You want a website, you'd like AI to do the heavy lifting, and you'd rather not pay yet. Good news: several AI website builders have genuinely usable free plans in 2026. The catch is that "free" almost always means a subdomain, a badge, or a usage cap.
This guide shows what each free plan actually includes, checked on the vendors' own pricing pages on October 15, 2026, and when it's worth paying. If you are building an app rather than a site, see free vibe coding tools.
Disclosure: this guide is published by Youmake. Youmake does not have a free plan (it offers a 3-day trial for $1), so it isn't ranked among the free options below. We explain where it fits at the end.
What "free" usually means
When people search for a free AI website builder, they usually want one of three things:
- Free to build: create and preview without paying.
- Free to host: keep the site online without a monthly fee.
- Free of limits: no forced branding, a custom domain, no caps.
Most free plans give you the first, part of the second, and none of the third. A custom domain is the most common paywall.
The free plans compared
| Builder | Free plan includes | Main catch | Cheapest paid plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Framer | Site on a framer domain, 500 AI credits | No custom domain, 1 GB bandwidth | Basic, $10/mo |
| Wix | Site on a wixsite.com subdomain | Wix branding, no code export | Light, $17/mo (yearly) |
| Durable | 300 AI credits, durable.site subdomain | Credits are a one-time total | Launch, $25/mo |
| Lovable | 5 build credits a day (30 a month) | Custom domain and export need Pro | Pro, from $25/mo |
| Bolt.new | 300K tokens a day, 1M a month | Bolt branding; tokens go fast | Pro, $25/mo |
| v0 by Vercel | 7 messages a day, GitHub sync, deploy | Next.js only | Plus, $30/user/mo |
| Base44 | 25 messages a month, up to 5 apps | Code sync needs $50/mo plan | Starter, $20/mo |
| Hostinger Horizons | Free trial with 5 AI credits | It's a trial, not a free plan | $2.99/mo (4-year prepay) |
The best free options, by goal
A simple marketing site: Framer
Framer gives you a polished site on a framer domain with 500 AI credits. It's the best-looking free result for a one-page or small marketing site. You'll pay for a custom domain.
A small business presence: Wix or Durable
Wix and Durable both generate a business site quickly and host it on a subdomain for free. Durable is faster for a basic local-business site; Wix has the bigger ecosystem. If you're also weighing a paid plan, our Wix vs Squarespace comparison matches their prices, ecommerce fees and AI tools plan by plan. Neither lets you export the code. Squarespace has no free plan at all, only a 14-day trial; see our Squarespace pricing guide for what each plan costs after it ends. If you outgrow Wix's free plan, our Wix pricing guide shows what each paid Wix plan costs per year.
A web app, not just a site: Lovable, Bolt.new or v0
If you need logins, data or interactive features, the AI app builders' free plans go further:
- Lovable: 30 credits a month, enough to prototype a small app.
- Bolt.new: up to 1M tokens a month, but with branding.
- v0: 7 messages a day, plus GitHub sync and deploy, if you're fine with Next.js.
An internal tool: Base44
Base44 gives you 25 messages a month across up to 5 apps. That's good for a quick internal dashboard.
When it's worth paying
Pay when one of these becomes true:
- You need your own domain. Almost no free plan includes one, and a subdomain looks temporary to customers.
- You need to remove branding. A builder's badge on a client or business site costs trust.
- You want to own the code. If you might switch tools or hand the site to a developer, choose a plan with export or GitHub sync.
- The site handles real data. Accounts, payments and forms need a proper backend and testing.
Common "free" traps
- Free with mandatory branding. You're advertising the builder, not your business.
- Free but locked in. If you can't export the code, moving later means rebuilding.
- A trial dressed up as a free plan. Check whether the site disappears after the trial.
- Usage caps that hit mid-project. Credits and tokens run out fastest while debugging.
Where Youmake fits
Youmake is a paid AI app builder for when free stops being enough: you need your own domain, the code, and something you can hand to a client.
- Price: Starter is $20/month for 40 credits ($16/month billed yearly). Try it for 3 days for $1 (card required).
- What you get: websites, web apps, mobile apps and slides; publishing to your own domain; code export and GitHub sync; integrations with Supabase, Stripe and Vercel.
- Best for: freelancers and small businesses building a site they'll actually run. See the AI website builder for small businesses.
If a free plan covers what you need today, start there. When you outgrow it, Youmake is one option for the next step.
Start a 3-day Youmake trial for $1 →