Best Website Builders in South Africa (2026): Prices in Rand

The best website builder for most South African small businesses is one that bills in rand, takes payments through Paystack or PayFast, and lets you publish in an afternoon. Shopify suits serious online shops, Wix has the most design freedom, WordPress.com the most plugins, and Bloqpage is built around local payments and rand pricing. Prices below were checked on 14 November 2026.

A note before you read on: we make Bloqpage, so weigh our view of it accordingly. We have tried to be fair about where the others do better, and every competitor price links to its source at the end.

What matters most for a South African business?

Builders that look the same on a feature list can cost very different amounts once you are actually selling in South Africa. Four things make the difference:

1. The price in rand. Dollar prices move with the exchange rate, and your card may add a foreign transaction fee.
2. Local payment providers. Several global payment services do not sign up South African businesses, which means your customers cannot pay you through them. Check that Paystack, PayFast, Yoco or Ozow work before you build.
3. Extra fees on sales. Some builders take a percentage of every sale on top of what the payment provider charges.
4. Delivery. If you post products, you want courier rates at checkout, not a flat guess.

The six builders at a glance

Dollar prices are converted at about R16.50 to the dollar and rounded, so treat them as a guide. "Lowest plan that sells" is the cheapest plan that includes an online store, billed yearly where that is cheaper.

Bloqpage

Best for: small businesses and online sellers who want local payments and rand pricing without plugins.

Bloqpage gives you a drag-and-drop builder, an AI assistant called Bloq AI that writes the first draft of your pages, a blog, contact forms and an online store. Checkout works with Paystack, PayFast and PayPal, and you can offer live courier rates through Bob Go. Plans are Basic at R149 a month, Pro at R399 a month and Business at R1,299 a month, and paying yearly costs the same as ten months. There is no extra fee on your sales from Bloqpage.

Where others do better: Bloqpage is newer, so it has fewer third-party apps than Wix or Shopify. There is no free plan, only the 14-day trial, and Basic and Pro include one website each.

See every plan side by side or browse the templates.

Wix

Best for: design freedom and a huge app market.

Wix has four paid plans: Light at $17, Core at $29, Business at $39 and Business Elite at $159 a month, shown in dollars. Light cannot take payments, so Core is the real starting point for a shop. Wix lists Paystack as a payment provider for South Africa, but its own help page says it does not offer PayFast.

Watch out for: the jump from Light to Core if you want to sell, and the dollar pricing.

Squarespace

Best for: polished portfolios and service businesses where looks matter most.

Squarespace shows rand prices on its pricing page: Basic at R300, Core at R440 and Advanced at R590 per month on yearly billing, or R430, R620 and R850 paid monthly. Basic adds a 2% fee on store sales. The catch for South African sellers is payments: Squarespace's own payment service and Stripe do not sign up South African businesses, so you are mostly left with PayPal. Check this in your country settings before you build a shop.

Shopify

Best for: serious online stores with many products.

Shopify's South African pricing page lists Basic at $19, Grow at $49 and Advanced at $299 per month on yearly billing, or $25, $65 and $399 paid monthly. Shopify's own payment service is not available in South Africa, so you connect a local provider instead, and Shopify then adds its own fee on each sale: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow. Local providers such as Paystack and PayFast are used by many South African stores, but check the list in your Shopify admin, since sellers report it varies.

Watch out for: app subscriptions, which add up quickly, and the extra percentage on every sale.

WordPress.com

Best for: people who want WordPress plugins without managing hosting.

WordPress.com's Business plan at $25 a month on yearly billing is the first that allows plugins, which you need for a WooCommerce shop with South African payment plugins. The Commerce plan is $45 a month and includes store themes. The cheaper Personal and Premium plans do not run plugins.

Watch out for: more setup and maintenance than the other builders here. WordPress rewards people who enjoy tinkering.

Hostinger Website Builder

Best for: the lowest possible upfront price, if you are happy to pay four years in advance.

Hostinger's builder starts at $2.79 a month, but that price assumes a 48-month plan paid upfront, about $134. It renews at $16.99 a month. The online store is included on the Unlimited plan and up.

Watch out for: the renewal price, which is about six times the starting price.

Which one should you choose?

• You sell products and want Paystack or PayFast with no plugins: Bloqpage or Shopify.
• You want the most design control and do not sell much: Wix or Squarespace.
• You love WordPress: WordPress.com Business or Commerce.
• You want the lowest cost for four years and can pay upfront: Hostinger.
• You build sites for clients: look at plans with several websites and a way to hand sites over, such as Bloqpage Business with five websites.

Whichever you pick, add up a full year: the plan, a .co.za domain at about R109 a year, payment fees, and any apps. Our guide to what a website costs in South Africa walks through that sum.

Common questions

Which website builder is cheapest in South Africa?

For a site that can sell, Bloqpage Basic at R149 a month is the lowest monthly price billed in rand in this comparison. Hostinger costs less per month only if you pay for four years upfront.

Can I use PayFast with Wix?

Wix's help centre says it does not offer PayFast. It does list Paystack for South Africa.

Do I need a free plan?

A free trial is usually more useful than a free plan, because free plans put the builder's brand on your site and leave out your own domain. Bloqpage gives you 14 days of Pro features with no card.

Want to try a builder made for South African payments? Start your free 14-day trial.

Sources

Prices checked on 14 November 2026, and Wix prices again on 15 November 2026. Plans and prices change, so check each company's page before you buy.

• Wix plans and Wix help: requesting PayFast, Wix help: Paystack
• Squarespace pricing
• Shopify South Africa pricing
• WordPress.com pricing
• Hostinger Website Builder
• 1grid: South African domain price changes 2026
• Exchange rate about R16.50 to the dollar, from X-Rates, November 2026