Free website builder software
Free website builder software may be free forever, free with limits or only a trial, and the label rarely says which. We make Mobirise, a no-cost install on Windows, Mac and Linux, and set it beside seven other downloadable programs in October 2026.
Free for personal and commercial sites.
license fee, business use included
Download, install and publish without paying: the free plan has 200+ blocks and no limit on self-hosted sites. Anything you publish at $0 shows Mobirise branding.
What the free Mobirise download gives you
Our own figures, taken from the Mobirise pricing and download pages in October 2026.
The installed program runs on a free plan, not a trial. Client and business work is permitted on it.
MobiriseSetup.exe installs on Windows 7 and every release after it; the current build is 6.1.12. Mac and Linux get their own files.
From Windows, upload by FTP or FTPES, send to GitHub Pages, or write a copy to disk, for as many sites as you like. Three HTTPS sites on mobirisesite.com are extra.
Even at $0, the program writes your site out as ordinary .html, .css and .js files you can copy anywhere.
Anything you publish at $0 shows Mobirise branding. KIT, $149 a year, takes it off and opens the full premium library: 220+ themes and extensions.
Every prompt yields four designs to choose from. The AI works online only; the Windows editor does not need it.
Which website builder program fits your job
Only three of these cost nothing to keep using. The rest are paid, and for some jobs they beat us.
Visual Studio Code
A free code editor with no page builder in it: every tag is yours to type. A good match for students of HTML, tiring for anyone who never meant to code.
Mobirise
Blocks you drag into place, as many self-hosted sites as you want, HTML export, and editing on a PC with no internet. The catch: free sites show branding, and HTML made in other tools will not load into it.
WordPress
The open-source CMS is free, and WordPress.com's Studio runs it locally on your computer. The catch: you arrange hosting and keep every update applied.
WYSIWYG Web Builder
Absolute or flexible layouts in a program that runs only on Windows. A 30-day trial, then $59.95 once for version 21.
Bootstrap Studio
Imports existing files and, per the vendor, works fully offline. Not free: Standard is $29 once, and knowing Bootstrap helps.
Pinegrow
Opens any HTML site and edits more than one screen width at once. Billed monthly, yearly or once at $149; a lapsed subscription stops the app.
CoffeeCup Site Designer
Materialize, Foundation 6, Bootstrap 4 or plain CSS, with custom breakpoints and a $99 perpetual license. You need to think in CSS classes.
Adobe Dreamweaver
A code editor with a live view and Bootstrap templates. The catch: a monthly subscription and the steepest learning curve in this list.
Mobirise is our product, so read the order of these cards with that bias in mind. Rival prices were copied from their own sites this October, and when one of them handles a job better than we do, the card says so.
Seven tools compared on cost, Windows and offline use
8B AI runs in the browser and stands in for free AI design; the other six are downloads.
| Feature | Mobirise | Bootstrap Studio | WYSIWYG Web Builder | 8B AI | CoffeeCup Site Designer | Pinegrow | Adobe Dreamweaver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free to use | Yes, a free plan; business use allowed; branding shown | No, paid license | 30-day trial, then paid | Design free; going live is paid | No, paid license | No, paid | No, paid subscription |
| Price and billing | $0; optional yearly plans from $149 (KIT) | One payment: $29 (Standard, a year of upgrades) or $59 (Lifetime) | $59.95 one-off for version 21; updates up to the next major release | $9 a month for Pro, on a yearly bill | Perpetual license for $99, upgrades free for the first year | Subscription at $99 yearly or $12 monthly, or a single $149 payment that covers a year of updates | US$22.99 a month, annual plan paid monthly |
| Systems | Windows 7+, macOS 10.13+, Debian-based Linux | Windows 10 or newer, macOS, Linux | Windows only; a different product covers Mac and Linux | Any browser, nothing to install | Windows 7+ and macOS 10.13+ | Windows, macOS, Linux and a browser version | Windows 10 (1903+) or 11, macOS |
| Offline | Yes for building and previews; online only for AI and going live | Fully, the vendor says | Yes; AI calls your OpenAI account online | No | Editing yes; CoffeeCup hosting needs a connection | Edits files on disk; its AI and deploys require internet | Yes, but Adobe verifies the license online every 30 days |
| AI and who pays | Four designs a prompt; 3 free generations monthly, more on BASE and GROW | AI Assistant on your own API key | Site from text or an image (version 21) via your OpenAI account; OpenAI bills usage | Full design from one prompt free; Pro adds chat edits | None on its product page | AI Assistant using your own key or Pinegrow credits | None described by Adobe |
| Publishing | Any plan: FTP/FTPES, GitHub Pages, local export; plus 3 free hosted sites | Static export, SFTP, or vendor hosting (a year included with Standard) | Built-in SFTP, FTPS and FTP upload, or a local drive | Pro only: 8B AI hosts it, SSL and your domain included | HTML and CSS files for any server, or CoffeeCup hosting | Netlify, GitHub, Cloudflare Pages, SFTP or Pinegrow Online | WebDAV, FTP, FTPS, SFTP or a network folder |
| Opens existing HTML | No, Mobirise projects only | Yes, drop the files in | Yes, imports HTML pages | Not in its plan list | Not stated by CoffeeCup | Yes, any HTML project | Yes, it edits any code |
Four kinds of free website builder software
Lists of free website building software often mix four very different things. Pick the kind first and the brand second.
Visual builders
You arrange blocks or elements and the program writes the code. Good for owners who need a working site more than a new skill. Mobirise is free; WYSIWYG Web Builder and CoffeeCup Site Designer are paid. Online ones are in our guide to free drag-and-drop website builders.
Code editors
You type HTML and CSS while the editor highlights, completes and checks it. Visual Studio Code costs nothing. A fit for people learning to code and for developers who insist on controlling each line.
Static site generators
Command-line tools such as Hugo, Jekyll or Eleventy turn Markdown files and templates into plain HTML. Free, open source and popular for blogs and docs, but you work from a terminal.
Local CMS
WordPress on your own computer, for example through WordPress.com's Studio. You build and test locally, then move the site to a host with PHP and a database. Best for a blog that will keep growing.
What is actually free: six things to audit
“Free” covers three different deals. Before you put work into free website creator software, run its offer through these six checks.
Open-source tools such as VS Code, WordPress and Hugo charge nothing for the software; you pay for hosting and a domain and spend your own time on setup. Free plans have no fee but hold features back: the Mobirise branding appears on free sites, while 8B AI's free tier stops short of publishing. Trials, like WYSIWYG Web Builder's 30 days, give you everything for a while, then ask you to buy.
Branding
Does a badge, footer link or ad appear on your published pages? Mobirise's free plan shows branding and any paid plan removes it; Wix's free sites carry ads.
Hosting
Can you go live without paying, and where? Mobirise uploads to any host and adds three free subdomain sites. 8B AI's free plan cannot publish at all.
Export
Can you take the HTML with you? Installed Mobirise exports at every plan level; the browser version keeps code download for BASE and GROW.
Commercial use
Some free licenses cover personal sites only. Search the terms for “commercial use” before you build for a client. Mobirise's free plan allows it.
AI costs
AI is often billed apart from the program. WYSIWYG Web Builder and Bootstrap Studio run on your own AI account, which may charge you; Mobirise includes 3 generations a month.
Updates and term
A one-off license may cover a year of upgrades or one major version. A subscription can stop the program, as Pinegrow's does. Ask what still works in year two.
Web design or website development software?
The two labels get mixed up in search results, yet they serve different people.
Design tools, for designers
Figma, or Sketch if you use a Mac, draws screens and clickable prototypes. You get a picture of a site to hand over, not pages a browser can serve.
Development tools, for coders
Code editors, generators and frameworks. VS Code and Hugo are free website development software; Dreamweaver is a subscription. You control every line and can build anything, if you know HTML, CSS and some JavaScript.
Builders, in between
Visual builders give working pages without code. If you searched for the best free website design software for beginners but need a live site, this is the kind you want. Mobirise writes Bootstrap 5 HTML; see the code it exports.
Free website builder software for Windows 7, 10 and 11
Newer PCs have the widest choice. On an older one, check the system requirements before anything else.
Mobirise and CoffeeCup Site Designer both state support for Windows 7 or later. Bootstrap Studio needs Windows 10 or newer, and Dreamweaver needs Windows 10 version 1903 or Windows 11, so neither fits an older PC. WYSIWYG Web Builder runs only on Windows. Windows 7 no longer gets security updates from Microsoft, so treat it as a stopgap.
Download
Get the Windows installer from history.mobirisesite.com, the official page with every version. The file is MobiriseSetup.exe, around 105 MB. Skip copies on download portals.
Install and open
Run the installer, start Mobirise and open the free basic theme. After this, no connection is needed for editing.
Build
Drag blocks onto the page, type over the sample text, click photos to replace them, then preview phone, tablet and desktop.
Publish from the PC
Type in your host's FTP or FTPES login, or send the files to GitHub Pages or into any folder on the PC. A free mobirisesite.com address takes up to three sites.
No connection? Building still works, but AI, publishing and updates wait until you are back online; see what works with the Wi-Fi off. On a Mac instead of a PC, read about building sites on a Mac.
Before you install a free website builder program
Eight checks for any program, ours included.
Is it the maker's own download?
A search for “website builder software free download” can lead to mirror sites, and their repackaged installers may carry adware. Take the file from the vendor and compare its name and size with theirs.
Does it support your Windows?
Several tools need Windows 10 or newer. Type winver in the Start menu to see your version.
Does the offer pass the audit?
Branding, hosting, export, commercial use, AI costs, updates: confirm each on the pricing page, not in a review.
What needs a connection?
If you edit on the move, find out which features go online. In Mobirise, AI and publishing do; editing does not.
How are phones handled?
Build one test page and open it on a phone. Some tools let you edit the phone layout; Mobirise adapts blocks automatically and has no separate one.
Is it still maintained?
A public version history with recent releases is a good sign. Ours is at history.mobirisesite.com.
Will it open your current site?
If you already have HTML pages, check import first. Mobirise cannot open them; Bootstrap Studio, Dreamweaver and Pinegrow can.
Where do projects live?
Desktop programs keep your work on your own disk. Find that folder and add it to your backups before you build anything big.
Is free Mobirise the right program for you?
The free installed program matches some jobs well and others badly; here are both lists.
A good fit
- You build client sites and need a $0 license that allows it
- A business page, portfolio, landing page or small brochure site
- You already rent hosting and want to upload by FTP or FTPES
- You edit on trains, in cafés or wherever the connection drops
- Your PC still runs Windows 7 or 8
- You want to build a website with AI first, then take hands-on control of each block
Pick something else if
- Existing HTML pages need more work: Bootstrap Studio, Dreamweaver or Pinegrow can open them
- Every element must sit at exact coordinates: WYSIWYG Web Builder's absolute layouts allow it
- Your design calls for a phone-only arrangement or blocks hidden on small screens
- You would rather write code: VS Code, or a generator such as Hugo
- You run a blog with many authors and plugins: WordPress
- You want branding-free sites without paying, or an app for iOS (there, Mobirise means the browser)
Questions about free site-building programs
What is the best free website builder software?
It depends on how you work. For visual building at no cost, business sites included, Mobirise is our own option; for writing code, VS Code is free; for a growing blog, WordPress is free and open source. The other desktop builders we checked, such as Bootstrap Studio and WYSIWYG Web Builder, are paid.
Is any website builder completely free?
The software can be: VS Code, WordPress and Mobirise's free plan cost nothing. You still pay a host and a registrar unless you use a free address; Mobirise gives three sites on mobirisesite.com with HTTPS, showing its branding.
Which website builder is free and easy for beginners?
Among the downloads we checked, Mobirise is the visual builder with a free plan: you drag blocks into place, type over the sample text and publish, with no code. VS Code and WordPress are free too, but one means writing HTML and the other needs PHP hosting. Online, Wix and SITE123 have free plans; we compare them with other easy website builders on our home page.
Can I use a free program for client work?
Only when its license says so, so look for a line about commercial use. The free Mobirise plan does permit paid client projects, not just hobby sites.
Does Mobirise run on Windows 10 and 11?
Yes. It needs Windows 7 or later, so one installer, MobiriseSetup.exe at about 105 MB, covers both. The current version is 6.1.12.
What is the difference between a free trial and a free plan?
A trial unlocks everything for a fixed time, such as WYSIWYG Web Builder's 30 days, then asks you to buy. A free plan costs nothing and has limits rather than a countdown; on Mobirise the limits are the branding, a single basic theme and an AI allowance of three generations monthly.
Can I export my site as HTML files?
Yes from the installed app, at any plan level, free included: you get .html, .css and .js files with the images. The online editor differs, since downloading code from it is a BASE or GROW feature.
Can I build with the Wi-Fi off?
Yes, page building and previews run offline on your PC. The program goes online only to generate with AI, publish, sign in, pay for a plan, or fetch an update or a theme that is not on your disk yet.
Can I move my old HTML pages into Mobirise?
No. The program loads only its own project files, so pages built elsewhere and purchased HTML templates stay outside it. Keep working on those in Bootstrap Studio, Dreamweaver or Pinegrow, or rebuild them from Mobirise blocks.
Can I build a site on my phone?
On Android, install AI Website Builder: Mobirise from Google Play. That app makes four versions per prompt, then redesigns, translates and publishes the one you pick. Apple devices have no Mobirise app, so on an iPhone or iPad open it in the browser.
How do I remove the Mobirise branding?
Move to any paid plan. KIT, $149 a year, is the desktop-only option; BASE ($199) and GROW ($249), also yearly, add Mobirise hosting with your own domain and bigger AI allowances. A first purchase comes with 14 days to ask for your money back.
Make your first page today
Start with AI in the browser or download the free app. It is the same Mobirise either way.