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Reviewed
The best WordPress alternatives pack a full range of website design, blogging and online sales tools into one easy-to-use platform. Unlike WordPress, which requires many moving parts and ongoing upkeep, many WordPress competitors handle important technical details such as platform updates and security for you. Most WordPress alternatives also have a far smaller learning curve than WordPress, so you can launch your site quickly and focus on growth. Forbes Advisor evaluated dozens of website platforms with features that rival WordPress to bring you this ranking of the best WordPress alternatives for 2024.
The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence. We use product data, strategic methodologies and expert insights to inform all of our content and guide you in making the best decisions for your business journey.
We reviewed several website builders using a detailed process to help you find the 10 best WordPress alternatives. Our ratings consider factors that included the affordability of pricing plans, the number of available features with each plan, customer reviews and a review by our panel of experts. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Learn more: How We Test Website Builders
| Company | Forbes Advisor Rating | Price range | Blogging tools | Built-in e-commerce | LEARN MORE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weebly |  |
4.4 |  |
$0 to $26 per month | Yes | Yes, included in free plan | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| GoDaddy |  |
4.4 | |
$0 to $20.99 per month | Yes | Yes | Learn More | On GoDaddy's Website | |
| Drupal |  |
4.3 | |
$0 (open-source software); hosting from $1 to $16 per month | Yes | Yes | View More | ||
| Squarespace |  |
4.2 |  |
$16 to $72 per month | Yes | Yes | Learn More | On Squarespace's Website | |
| Shopify |  |
4.0 |  |
$29 to $399 per month | Yes | Yes | Learn More | On Shopify's Website | |
| Wix |  |
4.0 |  |
$17 to $159 per month | Yes | Yes | Learn More | On Wix's Website | |
| Zyro |  |
3.9 | |
$2.59 to $3.59 per month (during current promotion) | Yes | Yes | Learn More | On Zyro's Website | |
| HubSpot |  |
3.8 | |
Free, $15 or $3,600 per month | Yes | No | Learn More | On HubSpot's Website | |
| Webflow |  |
3.7 |  |
$0 to $212 per month | Yes | Yes | View More | ||
| Blogger |  |
3.0 |  |
Free | Yes | No | View More |
Read More:
According to the global website statistics firm W3Techs, WordPress powers 43% of websites worldwide, and that’s no surprise. In terms of versatility, scalability, cost and relative user-friendliness, WordPress is one of the best website builders on the market today. Whether you need a personal blogging platform, basic business website, an e-commerce store or a content marketing powerhouse, you can do it with a WordPress website.
However, WordPress’ impressive power and versatility come with three distinct downsides:
In many cases, WordPress alternatives can be a better choice for business websites, online stores and blogs. Most WordPress alternatives are incredibly user-friendly, with plug-and-play designs that let you quickly launch modern, functional websites. They also have set pricing, so you always know your costs. Finally, most WordPress competitors maintain the technical side of the platform, so you can focus on building your website and business.
WordPress works for millions of users, but is it right for your unique needs? These pros and cons can help you decide if WordPress is the top pick, or if a competitor might be a better fit.
On the pro side, WordPress websites can be economical compared to the costs of many WordPress competitors. You can even find free WordPress hosting for basic blogs, business websites, artist or writer portfolios and simple e-commerce stores. However, WordPress costs add up quickly if you need hosting with added storage and security, advanced design themes, user-friendly page builders and plugins to boost functionality.
Once you move beyond the free basics on a WordPress website, you can expect to spend anywhere from $5 to $75 or more per month, on average, depending on the hosting, themes and plugins you use. These costs can be pros or cons, depending on your needs versus what WordPress competitors offer in the same price range. So, carefully review competitors’ features and costs to see which delivers the best value.
If a web platform’s learning curve is too big, you’ll never get your project off the ground, which can be a con for WordPress. However, if you’re willing to brave the learning curve, WordPress websites allow more customization, expansion and scalability than all-in-one platforms. That’s a definite pro for choosing WordPress.
Ultimately, you need to decide if WordPress’ versatility is worth the learning curve or if a simpler platform can meet your needs with less setup and maintenance.
If affiliate blogging or content marketing is your goal, WordPress’ content management system, SEO-friendly framework and versatile affiliate plugins are significant pros. It also supports unlimited contributor accounts, something few WordPress blog competitors can match. That’s a pro for blog-based news outlets and other team-generated content sites.
The WordPress learning curve is the only real con in terms of blogging, and where user-friendly blog platforms gain an edge over WordPress.
Thanks to its plugin-powered versatility, you can sell virtually anything you can dream up on a WordPress website. That’s a major pro for any business looking to sell online. E-commerce plugins such as WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads and MemberPress enable all types of sales, from physical products that ship to digital downloads, virtual services, online courses and subscriptions.
Once again, the con of using WordPress for e-commerce is its learning curve. E-commerce plugins are one more thing to learn, implement and maintain in your WordPress stack. You’ll also spend time shopping for the right plugin for your sales needs. Most WordPress competitors support a full range of e-commerce sales, though sales features typically require paid plans.
Featured Partners
1
Wix
$17 per month
Yes
Yes
2
Web.com
$1.95 per month
Yes
Customizable templates, Easy drag-and-drop technology, SSL certificate
3
Squarespace
$16 per month
Yes
Yes
WordPress offers several clear pros and some notable cons. Despite its versatility and popularity, there are times when a WordPress alternative offers a better solution.
Do you need to know your costs at all times? If so, a WordPress competitor with set price plans, such as Shopify, Wix or Squarespace, can be the better fit.
Unlike all-in-one platforms with set plan tiers, features and costs, WordPress costs fluctuate based on your hosting, theme and plugin choices. It’s easy to purchase elements as you build or expand, and before you know it, your average costs can be double, or more, than you’d pay to launch and run your website on an all-in-one platform.
Do you prefer to launch a website quickly and avoid pesky ongoing upkeep? If so, intuitive and user-friendly WordPress alternatives including Wix, Squarespace, Zyro and even Webflow might be the ideal fit.
These WordPress alternatives pair modern plug-and-play themes with intuitive drag-and-drop design tools to deliver a smaller learning curve, quicker setup and less upkeep. Along with most WordPress competitors featured here, these platforms make it easy to run an attractive website with minimal fuss.
Would you rather put time into writing rather than website setup and upkeep? If so, a simple blogging platform, such as Blogger, might do the trick.
Even a simple WordPress blog requires some work in initial setup, plus ongoing maintenance to keep everything running smoothly. If you prefer to simply get your words out there, a basic blogging platform is all you need. To combine a website with robust blogging, SEO and social media features, Squarespace, Weebly, CMS Hub and Wix are top WordPress alternatives to consider.
Does managing sales, operations and customers take priority over website upkeep? If so, WordPress alternatives with built-in store features let you focus on business rather than technical details.
Adding sales features to WordPress requires one or more e-commerce plugins, and choosing, setting up and maintaining these is a task. Platforms with built-in store features can be far easier to implement and maintain. Plus, top names such as Shopify, Weebly, Wix, Webflow and Squarespace provide integrated sales, marketing and shipping tools to streamline daily tasks.
To determine the top WordPress alternatives, Forbes Advisor compared several factors, including price, ease of use, blogging and e-commerce features, SEO tools, theme options and site customization. We also considered each platform’s reputation, number of active users and user reviews.
Here are the primary criteria used to find and rank the best WordPress alternatives.
In terms of cost, we considered the availability of free plans and discounts and overall costs across all plan tiers. We also examined each platform’s features at various plan levels and the apps and third-party integrations available to expand functionality to match WordPress websites. This accounted for 20% of our weighted scoring.
To determine which hosts offer the best value for the price, we considered which features are included, from storage and bandwidth limits to social media and email marketing tools to having mobile responsive websites, drag-and-drop templates, the inclusion of a free domain name, SSL certificates and more. We weighted features at 35% of our total score.
To get a sense of which platforms best deliver on promises and user expectations we looked at user reviews. We looked at what users had to say on third-party review websites Trustpilot and G2, focusing on those reviews left for providers that were at least 3.5 out of 5 on each site. These accounted for 15% of the total score.
Our panel of experts considered the customer service options provided at different plan levels along with the reputation, awards and recognitions earned by each platform. Based on our own first-hand experience with each of the providers, we gave each WordPress alternative a score across usability, features, value, and support. With these metrics, we then weighed and scored each of the leading WordPress alternatives to find the overall best. This expert analysis made up 30% of the total score.
We’ve outlined the top WordPress alternatives for 2024 above in terms of website builder features, e-commerce and online sales options and blogging and SEO tools. In our analysis, Weebly came out on top.
WordPress has a large learning curve and beginners will need to learn quite a bit about the platforms to launch and maintain a website, blog or online store. WordPress websites can also be pricey when you consider hosting, theme and plugin costs. The WordPress alternatives reviewed above can offer similar functionality without the learning curve or added costs.
With so many WordPress alternatives available in 2024, learning WordPress may not be worthwhile. WordPress takes a while to learn, requires ongoing upkeep and tends to cost more to operate over time. Most small businesses and side gig startups can build, launch and run a stylish and modern website, blog or online business faster, easier and for less money using one of the WordPress alternatives listed above.
WordPress is free open-source software that costs nothing to use out of the box. However, WordPress costs for website hosting, design themes and plugins can add up. Small businesses and affiliate bloggers typically spend around $5 to $75 per month running a WordPress website. There are free basic hosting plans but most users opt for paid hosting with added storage and features for around $2.99 to $50 per month. You can also find free WordPress themes, page builders and plugins. However, tapping into advanced features adds one-time, monthly or annual costs.
Weebly offers a Free plan that includes a free secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate, the ability to add third-party embed codes, capture leads, manage inventory, accept coupons, add your Instagram feed and get chat and email support.
WordPress is considered a secure CMS platform, but only if you use a reliable hosting provider that implements security and updates on its web servers. You can further boost WordPress security by adding virus and malware plugins, installing only trusted plugins and keeping your plugins, themes and WordPress install updated to the latest versions. Using strong WordPress user passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA) or multifactor authentication (MFA) helps prevent hacker attacks as well.
WordPress.org is where you can download free WordPress software if you want to host a website on your own server. However, WordPress.org does not host websites. To set up a free WordPress website or blog, you can get a free hosting account on WordPress.com. For added security, storage and site speed features, consider a paid account with a top-rated WordPress hosting provider. These start at around $2.99 per month.
