Webflow simplified its pricing in May 2026 — and for a lot of existing users, “simplified” meant a real increase. The old CMS and Business site plans merged into a single Premium tier at $25/month (annual) or $39/month (monthly), and Team/Enterprise plans jumped considerably higher. If you’re on an older plan and the renewal notice landed harder than expected, you’re not imagining it, and you’re not the only one currently comparing alternatives.
Quick Verdict
Whether switching away from Webflow makes sense depends on why you were using it. If you need Webflow’s CMS depth, ecommerce, or enterprise governance, the new pricing is still competitive against comparable tools once you price those features elsewhere. If you were using Webflow mainly for design control on a smaller site — a freelancer portfolio, a single small-business site — cheaper alternatives now cover a lot of that ground.
What Actually Changed
| Before May 2026 | After May 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| CMS and Business plans | Separate tiers | Merged into one Premium tier |
| Premium (CMS-enabled) price | Varied by old tier | $25/mo annual, $39/mo monthly |
| Static pages included | 150 on some tiers | 300 |
| Team plans | Per-seat, lower entry | Custom-quoted, annual contract, considerably higher entry |
Webflow’s own framing is that this simplifies a confusing tier structure. For some accounts, it actually lowers cost — more static pages and CMS features bundled into fewer, clearer plans. That’s genuinely true for some usage patterns. But plenty of existing users, particularly agencies and small teams on now-discontinued lower tiers, are seeing a real renewal increase. Both things are true at once. That’s why the reaction has been split, not universally negative.
Real Alternatives People Are Actually Considering
Framer
Framer’s pitch is speed and simplicity over Webflow’s depth. Hosting is included, and the CMS works well for smaller projects. Its Scale plan runs around $100/month for enterprise CMS needs. For a startup site, portfolio, or campaign page where design velocity matters more than deep content modeling, Framer is a genuine, current alternative, not just a cheaper knockoff. Where it falls short of Webflow: blog-heavy or highly structured content sites, where Webflow’s CMS still has more depth.
Webstudio
Webstudio positions itself specifically as a free, open-source-adjacent alternative — a genuinely usable free plan that includes a custom domain, which is rarer among visual builders. It’s newer and less battle-tested than either Webflow or Framer, so weigh that against the cost savings, particularly for a client-facing project where reliability history matters.
Self-hosted WordPress
If the real issue is Webflow’s per-site or per-seat cost scaling badly for an agency with many client sites, self-hosted WordPress removes the platform fee entirely — you pay for hosting instead. That’s a genuinely different cost structure, not just a cheaper version of the same thing. It comes with its own tradeoffs, too: you’re now responsible for updates, security, and the hosting choice itself. See our hosting comparison if this is the direction you’re considering — the hosting decision matters as much as the platform decision once you’re self-hosting.
Who Should Actually Switch
- Stay on Webflow if you need its ecommerce, CMS depth for a large content site, or enterprise features that would cost more to replicate elsewhere piecemeal.
- Consider Framer if your site is design-forward but structurally simple — a portfolio, a marketing site, a campaign page — and you want a lower, simpler price.
- Consider Webstudio if budget is the binding constraint and you’re comfortable with a newer, less established tool.
- Consider self-hosted WordPress if you’re running multiple client sites and the per-site platform cost is the actual problem, not the design tooling itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Webflow really raise prices by 50%?
The actual change is a plan restructuring rather than a flat percentage increase applied to everyone — some accounts see higher renewal costs, especially those on discontinued lower tiers, while others see more included for a similar or lower price. Check your specific plan’s renewal quote directly rather than assuming a single number applies to your account.
Can I lock in my old Webflow pricing?
Webflow allowed switching to annual billing before the change took effect to lock in the previous rate for another year — that window may have already closed depending on when you’re reading this. Check your account’s current renewal terms directly.
Is Framer actually cheaper than Webflow?
For a simpler site without deep CMS needs, generally yes at the entry level. Framer’s Scale plan for enterprise CMS needs runs around $100/month, which changes the comparison once you need that depth — price both against your specific feature requirements rather than just the headline entry price.
Will I lose my site if I switch away from Webflow?
You won’t lose your live site by comparing alternatives, but there’s no one-click migration between visual builders — moving means rebuilding the design on the new platform, not exporting and importing it directly. Budget the move as a rebuild, not a transfer.
How We Assessed This
Webflow’s pricing changes reflect Webflow’s own announced May 2026 pricing update, checked directly. Alternative platform figures reflect each vendor’s own current published pricing as of September 2026. Disclosure: this page contains no affiliate links.
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