DIY website builders in 2026: drag and drop editors compared
A DIY website builder lets you put together and publish your own site without hiring a developer. To
pick one you can learn quickly, start with a template and try editing your own content before paying.
Wix and Squarespace are places to start if you want templates; the other options below suit different
site sizes, budgets and publishing needs.
Heya is made by the team that wrote this guide, so read its row with that in mind. Prices come from each
company's own pages, checked between October 29 and November 9, 2026.
The short answer
-
Lots of starting points Wix suits someone who wants to choose from over 2000
templates and customize them manually or with AI.
-
Build before paying Squarespace suits someone who wants to design a full site during
a free trial before choosing a plan to go live.
-
Plans for CMS sites Webflow suits someone choosing between a simple site without a
CMS and a content-rich site that needs one.
-
Non-commercial free option Framer suits someone starting a non-commercial site on a
free Framer domain.
-
Small sites on mobile Heya suits someone building a one-page or small site, including
someone who wants to do all the editing on a phone.
Drag and drop website builders compared
Compare Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Framer, Heya, Hostinger and Carrd side by side for free access, paid
plans, custom domains and site limits.
| Builder |
Free plan |
Paid from |
Custom domain |
Best for |
| Wix |
$0 Free plan, no credit card |
$17/mo (Light), yearly price |
Connect one on Premium plans; 1 year free domain voucher on most |
Big template library and business tools |
| Squarespace |
14-day free trial, no credit card |
$19/mo (Basic) |
Free custom domain on Basic and Core (terms apply) |
Polished designer templates |
| Webflow |
Free Starter plan, 2 static pages |
$15/mo billed yearly (Basic) |
From the Basic plan |
Custom layouts with full design control |
| Framer |
$0, for non-commercial use |
$10/mo (Basic, yearly billing) |
Paid plans |
Design-heavy marketing sites |
| Heya |
Free: 3 sites, 5 pages each, yourname.heya.bio |
$3/mo (Pro Lite) |
Pro Standard (1) or Pro Plus (up to 10) |
Small sites built and edited on a phone |
| Hostinger |
14-day free trial |
$2.49/mo (Premium, paid up front) |
Free for 1 year on all three plans |
Low entry price with AI tools |
| Carrd |
Free Basic plan |
$9/year (Pro Lite, 3 sites) |
Pro Standard ($19/year) and Pro Plus |
One-page sites and landing pages |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Each option up close
Wix
Free; Light $17, Core $29, Business $39 a month (yearly)
Wix has over 2000 business-ready templates that you can customize manually or with AI, and its Free
plan costs $0 with no credit card required. Light, its cheapest paid plan, is $17 per month with 2
GB of storage and 2 site collaborators; Wix displays USD prices for yearly subscriptions paid in
full at purchase. Premium plans let you connect your own domain and remove Wix branding, while most
include a 1 year voucher for a new domain purchased from Wix.
- Better at
- Big template library and business tools.
- Watch out
- Listed prices are for yearly plans paid up front.
Squarespace
Basic $19, Core $29, Plus $49, Advanced $99 a month
Squarespace lets you start with Blueprint AI or a designer template, then design, edit and publish
with its Fluid Engine drag-and-drop tools without HTML, CSS or JavaScript. Its 14-day free trial
needs no credit card, and you can build the full site before choosing a plan to connect a custom
domain and go live. Basic costs $19 per month, and Squarespace offers savings of up to 36% for
annual payment.
- Better at
- Polished designer templates.
- Watch out
- You pick a paid plan to connect a custom domain and go live.
Webflow
Free; Basic $15, Premium $25 a month billed yearly
Webflow's free Starter plan has no time limit and includes a limited CMS, 2 static pages, 1 GB
bandwidth and 50 form submissions. Basic costs $15/mo billed yearly, includes a custom domain and is
intended for simple sites without a CMS. For content-rich sites with CMS and traffic needs, Premium
costs $25/mo billed yearly.
- Better at
- Custom layouts with full design control.
- Watch out
- Free Starter sites get 2 static pages and 50 form submissions.
Framer
Free; Basic $10, Pro $30 a month
Framer's $0 Free plan is intended for non-commercial use and includes a free Framer domain.
Connecting a custom domain requires a paid plan, starting with Basic at $10 per month with yearly
billing; Pro costs $30 per month. Framer doesn't support HTML export for self-hosting.
- Better at
- Design-heavy marketing sites.
- Watch out
- The free plan is meant for non-commercial use.
Heya
Free; Pro Lite $3, Pro Standard $6, Pro Plus $15 a month
Heya is a no-code builder for one-page and small sites, with 68 templates, a blank-page option and
an editor that works fully on a phone; you can start without an account, with drafts saved in your
browser until publishing, when Google sign-in is required. Free costs $0 a month with no time limit
or credit card, supports up to 3 sites with up to 5 pages each on a Heya address and displays a
small "Made with Heya" badge; Pro Lite costs $3 a month and removes the badge while allowing up to
20 pages per site on up to 3 sites, without a custom domain. Pro Standard costs $6 a month for up to
5 sites, up to 20 pages each, no badge and 1 custom domain per account; Pro Plus costs $15 a month
for up to 25 sites, up to 20 pages each, no badge, up to 10 custom domains per account and an HTML
ZIP download.
- Better at
- Small sites built and edited on a phone.
- Watch out
- Free sites show a small "Made with Heya" badge.
Hostinger
Premium $2.49, Unlimited $3.49 a month (paid up front)
Hostinger Website Builder offers a 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, and Premium
lets you create up to 3 websites. Premium is advertised at $2.49/mo, discounted from $12.19, but
requires $119.52 upfront for 48 months and renews at $10.99/mo for the same term. All plans require
upfront payment, and Premium, Unlimited and Cloud Startup include a free custom domain for 1 year.
- Better at
- Low entry price with AI tools.
- Watch out
- Premium renews at $10.99/mo, and every plan is paid up front.
Carrd
Free; Pro Lite $9, Pro Standard $19, Pro Plus $49 a year
Carrd has a free Basic experience and a free 7-day Pro trial without payment or credit card details;
its Pro plans include premium starting templates, custom user-built templates and publishing without
"Made with Carrd" branding. Pro Lite costs $9 / year for up to 3 sites without custom domains, while
Pro Standard costs $19 / year for up to 10 sites and supports domains you own with full SSL through
Let's Encrypt. Pro Plus costs $49 / year and also supports custom domains, with downloads of your
site's unminified HTML, CSS, JS and images, excluding server-side code.
- Better at
- One-page sites and landing pages.
- Watch out
- Pro Lite does not include custom domains.
What drag and drop really means
Don't choose from the phrase alone. What do you want to move, change or add? Try that in the editor
before picking a plan. Squarespace names its tools Fluid Engine and lets you design, edit and publish
without writing HTML, CSS or JavaScript.
The starting point matters. Wix offers over 2000 templates you can customize manually or with AI,
while Squarespace lets you generate a personalized site with Blueprint AI or start from a designer
template and edit from there.
Heya uses 10 block types: heading, text, image, buttons, links, socials, embed, divider, spacer and
countdown. It also has 42 fonts, 14 theme presets and a 5-color palette.
Try your own content. Replace a heading, add an image, change a button's destination. If you'll edit
from your phone, test that too (Heya supports the full build and edit process on a phone).
Easy now or flexible later
Pick for the site you're making, but check what happens when you want your own domain or a download of
the site. Those are separate choices, and the cheapest paid plan doesn't always include both.
Take custom domains. Heya Pro Lite removes its badge but doesn't include a custom domain; Pro Standard
includes 1 per account. Carrd Pro Lite also removes branding without including custom domains. Carrd
Pro Standard lets you publish to domains you own.
Want to host the files yourself later? Framer doesn't support HTML export for self-hosting. Heya Pro
Plus includes an HTML ZIP download, while Carrd Pro Plus includes HTML, CSS, JS and images, excluding
server-side code.
And check the CMS question. Webflow Basic is intended for sites without one; Premium is for
content-rich sites with CMS and traffic needs. Decide what you'll use now. You don't have to choose a
larger plan just because it's there.
Picking one without overthinking it
Start with your own content, not a purchase. Which builder lets you put that content where you want it
without getting stuck? Use its free access to make that comparison.
Try Wix's Free plan or Squarespace's 14-day trial if their template options appeal to you, and put the
same content into each before deciding which editor you'd rather keep using. No credit card needed for
either.
For a small site, try Heya's account-free editor, keeping in mind that publishing requires Google
sign-in. Carrd's Pro trial gives you 7 days without payment details.
Then check the payment terms. Wix's displayed monthly prices are for yearly subscriptions paid in
full. Hostinger Premium's $2.49/mo offer requires $119.52 upfront for 48 months, with renewal at
$10.99/mo for the same term. Check the total, not just the monthly figure (especially before
committing to a longer term).
How we checked
We took every price, limit and feature from each company's own pages, collected on October 29, 2026.
We checked the Wix and Carrd pages again on November 9, 2026. Heya's details come from its pricing
page and docs, checked on October 30, 2026. The facts come from
wix.com/plans, wix.com,
squarespace.com/pricing,
squarespace.com/websites,
webflow.com/pricing,
framer.com/pricing,
framer.com/help/articles/can-i-export-my-website-to-html-and-self-host-it, hostinger.com/website-builder,
carrd.com/docs/pro/plans,
carrd.com/pro,
heya.page/pricing and
heya.page/docs.
Plans change often. If a number here is out of date, email hello@heya.page and we'll fix it.
FAQ
What is the easiest DIY website builder?+
There's no single answer here. For a template-led start, try Wix or Squarespace: Wix has over 2000
templates, and Squarespace offers designer templates or Blueprint AI. For a one-page or small
site, Heya has templates and a block editor you can use fully on a phone. Try editing your own
content before choosing.
Is there a free drag and drop website builder?+
Yes. Wix has a $0 Free plan with no credit card required, and Webflow's free Starter plan has no
time limit. Framer offers a $0 plan intended for non-commercial use. Heya Free costs $0 a month
for up to 3 sites with up to 5 pages each, and Carrd has a free Basic experience.
Is Webflow a drag and drop builder?+
Yes, Webflow is an option for building a site visually. Its free Starter plan gives you 2 static
pages, a limited CMS, 1 GB bandwidth and 50 form submissions. You can use that plan for as long as
you like, then consider Basic for a simple site without a CMS or Premium for a content-rich site.
Can I build a website myself without coding?+
Yes. Squarespace's Fluid Engine lets you design, edit and publish without HTML, CSS or JavaScript,
and Heya is a no-code builder for one-page and small sites. Start with a template and replace its
content with yours. In Heya, a button can send visitors to an external form, booking page, shop or
payment page.
Try Heya free
Pick one of 68 templates or a blank page, edit it on your phone or laptop, and publish on Heya's
Free plan for $0, with no time limit and no credit card.