The short answer
For most small businesses that want a good-looking site they can run themselves, Wix is the easier pick. Hosting, security and updates are all done for you, and there's one login for everything.
WordPress is the better pick if you want total control, a huge choice of plugins and a site you can move to any host, and you've got someone to look after it. If you want Wix's ease and a site that's code you can own, that's what Wix Headless is for.
Wix vs WordPress: what's the actual difference?
Wix is a website builder you rent. You pay a monthly plan and Wix runs the lot: the servers, the security and the software updates.
WordPress is free software that you install on hosting you choose. You, or whoever builds it for you, look after it.
Think of Wix as a furnished flat where the landlord fixes the boiler. WordPress is buying the house. It's all yours to change, and all yours to fix.
One thing that trips people up: WordPress.org and WordPress.com aren't the same. WordPress.org is the free software. WordPress.com is a service that hosts WordPress for you, with free and paid plans. When people say "WordPress", they usually mean the free software, and so do we here.
| Wix | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Who looks after it | Wix runs the hosting, security and updates | You or your developer: hosting, updates and backups |
| Getting started | Sign up, pick a template, edit in your browser | Choose hosting, install it, then add a theme and plugins |
| Extra features | Wix's own tools for blogs, bookings and shops, plus its app market | Over 78,000 free plugins in the WordPress directory |
| Moving it later | Editor and Studio sites have to stay on Wix's servers | Move it to any host you like |
| Best for | Businesses that want one login and no upkeep | Businesses that want control and have technical help |
Plugin count from wordpress.org, checked 9 November 2026.
Wix vs WordPress pricing in the UK
On paper, WordPress is cheaper. The software costs nothing. You pay for hosting and a domain, and that's you started.
Wix bundles the hosting into its plans, so the monthly figure looks bigger. Here's what each route costs today.
| Option | Price a month | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Wix Light | £9 (£11.50) | Can't take payments online |
| Wix Core | £16 (£19) | The cheapest Wix plan that takes payments |
| Wix Business | £25 (£29) | More storage and fuller shop features |
| WordPress software | Free | You still need hosting and a domain |
| WordPress hosting (Krystal, UK) | £7 to £97 | Monthly billing; the bigger plans are for busier sites |
| WordPress.com | US$4 to US$45 | Personal to Commerce plans on yearly billing, shown in dollars only |
Wix UK prices on yearly billing, with monthly billing in brackets, from ExpertSure's UK price guide (updated August 2026), because wix.com only shows dollars from here. Krystal and WordPress.com prices from their own pricing pages. All checked 9 November 2026.
The gap closes once you add the extras. A premium theme, a couple of paid plugins, backups and security tools all nudge the WordPress bill up.
The biggest cost isn't on either price list, though. It's time. Somebody has to keep a WordPress site updated, and if that isn't you, you're paying for it.
Is Wix or WordPress better for SEO?
Both can rank on Google. Google ranks pages, not platforms.
Wix has the technical foundations Google looks for: fast loading, mobile-friendly pages and secure hosting. WordPress gives you more knobs to turn, mostly through plugins, which is great if you know what you're doing.
What actually moves rankings is the same on both: useful content, links from other sites, a tidy Google Business Profile and steady work after launch. We'd rather you spent your energy there than on the platform debate. Our SEO page shows how we go about it.
Who owns your website on Wix and WordPress?
This is the bit most comparisons skip, and it's the one that bites later.
With WordPress, the files and the database are yours. Fed up with your host? Move.
With a site built in the Wix Editor or Wix Studio, Wix's own help centre is clear: because Wix is a hosted service, your site has to run on Wix's servers. You keep your words, images and brand, but if you ever leave, the design gets rebuilt.
Wix Headless changes that. We build the front of the site in code, and you still edit your words, photos and blog in the same Wix dashboard. On our monthly plans the site's code is yours after 12 months, so you can change host or platform later without starting again.
Upkeep and security: the part that isn't on the price list
A WordPress site is the core software, a theme and a handful of plugins, often from different authors. Each one gets updates, and now and again two of them don't get on.
Plenty of businesses run WordPress for years without a hitch. The common thread is that someone checks the updates, keeps backups and keeps an eye on it.
On Wix there are no plugins to update. Wix looks after the hosting and security, which is a big part of why we build on it. The trade-off is less freedom: you work within what Wix and its app market offer.
What we'd do
We build on Wix every day, so weigh our view with that in mind. Here's where we'd land.
If you already have a WordPress site and a developer who looks after it well, stay put. Moving platforms for the sake of it is money you don't need to spend.
If you need a very specific feature that only a WordPress plugin does, or you've got someone technical in-house who enjoys tinkering, WordPress is a sound choice and we'd tell you so.
For most service businesses, though, we'd pick Wix. Trades, clinics, consultants, local shops: one login, nothing to patch, and a dashboard simple enough that you'll actually use it.
If the thing putting you off Wix is being stuck there, look at Wix Headless. You keep the Wix dashboard, and the site is code you can own.
And if you're just starting out and money's tight, build it yourself on Wix's Core plan over a weekend. Come back when the website needs to earn its keep.
Don't pick a platform. Pick who's going to look after it.
Questions people ask
What is the downside of Wix?
Sites built in the Wix Editor or Wix Studio have to run on Wix's servers, so you can't take the design with you if you leave. You also get less freedom than WordPress's plugins give you. Wix Headless gets round the first point, because the site is code you can own.
What are the disadvantages of using WordPress?
You're responsible for hosting, updates and backups, or for paying someone to handle them. Plugins from different authors can clash after an update. Premium themes, paid plugins and help all add to the free price tag.
Which one is better, WordPress or Wix?
Neither wins across the board. Wix suits businesses that want one login and no upkeep. WordPress suits businesses that want full control and a site they can move anywhere, and that have someone to look after it.
Thinking of building on Wix?
See what's included on our Packages page: monthly Wix Headless plans from £145 a month, with your Wix plan, hosting and 4 to 8 hours of updates a month depending on the plan, or one-off builds from £1,500.
Not sure which way to go? Send your site over for a free website review. Ryan, our founder, will record a short video walking through your homepage and what he'd change. It's free, with no obligation.