We may earn commissions from some providers for qualifying actions through our links. This page is currently ordered by editorial scores. Our published policy permits limited earnings-based reordering once real conversion data is available. How we make money.
Wix review: Light for a site, Core to take payments
Updated Oct 15, 2026 · scored under rubric v1
Wix suits a business that wants to build on a free plan, publish on Light at $17 a month, and move to Core at $29 when it starts taking payments. The catches are yearly-only published prices and no published fee rule for other payment providers.
Wix's free plan builds a Wix-branded site on a Wix address. Light, $17 a month on a yearly plan, adds your own domain, a free domain for a year and 24/7 customer care, but can't accept payments. Core, $29 a month yearly, is the cheapest plan that sells online, with abandoned cart recovery. Wix Payments charges 2.9% + $0.30 per US online payment.
What it does well
- Free plan with no time limit to build before paying
- Light includes your own domain, a free domain for a year and 24/7 customer care
- Core includes abandoned cart recovery and automatic discounts
- Custom menus on Light; online orders and reservations from Core
Where it falls short
- Light can't accept payments; selling starts at $29 a month
- Only yearly prices are published; monthly prices aren't shown
- No published fee rule for using another payment provider
- Light allows 4 lead-capture forms
Wix is a drag-and-drop and AI website builder with a free plan and four Premium plans. It appears in two of our rankings: website builders, where the entry plan is Light, and ecommerce platforms, where it is Core, the cheapest plan that can take payments.
What Wix costs
| Plan | Price (yearly plan) | What matters |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Wix branding, Wix address, can't accept payments |
| Light | $17 a month | Own domain, no Wix branding; can't accept payments |
| Core | $29 a month | Basic eCommerce; 50,000 products |
| Business | $39 a month | Standard eCommerce |
| Business Elite | $159 a month | Advanced eCommerce; priority customer care |
Prices from its pricing page, read Sep 27, 2026 (the same prices as when we read it on Sep 25, 2026). Wix says "Displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions, paid in full at the time of purchase". Other periods exist, but their prices aren't shown.
Over time
Total = monthly price × 12 × years, or yearly price × years, or a one-time price once. Only current plan prices; fees are listed separately. Taxes, add-ons and promotional prices are not included.
Current prices
| Plan | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Free Free site; cannot accept payments (a premium plan is required to accept payments). | $0 per month | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Light (billed yearly) Website-only: 'Accept payments' and the product catalog are 'Not included in Light plan'. Yearly subscription paid in full at purchase ('Displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions, paid in full at the time of purchase'); monthly-billing price not published on the pricing page. | $17 per month | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Core (billed yearly) Cheapest plan that can accept payments and sell online ('Basic eCommerce'). Yearly subscription paid in full at purchase ('Displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions, paid in full at the time of purchase'); monthly-billing price not published on the pricing page. | $29 per month | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Business (billed yearly) Standard eCommerce. Yearly subscription paid in full at purchase ('Displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions, paid in full at the time of purchase'); monthly-billing price not published on the pricing page. | $39 per month | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Business Elite (billed yearly) Advanced eCommerce. Yearly subscription paid in full at purchase ('Displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions, paid in full at the time of purchase'); monthly-billing price not published on the pricing page. | $159 per month | Sep 25, 2026 |
What you get on Light and Core
Light is the entry plan for a website. After you open "Compare Plan Features", the table shows custom domain, Wix branding removed and a free domain for 1 year on Light. It also allows 4 lead-capture forms of up to 10 fields each. Every Wix site includes HTTPS and SSL.
Core is the entry plan for selling. It adds accepting payments and a product catalog of 50,000 products, with abandoned cart recovery included. It also has automatic discounts and 10 back-in-stock notifications a month. Coupons and promo codes are on Wix's eCommerce feature page, which names no plan.
Wix Payments typically charges 2.9% + $0.30 per online payment in the US, about $1.75 on a $50 sale.
For restaurants, the plans table lists Custom Menus on Light. Its online orders and reservations rows are "Not included in Light plan" and start on Core.
Catches and fine print
- Light can't sell. Accepting payments and the product catalog are "Not included in Light plan". Budget $29 a month, not $17, if you plan to sell.
- The free domain has conditions. Wix's FAQ says most yearly or multi-year plans come with a 1-year domain voucher, for a new Wix domain on the first purchase.
- Price conflict. Wix's eCommerce page FAQ says eCommerce plans range "from $27 to $159 per month". The pricing page lists Core at $29. We use $29, the pricing page's figure and the worse reading for a buyer.
- Other payment providers. We could not read Wix's help centre, so we found no published fee for using a provider other than Wix Payments. The 4% "Pricing Plans transaction fee" on Core is for selling memberships, not store products. The card rate comes from Wix's blog, not a fee table.
- Free plan, no trial. The free plan has no time limit but can't take payments or use your own domain. Wix offers a full refund if you cancel a first Premium plan within 14 days; that is a refund window, not a free trial.
- B2B through partners. Wix says it supports B2B through a partner integration; no Wix plan lists price lists or net terms.
Support
Light includes "24/7 customer care". Wix says you can "Ask questions over chat or schedule a call with a Customer Care Expert"; phone is a booked call, not a hotline. Business Elite gets priority customer care.
Who it suits
Wix fits a small business that wants to build on the free plan, publish on Light with its own domain and round-the-clock chat, and add Core later when it's ready to sell. It also fits a restaurant that wants menus now and ordering and reservations later.
Look elsewhere if you want to pay month to month at a published price, need to keep your own payment provider under a known fee rule, or need wholesale tools built in.
See how it compares in our website builder ranking and our ecommerce platform ranking.
Alternatives in Ecommerce platforms
| Alternative | Score | Best for | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | 8.3/10Very goodOur score | Stores that already pay for web hosting and want no platform fee No affiliate relationship | Visit WooCommerceOn woocommerce.com |
| Sellfy | 8.2/10Very goodOur score | Creators selling downloads, subscriptions and print-on-demand with under $10k a year in sales No affiliate relationship | Visit SellfyOn sellfy.com |
| Shopify | 7.1/10GoodOur score | Stores that want B2B price lists and net payment terms on the entry plan No affiliate relationship | Visit ShopifyOn shopify.com |