AI website builders range from $0 to $200/mo in 2026. The variance is real — cheap builders subsidize compute with hosting upsells; premium builders use top-tier models. Here is the actual price landscape of 15 builders, what each tier unlocks, and the hidden costs (domain, email, per-generation overage) most reviews leave out.
The new entrant: paid-only
InBuild is paid-only from signup — no free tier. Pro is $49/mo, Pro+ is $79/mo, Studio is $200/mo. The pitch: every signup is qualified, AI generation isn't burning compute on free tire-kickers, and the unit economics work from the first user. The tradeoff: smaller top-of-funnel.
The dominant model: freemium
Most builders — Lovable, v0, Bolt, Wix, Squarespace, Carrd — offer a free tier with limits, then paid plans starting around $10–30/mo. The free tier is designed to get you hooked; the paywall hits when you want a custom domain, more AI generations, or unlimited projects.
Typical freemium limits: 3–30 AI generations per month, publish to a branded subdomain (yoursite.lovable.app), watermarks on some platforms, rate limits during peak hours, no code export until you upgrade.
Hosting-bundled: cheapest sticker price
Hostinger AI starts at $3/mo — but only because hosting is the product and the AI builder is the lead magnet. Same for Durable ($15/mo with hosting + CRM + invoicing bundled), 10Web ($10/mo bundled with WordPress hosting), and B12 ($49/mo bundled with human-edited handoff).
The hidden cost: you can't leave. The site is built into the hosting environment. Migration means rebuilding from scratch. If you grow into a budget where managed hosting becomes too restrictive, you're paying twice — for the rebuild and for the new host.
15-builder pricing comparison
Entry-level paid tier for each, ordered low to high:
- Hostinger AI — $3/mo (with hosting)
- 10Web — $10/mo (WordPress + hosting)
- Mixo — $9/mo
- Carrd Pro — $19/yr ($1.58/mo)
- Notion Sites — $10/mo per user
- Webflow site plans — $14/mo per site
- Durable — $15/mo
- Squarespace — $16/mo
- Wix Premium — $17/mo
- Lovable Pro — $20/mo
- v0 Pro — $20/mo
- Bolt.new Pro — $20/mo
- Framer — $5/mo per site (but site count adds up)
- InBuild Pro — $49/mo (unlimited sites)
- WordPress + Elementor Pro — ~$60/yr Elementor + hosting
The hidden costs nobody tells you about
Custom domain. $10–15/yr. Required if you want to look serious. Most builders include domain registration in higher tiers but charge for it on entry.
Email on your domain. Google Workspace is $6/mo per user; Fastmail is $5/mo per user. Some builders bundle “1 GB email” on premium tiers; if you already have email infrastructure, skip the bundle.
AI generation overage. Some builders charge per generation beyond the plan's monthly cap. If you iterate heavily, this can double your bill. Look for builders with unlimited generations or generous caps on the entry tier.
Code export on some builders (Lovable, Webflow) is gated behind a higher tier. If portability matters, factor that in.
Premium templates / stock images. Some platforms charge per-template or per-image. Adds 10–30% to total cost over a year.
How to choose a tier
- Free is for testing. Try the builder's output. Decide if you like it.
- Cheapest paid is for shipping. Removes the subdomain limit, unlocks publishing.
- Mid-tier is for growing. When you hit generation limits, project caps, or need code export.
- Top tier is for teams or agencies. When you're managing multiple client sites or need SLA/SSO.
vs hiring a developer
For context: a freelance web developer charges $3,000–10,000 for a 5-page marketing site. Even the most expensive AI builder ($200/mo Studio) is <3% of that cost over a year. The question isn't “is the AI builder cheap enough” — it's “is the output good enough that you don't need the developer.” In 2026, for marketing sites, the answer is usually yes.