Comparison · Wix
TOWeb, the Wix alternative for a website you own, with no subscription
With Wix, your website depends on your subscription; with TOWeb, it stays yours. A Wix site lives on Wix’s servers: your domain name, your online shop and ad removal last only as long as the subscription is paid. TOWeb is a Windows and Mac app you buy once: your website is on your computer, you work on it even offline, and you publish it to the host of your choice. Both are easy to get started with; the real difference is over the long term.
Updated 23 October 2026.
TOWeb or Wix: the difference in one sentence
Wix is an online service: the editor, the hosting and your website are all at Wix. TOWeb is software: you build your website on your computer, then publish it wherever you like.
Wix suits you if you’d rather hand everything to a single service, hosting included, on a subscription. TOWeb suits you if you want a website that’s truly yours, paid for once, that you can take to any host; hosting itself is still paid every year.
Can you use Wix offline?
No. The Wix editor runs in the browser or in the app, permanently connected to Wix’s servers: without a connection it stops, and on a slow connection every action keeps you waiting.
With TOWeb, your website is on your computer, not on a server. You open the software as you would a word processor, work on your pages and products, see the site exactly as it will look online, and publish later, when you have a connection. Only publishing needs a connection.
Wix or TOWeb: which is easier to get started with?
On ease of use, they’re on a par, but in different ways. Wix offers an editor in the browser: with the classic editor, you place elements freely and the mobile version is adjusted separately; Wix’s newer editors adapt to screens on their own. TOWeb offers complete styles created by designers: you write your content, and the layout stays right on desktop, tablet and mobile, without repositioning anything by hand.
Who owns your website?
This is where the two differ most clearly. A Wix site cannot be moved to another host: it only works on Wix. If you cancel your subscription, the site reverts to the free plan, with Wix ads and a “wixsite.com” address. Products and contacts can be exported as CSV, but not the pages, the layout or the blog posts: leaving Wix means rebuilding your site somewhere else.
A TOWeb site is a project on your computer. You back it up, copy it, publish it to the host of your choice, and switch hosts by republishing it. Your pages, images and text belong to you, without depending on a subscription.
How much does a Wix site cost over several years?
Wix works on monthly, yearly or multi-year subscriptions. The free plan shows Wix ads and a “wixsite.com” address; your own domain name, ad removal and selling online require a paid plan, renewed for as long as the site exists.
TOWeb also has a free edition, and to be fair it has its limits too: a “Made with TOWeb” notice on the site, a single published site, and the online shop and bookings in demo mode. The difference with Wix is that you move beyond it by paying once, not every month.
TOWeb’s paid editions are a one-time purchase, with no subscription and no commission on your sales; only hosting needs to be paid, with whoever you like. Over three to five years, compare the total of your Wix monthly payments with a one-time purchase plus hosting. Edition details: see pricing.
TOWeb vs Wix, point by point
| Wix | TOWeb | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Online service: editor and hosting at Wix | Software on your computer, site published to the host of your choice |
| Pricing model | Monthly, yearly or multi-year subscription | Free Standard edition; paid editions bought once |
| Site ownership | The site only works on Wix; products and contacts can be exported, pages cannot | The project is on your computer; you publish it wherever you like |
| If you stop paying | The site reverts to the free plan: Wix ads, a “wixsite.com” address | No software subscription: the site stays online as long as your hosting is paid |
| Hosting | Fixed: with Wix | Your choice: any host (FTP or SFTP) |
| Working offline | No, the editor is online | Yes: the whole site is built on your computer; only publishing needs a connection |
| Layout | Classic editor: free placement, mobile version to adjust; newer editors are responsive | Complete styles, mobile-ready out of the box |
| Online shop | With a paid plan that accepts payments | Built in, no commission (e-Commerce edition) |
| Multiple languages | Available; automatic translation limited by a word quota, then paid packs | Built in, with automatic translation (Premium edition and above) |
| Bookings | Available, with a paid plan | Built in (Premium edition and above) |
| Team editing | Yes, with online collaborators | On one computer, one person at a time |
When Wix is still the better choice
Wix is a better fit if
- you don’t want to deal with hosting or publishing at all;
- you edit your website from several devices or with other people, online;
- you rely on a specific app from Wix’s app catalogue (Wix App Market).
TOWeb is right for you if
- you want a website you own and can take with you;
- you’d rather pay once than every month;
- you want to choose your host and be free to change it;
- you want a professional layout without adjusting every element for mobile;
- you want to be able to work on your website without a connection, on the move or in the countryside.
Switching from Wix to TOWeb
- Pick a TOWeb style close to the spirit of your Wix site: the layout adapts to mobile on its own, so you won’t have anything to reposition.
- Bring your content over. Wix doesn’t let you export a site’s pages, but nothing stops them from being read online: on trial in every edition, an AI assistant connected to TOWeb goes through your Wix site and rebuilds its pages, images and menu in TOWeb; you then review them, and putting the rebuilt site online comes with the Studio edition. Without an assistant, you copy your text and retrieve your images, page by page.
- Choose a host and point your domain name to it: a domain bought from Wix can be transferred to another registrar.
- Don’t lose your SEO: for each page, paste the address it had on Wix into the “Former addresses of this page” field; when you publish, TOWeb redirects the old address to the new one (301 redirect).
FAQ: TOWeb or Wix
Try TOWeb on your computer
Unlike Wix’s free plan, TOWeb’s Standard edition publishes your site under your own domain name, with the host of your choice, and with no time limit. It has its limits, and here they are: a “Made with TOWeb” notice on the site, a single published site, and the online shop and bookings in demo mode.
TOWeb has been developed for more than 20 years by Lauyan Software, a French company.
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