Wix vs Zorva Labs: Real Cost Breakdown for Small Business Websites
Wix advertises $17/mo. The real total: $72/mo+ once you add apps, premium plan upgrades, and self-build time. Here's the apples-to-apples comparison.
Wix's headline price misses the apps, plan upgrades, and DIY time required. A real Wix Business setup costs ~$72/month. Zorva Labs quotes every build to its scope in a written proposal, back within one business day. On performance, Wix mobile PageSpeed averages 40-55; our goal on every Zorva site is 95 or better. On ownership, Wix locks you in; Zorva clients own everything.
How much does Wix really cost a month?
A real small-business site on Wix costs about $80 a month, even though Wix runs ads with "$17/mo" plastered everywhere. That's the entry-level Light plan, which is barely usable for a real business — no business email, limited apps, no commerce features.
To run a real small-business site on Wix, you need:
- Wix Business plan: $32/mo
- Wix Business email (per user): $6/mo
- Forms, popups, SEO apps: $15/mo
- Booking or reservations app: $12/mo
- Live chat / chatbot: $15/mo
- Total monthly: ~$80/mo
And that's before counting the time you spend dragging blocks around the Wix editor — typically 20-40 hours for a small business site.
The Zorva Labs comparison
Zorva Labs custom build: quoted to your project in one written proposal, with the whole price on the page before any work starts.
- Custom website, designed and hand-coded for you
- Zorva Edge hosting (managed global edge network)
- SSL, daily backups, uptime monitoring
- Content changes handled every month
- Ongoing optimization & tune-ups
- SEO foundations baked in
You don't drag any blocks. You don't pay for individual apps. You don't lose a weekend learning the Wix editor.
Are Wix sites slow?
Wix sites tend to load slowly, because they rely on a heavy editor framework that adds significant page weight. Independent benchmarks consistently show:
- Wix mobile PageSpeed: 40-55 (typical)
- Zorva mobile PageSpeed: our goal is always 95+
That gap matters. Google's Core Web Vitals factor into search rankings — slow sites rank lower. Conversions also drop sharply: every additional second of load time reduces conversion rate by roughly 7%.
Do you own your website on Wix?
On Wix, you don't own the platform. If you ever want to leave, you can't export your site — only the content. The design, structure, and any custom code all stay behind. You'd need to rebuild from scratch elsewhere.
Zorva Labs clients own everything: the domain, the source code, the design files, the brand assets. If you leave, you take it all. We'll even help you transition the hosting.
Year 1 total cost comparison
- Wix Business + apps: $80/mo × 12 = $960 + 30 hours of your time
- Wix + freelancer build: $32/mo × 12 + $1,500-4,000 freelancer = $1,884-4,384
- Zorva Labs custom build: the price in a written proposal before you commit, zero of your time
When does Wix actually make sense?
Wix is fine if:
- You enjoy building websites yourself.
- You want a temporary placeholder, not a long-term asset.
- Your site is single-page and won't grow.
For everyone else — businesses that want a real, fast, owned website without burning weekends on editor frustration — Zorva Labs comes out cheaper, faster, and meaningfully better on every measurable axis.
FAQ
Is the Wix Light plan enough for a business website?
Rarely. The $17-a-month Light plan leaves out business email, limits your apps and has no commerce features, so a working business site ends up on the $32 Business plan with paid apps on top.
How long does it take to build a Wix site yourself?
Typically 20-40 hours of dragging blocks around the editor for a small business site. That time comes on top of the monthly bill, and it's usually your evenings and weekends.
What happens to my design if I leave Wix?
It stays behind. Wix lets you take your content but not the design, the structure or any custom code, so moving to another host means rebuilding the site from scratch.
What does Wix cost with a freelancer doing the build?
$1,884-4,384 in the first year: twelve months of the $32 Business plan plus a freelancer fee of $1,500-4,000. That figure leaves out the paid apps most business sites end up adding.
Does a slow website really lose customers?
Yes, in two ways. Core Web Vitals count toward Google's rankings, so a slow site ranks lower, and each extra second of load time cuts conversions by roughly 7%.
Try it
Request a quote from Zorva Labs — a written proposal in one business day, and most builds live within 7 days.