One of the most often asked question by our users is “Do I have to pay to use Weebly? Is Weebly free?”. When we simply tell them that Weebly can be used for free, this is which usually followed by, “Is that true? Why then is Weebly Free?”. In this article, we will try to discuss why and how can Weebly be used for free, the costs of running a Weebly website, and what’s the catch behind this?
Weebly offers a free web hosting service with a drag and drop website builder. We can say that it’s free in the sense of freedom, not actually in the sense of free beer. If you may ask what is the difference? Weebly comes with freedom for you to use, however, there might be costs involved somewhere. We will take a look at the cost of using Weebly.
Is Weebly still free and will it remain free?
Yes, it’s true, as we mentioned above, Weebly is free. However, it does have a paid feature where once you sign up for its Pro plan, you are granted access to more interesting website builder tools. But fear not, you don’t actually need the paid version of Weebly to build awesome websites.
The free version of Weebly is more than enough to get the job done and it’s been tested by million of users across the globe. In this matter, to dig more into the details, you may want to read our in-depth Weebly review.
Weebly will likely remain free by offering its free plan for anyone. The philosophy behind it is that the users can upgrade anytime to a paid plan if any advanced features are needed.
Even though the free version covers everything and it’s more than enough to build any kind of website, including, blogs and store.
Cost of running a Weebly website
The cost of running a Weebly website is relatively minimal and hold true for running any other type of website as well.
It’s actually free, there’s no real cost unless you opt for a paid plan for extra features and having your own domain. WeeblyTutorials users can get a free domain name when bundled with any paid Weebly plan.
Weebly Pro
Now as mentioned above, there is a Weebly Pro version and this version provides you more features which you will need to pay.
The fees vary depending on the period you are signing up for but it’s less than $5 per month. How will you know whether you need Weebly Pro or is the free Weebly version adequate? Well, take a look at the extra features that Weebly Pro offers before you decide.
- Video and Audio Player
You have the options to add video and audio files onto your website and Weebly will automatically convert them for web playback. You can also add Youtube video on the free version.
- Individual File Size Increase
The free version has unlimited bandwidth and disk space but allows only a maximum of 5 MB for each uploaded file, which is quite enough for most of us. But for those who have bigger individual files, Weebly Pro increases this to 100 MB!
- Delete / Customize Footer Message
Free Weebly has this tiny “Create a free website with Weebly” on your footer link. Weebly Pro gives you the option to delete or customize this text / link.
- Embed Documents
This is very useful if you plan to upload documents onto your website or blog. If you upload the original document as it is, then you readers would need to download before they can open it. But if you embed the document, your readers can directly access it on your site and scroll through it.
- Number of websites
You get up to 10 websites compared to 2 with your free version.
- File Upload Option
Weebly has an easy-to-use form builder. In the pro version, you get to add a “file upload” field to your forms if you so wish.
- Premium Support
With the paid version, you get premium support as well as faster response.
If you still can’t make up your mind, no worries. Just sign up for the free Weebly account first and then upgrade anytime when you think you need the extra features. If you do not want to upgrade, you can continue to use Weebly for FREE for however long you want.
Related: How to Start a Weebly Website (Ultimate Guide)
So for those planning to build a simple website or two, then the free Weebly is just right for you. Even for beginners, it’s extremely easy to understand and use, yet is powerful enough to build a great website or blog. Those with limited technical skills or IT knowledge will find Weebly has all the information and tools they need to create the online presence they wanted!
We hope that this article answers some questions about Weebly. You may also read our full Weebly review.
If you liked this tutorial, then you may consider subscribing to our WeeblyTutorials YouTube Channel for Weebly video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
