Wix wins on pricing. GoDaddy’s entry plans look cheaper on the pricing page, but Wix costs less from year two onward, includes subscriptions and multi-currency checkout that GoDaddy does not offer at any price, and never hits you with a renewal increase.
GoDaddy’s Basic plan at $9.99 per month is the one scenario where it makes financial sense: a US service business that needs the cheapest possible first year and is not selling subscription products.
Outside that narrow case, Wix delivers more features per dollar at every tier and a lower total cost across any two-year period.
1. Free Plan Comparison
GoDaddy front-loads more premium access on its free tier, but Wix’s free plan has no expiry and no countdown.
| Wix Free | GoDaddy Free | |
| Subdomain format | username.wixsite.com/sitename | yoursite.godaddysites.com |
| Platform branding | Yes | Yes |
| eCommerce | No | No |
| Custom domain connection | No | Trial period only |
| Premium trial included | No | 7 days |
| Credit card required to sign up | No | No |
| Site stays live after downgrade | Yes, indefinitely | Yes |
Wix
Wix’s free plan is genuinely permanent. I signed up without a credit card, built a site, and published it on the Wix subdomain with no time limit attached.
What the free tier does not include:
- Custom domain connection
- Wix branding removed from the published site
- Any eCommerce, payment processing, or scheduling features
- Email marketing or advanced marketing tools
The subdomain format (username.wixsite.com/sitename) is long and unsuited to professional use. For testing the editor and evaluating whether Wix fits your needs before paying anything, though, the free plan gives you real, unlimited access to the builder itself.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy’s free plan works differently. When I signed up, I was given 7 days of full premium features before being automatically downgraded to the free tier.
That week includes:
- Custom domain connection
- Ad removal
- SEO tools
- Full Commerce feature access
After 7 days, those features disappear. There is no proactive warning before the downgrade happens.
The site stays live on the godaddysites.com subdomain, and you keep everything you built, but the premium tools are locked until you upgrade.
The free subdomain GoDaddy assigns is even longer than Wix’s. In my test it came out as lumorastudio.godaddysites.com, which is not viable for business cards or professional outreach.
2. Entry-Level Paid Plans
GoDaddy’s Basic plan costs $7 per month less than Wix Light, but the two plans serve meaningfully different use cases at that price point.
| Wix Light | GoDaddy Basic | |
| Monthly price (annual billing) | $17/mo | $9.99/mo |
| Free domain (first year) | Yes | Yes |
| Storage | 2 GB | Not specified |
| Full online store | No | No |
| Payment by link or QR code | No | Yes (US and Canada only) |
| Platform branding removed | Yes | Yes |
| Email marketing sends per month | No | 100 |
| Collaborators | 2 | Not specified |
| 24/7 support | Chat + callback | Phone + chat |
Wix Light
At $17 per month on an annual plan, Wix Light is the entry point for a branded, ad-free site on a custom domain.
It is deliberately limited on the business tools side:
- 2 GB of storage, which is enough for a simple site but tight for image-heavy portfolios
- No eCommerce, no payment processing, no appointment scheduling
- 2 site collaborators
- A light marketing suite covering basic tools only, with no email campaign functionality
For a freelancer, consultant, or anyone who needs a clean professional web presence with a custom domain and nothing more, Light covers the requirements. The storage cap is the main practical constraint to watch.
GoDaddy Basic
At $9.99 per month annually, GoDaddy Basic is the cheapest paid plan I found across both platforms.
What Basic includes:
- Custom domain connection
- Free professional email for the first year, then a separate Microsoft 365 subscription
- GoDaddy Airo AI tools for site building and content
- 100 email marketing sends per month
- Payment by link or QR code (US and Canada only)
What Basic does not include is a shopping cart. You can collect payments by sending a payment link, which works for one-off service bookings or invoicing. It does not support a product catalog with an add-to-cart flow.
For a US or Canada-based service business that needs a simple site, a custom domain, and basic email marketing, Basic is a capable entry plan at the lowest price either platform offers.
3. eCommerce Plan Comparison
GoDaddy Commerce costs less in year one, but Wix Core includes features that GoDaddy does not offer at any tier or any price.
| Wix Core | GoDaddy Commerce | |
| Monthly price (annual billing) | $29/mo | $20.99/mo |
| Platform transaction fee | 0% | 0% |
| Payment processing fee | Wix Payments rates apply | 2.7% + $0.30 per transaction |
| Abandoned cart recovery | Yes | Yes |
| Subscriptions and recurring billing | Yes | Not available |
| Multi-currency checkout | No (Business: $39/mo) | Not available |
| Product listing limit | 50,000 | 5,000 |
| Checkout stays on your domain | Yes | No, redirects to mysimplestore.com |
| Multichannel selling | Facebook, Instagram, eBay, Amazon | Facebook, Instagram, Google, Etsy, eBay, Amazon |
| Storage | 50 GB | Not specified |
Wix Core
At $29 per month, Wix Core is the plan where Wix becomes a full eCommerce platform.
Core unlocks:
- Subscriptions and recurring billing for any business model that charges on a regular schedule
- Abandoned cart recovery with automated follow-up flows
- POS integration in the US, with unified in-person and online inventory
- Up to 50,000 product listings
- 0% platform transaction fees when using Wix Payments
- 50 GB of storage and 5 site collaborators
Checkout stays on your own domain throughout. Customers never leave your site to complete a purchase.
The one gap at Core is multi-currency, which requires upgrading to Business at $39 per month. If you are selling to international customers from day one, factor that upgrade into your budget.
GoDaddy Commerce
GoDaddy Commerce at $20.99 per month delivers a functional store for sellers who need the basics working cleanly and quickly.
Commerce includes:
- A 1-page checkout format that reduces friction at the point of purchase
- Up to 5,000 product listings covering physical and digital goods
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Multichannel selling across Facebook, Instagram, Google, Etsy, eBay, and Amazon
- AI product listing generation from a single product image
Two structural limitations matter before you commit.
- First, checkout redirects to mysimplestore.com rather than your own domain. For buyers who are already cautious about unfamiliar stores online, that redirect creates a trust gap that you cannot close on this platform.
- Second, GoDaddy Payments charges 2.7% + $0.30 per transaction, with processing fees ranging from 2.6% + $0.10 to 3.5% + $0.49 depending on card type. On a $50 order, that is $1.65 per transaction. At 100 orders per month, you are paying $165 in processing alone.
There are no subscriptions at any GoDaddy Website Builder tier. If recurring billing is any part of your business model, Commerce cannot support it.
4. Renewal Pricing and Hidden Costs
This is the section that changes the pricing decision for most buyers making a longer than one-year commitment.
GoDaddy advertises introductory discounts of up to 54% on annual plans. The price on the pricing page is the year-one price. The price you pay from year two onward is materially higher.
| Plan | Year 1 Price | Approx. Year 2 Renewal | Increase |
| GoDaddy Basic | $9.99/mo | ~$16.99/mo | ~70% |
| GoDaddy Commerce | $20.99/mo | ~$50/mo | ~138% |
| Wix Light | $17/mo | $17/mo | 0% |
| Wix Core | $29/mo | $29/mo | 0% |
| Wix Business | $39/mo | $39/mo | 0% |
GoDaddy
GoDaddy’s introductory-to-renewal gap is the single most important cost factor to understand before signing up.
Basic rises from $9.99 to approximately $16.99 per month at renewal. That is a 70% increase, which turns a $119.88 first year into a $203.88 second year for an identical plan with no added features.
Commerce is more significant. At roughly $20.99 per month in year one and approximately $50 per month at renewal, a business budgeting $251.88 for year one should be planning for roughly $600 in year two.
Additional costs to factor in beyond the base plan:
- Microsoft 365 email is included free for the first year, then becomes a separate annual subscription
- CDN is not included by default on Website Builder plans and is available as a paid add-on
- GoDaddy Payments charges 2.7% + $0.30 per transaction on top of the monthly plan cost
- Domain renewal moves to standard rates after the first-year discount expires
Wix
Wix pricing stays at the advertised annual rate at renewal. The $29 per month you pay in year one is the $29 per month you pay in year two and beyond.
Additional costs to factor in:
- Google Workspace email is a separate purchase if you want a custom-domain email address
- Domain renewal at standard rates after the free first-year voucher expires
- The free domain voucher applies only to a new domain purchase, not to renewals
The practical two-year comparison is significant. Wix Core across 24 months costs $696 ($29 x 24). GoDaddy Commerce across the same period costs approximately $851 ($251.88 year one plus $599.88 year two), despite appearing cheaper at the point of signup.
Wix wins on long-term cost. Flat renewal pricing means the two-year total for Wix Core runs roughly $155 less than GoDaddy Commerce despite GoDaddy’s lower introductory rate.
5. Advanced and Enterprise Tiers
Wix offers a clear plan progression from mid-tier to high-volume. GoDaddy’s Website Builder has one eCommerce tier and no upgrade path above it.
| Wix Business | Wix Business Elite | GoDaddy (highest tier) | |
| Monthly price (annual) | $39/mo | $159/mo | $20.99/mo (Commerce) |
| Storage | 100 GB | Unlimited | Not specified |
| Multi-currency checkout | Yes | Yes | Not available |
| Advanced eCommerce tools | Yes | Yes, advanced | Basic |
| Site collaborators | 10 | 100 | Not specified |
| Developer platform | Velo | Velo, advanced | Limited |
| Upgrade path above this plan | Yes | Enterprise (custom pricing) | None |
Wix Business and Business Elite
Wix Business at $39 per month adds multi-currency checkout, 100 GB of storage, and 10 collaborators.
For a store selling to customers in more than one country, this is the plan where cross-border selling becomes practical without needing a third-party workaround.
Business Elite at $159 per month is built for high-volume operations:
- Unlimited storage with no ceiling on assets or products
- 100 site collaborators for large teams and agencies
- Advanced eCommerce tools beyond the Core and Business feature sets
- Advanced Velo developer platform access for custom logic and external API connections
For stores and agencies that need to scale, Business Elite is the ceiling of Wix’s self-serve plans before Enterprise custom pricing applies.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy’s Website Builder has no tier above Commerce at $20.99 per month.
There is no mid-tier equivalent to Wix Business, no advanced eCommerce plan, and no developer platform for custom logic or API connections. GoDaddy does offer an Enterprise product, but that is a custom-quoted solution aimed at franchises and multi-site management rather than a natural upgrade from the Website Builder.
For a growing eCommerce business on GoDaddy, the platform ceiling arrives quickly:
- Subscriptions are unavailable at any price
- Multi-currency is unavailable at any price
- Product listings cap at 5,000
- The only route beyond these limits is migrating to a different platform entirely
6. Value for Money Verdict
Across every pricing tier and time horizon beyond year one, Wix delivers more per dollar once renewal pricing and feature access are both accounted for.
| Scenario | Better value |
| Cheapest paid entry point | GoDaddy Basic ($9.99/mo, year one) |
| Cheapest long-term free plan | Wix (no expiry) |
| Cheapest eCommerce in year one | GoDaddy Commerce ($20.99/mo) |
| Cheapest eCommerce in year two and beyond | Wix Core ($29/mo, no increase) |
| Subscriptions at any price | Wix only |
| Multi-currency at any price | Wix only |
| On-domain checkout | Wix only |
| Plan upgrade path above entry eCommerce | Wix only |
GoDaddy wins on year-one entry pricing at both the basic and eCommerce tiers. That is a real advantage for a business testing the water with minimal upfront commitment.
Wix wins on everything else:
- Pricing stays flat at renewal with no introductory gap
- Subscriptions and recurring billing are included from $29 per month
- Multi-currency checkout available from $39 per month
- On-domain checkout at all eCommerce tiers
- A plan progression up to $159 per month for high-volume sellers
The value calculation shifts clearly in Wix’s favor from year two. A business that signs up for GoDaddy Commerce at $20.99 per month and renews at approximately $50 per month will spend roughly $851 across two years for a plan that still does not include subscriptions or multi-currency.
Wix Core across the same period costs $696 and includes both.
Wix wins on pricing for most users. The three strongest reasons are flat renewal pricing with no introductory gap; subscriptions and recurring billing from $29 per month, which GoDaddy does not offer at any price; and a plan progression up to $159 per month that gives growing businesses a clear upgrade path.
GoDaddy makes sense if you are a US or Canada-based service business that needs the cheapest possible entry point and plans to reassess after year one.
