Which WordPress alternative should you choose?
It depends on what the site has to do and who will edit it. Squarespace or Wix for a site you run yourself, Shopify for a store, Webflow for a designer, Ghost for a newsletter, and a static site for a fast, custom one that your team edits. Prices in Australian dollars, and what leaving each one costs.
- Run it yourself
- Squarespace or Wix
- Online store
- Shopify
- Designer-built
- Webflow or Framer
- Newsletter
- Ghost
- Custom and fast
- a static site
- Cheapest
- A$18.70 a month
- Price
- see our own price list
Prices read on 24 October 2026, billed yearly where that is cheaper.
Australia · 2026Choose by who edits it and what it has to do.
The best alternative to WordPress depends on the job. For a small site you build and edit yourself, Squarespace or Wix. For an online store, Shopify. For a site a designer builds and looks after, Webflow or Framer. For a newsletter or a paid publication, Ghost. For a fast, custom business site your team edits, a static site with a content editor.
All of them drop the part of WordPress that costs the most to keep: nobody has to update plugins, PHP or a server. The hosted platforms patch themselves, and a static site has nothing on the live site that needs patching.
The cheapest to start are Squarespace, from A$18.70 a month billed yearly, and Wix, from A$21. Shopify is $56 a month on Basic. A static site costs more to build, from $9,000 with us, and close to nothing to host.
The real difference shows when you leave. A Wix site can't be hosted anywhere else, Squarespace exports only part of a site, and Webflow's code export leaves the CMS content behind. A static site's code and content move with you.
Seven WordPress alternatives, side by side.
What each costs to start, and the kind of site it suits best.
| Platform | From, a month | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Squarespace website builder | From, a month A$18.70 billed yearly | Best for A small site you run yourself |
| Wix website builder | From, a month A$21 billed yearly | Best for Drag-and-drop editing and bookings |
| Framer design tool and host | From, a month US$10 billed yearly | Best for A designer's portfolio or launch |
| Webflow visual builder | From, a month US$15 billed yearly | Best for A site a designer maintains |
| Shopify store platform | From, a month $56 on Basic | Best for Selling online |
| Ghost publishing platform | From, a month US$18 billed yearly | Best for A newsletter or publication |
| A static site built for you, edited in a CMS Ours | From, a month close to $0 to host | Best for A fast, custom site your team edits |
Read on 24 October 2026 from each platform's own pricing page: Squarespace and Wix in Australian dollars including GST, Wix on yearly plans paid upfront; Framer, Webflow and Ghost in US dollars. Squarespace is A$26.40 billed monthly, Wix takes payments from A$42, Framer adds redirects at US$30, Webflow adds its CMS at US$25, and a static site costs from $9,000 to build with us.
What you can take with you when you leave.
| Compared on | What comes with you | What stays behind |
|---|---|---|
| Squarespace | What comes with you Layout pages, one blog with its posts and comments, and text and image blocks, in a WordPress-format file | What stays behind Store pages, products, any other blogs, audio and video blocks, the design and custom CSS. Images are saved one by one |
| Wix | What comes with you Store products, as a file you can import elsewhere | What stays behind The site itself: Wix says its architecture does not support hosting a Wix site anywhere else. Blog posts can't be exported either |
| Framer | What comes with you CMS collections, as CSV or JSON through plugins | What stays behind Perhaps the site itself. One Framer help page says a published site can be downloaded and hosted elsewhere, another that there is no HTML export |
| Webflow | What comes with you The HTML, CSS, JavaScript and images, on a paid Workspace plan, and CMS collections as CSV | What stays behind CMS content inside the exported pages, the shop, member accounts, forms, site search and password protection |
| Shopify | What comes with you Products, customers and orders as spreadsheets, and the theme as a zip file | What stays behind Pages, blog posts, menus and images, which the theme download leaves out |
| Ghost | What comes with you Posts, pages, tags and settings as a JSON file, and members as a CSV. The software is open source | What stays behind Images and the theme, which are copied separately |
| A static site | What comes with you Everything. The code sits in your own account, the content in your CMS | What stays behind Nothing |
Check what exports before you choose. The cheapest platform to join can be the dearest to leave.
Which alternative suits which business.
- 01
You want to do it yourself. Squarespace or Wix.
Templates, hosting, security and support in one subscription. Squarespace builds pages from ready-made sections; Wix lets you drag elements anywhere, and adds bookings and a shop from its Core plan.
- 02
You sell online. Shopify.
Shopify runs the shop, the checkout and the payments, and most Australian online stores already use it. Our WooCommerce or Shopify guide prices a year of each.
- 03
A designer builds it. Webflow or Framer.
Both give a designer close control over layout and animation, and both host the site. Budget for the designer each time the site needs a new kind of page.
- 04
You publish. Ghost.
Built for newsletters, memberships and paid subscriptions, with the website attached. It is open source, so the same software can run on another host if you ever need it to.
- 05
Your team edits a fast, custom site. A static site.
Pages are built before anyone visits and sent as finished files, so they load in under a second and have nothing to patch. Your team edits in CloudCannon or Sanity, and the design is made for the business.
Creative Resort, a Sydney branding studio, outgrew Squarespace and moved to one; the studio has run its site itself ever since.
- 06
A plugin runs your business. Stay, for now.
If a booking, membership or course plugin has no equivalent elsewhere, moving costs more than staying. Keep WordPress, PHP and every plugin patched within hours of each alert, and plan the exit.
Not sure which group you are in? Judge by what the site has to do next year, not today.
What the first year costs on each.
The subscription plus whatever it takes to build, for a small business site. Builder plans read on 24 October 2026; build bands from our own guides.
| First year | Option | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| First year A$224–504 A builder you set up yourself | Option Squarespace Basic or Core, or Wix Light or Core, billed yearly, with GST. The rest is your own time. | Good for A first site, for an owner who enjoys doing it. |
| First year $2,000–5,000 plus the plan A template fitted for you | Option A freelancer or a small studio sets up a builder template with your logo, colours and words. | Good for Five to ten pages, live within a few weeks. |
| First year US$180–300 plus the designer A Webflow site | Option Webflow's site plan billed yearly, with or without the CMS, plus the designer who builds it. | Good for A marketing team with a designer on hand. |
| First year $672 plus the build A Shopify store | Option Shopify Basic at $56 a month, plus a theme set up or a custom one built. | Good for Anyone selling online. |
| First year from $9,000 once A static site Ours | Option Designed from scratch, built to load in under a second, and edited in Sanity, free up to 20 seats, or CloudCannon at US$49 a month. Hosting is close to $0 on Cloudflare. | Good for A business site that has to bring in work for years. |
Who can move you to an alternative, and what to ask them.
- 01
Can I take the site with me if I leave?
Ask what exports, page by page and product by product, and whether the design comes too. On some platforms the answer is very little.
- 02
What will it cost in year two?
The renewal price, extra seats, payment fees and the apps you will need once the site grows.
- 03
Who can edit it, and how many seats are included?
Squarespace Basic allows two contributors, Wix Light two collaborators and Wix Core five.
- 04
Will every old WordPress address be redirected?
Your rankings depend on it, and on Framer redirects need the Pro plan. Our guide to keeping your rankings lists the addresses people forget.
- 05
What replaces each plugin?
Forms, bookings, memberships and search each need a home on the new platform, and some need an app at a monthly price.
- 06
We do.
Croissant & Baguette is a small studio with a network of Australian specialists. Built in Australia, never offshored. We build static sites and Shopify stores, not Squarespace, Wix or Webflow sites, and we'll say so when one of those suits you better. When we move a site off WordPress, every old address gets a redirect.
A 20-minute call is enough to tell which group your site belongs in.
What we charge.
- Website build static, pre-rendered, designed from scratch
- from $9,000 typically $9–18k
- Shopify store a custom Shopify theme
- from $9,000 typically $9–16k
- Content migration your pages, posts and products, off WordPress
- quoted typically $1–4k
- Care plan monitoring, updates, small changes and a monthly speed report
- from $250/month
What moves the price within those ranges:
- how many page layouts the design needs
- how much content comes across from WordPress
- which plugins become services, and which become built features
- connections to bookings, payments, a CRM or other software
Why we build static sites rather than on a builder
Because a builder's limits tend to arrive just as a business starts to rely on its site: more pages, a team editing, connections to the rest of the business, and speed that ranks. A static site starts from what the business needs, and nothing on it locks you in.
Fixed quote after a 20-minute call. Bug fixes and critical updates are included for the first 12 months.
What is the best alternative to WordPress?
It depends on the job. Squarespace or Wix for a small site you run yourself, Shopify for an online store, Webflow or Framer for a site a designer looks after, Ghost for a newsletter or publication, and a static site for a fast, custom business site your team edits. Each removes the plugin and server updates that make WordPress costly to keep safe.
Is Squarespace better than WordPress?
For a small site you edit yourself, usually. Squarespace hosts, secures and updates everything for A$18.70 a month billed yearly on Basic, with GST, where WordPress needs hosting, plugins and someone to keep them patched. WordPress offers more plugins and control. If you outgrow Squarespace, it exports pages and one blog as a WordPress file, but not store pages or the design.
Is Wix better than WordPress?
For a do-it-yourself site, Wix is the easier of the two: drag-and-drop editing, hosting and security included, from A$21 a month on a yearly plan and A$42 to take payments. The trade-off is lock-in. Wix says its architecture does not support hosting a Wix site anywhere else, so leaving means rebuilding the site from scratch.
Is Webflow better than WordPress?
For a marketing site a designer builds and maintains, often. Webflow gives close control over design, hosts the site and patches the platform, from US$15 a month billed yearly, or US$25 with the CMS. Exporting the code needs a Workspace plan and leaves CMS content, forms and search behind, so plan on staying, or on a rebuild when you go.
What is the cheapest alternative to WordPress?
Squarespace Basic, at A$18.70 a month billed yearly, or Wix Light at A$21, both with GST: about A$224 and A$252 a year, plus your own time. Wix also has a free plan, with Wix branding and no domain of your own. Once built, the cheapest to run is a static site on Cloudflare, close to $0 a month, though it costs more to build.
Can I move my WordPress site to Squarespace?
Partly. Squarespace imports a WordPress site's pages, posts, comments, authors, categories, tags and attached images. Content from plugins, gallery images, captions and the design do not come across, and imported pages arrive switched off, to be checked and added to the menu. Every old WordPress address still needs a redirect of its own if it is to keep its rankings.
Is a static site a real alternative to WordPress?
Yes, for a business site built to a design. Pages are made in advance and sent as finished files from a network like Cloudflare, so there is no WordPress, PHP, database or plugin on the live site, and your team edits in a CMS such as CloudCannon or Sanity. It costs more to build, from $9,000 with us, and close to $0 a month to host.
Sources
Read on 24 October 2026; platform prices change often, and their own pages are the ones to check.
- 01 Squarespace pricing Squarespace · Australian dollars, GST included
- 02 Exporting your site Squarespace Help Center
- 03 Importing content from WordPress, Blogger, or Tumblr Squarespace Help Center
- 04 Wix plans Wix · Australian dollars, yearly plans
- 05 Exporting or embedding your Wix site elsewhere Wix Help Center
- 06 Framer pricing Framer · US dollars, yearly billing
- 07 Can I export my website to HTML and self-host it? Framer Help · says no
- 08 Porting your data from Framer Framer Help · says yes
- 09 Webflow pricing Webflow · US dollars, billed yearly
- 10 How do I export my Webflow site code? Webflow Help Center
- 11 Shopify pricing, Australia Shopify · plans in Australian dollars
- 12 Exporting products Shopify Help Center · customers and orders export the same way
- 13 Downloading themes Shopify Help Center
- 14 Ghost pricing Ghost · US dollars, billed yearly
- 15 Exporting content and data Ghost Help
- Leaving WordPress. Every page moved across, every old address redirected, and nothing left to patch.
- WordPress or pre-rendered? Speed, running cost and security side by side, and why we left WordPress.
- Keep your rankings. How to move off WordPress without losing your place on Google.
- WooCommerce or Shopify? Fee by fee in Australian dollars, and what moving a store across involves.