The short answer
A website on Squarespace or Wix costs a monthly or yearly subscription, plus a domain after the first year, plus any paid apps, plus transaction fees on some plans if you sell. There is no build fee if you do the work yourself. An agency-built site costs a one-time build fee, then hosting, a domain and optional maintenance each year.
In year one the builder is almost always cheaper. Over three years the gap narrows, because the subscription never stops, apps add up, and the hours you spend building and fixing the site have a value. For some businesses the builder still wins, and we say which ones at the end. For everything else that moves a budget, from page count to languages, see our explainer on what affects website cost.
This page compares money only. If you are choosing a platform on features, our comparison of WordPress vs Squarespace vs Wix covers editing, design control and Thai language support.
Three-year cost checklist, side by side
Use the table as a checklist: each row is a cost line to price for the same three years on each route. The builder column names what to look up rather than a figure, because Squarespace and Wix show prices in your local currency and change them; read each plan's price on the provider's pricing page as it appears in Thailand on the day you compare, then multiply by three and add the other rows.
| Cost line | Squarespace or Wix (DIY) | Agency build on WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Your own hours | One-time fee, from THB 10,000 (Starter) or THB 30,000 (Business) |
| Platform | Subscription every month or year for as long as the site is live | No platform licence; WordPress is free software |
| Hosting | Included in the subscription | Paid yearly to a host of your choice |
| Domain | Free for the first year on eligible annual plans, then a yearly renewal | Yearly renewal |
| Apps and add-ons | Monthly fees for some apps and features | Mostly free plugins; some yearly licences |
| Transaction fees | On some plans, when you sell | Only your payment gateway's fees |
| Upkeep | Platform handles updates; you handle content | Updates by you, or maintenance priced on request |
| Redesign | Template change by you | Quoted as a new project when needed |
What a Squarespace bill is made of
When we checked the Squarespace pricing page in September 2026, it showed three website plans: Basic, Core and Advanced. Prices are shown in a currency based on your location, so the figure a visitor sees in Bangkok may differ from what you read in an overseas blog post.
What changes the Squarespace bill
- Billing term. Squarespace offers monthly and annual billing, and annual is cheaper per month. Compare on annual prices.
- Domain. Plans bought on an annual term include one year of free domain registration on eligible domains. From year two, the domain renews at the normal price.
- Transaction fees. At the time of writing, the Basic plan carries a percentage fee on online store sales, while Core and Advanced do not. Fees on digital content and memberships differ by plan again. If you plan to sell, this alone may decide the plan.
- Extras. Business email, email marketing, scheduling and some commerce features are separate subscriptions or add-ons. Check each one you need.
So the realistic Squarespace figure for three years is the annual plan price times three, plus two domain renewals, plus any add-ons, plus fees on what you sell. Your payment processor charges its own fees on top.
What a Wix bill is made of
The Wix plans page, when we checked it in September 2026, listed a Free plan and four premium plans: Light, Core, Business and Business Elite. Wix states that prices and currency vary by location, so check the page from Thailand.
Where the Wix money goes
- The free plan is not a business option. It runs on a Wix address and shows Wix branding. Removing the branding needs a premium plan.
- Domain voucher. Wix says most yearly or multi-year premium plans come with a one-year free domain voucher. After that the domain is a yearly cost.
- Selling online. Taking payments needs a premium plan, and the higher tiers add more commerce features. Your payment provider charges its own processing fees.
- Apps. The Wix App Market has many free apps, and many that charge monthly. Some business features depend on the plan instead: at the time of writing Wix lists scheduling and services on Core and higher, and Wix Multilingual's automatic translation comes with a limited free word allowance, with more sold in packages.
The trap with any builder is the slow growth of monthly add-ons. A site that started on a modest plan can carry several app subscriptions a year later. When you compare, list the apps you would need on day one, not just the plan.
Your time is a cost too
Builder marketing shows the plan price. It does not show the evenings you spend choosing a template, writing pages, resizing photos, setting up a Thai version, testing on your phone and working out why the contact form sends nothing.
Put a value on those hours. If you run a clinic, a restaurant or a trading company, an hour on the website is an hour not spent on patients, service or sales. As a simple exercise, write down your realistic hours for the first build and for a year of changes, multiply by what an hour of your time is worth to the business, and add it to the builder column. The result is personal, which is why we do not give a figure; for some owners it is small, for others it overturns the comparison.
Hours people tend to underestimate
- Writing and translating content for Thai and English readers.
- Getting Thai text to look right: line breaks, font choice and readable sizes on mobile.
- Setting up a cookie consent banner that genuinely blocks tracking until the visitor agrees, as a PDPA-minded site should.
- Fixing layout on phones, where many Thai visitors will see the site first.
- Rebuilding the whole site when the template starts to look dated.
What an agency build costs
An agency build turns most of the cost into a single, known payment at the start. Designers price this in different ways, and our guide on how much web designers charge for a website explains the models. Some quote a fixed price and others bill time; the trade-off is covered in our page on fixed price vs time and materials web development.
Our own packages are indicative, one-time prices, with the final price set in a written quote:
- Starter, from THB 10,000: up to 5 pages, custom design, WordPress built mobile-first, contact, WhatsApp and LINE buttons, on-page SEO and PDPA cookie consent.
- Business, from THB 30,000: up to 15 pages in English and Thai, two revision rounds, a custom WordPress theme with no page builder, blog, forms, booking or enquiry flows, keyword mapping and schema markup.
What you still pay each year
Hosting and the domain, paid to providers you choose, and maintenance if you want someone else to handle updates, which we price per site on request. There is no platform subscription. If you sell online the picture changes again: a hosted store platform brings back a monthly fee, as our note on Shopify website cost explains.
What the difference buys
Thai typography set properly, a real bilingual structure rather than a translation layer added on top, a lighter site that loads quickly on mobile data, and PDPA consent built into forms and cookies. Before you sign anything, our guide on how to read a web design quote helps you check what is and is not included.
When a builder is the better deal
We build websites, but a builder is honestly the better value in some cases:
- You are testing an idea and may close or pivot within a year.
- You need one page in one language and enjoy doing it yourself.
- You have more time than budget, and the site is not where your customers find you.
- You are a photographer or artist who wants a portfolio template and little else.
An agency build tends to pay off when the site has to win enquiries from Thai and foreign customers, when you need two languages done properly, when forms and bookings must work, or when you would rather spend your hours on the business. That is what our website design for small business service is set up for.
If you want a number to put in the right-hand column, get a written quote from us, or send your page list by WhatsApp or call +66 93 004 4098. More guides on budgets are collected under website costs and pricing.
