Format vs Wix
We give Format a 2.4 GPA and Wix a 2.8, out of 4.0. Format grades higher on value for money. Wix grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan 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
Wix
Drag-and-drop website builder with an AI agent and business apps
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAFormatFair | 2.8GPAWixGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CLight is $17 a month for one site on yearly billing, with your own domain, no Wix ads and 2 GB, so it sits mid-range for this category. But it can't take payments or bookings, and Wix's own blog points small businesses to Core at $29, where this category's dearest tenth starts. |
| 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. | CThere's a free plan with the full editor and the AI agent, but it runs on a Wix address with Wix ads and 500 MB of storage. Fine for trying ideas, not for a business. Paid plans have no trial, just a 14-day money-back guarantee. |
| 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. | AThe widest set of built-in business tools in this category: a store, bookings, events, restaurant orders and hotel reservations, an AI agent called Aria, an app market and a headless developer platform. Few rivals come close. |
| 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. | B4.58 from about 16,800 App Store ratings. Thousands of templates and Aria drafting sections from a sentence make the start easy, though with this much in it there's more to find your way around than in a simpler builder. |
| 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, iPhone and Android, with an app market of Wix and outside apps such as QuickBooks Online and TikTok Ads, plus an API and Wix Headless. No desktop app, so not an A. |
| Best for | photographers' portfolios with client galleries | business sites with bookings, events and a shop |
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 Wix. 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. Wix starts at $17 a month and scores 3.3.
Wix scores higher, and starts $7 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 Wix 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). Wix starts at $17 per site / month, billed yearly (Light).
- Wix has a free plan. Format does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Wix lists an Android app.
- Format also covers file sharing.
- Wix also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| Format | Wix | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month, billed annually ($14 billed monthly) | $17 per site / month, billed yearly (Light) |
| Free plan | None | Build and publish on a wixsite.com address with Wix branding, 500 MB of storage and 500 MB of bandwidth. A custom domain needs a paid plan. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Ideaform Inc. | Wix.com, Inc. |
| Price read from | format.com | wix.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
Wix
- Beginners who want to start free and upgrade when the site is ready
- Small businesses that take bookings, sell tickets or run a small store
- People who want an AI agent to draft pages they can still edit by hand
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.
Wix
- Light has no online payments; selling anything needs Core at $29 a month or higher.
- Monthly billing exists, but Wix's pages show only yearly prices, and monthly plans come without the free domain voucher or premium apps.
- Each plan upgrades a single site, so running several sites means buying a plan for each.
- There is no free trial of paid plans; Wix offers a 14-day money-back guarantee instead.
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.
Wix
- Wix Harmony editor and Aria
- The editor mixes drag-and-drop layout with Aria, an AI agent that turns a written idea into sections, pages or custom components you can then edit. It is included on every plan, free included.
- Templates and design tools
- Start from thousands of templates or from AI, then adjust the design without code. Paid plans remove Wix branding and connect your own domain.
- Payments and online store
- Core and higher plans accept payments and run a store, with standard and advanced commerce tools on Business and Business Elite. Light cannot take payments.
- Bookings, events and restaurants
- Scheduling and services come with Core and higher. Further business solutions cover ticketed events, online programs, restaurant orders and hotel reservations.
- App market
- Add marketing, accounting, social and store apps from Wix and other developers, such as QuickBooks Online, TikTok Ads and Instagram feeds.
- Developer platform and headless
- Business Elite adds the advanced developer platform, and Wix Headless lets a custom front end run on Wix's back end and business tools.
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.
Wix
Free$0
A Wix subdomain, Wix branding on the site, 500 MB of storage and bandwidth, the full editor and templates.
Light$17
per site / month, billed yearly
Custom domain, free domain for a year, no Wix ads, 2 GB of storage, a light marketing suite and 2 collaborators. No online payments.
Core$29
per site / month, billed yearly
Accept payments, basic online store, scheduling and services, 50 GB of storage and 5 collaborators.
Business$39
per site / month, billed yearly
Standard online store and marketing suite, 100 GB of storage and 10 collaborators.
Business Elite$159
per site / month, billed yearly
Advanced store and marketing tools, the advanced developer platform, unlimited storage and 100 collaborators.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom plans and pricing on request for large organizations.
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.
Wix
- Other savings
Free domain for a year with a yearly plan
Yearly premium plans include a voucher for one year of free domain registration. Monthly plans do not include it.
