Wix, Google Sites or a website built for you: what does free really cost?
A free website builder costs you nothing in rand and a fair amount in hours. You pick the template, write every word, find the photos and fix whatever breaks, and the free version comes with the builder's branding and its own web address. Our websites are built free, in code, by us, and then you pay from R490 a month for hosting, care and changes. Which one suits you comes down to how much time you have and what the site has to do for your business.
What a free builder plan gives you
Wix's free plan needs no credit card. A free Wix site lives on an address like username.wixsite.com/sitename and carries Wix branding, and taking the branding off means moving to one of the Premium plans on Wix's own plans page.
Google Sites puts your site on a sites.google.com link unless you connect a domain you control, which means adding records at whoever manages your domain.
The free website Google used to make from your Business Profile is gone. Google turned those sites off in March 2024 and sent their visitors to the Business Profile until 10 June 2024, as Search Engine Journal reported from Google's notice. Your profile can still link to a website. You just need one somewhere else.
What you get with us, from R490 a month
On our Minimum package we build a website of up to 5 pages from our designs, tailored to your business, and we write the words. Hosting, security updates, backups and SSL are included. So are up to 30 minutes of small changes a month, a mailbox on your own domain with free aliases like info@ and sales@, a WhatsApp button and contact form, and your Google Business Profile set up. The site goes live within 7 days of getting your details, or your first month is free.
The build itself is free. There's no build fee and no contract: you pay R490 a month, or R4,900 for a year, and you can cancel with 30 days' notice. Your domain, email and words are yours from day one, and after 12 paid months the website files are yours too. The domain isn't in any package; we register it for you at cost.
Side by side
| Compare | Free builder plan | Position Xero Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| To get started | R0 | No build fee. Your first month is R490 |
| Every month after | R0 on the free plan. Removing the builder's branding means a paid plan | R490 a month, or R4,900 for a year |
| Web address | The builder's, like username.wixsite.com/sitename | Your own domain, registered for you at cost |
| Who builds it | You | We do, from a 15-minute call or a voice note |
| Who writes the words | You | We do |
| Hosting, security updates, backups, SSL | The builder hosts it | Included, and we look after it |
| Changes | You make them | Up to 30 minutes a month on Minimum, more on the bigger packages |
| When it goes live | When you finish it | Within 7 days of getting your details, or your first month is free |
| If you leave | The builder's terms decide | Your domain, email and words go with you, and the files too after 12 paid months |
Figures checked November 2026.
When a free builder is the better choice
If you're testing an idea, money is tight this month or you enjoy building things yourself, a free builder is a sensible place to start. The same goes if you need something up by Saturday and you can live with the builder's address for a while. You can move later, and moving your domain and email to us costs nothing extra.
When R490 a month makes more sense
When your hours are worth more running the business than dragging boxes around a screen. When you want your own domain and an email address that matches it. And when the site has to bring in work, because then somebody has to keep it current and help it get found.
That last part starts on our Standard package at R990 a month: on-site SEO, 2 blog posts a month, your Google Business Profile managed with a weekly post and review replies, Google Search Console and Bing set up, and a monthly report in plain English. Compare all four packages before you decide.
What "built in code" means for you
We code every site from scratch, with no template or drag-and-drop builder underneath. Each page carries only what it needs, so it stays light on a phone, and that's where your customers are: 77.39% of web traffic in South Africa came from mobile devices in October 2026. Your number and WhatsApp button sit within reach on every screen, and we look after the updates. If you're weighing a coded site against WordPress as well, we compare the two in coded website vs WordPress. More figures on how South Africans and their small businesses get online are in our small business website statistics.
We do it all on WhatsApp
Everything happens online. You tell us about your business on a 15-minute call or in a voice note, and send your logo and a few photos if you have them. We write the words and build the site. You check it on your phone, tell us what to change on WhatsApp, and it goes live within 7 days of getting your details. Nobody has to drive anywhere.
See sites we've built, then send us your business name and what you do.
Questions people ask
Is Wix actually free?
Wix has a free plan that needs no credit card. A free Wix site sits on an address like username.wixsite.com/sitename and shows Wix branding, and removing the branding takes one of Wix's Premium plans, according to Wix's plans page (read 12 November 2026).
Is your website really free?
The build is free: there's no build fee. You pay the monthly package from the first month, from R490 a month on Minimum, or R4,900 if you pay for the year. The domain isn't included in any package; we register it for you at cost.
Can I use my own domain on a free website builder?
On Google Sites, yes: you can connect a domain you control by adding records wherever your domain is managed. On Wix, a free site stays on a wixsite.com address, and connecting your own domain takes a Premium plan, according to Wix's help centre. With us, the site goes on your own domain, which we register for you at cost, and the domain is yours from day one.
Can I move my site from a free builder to you?
Yes. We build your new site free on whichever package you choose, from R490 a month, and moving your domain and email across costs nothing extra.
What happens to my website if I stop paying?
Give us 30 days' notice. Your domain, email and words are yours and go with you. After 12 paid months, the website files go with you too.
Let’s get your website live
Send us a WhatsApp with your business name and what you do. Your website is built free, then from R490 a month.
Prefer to phone? +27 66 241 2155