DA
CompareGet started

Free website: what free really costs, and when it’s enough

A free website costs DKK 0, but you pay in other ways: it sits on an address at the builder instead of your own domain, it usually shows the builder’s ads, and it’s hard to take with you when you move on. For a hobby that’s fine. For a business, your own domain costs DKK 110–260 a year excluding VAT, and the cheapest paid website builder a couple of thousand kroner a year.

Updated

Add Striive as a preferred source on Google

What does a free website really cost?

It costs no money, but you give something else. This is the price of “free”:

  • The address: the website sits on a subdomain of the builder, such as yourbusiness.builder.com, not on yourbusiness.dk.
  • The ads: free plans usually show a banner or a logo for the builder on every page.
  • The limits: storage, the number of pages and features like booking and payments are usually kept for paid plans.
  • Moving: you don’t own the address, so every link, business card and post points to the wrong place when you switch.
  • Your time: you build it yourself, and that takes as long as on a paid plan.

What is the difference between a free and a cheap paid website?

The biggest difference is your own domain. You only get it on a paid plan, and it usually comes with more storage and more features. Here is how it looks with some of the builders:

OptionPriceOwn domainWhat to know
Wix, free planDKK 0NoThe address sits on Wix’s domain.
Wix LightUSD 17 a month, paid yearlyYes2 GB of storage. Booking and payments need Core or higher.
one.com PortfolioDKK 948 the first year, then DKK 1,428 a yearYesThe intro price only lasts the first year.
StriiveDKK 99 a month incl. VAT for the first 4 months, then DKK 249 a month incl. VATYes10 GB of storage and EU hosting. Booking and payments are on the way.

The prices were read on 2026-09-23. Wix’s prices were in dollars, with tax on top. one.com doesn’t state whether VAT is in its prices. See more builders in our comparison.

Why is a free website hard to move?

Because both the address and the design belong to the builder. The day you get your own domain, the website starts over with Google, and you can rarely take the design to another provider. The longer you stay on the free address, the more links and business cards point the wrong way.

If you already have a free website, it isn’t wasted, though. Striive can build a new website from its address with site import: text, images and contact details come across, but not blog posts, a web shop or a booking system.

When is a free website good enough?

When it doesn’t have to sell anything. A free website is fine for a hobby, a family event or trying out a builder’s editor before you pay.

For a business it’s rarely good enough. Customers see the address and the ads, and you need to show your business details in a way that looks trustworthy. What a business website should have is under website requirements. For a club or association, see website for associations.

What does it cost to go from free to your own domain?

The domain costs DKK 110–260 a year, and a paid plan costs the rest. On Striive that’s DKK 2,000–3,000 a year excluding VAT with the domain, and DKK 5,500–7,500 over three years. If a freelancer makes it, the three-year figure is DKK 26,000–77,000.

FreelancerWeb agencyStriive (you build it)
BuildDKK 12,000–30,000DKK 35,000–90,000No build fee
Running per year, from year 2DKK 4,500–15,500DKK 9,000–34,000DKK 2,000–3,000
First year in totalDKK 16,000–46,000DKK 44,000–124,000DKK 1,500–2,500
Three years in totalDKK 26,000–77,000DKK 62,000–192,000DKK 5,500–7,500

All amounts exclude VAT and come from our website cost calculator, built on Danish hourly rates: about DKK 500–900 an hour for freelancers and DKK 900–1,400 for agencies. Running costs are hosting, a domain, licences and a service agreement. Striive is DKK 99 a month incl. VAT for the first 4 months, then DKK 249 a month incl. VAT, plus your domain.

How do you make a website for free or nearly free?

Follow the same steps whether you start free or pay from the start:

  1. Write down what the website must do: who you help, what you offer, and how customers contact you.
  2. Choose a website builder, and build the home page and a contact page first.
  3. Use your own photos and short texts. That takes the most time, whatever the price.
  4. Buy your domain in your own name as soon as you know what the website will be called.
  5. Move to a paid plan before you put the address on business cards, the van and invoices.

The whole route step by step is in the guide how to make a website.

Frequently asked questions

Rarely. Free plans use the builder’s address, and your own domain needs a paid plan. Some providers give you the domain free for the first year when you buy a paid plan.

Usually, yes. The builder shows its own banner or logo on the website, and it only goes when you pay.

No, Striive has no free plan, but no build fee either. It’s DKK 99 a month incl. VAT for the first 4 months, then DKK 249 a month incl. VAT, on your own domain as soon as you connect it.

A website builder with your own domain. See the cheapest routes compared over three years under cheap website, or work out your own needs in the website cost calculator.

Read next

May we use Google Analytics to see which pages get read? It sets cookies and sends details of your visit to Google, including in the US. We don’t use it for advertising. About cookies