Free AI Website Builders: What You Actually Get

Almost every AI website builder lets you generate a site for free. Far fewer let you publish one for free. That gap is the whole story behind the "ai website builder free" search, and it's what this guide sorts out.

Here's the short version:

• Free plans that publish a live site: Wix, Framer, Webflow and Jimdo. Your site lives on the builder's own address, and connecting your own domain costs extra.
• Free to build, paid to publish: Squarespace (free trial), 10Web (free build plus a short trial; its FAQ ties launching to a paid plan), Dorik (free trial) and Durable (free plan with a private preview).
• No free plan at all: Hostinger's AI website builder is paid upfront, with a money-back guarantee.
• Mostly not AI: Google Sites. It's a simple drag-and-drop editor you use with your Google account, with no prompt-to-site generator of its own.
• If you want code instead of a hosted site: v0 and Bolt generate a real project you can export, with free plans that cap daily usage.

Every free-plan detail below comes from the vendor's own pricing or product page. These pages change often, so treat the specifics as a snapshot and check the linked page before you commit.

Quick Comparison

What "Free" Actually Includes on an AI Website Builder

Before the tool-by-tool notes, it helps to know the four things a free plan almost always holds back. Once you know them, you can read any pricing page in about thirty seconds.

1. Your own domain. Free sites live on the builder's subdomain, like yourname.wixsite.com or yoursite.webflow.io. Connecting yourbusiness.com is the most common paid feature. For a portfolio you share by link, this barely matters. For a business, a subdomain looks temporary.

2. Branding. Free plans usually add a badge or banner, such as Webflow's "Made in Webflow" badge. Removing it is a paid feature almost everywhere.

3. Publishing and size limits. Some free plans cap pages, bandwidth or form submissions. Webflow's free Starter plan allows two static pages. Others let you build as much as you like but won't put the site online until you upgrade.

4. AI usage. The AI part often runs on a small starter allowance. You can generate a first version for free, but heavy regenerating or AI editing eats that allowance quickly.

If you're also weighing app builders, the same pattern shows up there. Our guide to free app builders breaks down where those paywalls land.

Free AI Website Builders That Can Publish a Live Site

These are the options where you can create a website with AI, put it online and share the link without paying.

Wix

Wix is the most complete free option for most people. Its AI website builder lets you describe the site you want, then refine it by chatting with Aria, Wix's AI agent, or by editing directly with drag and drop. You can start without a credit card.

According to Wix's plans page, the Free plan includes hosting, the drag-and-drop editor and templates. Free sites use a Wix address in the form username.wixsite.com/sitename. A Premium plan is what lets you connect your own domain, accept payments and remove Wix branding.

Best for: small businesses and personal sites that want AI generation and a polished editor, and can live with a Wix address at first.

Framer

Framer is built for designers and startups who care how a site looks. Its AI agents can generate and edit pages, and you can take over by hand at any point.

Framer's pricing page lists a Free plan with a free Framer domain, 1 GB of bandwidth and a starter allowance of AI usage to try its Agents. To connect a custom domain, you need a paid plan. The FAQ also calls the free plan ideal for non-commercial use.

Best for: portfolios, landing pages and side projects where design matters more than e-commerce.

Webflow

Webflow is the most powerful option here, and the strictest free plan. Webflow's pricing page lists a free Starter plan with a webflow.io domain, limited CMS, 2 static pages, 1 GB of bandwidth and 50 form submissions. It also lists Webflow AI, which can turn a prompt into a full site.

Free sites carry the "Made in Webflow" badge, and publishing to a custom domain needs a paid Site plan.

Best for: people who plan to grow into a professional site and want to learn Webflow before paying. Two pages is enough for a test, not for a business.

Jimdo

Jimdo targets solo business owners. Its homepage promises a site built with AI from your answers about your business: structure, copy, images and calls to action. It also says "No credit card. Free forever."

Jimdo's pricing FAQ confirms you can start with a free website and upgrade later, and that connecting a domain you already own comes with its premium plans. For the free plan's exact limits, check Jimdo's help center before you build.

Best for: freelancers and solopreneurs who want bookings and invoices next to a simple site.

AI Website Makers That Are Free to Try, Not Free to Publish

These tools let you see what the AI builds before you pay. That's useful, as long as you know the free part ends at the preview.

Squarespace

Squarespace's AI website builder asks you to describe your business in your own words, then creates a multi-page starting point with pages, copy, imagery, colors and fonts. You keep editing in the normal drag-and-drop editor.

There's no free plan. The pricing page says every site starts with a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and the AI builder page says you need a paid plan to publish.

Best for: people who will pay anyway and want the strongest-looking templates.

10Web

10Web is an AI website builder with a WordPress backend, which matters if you want WordPress plugins later. Its AI website builder page says building is free, with a 3-day trial that includes a small AI allowance. The page sends mixed signals on publishing: its steps say "Publish for free. Hosting and SSL included," while its FAQ says that to launch the site and keep it, you upgrade to a paid plan. Plan on the FAQ's version, and check the current terms before you commit.

Best for: people who want WordPress underneath without setting it up themselves.

Durable

Durable generates a full business website, with a built-in CRM and booking tools on its paid plans. It has a Free plan, but in the domain rows of the comparison table on Durable's pricing page, the Free column shows only a private preview. The durable.site subdomain and custom domains appear on the paid plans.

Best for: service businesses that want a site, bookings and lead capture in one place, and are ready to pay to go live.

Dorik

Dorik offers AI website generation on every plan, but no free-forever plan. Dorik's pricing page offers a 7-day free trial with full access to the plan you pick.

Best for: agencies and freelancers building several simple sites, who can test properly within a week.

A Paid AI Website Builder, Plus a Non-AI Fallback

Hostinger

Hostinger's AI website builder works the way you'd expect: write a prompt or pick a template, and the AI creates the first version. You then edit by hand with drag and drop, or chat with the AI to refine the site.

It isn't free. The page states that all plans are paid upfront, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Plans of 12 months or longer include a free custom domain for the first year.

Best for: people who know they want a paid site with hosting and email in one bill.

Google Sites

Google Sites works with your existing Google account. It isn't an AI website generator, though. You drag in text, images and Google Docs, Sheets or Slides, then publish to a sites.google.com address. The one AI link: since October 2026, Google says you can export an interactive app built in the Gemini app straight into a new, private Google Sites draft, then customize it there. Google's help center explains how to connect a custom domain you already own, up to five per site.

Best for: internal team pages, class sites and simple project hubs where design barely matters.

If You Want Code, Not a Hosted Site

Can AI build a website as real code you own? Yes. Prompt-to-code tools generate an actual project rather than a page inside a builder.

• v0 by Vercel turns prompts into web projects you can deploy to Vercel or sync with GitHub. v0's pricing page lists a free plan with a daily message limit.
• Bolt builds sites and apps from a prompt in the browser. Bolt's pricing page lists a free plan with a monthly token allowance and Bolt branding on websites. Your own domain comes with Pro.

These tools are a better fit if you want to change anything later, move hosts or hand the code to a developer. They're a worse fit if you've never touched code, because fixing a broken layout means reading it. A clear brief helps a lot with both kinds of builder. Our prompts for website creation give you ready-made briefs for v0, Bolt and plain chat models.

How to Pick a Free AI Website Builder

Match the tool to what you need the site to do this month, not in a year.

Three practical tips before you start:

1. Write a one-paragraph brief first. Who the site is for, what visitors should do and which pages you need. Every AI builder produces a better first draft from a specific brief.
2. Generate in two or three tools. First drafts are free nearly everywhere. Compare them side by side before you invest editing time in one.
3. Check the upgrade price before you build. Moving a finished site between builders is painful. Pick the one whose paid plan you'd actually buy.

If your site is part of a bigger launch, our guide to startup website development covers what to build first.

FAQ

Is there a truly free AI website builder?

Yes. Wix, Framer, Webflow and Jimdo each have a free plan that publishes a live site on the builder's own address. Connecting your own domain needs a paid plan, and on Wix and Webflow the free site keeps the builder's branding.

Can AI build a website for me?

Yes. Most builders now create a full first draft, with pages, copy, images and colors, from a short description of your business. You still need to check facts, swap stock photos for real ones and tighten the copy. Treat the AI draft as a starting point.

What's the best free AI website generator for a small business?

For a free live site, Wix is the most complete. If you're ready to pay soon, Squarespace and Durable build strong business sites. Durable includes bookings and a CRM.

Can I use my own domain with a free AI website builder?

Usually not. On the AI builders above, connecting a custom domain is the most common paid feature. Google Sites lets you connect a domain you already own, but it has no built-in AI site generator.

What's the difference between an AI website builder and an AI app builder?

A website builder makes pages people read: a homepage, services and a contact form. An app builder makes software people use, with logins, data and workflows. If you need the second, a website builder will hit a wall fast.

Do AI-generated websites rank on Google?

They can. Google cares whether the content is helpful, not whether AI drafted it. Generic AI copy rarely ranks, though, so replace it with specific details about your business.

Key Takeaways

• Generating a site is free almost everywhere. Publishing for free is limited to Wix, Framer, Webflow and Jimdo, on the builder's own address.
• Squarespace, Dorik and Durable are free to try, not free to publish. 10Web's page advertises free publishing, but its FAQ says launching needs a paid plan. Hostinger is paid from day one.
• The usual paywalls are your own domain, removing branding, page or bandwidth limits, and AI usage.
• If you want code you own, v0 and Bolt generate real projects with capped free plans.

Not every AI project is a website. If what you keep bookmarking is AI apps and workflows rather than page builders, Taku is an AI-native desktop workspace where you can mirror a working setup someone else built and run it yourself. Taku is in Beta, and the Mac app is available now.