Format vs Webflow
We give Format and Webflow the same GPA: 2.4 out of 4.0. Format grades higher on value for money. Webflow grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Format
Portfolio website builder for photographers and other creatives
Webflow
Visual website builder with a CMS, hosting and code-level control
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAFormatFair | 2.4GPAWebflowFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BBasic is $10 a month billed yearly ($14 monthly), right at this category's cheaper quarter. It's capped at 10 pages and 70 images with no store, so many will move to Pro at $17. Pro's $12 offer needs a code, ends October 31, 2026 and covers the first year only. | CBasic is $15 a month for one site on yearly billing ($25 monthly), right at this category's middle. That's a site with no CMS. A blog or anything built from collections needs Premium at $25, and selling needs an ecommerce plan from $29. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day free trial with no card needed, which is enough time to load a portfolio and see how it looks. Students can ask for a free year. | CThe free Starter site is real but tiny: a webflow.io address, 2 static pages, 50 form submissions and 1 GB of bandwidth. Good for learning the tool, not for running a business. |
| Features | CIt does the portfolio job fully: 90+ themes, Flex Block layouts, proofing galleries, file transfers, hosted video and a commission-free store. That's a smaller job than a general builder does, and Basic leaves out the store, video and image storage. | BA visual designer that writes standards-based code, a CMS with 20,000 items on Premium, hosting on Cloudflare's CDN, staging, real-time co-editing, AI and an MCP server. It covers the whole job; selling is a separate plan, not a gap. |
| Ease of use | CThere's an iPhone app but no store rating on record. Themes do the heavy lifting, but you're still building a site, page by page and gallery by gallery. | CNo app store rating on record, and this is a designer's tool: you lay pages out on a canvas of boxes and styles rather than dropping words into a template. Expect a learning curve before you're quick. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and iPhone, with a Lightroom Classic plugin, Stripe, PayPal, Weglot, Google Workspace and Google Analytics. There's no Android app and no desktop app of its own. | BWeb only, but it connects to Figma, HubSpot, Salesforce, Google Analytics 4, Mailchimp and Stripe, and REST APIs manage CMS content from outside. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | photographers' portfolios with client galleries | designers who want control over every layout |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Format and Webflow. How we grade
Price against what you get
Format starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Webflow starts at $15 a month and scores 2.7.
Webflow scores higher, and starts $5 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other website and landing page builders on the chart, 2 score higher than Format for less, and 1 scores higher than Webflow for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Format starts at $10 per month, billed annually ($14 billed monthly). Webflow starts at $15 per site / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly).
- Webflow has a free plan. Format does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Format lists an iOS app.
- Format also covers templates and file sharing.
- Webflow also covers forms.
At a glance
| Format | Webflow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month, billed annually ($14 billed monthly) | $15 per site / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Starter site: a webflow.io address, 2 static pages, 50 CMS items, 1 GB of bandwidth and 50 form submissions. A custom domain needs a paid site plan. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Ideaform Inc. | Webflow, Inc. |
| Price read from | format.com | webflow.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Format
- Photographers who deliver proofs and files to clients from their own site
- Artists, designers and filmmakers who want a portfolio without coding
- Creatives selling prints, downloads or bookings without a platform commission
Webflow
- Designers and agencies building custom marketing sites without hand-coding
- Content-heavy sites that need a structured CMS and an API
- Teams that want staging, roles and publishing permissions
Worth knowing
Format
- The $12 and $15 a month shown for Pro and Pro Plus need a checkout code, end October 31, 2026 and cover the first year only.
- Basic has no store, hosted video, image storage or custom fonts, and stops at 10 pages and 70 images.
- A domain costs $30 a year after a free first year on annual Pro and Pro Plus; Google Workspace email is $100 a year extra.
- There is no free plan, and the mobile app is for iPhone only.
Webflow
- Workspace plans are billed on top of site plans: Core is $19 and Growth $49 a month billed yearly ($28 and $60 monthly) for more staging, custom code and code export.
- Basic has no CMS, so a blog or any collection-driven pages need Premium or higher.
- Selling online needs a separate ecommerce site plan, and Standard takes a 2% fee on top of Stripe or PayPal fees.
- Support is by email with a stated 48-hour reply target; cancelling still leaves the rest of the paid term to pay.
Key features
Format
- Themes and Flex Block layouts
- Pick from more than 90 themes and switch without losing content, build custom layouts on a snap grid with Flex Block, and edit CSS and HTML on Pro and Pro Plus.
- Client galleries and file transfers
- Workflow, included free with every plan, adds proofing galleries with passwords, file transfers of 2 to 10 GB, contacts and moodboards; contracts and CRM Light need Pro.
- Commission-free store
- Sell physical products, digital downloads up to 100 MB and services through PayPal or Stripe with no Format commission: 15 products on Pro and 1,000 on Pro Plus.
- Hosted video
- Upload video straight to the site so visitors see no third-party ads: 15 minutes on Pro and 120 minutes on Pro Plus.
- Lightroom plugin and iPhone app
- Publish galleries from Lightroom Classic with the Format Publisher plugin, or upload and rearrange photos from the iPhone app.
- SEO and translation
- Edit page titles, meta descriptions and image alt text, and connect Weglot to translate the site into other languages.
Webflow
- Visual designer
- Pages are laid out on a canvas that writes standards-based code, with code components available on Premium for developer-built or AI-generated parts.
- Webflow CMS
- Collections hold blog posts, listings and other structured content with templates for each item. Premium allows 20,000 items in 40 collections; Basic has no CMS.
- Hosting on a global CDN
- Sites publish to Webflow hosting behind Cloudflare's CDN with free SSL. Bandwidth runs from 1 GB on Starter to 50 GB on Premium, with paid steps above that.
- Workspaces and collaboration
- Workspaces hold staging sites and teammates, with real-time co-editing, comment-only links and free agency or freelancer guests. Paid Workspaces add more staging sites and roles.
- AI, MCP server and Webflow Cloud
- Webflow AI and an MCP server for outside AI tools come with every site plan, and Webflow Cloud hosts web apps next to a site, billed by requests and CPU time above the included amounts.
- APIs and add-ons
- REST APIs manage CMS content from outside Webflow. Paid add-ons cover A/B testing and personalization (Optimize, from $299 a month), analytics and localization.
Plans
Format
Basic$10
per month, billed annually ($14 billed monthly)
$120 a year. 10 pages, 70 images, 3 client galleries and 2 GB file transfers; no store, hosted video, image storage or custom fonts.
Pro$17
per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)
$204 a year. Unlimited pages, 1,500 images, 100 GB storage, 15 video minutes and 15 store products. Shown at $12 for a first year with a code until Oct 31, 2026.
Pro Plus$26
per month, billed annually ($36 billed monthly)
$312 a year. Unlimited images, 1 TB storage, 120 video minutes, 1,000 products and priority support. Shown at $15 for a first year with a code until Oct 31, 2026.
Webflow
Starter$0
A webflow.io subdomain, 2 static pages, a limited CMS of 50 items, 1 GB of bandwidth and 50 form submissions.
Basic$15
per site / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly)
For sites without a CMS: custom domain, 300 static pages, 10 GB of bandwidth, unlimited form submissions and password protection.
Premium$25
per site / month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly)
Adds the CMS (20,000 items, 40 collections), site search and code components with 50 GB of bandwidth. Each extra 50 GB adds $20 a month yearly.
Ecommerce Standard$29
per site / month, billed yearly ($42 billed monthly)
An online store with 500 items, custom cart and checkout, and a 2% transaction fee. Plus ($74) and Advanced ($212) remove the fee.
Team$2,500
per month, annual contract
Sold through sales: a site and Workspace bundle with Localize, publishing workflows, 5 full seats, governance and priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom scale, roles and permissions, secure integrations, a dedicated account manager and stronger uptime and response guarantees.
Ways to pay less
Format
- Annual discount
Save about 29% with yearly billing
Pro costs $204 a year against $24 a month billed monthly; Basic is $120 a year against $14 a month and Pro Plus $312 against $36.
- Education
A free year for students
Format's Student Program gives students a free year on the platform, requested through its education page; it also offers free access to partner schools.
Webflow
- Annual discount
Save up to 40% with yearly billing
Basic costs $15 a month billed yearly against $25 billed monthly, and Premium $25 against $39. Webflow's page states savings of up to 40%.
