Choose Wix if you want to build and run a simple site yourself, quickly, and you’re happy paying a monthly fee to rent it. Choose WordPress if you need more features, want to own your site outright, or have someone to build and maintain it. For most small businesses, the deciding question isn’t which is better, it’s who’s going to look after it.
Here’s how they compare on the things that actually matter.
The quick comparison
| Wix | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Free to try, paid plan needed for your own domain | Software is free, you pay for hosting and domain |
| Ongoing cost | Around £9 to £25 a month for most small businesses | Hosting from a few pounds a month, plus any paid plugins |
| Ease | Drag and drop, very beginner friendly | Steeper learning curve |
| Maintenance | Wix handles updates and security | You (or someone) update WordPress, themes and plugins |
| Flexibility | Limited to what Wix offers | Almost unlimited, with plugins and custom code |
| Moving away | You can’t move a Wix site to another host | Move it to any host, any time |
| Getting found on Google | Fine for most small businesses | Fine, with more control |
Prices are from Wix’s UK plans, paid yearly.
Cost
Wix looks cheaper to start and is, if you’re building it yourself. But you pay every month for as long as the site exists, and add-ons like bookings or extra storage can raise the plan.
WordPress software is free, but you need hosting, and most businesses pay someone to build and maintain it. Over a few years, the totals often end up closer than people expect. See how much does a website cost in the UK? for the full picture.
Ease of use
Wix wins clearly. You can have a decent-looking site live in a weekend, and editing text or photos is simple.
WordPress takes longer to learn. Once it’s built, editing pages is straightforward, but setting it up well is a job in itself.
Ownership
This is the difference most people only discover later. A Wix site lives on Wix. If you leave, you keep your domain name and your words and photos, but the site itself can’t be exported to another host. You rebuild it.
A WordPress site belongs to you. You can move it between hosts or developers whenever you like.
Getting found on Google
Both can rank well. Google doesn’t favour one over the other. What matters is what’s on the pages: clear service pages, your town, good titles, speed on a phone, and a Google Business Profile. WordPress gives you more control over the technical details; Wix covers the basics well enough for most small businesses.
Speed
A well-built WordPress site can be very fast. A poorly built one, with a heavy theme and too many plugins, can be slow. Wix sits in the middle: you can’t make it dramatically faster, but you can’t break it as badly either. See how to speed up your website.
Which one is right for you?
Wix, if:
- You want to build it yourself this weekend
- The site is simple and won’t need unusual features
- You don’t want to think about updates or security
WordPress, if:
- You want to own the site outright
- You’ll need plugins, like memberships or complex bookings
- You’re publishing lots of content
- You have someone to build and maintain it properly
Neither, if you’d rather not build or maintain anything yourself. Then the platform matters less than who builds it, and whether they hand you a site you own. I’ve written more about that choice in is WordPress still worth it in 2026? If WordPress is the answer, here’s how I build WordPress sites.
Already have a site on either? The free website check shows how it performs on phones and what’s worth fixing, whatever it’s built on.
