The 4 best free ecommerce website builders

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Square: start selling for free

3.1

Start for free

2 of 3

Wix: top-rated website builder

4.8

Start for free

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Squarespace: start free trial

4.4

Start for free

Square Online is the best free ecommerce platform. We’ve determined this based on our in-depth research, which included over 300 hours of hands-on testing across 283 areas of investigation.

Square Online tops our ranking because it’s the only platform we tested that allows you to sell products online without signing up for a paid plan. There’s also no limit to the number of products you can sell on it.

Building an online store doesn’t need to break the bank, but can you successfully create a free ecommerce website? I’ll unpack the different options below to help you separate the “free forevers” from the “free for a whiles”.

With our free business toolkit, you can create a business listing and microsite and appear in searches before you’ve even launched your full website.

The best free ecommerce builders: comparison table

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		Cheapest ecommerce plan	Key features	Free plan or free trial	Transaction fees
Square Online	Wix	Squarespace	Hostinger
£0/month	£16/month	£12/month	£3.99/month
Start selling for no monthly fee Automatically sync with Square POS	Easy to use drag-and-drop builder Extensive app market Built-in SEO and CRM products	Stunning ecommerce templates Superb non commerce features Great value for money	Suite of AI tools, including AI blog generator No payment processing fees for ecommerce plans Fastest site speeds that we tested
Free plan	Free plan	14-day free trial	14-day free trial
From 1.4% + 25p	2.1% + 20p per transaction	From 1.5% + 25p to 2% + 25p, depending on your plan	0% – Hostinger does not charge transaction fees
Try Square	Try Wix	Try Squarespace	Try Hostinger

1. Square Online: start selling for free

Square Online The best platform to use if you want to start selling for free.

• Free trial or plan Free plan
• Ecommerce price £0 per month

• Start selling for free
• Excellent analytics
• Supports dozens of payment types

Summary Square Online is the only website builder that allows you to start selling products without upgrading to a paid plan. You’ll still have to pay a 1.4% + 25p transaction fee for every payment processed, but you won’t find a more cost-effective way of getting an online store up and running anywhere else. It’s a great way to get to grips with things before you upgrade to one of Square's premium plans, which range from £20 to £64 per month.

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Square Online is the only provider on this roundup that lets you build your online store and sell products on the free plan, whereas the others only offer free trials or limited free plans on which you can’t actually sell.

There’s also no limit to the number of products you can sell on Square Online, which is generous for a free plan (by comparison, Wix caps your inventory at 50,000 products).

Once you’re ready to upgrade, you can graduate to a premium plan, which ranges from £20-£64 per month (billed annually).

It was easy for me to add products to my inventory with Square Online’s free plan. Source: Startups.co.uk

The limitations of Square Online’s free plan

• Limited sales features on free plan: without upgrading to the paid plans, you won’t have access to abandoned cart recovery, or the ability to take PayPal payments.
• Need to upgrade for better customisation: templates aren’t available on the free plan.
• Pay extra for a custom domain: this isn’t included on the free plan.
• 1.4% + 25p transaction fee: you’ll be charged this fee on every sale made, and this fee won’t decrease unless you upgrade to the Premium plan.

Should you choose Square Online?

If you’re determined to build an online store for free, Square Online’s free plan is essentially your only option, but luckily it’s a great one. I’d highly recommend this builder for startups on a budget, or small businesses looking to find their feet online.

2. Wix: explore ecommerce features

Wix Wix has a range of fantastic features and a free plan for the website builder, but you'll need to opt for a paid plan to start selling.

• Free plan or trial Free plan
• Ecommerce price £16 per month, billed annually

• Flexible pricing plans
• AI chatbot builder
• Great built-in features that support everything any up-and-coming merchant needs

Summary When we say Wix really does have it all, we mean it. Its largely improved sales features now support multi-channels including Facebook and other marketplaces. The Light plan, at only £9 per month, comes equipped with 24/7 customer support, unlimited product showcasing and the option to sell on social channels. If you want further insight into your ecommerce business and control of where you can sell, the £119 per month Business Elite plan comes with customised reports, marketplace selling capabilities and priority customer care. However, despite the product priding itself on its ease of use, a rather steep learning curve is required, particularly when navigating set "ecom" functionalities.

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Wix, our top ecommerce platform for small businesses overall, offers both a free plan and a 14-day money-back guarantee on its premium plans. It also integrated with Royal Mail in October 2025, making it easy for sellers to manage shipping directly from their dashboard.

On Wix’s free plan, you can build a great online store using its AI chatbot builder and intuitive drag-and-drop editor, and give a decent portion of its quality features a test run.

That being said, you won’t actually be able to sell until you upgrade to a paid plan.

I could create a unique online shop thanks to Wix’s drag-and-drop editor. Source: Startups.co.uk

The limitations of Wix’s free plan

• You can’t sell products: you’ll need to upgrade to the Core plan or above (from £16/month) for ecommerce functionality.
• High transaction fees when you upgrade: Wix’s transaction fees are the highest of the builders we’ve recommended, charging 2.1% + 20p per transaction.
• The free plan includes ads: This isn’t very professional-looking, and you’ll also be forced to use a Wix-branded subdomain (you can add a custom domain once you’ve got a premium plan).

Should you choose Wix?

Wix’s free plan is an excellent no-commitment taster of what Wix has to offer, but, realistically, you’ll be using it as a way to get a feel for the builder, rather than it being a long-term solution.

3. Squarespace: free trial of great design features

Squarespace You can use the 14-day free trial to test out Squarespace’s excellent editing tools and stunning templates.

• Free plan or trial 14-day free trial
• Ecommerce price £12 per month - use code "SU10" to receive a 10% discount on all Squarespace plans

• Easy to use dashboard that links seamlessly with the builder
• Fully customisable checkout page
• Use code "SU10" to receive a 10% discount on all Squarespace plans

Summary Squarespace's ecommerce offering has plenty of great selling points to keep its users happy. The ecommerce platform provides polished templates that help create a luxury brand experience for your business as well as strong email marketing features. It also provides a step-by-step AI builder, giving you greater control over the look and style of your site.

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Squarespace might not have a free ecommerce plan like Square Online, or a free website builder like Wix, but you can try it out risk-free for 14 days. It’s a great way for you to check out the range of incredibly sleek templates that can quickly create a luxury brand presence for creative or service-based businesses.

I was impressed with how Squarespace’s AI website builder helped me design a stylish-looking site with just a few clicks, and I could also tailor the checkout experience to my liking. Appointment-based businesses should try out the top-class scheduling and booking tools.

You can choose from a range of stylish templates and sections to build your brand with Squarespace. Source: Startups.co.uk

The limitations of Squarespace’s free trial

• Brief trial period: while it’s a good way of getting a taste of what Squarespace has to offer, the two-week trial isn’t very long.
• The cheapest plan has the highest fees: the Basic plan costs £12/month (billed annually), but you’ll be charged a credit card rate of 2% + 25% per sale, plus a 2% online transaction.

Should you choose Squarespace?

I’d recommend the free Squarespace trial for appointment-based businesses and brands that need a stylish site, to test whether the slick templates and excellent booking tools will be worth shelling out for.

Expert insights: Emma Ryan

``It was nice to see product images from my homepage design appearing in the image library for me to upload. Squarespace's AI assistant also advised adding three photos at least – something that's a really nice touch and shows off the platform's expertise. I was also impressed to see product SEO info on this page.``

4. Hostinger: test an easy-to-use builder

Hostinger Hostinger provides a 14-day free trial for you to try out its suite of AI tools.

• Free plan or trial 14-day free trial
• Ecommerce price £3.99

• Affordable deals for beginners
• The drag-and-drop editor is very easy to use
• A growing suite of AI features

Summary Hostinger is a simple and low-cost website builder, offering affordable plans and introductory deals for new businesses. It's made recent upgrades in overall usability and navigation, though it lacks basic functionalities like email marketing. That said, its design options are impressive and its suite of AI tools makes building a website quick and easy.

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Hostinger excels in simplicity, and you can use the 14-day free trial to try its super easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor for yourself.

When I used the AI builder, it set up an online store for me in under a minute. You can also use the free trial to check out its AI suite, including an image generator, templates, search engine optimisation (SEO) tools, logo maker, and blogging tool.

If you do choose to upgrade after the trial expires, Hostinger has the cheapest ecommerce plan available from just £3.99 per month (on a 48-month contract) with 0% transaction fees.

Hostinger provides a host of AI tools to streamline your ecommerce, including being able to instantly generate product details. Source: Startups.co.uk

The limitations of Hostinger’s free trial

• Brief free trial period: like Squarespace, you’re limited to a two-week window to test out Hostinger before you’ll need to upgrade.
• Lack of built-in functionality: Hostinger’s suite of tools continues to grow, but Hostinger can’t compete with the vast range of features on offer from builders like Wix. Plus, Hostinger has no app market, so you can’t even add extra functionality.

Should you choose Hostinger?

I recommend Hostinger if you’re looking for a fast, easy-to-use ecommerce platform without having to make a significant financial investment.

Expert insights: Emma Ryan

``When using Hostinger's SEO tool, I added the suggested meta description and it offered SEO tips, such as adding the primary keyword 'electrician'. This was a really nice touch and very helpful for beginners.``

What are the limitations of free ecommerce builders?

Free ecommerce platforms inevitably come with some restrictions, compared to paid plans:

• Free plans often come with higher transaction fees, so you’ll pay more out of your earnings when you make a sale.
• Free plans typically place the platform’s own advertisements and branding (such as header ads) on your website, which can appear unprofessional.
• You also won’t be able to use a custom domain name, meaning the platform’s name will appear in your URL. For example, on Wix’s free plan, your domain would be username.wixsite.com/websitename.
• On free plans, you have limited access to advanced ecommerce features and customisation. For example, while Square Online offers a good range of basic tools (such as customer accounts and the ability to accept multiple payment methods), its paid plans come with more advanced capabilities, including better site customisation (such as a custom domain name, fonts, and widgets), QR code ordering, and better sales features (like item recommendations and loyalty rewards).

Do you need to worry about extra costs?

If you’re expecting to launch an online store at minimal or even zero cost, be conscious of some extra fees that could sting you along the way:

• Domain name: Most free plans don’t come with (or even permit) a custom domain. Purchasing a domain name can be done directly through your website builder, or a domain name registrar. It’s usually very affordable and can cost under £10 per year in some cases.
• Web hosting: Your website needs to be hosted on servers, and it’s very rare for this to be free. Usually, this is packaged up with your website builder plan, which is why they’re so appealing. If you need to purchase web hosting separately, it can cost around £20 per year for basic shared hosting (which is fine for a small business).
• Transaction fees: Almost all ecommerce platforms will charge transaction fees on the sales you process online. These can change depending on your builder, the plan you sign up for, and the number of sales you make per month.
• Business email address: A business email address is a common feature on ecommerce plans. Costs are typically low – it’s £5.90 per account, per month on Google Workspace (for an annual Business Starter plan) – but it’s something to consider if you don’t already have an email address for your site.
• Apps and extensions: Some ecommerce website builders, like Wix, offer rich app markets to browse. These offer a huge number of extensions for all sorts of purposes, from customer-facing tools on your site to useful behind-the-scenes integrations for accounting software.

The Site Booster app, available on Wix’s app market, has a free plan and a premium plan that costs £2.81 per month (billed annually). Source: Startups.co.uk

How to choose a free ecommerce website builder

When it comes to ecommerce, a free plan is an okay starting point, but you must be willing to upgrade to a premium plan to unlock the best features and remove a free plan’s limitations, such as ads on your site.

Moreover, even if you choose Square Online’s free plan for selling, you’ll still have to pay transaction fees and consider other additional costs, like a domain name.

I recommend assessing your budget fully before choosing your ecommerce website builder. How much are you willing to spend? What does your business need to thrive?

How we test ecommerce website builders for small businesses

We regularly test and review the market’s top website builders to bring you up-to-date and accurate recommendations.

Our latest round of testing covered seven main categories. All in all, we spent over 100 hours collecting data for the platforms.

Each research category is given a weighting, depending on its importance to business owners. In this latest round of testing, an increased importance was given to support and user experience. Sales features remained the most important category:

• Sales features: 30% – The ecommerce functionality available to support your online store.
• Pricing: 20% – The availability of a free plan or at least a free trial, and the balance between features and price for the paid plans if you choose to upgrade.
• Website functionality: 15% – The number and quality of features on offer, such as SEO and marketing.
• Design features: 10% – Based on several design factors, such as templates and AI builders.
• User experience: 10% – We test each platform to assess its usability and accessibility.
• Help and support: 10% – The customer support options available to business owners.
• Reputation: 5% – We examine an ecommerce platform’s position and popularity in the market.

Final verdict: is a free plan suitable for online stores?

Square Online is the only free ecommerce website builder I recommend, as it offers the ability to list and sell unlimited products and also gives you access to social media integrations. But, even Square Online’s free plan is limited versus what you can get on the paid tiers.

If you want to set up your store before you pay for a plan, Wix is a great all-rounder for small businesses. And, if you’re looking for something more affordable long-term, then Hostinger and Squarespace are your best bets.

Whichever free ecommerce website builder you pick, just remember that upgrading to a premium plan should be your next goal to work towards.