Wix or Squarespace vs Hiring a Designer: The Real 3-Year Cost
Quick answer
A DIY builder looks cheapest in month one and is the most expensive option by year three. Wix Light and Squarespace Basic cost about $17 to $19 a month billed annually (their published 2026 prices), so roughly $612 to $684 over three years plus your evenings, and the site disappears when you stop paying. A five-page site built by Blogrator is $150 once, hosting included, plus about $15 a year for a domain in your name: about $195 over three years. Hire a freelancer or agency and expect hundreds to thousands up front plus hosting. Build it yourself for a hobby or an event; have it built when the site is how customers judge your business.
Side-by-side: DIY builder vs freelancer vs fixed-price build
| DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace) | Freelancer or agency | Blogrator fixed price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up-front cost | $0 to a template fee | Hundreds to thousands, quoted | $50 / $150 / $250 by page count |
| Monthly cost | ≈ $17 to $19 a month on the entry plans, billed annually | Hosting and maintenance often extra | $0; care plan optional at $50 |
| Your time | Several evenings, then every change | Briefing and reviews | Sending notes, logo and photos |
| Mobile and forms tested | By you | Usually | Before handover |
| SEO basics | If you set them up | Varies | On every page; SEO-friendly version from $150 |
| Domain | Often free for year one, then renewed through the builder | Varies; check whose name it is in | Your name, about $15 a year |
| If you stop paying | Site goes offline | Depends on hosting | Site stays up; hosting is included |
The three-year cost
| Wix Light / Squarespace Basic | Blogrator Five Page Site | Blogrator Five Page Site + care plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build | $0 (your time) | $150 | $150 |
| Subscription or care | 36 × ≈ $17 to $19 = ≈ $612 to $684 | $0 | 36 × $50 = $1,800 |
| Domain | Often free year one, then ≈ $15 a year | ≈ $45 | ≈ $45 |
| Three-year total | ≈ $640 to $715 plus your hours | ≈ $195 | ≈ $1,995 |
| What you get for it | A template you built and maintain | A site built for you, hosted, in your name | The same, plus updates, backups, security and unlimited small edits every month |
Builder prices are the vendors’ published annual-billing rates at the time of writing and change from time to time; monthly billing costs more. The point stands at any of their tiers: a subscription never ends, a build does.
The cost nobody counts: your evenings
The builder’s price is not the builder’s cost. A first five-page site means choosing a template, replacing every placeholder, making the mobile layout behave, connecting the domain and email, wiring the contact form so it actually delivers, and fixing what looks wrong on a phone. Then every later change is yours too. If your hour is worth anything to your business, several evenings of that is more than $150. That is the whole argument for having it built, and it is why our price is fixed before we start: you know the total, and your evenings stay yours.
Who owns the site
On a builder, the site is the subscription: stop paying and it is offline, and moving it elsewhere means rebuilding. With a freelancer, check whose name the domain and hosting are in before you sign; it is not always yours. With us the domain is registered in your name, hosting is included in the one-time price, and you get an admin panel to edit text and images. You do not get server access, which is the trade for the price.
When DIY is the right call
- A one-page site for a hobby, an event, a wedding or a very early idea you may abandon.
- You enjoy the work and have the time, and nobody is judging your business by the result.
- You need something live tonight and can replace it later.
When hiring is the right call
- Customers look at the site before they call. A tested form, click-to-call and a fast mobile layout are the job.
- You want Google to find the site: choose the SEO-friendly website so keyword research and schema happen before design.
- You do not want a subscription that never ends, or a domain in someone else’s name.
- Your time is better spent on the business. Send notes, logo and photos; get a site back in 4 to 12 days.
Have it built for a fixed price, from $50
Hosting included, domain in your name, form and click-to-call tested before handover. No subscription to us.
Landing Page — $50 Five Page Site — $150 Ten Page Site — $250
See the full website cost breakdown, the service page, or book a free call.
Frequently asked questions
Only in the first year, and only if you do not count your time. A Wix Light or Squarespace Basic plan is about $17 to $19 a month billed annually, so $204 to $228 a year for as long as the site exists. A five-page site from Blogrator is $150 once with hosting included, plus about $15 a year for the domain. By the end of year two the built site is cheaper, and you still own it.
It goes offline. The subscription is the site. A site we build is hosted on our servers as part of the one-time price, and the domain is registered in your name, so there is no subscription to keep it alive.
Yes. You get an admin panel for text and images. Bigger changes are quoted, made in a $10 hourly session, or covered by the optional $50 a month care plan, which includes unlimited small edits.
They can, but the basics are on you: page titles, headings, speed and structured data. Our standard site has basic on-page SEO on every page; the SEO-friendly website adds keyword research, schema and search-tool setup before design.
When you enjoy the work, have a free weekend, and need a one-page site for a hobby, an event or a very early idea. When the site is how customers judge a real business, the hours and the recurring fee usually cost more than having it built.
Most first-time builders spend several evenings on a five-page site: choosing a template, wrestling with mobile layout, connecting the domain and email, setting up the form, and fixing what looks wrong on a phone. We deliver the same site in seven days from your notes.