wix vs wordpress: audited 1-year and 3-year totals
business · 2026-10-13 · 8 min
comparison giants (tooltester, WBE, G2, sitebuilder report: 4,000-8,000 words, videos, choosers) drown owners in features while their price logs go stale and starting-prices mislead. the antidote they never publish: itemized 1-year and 3-year totals with stated assumptions, dated. here it is — audit the numbers, steal the method.
year-1 model (brochure site, honest assumptions)
wix: business tier $29-39/month annual ($350-470/year) + domain (often year-one included, then ~$20) + apps/email extras ($0-200) = ~$400-700 year one. wordpress: hosting decent shared ~$60-150 + domain ~$15 + theme ($0-100) + setup (DIY evenings or $300-1,000 hired) + maintenance (evenings or plan) = ~$100-300 DIY / ~$500-1,500 hired year one. year one: rented simplicity and owned DIY cost comparably — the divergence starts later.
year-3 totals (where ownership wins)
wix: renewals rise (promo → standard; verify CURRENT renewal, not signup price) × 3 + extras creep (apps added yearly) ≈ $1,200-2,000 cumulative. wordpress DIY: hosting renewals (~$100-200/year after promos) + domain + occasional premium renewals ≈ $400-800 cumulative + your maintenance evenings. hired wordpress: + care plan ($50-150/month → $1,800-5,400 over 3 years — the line that decides). totals depend on YOUR row values — plug your numbers, not mine.
the exit column (priced, unlike rivals)
wix → anywhere: rebuild (design, structure, stores/bookings don't export — budget half a new site + URL mapping + rank-fluctuation weeks). wordpress → anywhere: export + move (hours, not rebuild). add expected exit cost × probability of leaving to the 3-year math — uncertain trajectory makes ownership the hedge. migration reality: wix to wordpress. decision by scenario: wix vs wordpress.
FAQ
cheapest over 3 years?
wordpress DIY (cash) almost always; wix vs hired-wordpress depends on care-plan size. compute with YOUR rows — universal answers are marketing.
prices change — trust this?
no: verify live plan pages the week you decide (location-sensitive pricing). trust the METHOD (rows + renewals + exit), never the snapshot.
itemized model (method over snapshot)
| row | wix | wordpress.org DIY | wordpress hired |
|---|---|---|---|
| plan/hosting yr1 | $350-470 | $60-150 | $60-150 |
| domain | ~$20 (yr1 often incl.) | ~$15 | ~$15 |
| build | $0 DIY evenings | evenings | $300-1000 |
| 3-year cum. | ~$1200-2000 | ~$400-800 + evenings | + care plan $1800-5400 |
| exit | rebuild (half a new site) | export + move (hours) | export + move |
wordpress.com plans are a third product — price separately. prices checked october 2026, USD (EUR ~0.92x); verify CURRENT renewal, not signup promo. migration: wix to wordpress. ownership: total cost.