What does a website builder really cost?
Website builders sell on a low intro price and renew it higher, so the number on the pricing page is rarely the number you pay. The maths is simple: year one runs at the intro rate, every year after at the renewal rate. Type the two prices and your time horizon below, or tap a preset, and see the real total, the true average per month, and exactly how big the renewal jump is.
Steep jump: renewal is 167% above the intro, so year one flatters the true cost. Budget on the renewal rate, and weigh a free builder (brand subdomain) only for hobby or test sites.
The intro price buys year one; the renewal price is the relationship. A domain and email often bill separately, so the true cost can sit above this figure.
How to read the result
The renewal jump is the figure to watch. Under roughly five percent and the advertised price is honest: Wix Light at $17 a month holds its annual rate, so what you see is what you pay. Budget builders bundled with hosting tell a different story: Hostinger advertises $2.99 a month and renews around $7.99 (close to a 167% jump), and IONOS runs occasional $1-a-month intros that climb to $9 or more. Across three years the real average per month, not the teaser, is what your budget should plan around.
Two honest caveats the calculator cannot price for you. First, extras often bill separately: a custom domain (around $15 a year), email at your domain, and premium apps or fonts sit on top of the subscription, so the true cost can run above this figure. Second, free builders genuinely exist (Wix free, Carrd free, Square Online), but the free tiers attach the platform’s brand to a subdomain like yourname.wixsite.com, which is fine for a hobby and wrong for a business. Reckon with the renewal price, add the extras, and the comparison stops flattering whichever builder has the cheapest first year.