tools

Google Sites is a basic site builder with limited customization options and zero SEO tools. That's fine if you're a beginner or just want to test the waters, but don't expect to conquer the search engine results. It's also a solid replacement if you need to switch from the now deprecated Google Business Profile websites.

You can choose from a dozen templates or a blank canvas to get started. And then refine the look-and-feel (style, color, and fonts) with a choice of six themes, or again, create your own. If you choose a standard theme, you're limited to what you can edit. For example, if you want an orange button, you have to change the theme color, which may impact other color settings. And you can't change the button size––everything is predefined. If you want to bypass the restrictions, you'll have to create a custom theme.

That said, Google Sites is easy to use. In many respects, it's like using Google Docs: everything gets saved to your Google Drive before you publish your site, and you can share it with collaborators. I did find it strange that there were no SEO settings, but you can set a custom path for each page. (Maybe you have to trust Google will handle the SEO, but all the same…)

• Google Sites pricing: 100% free; no paid plans. 

• Ease of use: Easy to use. Similar to using Google Docs.  

• Customization options: Limited. Choose from 12 templates and 6 themes for the look-and-feel of your site. Ideal for someone who doesn't have a ton of website experience. 

• SEO tools: Non-existent, surprisingly.

• Value of free plan: Limited. Suitable for beginners, hobbyists, or dabblers, but not as good as Yola or Wix. 

Best free website builder for simple, no-fuss websites

Yola

Yola pros:

• Easy to use

• Extensive and relevant block library

Yola cons:

• Limited SEO settings

Yola rightly earns its label as the best no-fuss website builder. The setup process guides you through choosing the type of website you want—personal, business, store, or community—and then offers an automated AI builder or a selection of DIY templates. The good thing here is that you can always swap the template later without losing any content you create. (That might sound insignificant, but when faced with an array of templates, it's not always obvious which one will work best for your site.) 

The business templates I tested all made sense—that is, they contained the elements you'd expect to see on a business website. For example, the marketing agency template has a strong header section, client logos, services offered, client testimonials, an about us snippet, and a call to action before the footer section. The automated AI website builder wasn't too bad either—my fictitious dog walking and grooming site was up and running in no time with all the relevant sections.

Working with Yola's block editor is simple. You can easily add, remove, or rearrange blocks on your page. And unlike other website builders, Yola has a rich block library, including services, a logo wall, an FAQ, and a call to action. If you want to change individual elements, like a button color, you're restricted to working within parameters. For example, you'd have to change the entire color palette for your site if you desperately wanted red buttons instead of blue. But this keeps your website design looking professional instead of kindergarten slapdash. 

The color palettes, font combinations, and button styles are chosen carefully to work together harmoniously. So, if you decide to change the color palette, you can instantly see the changes on your website and click through a few options until you find what you want. (There are actually 70 palette options, so you're bound to find one that works for you.)

If you choose the free plan, your site will have Yola ads and domain, which is standard for free site builders. But the premium plans aren't too expensive: you can connect a custom domain for $6/month and remove Yola branding for $14/month. But if you need more than this tool offers, I'd opt for one of the other apps on the list. 

• Yola pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $6.95/month (billed annually).

• Ease of use: Very intuitive, nice editor to work with.

• Customization options: Select the AI builder or pick a template, and edit the elements with simple on-screen explanations to instantly see what you're changing. 

• SEO tools: Limited but sufficient. You can add a standard meta description and title, but you'll need to upgrade to add custom code. 

• Value of free plan: Good. You can upgrade to remove the Yola branding and make it completely your own.

Best free all-around website builder

Wix

Wix pros:

• Established site builder with tons of integrations

• Easy-to-use AI builder

Wix cons:

• It can be slow to work with at times

Wix is one of the most popular drag-and-drop website builders on the market—but is it worth the hype? If you're looking to build a straightforward website with a few features and don't want to get bogged down in decisions, Wix is a solid choice. 

If you choose to set up without AI, start by telling Wix what type of site you want, and any additional features you need, such as a blog, chat, forms, or an online store. Next, you can pick a template from over 900 designs, all broken down by type. They all look professional and can be easily adjusted to fit your needs.

The template loads slowly the first time as it populates information: it took a little over 10 seconds to load the template I chose. But once you get into the template to edit, you'll see why—it's a seriously robust editor for a free website builder. To build your desired site, you can change fonts, add headings, include lists, and even drag and drop sections. No coding, no flipping through tabs. I found it quite intuitive to use (though I have used WordPress site builders for years).

Alternatively, you can let Wix create your site with the help of AI. Using a ChatGPT-like interface, ​​you answer questions about yourself and get personalized tools, images, and text for your site. It takes longer than some of the other AI-powered website builders—mainly because there are more questions to answer—but the final design was more edgy and modern-looking. That said, if you don't like the results, you can choose to regenerate it.

Wix also offers tons of integrations, including email, so you can easily launch a digital marketing campaign right from your Wix dashboard. I was honestly amazed by the amount you can do for free. (Note: You can choose free images from Wix and Unsplash or upload your own. But some of the available images are from Shutterstock, which you have to pay for.) 

Not a copywriter? I am, but I know it's easy to get stuck writing copy for your website. Wix suggests text, which is pretty awesome. Just tell the AI Text Creator what you want to say, and it'll suggest how to make it sound good. 

Wix also offers detailed SEO features to help you rank on Google; it won't replace hiring an SEO expert, but it's a good leg up. You can even create a marketing calendar and manage ads right inside Wix. That's perfect for business owners who don't have the time or energy to learn a whole host of different platforms. 

Once you've added pages, updated your copy, and made whatever other adjustments you like, it's time to make your site live. For a free site, you'll get a domain ending with ".wixsite.com"—e.g., azaharmedia.wixsite.com—and a Wix logo (pretty standard for free site builders). Of course, if you have your own domain, you can connect it.

As an added bonus, Wix integrates with Zapier, which means you can automatically send form submissions wherever you need them. Learn more about how to automate Wix, or use one of these pre-made templates to get you started.

• Wix pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $17/month. 

• Ease of use: Easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor. I found it intuitive, but beginners might get overwhelmed; if so, they also offer a free AI website builder option.

• Customization options: Very customizable—you can add forms, a blog, eCommerce features, and even create custom videos.  

• SEO features: Quite a few! Wix also does a good job of explaining what each feature does and walks you through each process, even for off-site tools like Google Analytics. 

• Value of free plan: Excellent. While some builders try to make you upgrade on every other feature, Wix includes most features to some degree with the free plan. 

Best free website builder for growing businesses

HubSpot CMS Hub

HubSpot pros:

• Step-by-step plan to get started

• Quick, easy-to-use AI builder

HubSpot cons:

• Need to replace the ugly default URL with your own domain

HubSpot is a popular business software platform for marketing, sales, and service teams, and its free website builder continues in the same vein. I loved the step-by-step plan that guides you through building your website, with percentages on how far along you are.

Start by selecting a theme for your site—you want page templates, modules, and style settings that fit your brand. The marketplace has hundreds (both free and premium) to choose from; I went with the Growth Theme.

Alternatively, use the AI builder to create a site based on your description and choice of design (e.g., modern, vibrant, or minimalistic). It created a super relevant site in next to no time with a great layout and choice of images and text. 

Next, customize your theme's settings (colors, fonts, and layouts) to fit your brand. For example, you can modify an existing color scheme or create your own. Then start building your site by setting up the popular pages—home, about, contact, and so on—and choosing a standard header and footer layout. HubSpot even provides a full tutorial on using the drag-and-drop editor. You can choose from 47 modules (elements), including header, text, image, accordion, and CTA. 

You can tell HubSpot CMS is geared towards business sites with its emphasis on creating a blog and robust SEO tools. There's a dedicated setup step to create your blog title, URL, and description, so it looks right in the search engines before you even publish individual posts. Then there's a whole raft of general on-page SEO settings to enter, including title, description, URL (and canonical URL), language, featured image, and additional header and footer code snippets. HubSpot also provides SEO recommendations as you add content to your page and highlights what you need to address. HubSpot is all about inbound marketing, so you'll definitely feel like you're in safe hands. Just be sure to address the ugly default URL (yoursite.hubspotpagebuilder.com) with a custom domain. 

And if you use HubSpot for more than just website-building, you can connect it to Zapier to automate all your workflows and put more resources back into your business. Learn more about how to automate HubSpot, or take a look at these examples of how you can send new contacts where you need them.

• HubSpot CMS pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $15/month (billed annually).

• Ease of use: Easy to use. Smooth operation. Guided prompts.

• Customization options: Select from hundreds of free and premium templates and 47 modules (elements) to build a site that fits your brand style. 

• SEO tools: Get SEO recommendations as you create content on pages. Customize further by adding code snippets to header/footer and defining a canonical URL. 

• Value of free plan: Great free plan to get started. You probably want to upgrade to a premium plan to remove the HubSpot logo and use a custom domain with a more manageable and memorable URL. 

Best free WordPress alternative for advanced designers

Webflow

Webflow pros:

• Tons of customization options

• Extend functionality with integrations and widgets

Webflow cons: 

• No AI builder

Some of the free site builders on this list are super easy to use, with hundreds of templates and drag-and-drop editors. That's not Webflow. Once you create an account, Webflow asks who you are (marketer, website builder, etc.) and if you have experience with CSS/HTML. This is a great way for them to create a platform that's easier for everyone to use—but it seemed to fall short. I tried creating a second account and said I was building a site for myself with no coding experience…and the onboarding was the same. 

They have a few free templates, or you can purchase one that makes your site easier to build (similar to WordPress). Plus, they offer an optional walk-through (and email tutorials) to familiarize you with the platform, which is quite helpful. If you're comfortable with WordPress and the concept of styles and classes, you should be ok. But if you're new to website builders, it might be hard to get your footing.

But there's a reason for that: there are a lot of features and a ton of customization options. You can add containers, adjust the height, change fonts, add buttons, and on and on—center, stack containers horizontally, and much more. 

If you know what to do with SEO, you'll have access to everything you need, including title tags and meta descriptions. But they aren't easy to find: for example, to add the meta description, you have to navigate to the main page panel, click on the page, click settings, and then finally, you'll see SEO settings.  

Another thing I love about Webflow—which also makes it a good WordPress alternative—is the ability to expand site functionality with integrations and widgets for targeting, limiting spam, engaging customers, managing your CRM, and much more. It's not the easiest platform to use, but it's incredibly powerful for a free site builder.

Using Zapier, you can connect your Webflow site to other apps you use. Send new Webflow form submissions to a spreadsheet or email marketing tool, or even send emails when someone fills out a Webflow form. Learn more about how to automate Webflow, or try one of these pre-made templates.

• Webflow pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $14/month (billed annually). 

• Ease of use: Not easy for newbies. They do offer a walk-through, or you can use a template, but if you're looking for an easy drag-and-drop builder, Webflow isn't it. On the other hand, if you're comfortable with a WordPress page builder like Elementor, you'll be fine.

• Customization options: Tons of customization options, but you're building the site almost from scratch. 

• SEO tools: You can access everything you need, but they aren't super obvious. Those who aren't familiar with SEO may struggle.

• Value of free plan: The free plan gives you access to all features, up to 50 CMS items, 1 GB of bandwidth, and a Webflow.io domain.

Best free AI website builder

Webnode

Webnode pros:

• AI generates a custom website tailored to your needs

• Clean interface that's nice and easy to use

Webnode cons: 

• Lacks granular headings on text formatting

Webnode is a user-friendly website builder that now comes with built-in AI. 

The design process is straightforward. You choose from three options—website, online store, or blog—and then decide how you want to create your website: with AI help or a template. Both options are equally good.

For AI, you answer a few questions about your site, the pages you want, and your business. The AI builder then generates three versions tailored to your requirements, and you choose one. Alternatively, you can choose from over 150 templates that have some great designs.

Whichever option you choose, you can edit your site freely. Use the site settings to change the color scheme or button designs (rounded corners, shadow, size, border, etc.), the section settings to change the background (image, photo, color, etc.), or the drag-and-drop editor to move elements (lines, videos, forms, etc.) around the page. The only downside is the lack of granular headings (H1/H2/H3, etc.) when editing text elements.

The clean interface is friendly to use, and unlike other site builders, there's no sidebar to overwhelm you. If you want to edit something, just click on it and make changes. Plus, you get all the standard SEO settings for each page.

• Webnode pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $4.50/month. 

• Ease of use: Nice and easy to use with a clean interface.

• Customization options: Change settings at site level or for individual sections. Move elements around with the drag-and-drop editor.

• SEO tools: Excellent. Settings for each page include URL, meta title and description, plus custom header and footer code.

• Value of free plan: Great free plan with 150+ templates and AI functionality to get started. You'll probably want to upgrade to remove Webnode branding and use your own domain.

Should you use a free website builder?

If you're launching a 1,000+ page eCommerce store or building a fully interactive app, you probably want to hire a developer—or at least pay for a fully-loaded website builder. But if you're just starting out or need to get your business online, these options will get the job done. And with many including AI functionality, it makes the job potentially quicker and easier. HubSpot CMS has given me food for thought about whether I should migrate from WordPress. Which website builder will you choose?

Related reading:

• The best landing page builders

• The best eCommerce website builders

• The best blog sites

• The best AI app builders

• The best sitemap generators

• The best creator platforms

This article was originally published in August 2018 by Jeff Smith and has also had contributions from Danielle Antosz. The most recent update was in August 2024.