IONOS vs Wix UK: £1 Offers vs Year-Two Prices (2026)

Quick answer

IONOS is the cheaper way in: its Plus website builder plan was £1 a month for 12 months, then a regular £16 a month, excluding VAT, with a domain and email address included. Wix offers more design freedom and a bigger app range, but sites cannot be moved off Wix. Compare year-two prices, not first-month offers.

Prices and plan details here were checked on each company’s website at the time of writing, October 2026, and change often. For the wider picture of builders against a custom site, see our WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace comparison; this guide is just IONOS against Wix.

Who each one suits

• IONOS is a large web host that also sells a website builder (MyWebsite Now). Its pitch is price and the bundle: hosting, a domain for the first year and a professional email address in one plan.
• Wix is a dedicated website builder with a drag-and-drop editor, a large template range and an app market for bookings, shops and more.

Put simply: IONOS suits someone who wants a simple, low-cost site and email from one supplier. Wix suits someone who wants to design more themselves and add features as they go.

Side by side

IONOS prices: read the regular rate

The IONOS website builder page showed these MyWebsite Now plans, all excluding VAT at 20%:

• Starter: £6 a month for 6 months, regular price £10.
• Plus: £1 a month for 12 months, regular price £16.
• Pro: £17 a month for 6 months, regular price £30.

Every plan listed a free domain for one year and one professional email address. The headline £1 is a genuine offer, but it is a first-year price. What you pay from year two is what matters for a business that plans to stay.

The real cost over two years

Using the IONOS figures above and assuming the regular price shown applies once the offer ends, excluding VAT:

Add VAT at 20% on top of these figures, and add the domain renewal from year two, since the free domain covers the first year only. Plus is the cheapest over two years because its offer lasts twelve months, but notice how year two costs sixteen times year one.

Wix prices: what to check

The Wix plans page lists Light, Core, Business and Business Elite, plus a free plan with no domain voucher and no e-commerce. When we checked, the page showed US dollar prices “for reference only” and said displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions paid in full up front. So check the final price in pounds at checkout before comparing.

Three details from Wix’s own page are worth knowing:

• The free domain voucher is only included with a first-time premium plan purchase, must be redeemed within 60 days, and is not included on renewal.
• Light does not list “Accept payments”. If you want to take payments, look at Core or above.
• Storage rises by plan, from 2GB on Light to unlimited on Business Elite.

The lock-in question

This is the biggest practical difference for a business planning several years ahead. Wix is clear about it: its help article on exporting or embedding a Wix site says the site cannot be moved to another host because its system does not support external hosting. You can transfer the domain, but the site stays on Wix. Leaving means rebuilding.

For IONOS’s builder, ask the same question before you buy: can the site be exported and run elsewhere, or does leaving mean rebuilding? Whichever you choose, keep your text, photos and page list in your own files, and make sure the domain is registered in your business’s name. Our UK domain names guide explains how to check.

A worked example

Say a driving instructor wants a simple site with lesson prices, areas covered, a contact form and an email address on their own domain. They sign up for IONOS Plus at £1 a month, which covers year one for £12 plus VAT, with a domain and email included. The site goes up over a weekend using a template.

In month thirteen the plan moves to its regular £16 a month, and the domain renews at the normal rate. That is still a modest cost for a working site, so they stay. The mistake would have been to compare IONOS at £1 against Wix’s yearly price and pick on that alone; the fair comparison is year two against year two, plus how much time each editor takes to keep the site current.

Had the same instructor wanted online booking with deposits, Wix on Core or above, or a custom build with a booking system, would have been the better starting point, because moving a site later costs more than choosing right first.

Questions to ask before you sign up

1. What is the price from month 13 onwards, including VAT?
2. What does the domain cost to renew after the free year, and is it registered in my name?
3. How many email addresses are included, and how much storage does each have?
4. Can I take payments or bookings on this plan, and what are the fees?
5. Can I export the site and run it elsewhere if I leave?
6. What happens to my site and email if a payment fails?

Which to choose, by situation

• Tightest budget, simple brochure site, want email included: IONOS Plus, as long as you budget for the regular price from year two.
• Want to design it yourself and add bookings or a shop later: Wix, on Core or above if you need to take payments.
• Want local search enquiries and plan to stay several years: price a custom site as well, because the builder’s yearly fee keeps going for as long as you use it.
• Already on one and frustrated: our guide to outgrowing a DIY website covers the signs and the move.

Where builders stop being cheaper

Builder fees never end, and the introductory prices are designed to get you started rather than to show the long-run cost. A custom site costs more up front but has no platform fee, and hosting is a choice rather than a condition. Our Wix vs custom website comparison runs the five-year numbers in detail.

There is also a middle route. Some businesses start on a builder to get online quickly, then move to a custom site once they know which pages bring enquiries. That works well if you plan for it from day one: own the domain, keep your content in your own files and note your page addresses.

The other difference is what you get for the money. A builder gives you tools; a custom build gives you a finished site with the content structure, contact forms and search basics done for you. If your time is better spent on the tools of your own trade, that matters as much as the monthly fee.

What we offer

Our Custom WordPress Website is £499 one-off for up to eight pages, delivered in two to four weeks. It is hand-coded with no page builders, with custom design, a mobile-first build, an SEO foundation (schema, meta, sitemap), contact forms connected to your inbox, Google Analytics, a written guide to editing it and 30 days of support. You own the code and can host it anywhere, with no platform lock-in. Our One-Page Website is £299, and our hosting plan, with UK hosting, SSL, daily backups and up to three email mailboxes, is £20 a month if you want it.

Try our website cost calculator for a quick estimate, and see every price on our pricing page.