What does Wix cost in Canada in 2026?

Wix plans run from about $17 a month on annual billing, and you need the $29 a month Core plan to sell online. Prices rise if you pay monthly instead of annually.

When is a website builder the right choice?

When you are testing an idea this weekend, when you need to sell products online from day one, or when you genuinely enjoy building it yourself and your time is free. A builder is real software and it works.

When does hiring someone make more sense?

When the website is for a running business, needs to look right, needs to be found on Google, and you would rather spend your evenings on the business. One time cost, no monthly fee, and you own it.

Website Builder or Web Designer? Real 3 Year Costs (2026)

Q: Is Wix or Squarespace cheaper than hiring a web designer?

Only at first. Wix business plans run about $17 to $36 a month and Squarespace about $16 to $99 US a month, so three years costs roughly $540 to $1,800, plus your own evenings building it. A freelance web developer in Canada charges $300 to $1,500 once, and Avelio charges $499 to $999 once.

Q: What does Squarespace cost in Canada in 2026?

Plans run from about $16 to $99 US a month on annual billing. Squarespace bills Canadians in US dollars, so the real price moves with the exchange rate, plus GST or HST.

The short answer: a website builder looks cheaper and usually is not. Wix business plans run about $17 to $36 a month and Squarespace about $16 to $99 US a month, so three years costs roughly $540 to $1,800, you build it yourself, and you cannot take the site with you at the end. A freelance web developer charges $300 to $1,500 once. We charge $499 to $999 once, and the site is yours.

The same decision, priced over three years

Three year cost comparison: Avelio, website builder, freelance web developer
	Avelio	Website builder (Wix, Squarespace)	Freelance web developer
What you pay up front	$499 – $999one time	$0	$300 – $1,500
Monthly fee	Noneabout $20 a year for the domain	$16 – $36+ a month, forever	Usually none
Three year total	$499 – $999	$540 – $1,800	$300 – $1,500
Who does the work	We doincluding photos from $699	You do, on your evenings	They build, you supply photos and words
Who owns it at the end	You do	The platform. Stop paying and it comes down	Usually you. Ask first

Two notes on the builder column. Squarespace bills Canadians in US dollars, so the real number moves with the exchange rate, and GST or HST goes on top. And on Wix, selling anything online needs the $29 a month Core plan, which alone is over $1,000 across three years.

The cost nobody prices: your evenings

A builder does not remove the work of making a website. It hands the work to you. You become the designer, the writer, the person hunting for photos, and the person googling why the menu looks wrong on your cousin’s phone. Some owners enjoy that. Most start it, get the site half done, and leave it half done for a year, which is the version of your business people then find.

When a builder is genuinely the right call

We would rather be straight than win every comparison. Use a builder when you are testing an idea this weekend and might drop it next month. Use one when you need to sell products online from day one, because a store needs the platform’s payment and inventory software anyway, and that is real monthly software doing real work. And use one if you honestly enjoy tinkering and your evenings are your own.

When hiring someone makes more sense

If the website is for a running business, the arithmetic flips. You pay once, someone who does this every week builds it, it goes live in about a week instead of eventually, and there is no bill in month forty. The catch to watch for is ownership, so ask the five ownership questions whoever you hire.

What Avelio does, and does not

We build informational websites for local businesses: the pages that show what you do, what it costs, and how to reach you. From $699 we also come and shoot real photos of your business, which is the thing no builder template can supply. We do not build online stores, customer logins, or booking systems that hold live availability, because those genuinely need monthly software, and the one thing we promise is no monthly fee from us. Websites anywhere in Canada. Shoots across Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, Langley and Abbotsford.

Common questions about builders and designers

Is Wix or Squarespace cheaper than hiring a web designer?

Only at first. Three years of builder fees runs roughly $540 to $1,800, plus your own time. A freelancer is $300 to $1,500 once. We are $499 to $999 once.

What does Wix cost in 2026?

From about $17 a month on annual billing, and $29 a month if you want to sell online. Monthly billing costs more.

What does Squarespace cost in 2026?

About $16 to $99 US a month on annual billing, charged in US dollars for Canadians, plus GST or HST.

Can I move my Wix or Squarespace site somewhere else later?

No. You can export some content, but the working website only runs on the platform. Leaving means rebuilding.

When is a builder the right choice?

Testing an idea, selling online from day one, or genuinely enjoying the build. For a running local business that wants to be found, hiring once usually costs less over three years.

Sources

Keep reading: what a website costs in Vancouver · do you own your website?

Website builder or web designer? What each really costs over three years