Reviewed by Nick Oakley, Head of Digital
Nicada Digital has built and supported more than 800 websites since 2014, across small business, ecommerce and agency projects. We judge builders on what they are like to live with, not just to launch.
These two get compared constantly and the comparison is usually shallow, because on the surface they do the same thing: describe your business, get a website. Underneath they are aimed at different people entirely.
Wix is a design tool that gained AI. B12 is a business platform that happens to include a website. That single distinction decides almost every question below.
The one-line answer
Choose B12 if your business runs on enquiries, bookings, invoices and contracts, and you want those in the same subscription as the site.
Choose Wix if you want to design the site yourself and care more about how it looks than what it does behind the scenes.
Head to Head
| B12 | Wix | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Business platform with a site attached | Website builder with business add-ons |
| Free plan | Yes, plus $1 for 7 days | Yes, with Wix branding |
| Entry paid plan | $24/mo ($20 yearly) | From around $17/mo |
| Full business bundle | $78/mo ($67 yearly) | Base plan plus paid apps |
| How you edit it | Talk to the AI agent, or click to edit | Full drag-and-drop editor |
| Design control | Good, guided | Very high, pixel-level |
| Client intake | Built in | Via forms and apps |
| Scheduling | Built in | Wix Bookings, extra cost |
| Invoicing and payments | Built in | Via apps |
| Contracts and eSignature | Built in | Third-party app |
| App ecosystem | Integrations, smaller | Large app market |
| You own the site files | No | No |
| Refunds | None, per B12's terms | Refund window on annual plans |
Wix figures are indicative and change often — check Wix's current pricing before deciding. B12's prices were verified against its own pricing page in September 2026.
Price: It Depends What You Are Counting
Compare the websites alone and Wix wins. Its entry plans start below B12's $24/mo Website plan, and for a simple brochure site that is the end of the argument.
Compare what a working service business actually needs and the answer flips. Here is the same business priced both ways:
| What the business needs | On B12 | On Wix |
|---|---|---|
| Website on own domain | Included | Base plan |
| Online booking / scheduling | Included | Wix Bookings, extra |
| Client intake forms | Included | Forms plus app |
| Invoicing and payments | Included | App, extra |
| Contracts and eSignature | Included | Third-party, extra |
| Email marketing | Included | Wix Email Marketing tiers |
| Contact manager / CRM | Included | Wix CRM, tiered |
| Total | $78/mo flat | Base plan + several apps |
We have not put a total against the Wix column, because it depends entirely on which apps you choose and how many contacts you have — which is rather the point. B12's argument is not that it is cheap. It is that it is one predictable number instead of six that creep.
Design: Wix Wins, Clearly
No hedging here. Wix's editor gives you genuine pixel-level control, a very large template library, and an app market with a solution for most things. If you enjoy designing, or you have a specific vision, Wix will let you build it and B12 will not.
B12's design is guided. You get a competent, modern, professional site, and you steer it by describing what you want rather than by dragging things. For a lot of business owners that is a feature — the decisions are made for them and the result is fine. If you are the kind of person who will spend a Sunday nudging padding, you will find B12 constraining and should use Wix.
Editing: Two Different Philosophies
This is the most underrated difference between them.
Wix expects you to learn the editor. It is a good editor, but it is still an editor — panels, layers, breakpoints. Most small business owners learn it once, build the site, and then never open it again because opening it feels like work.
B12 expects you to describe changes. "Add a page for the new service." "Update the opening hours." "Make the testimonials section shorter." The barrier to a small change is a sentence.
We maintain a lot of client sites, and the pattern is consistent: the sites that stay current are the ones where changing something is trivial. On that specific axis B12 has the better answer, and it matters more over three years than any template comparison.
Search: Close, and Neither Is the Answer for Serious SEO
Wix gives you slightly more manual control — meta data, redirects, some structured data. B12 produces cleaner default structure with less intervention. In practice, for a local service business competing on its own name and a handful of local terms, both are perfectly adequate and the difference will not decide anything.
If search traffic is central to your business, neither is the right tool. Both are hosted platforms with a ceiling on technical control, and you will meet it. That work belongs on self-hosted WordPress — see B12 vs Divi for that argument, or talk to us about it.
Lock-In: A Score Draw, and Not a Good One
Neither platform lets you export your site and host it elsewhere. Both keep your pages in their own format on their own servers. Leaving either one means rebuilding.
One asymmetry worth knowing: Wix offers a refund window on annual plans, where B12's terms say payment obligations are non-cancelable. It is not a reason to avoid B12 — it is a reason to do your judging inside the $1 seven-day trial, which gives you the full product on your own domain for a dollar, and to set a reminder for day six.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose B12 if…
- You are a consultant, coach, therapist, accountant or solo practice
- You take bookings, send invoices or sign contracts
- You want one bill instead of six
- You will never enjoy using a design editor
- You want to change the site by typing a sentence
Choose Wix if…
- You want real control over how it looks
- You need a specific app or integration
- You are building a shop, a portfolio or something visual
- You are happy to assemble your own tool stack
- You want the safety net of an annual refund window
The Third Option Neither Of Them Will Mention
Both B12 and Wix are rentals. You pay monthly forever and you cannot take the site with you. For plenty of businesses that is a perfectly sensible trade for the convenience — but you should make it knowingly.
The alternative is self-hosted WordPress, where a one-off Divi licence at $249 covers unlimited sites forever and you can move hosts whenever you like. It is more work, and it is cheaper over any timeframe longer than about eighteen months. We put the two side by side in B12 vs Divi.
Try B12 before you decide
A dollar gets you seven days on a full paid plan with your own domain. Build your actual site, compare it against what Wix gives you, then choose.
Start B12 for $1 →Already decided? Pick yearly billing on the same page and save 15%.
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Reading this from outside the US?
B12 is a US platform — the pricing is in dollars and the invoicing and contract tools are built around US practice. Everything above still applies, but if you are in the UK there are two routes that fit better.
The Divi link is an affiliate link. We earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you.
Related Guides
- B12 review 2026 — the full verdict
- B12 pricing explained — every plan and the five-year cost
- B12 vs Squarespace — the other obvious comparison
- Divi vs Wix — if you are weighing Wix against owning your site
- Best AI website builders — the whole category ranked