Website builder for Mac
Choosing a website builder for Mac means picking between Mac-only apps, desktop apps that also run on Windows, and builders inside Safari or Chrome. We compare seven with October 2026 prices and show where Mobirise, our free app for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, fits.
Free for personal and commercial sites.
macOS High Sierra and later
Two free downloads, one for Apple Silicon and one for Intel Macs, each about 134 MB. Current version: 6.1.12, October 2026.
Mobirise on a Mac: six facts
Facts as of October 2026, checked by our team.
One for Apple Silicon Macs (M1 to M4), one for Intel Macs. Either .dmg weighs roughly 134 MB.
High Sierra or any later release runs version 6.1.12, published in October 2026.
The macOS download bundles 200+ blocks in its basic theme, and commercial use is allowed. Free-plan sites carry Mobirise branding.
Editing, previews and installed themes need no network. AI, publishing, sign-in and new downloads do.
There is no iOS app; the browser builder runs there instead. Android has a Mobirise app on Google Play.
From the Mac app: FTP or FTPES to any host, a GitHub Pages site, or a folder in Finder. Every plan, free included, with no cap on sites.
Website builder for Mac: our picks by need
There's no universal best website builder for Mac: it hinges on how you pay, where your files live and whether you ever work offline. Each card names one need, the tool that serves it, and the catch.
Blocs
Native on both chip types, with its own iPad and iPhone apps. The catch: the free edition can't publish or export, and it needs Big Sur or newer.
Mobirise
Type over finished blocks, keep editing with no connection, and publish by FTP or to GitHub Pages without paying. The catch: a RapidWeaver or Blocs project can't be imported, and there's no iPad app.
RapidWeaver Elements
A native macOS app whose AI assistant runs on an OpenAI or Anthropic key you supply. The catch: a yearly subscription from $99, and Ventura (macOS 13) or newer.
Sitely (formerly Sparkle)
Place elements anywhere on the page, then open the same project file in the iPad app. The catch: no hosting of its own, and Apple Silicon support isn't stated.
Pinegrow
Works straight on HTML and CSS files, in a visual view or as code, on Mac, Windows and Linux, and it opens sites made elsewhere. The catch: it assumes you can read code.
Webflow
Runs in Safari or Chrome, with a free site on webflow.io. The catch: no offline work, an editor that expects CSS thinking, and code export only on paid plans.
Squarespace
In reviews it comes up most often as the easiest of all builders, and on a Mac it lives in a Safari tab. The catch: there's no free plan, and the Basic plan costs $19 monthly on yearly billing.
8B AI
Type a single sentence and get a full design back, in Safari on the Mac or on a phone. The catch: going live requires Pro, $9 monthly when paid yearly, and nothing works offline.
Mobirise is ours, so discount our card for bias. What we say about the other seven tools comes from what their makers publish, read in October 2026; when a rival handles a Mac need better, its card admits it.
Seven Mac tools in one table
Prices appear as each vendor listed them, with the billing period. Regional pricing and sales change them, so check before you pay.
| Feature | Mobirise | Blocs | RapidWeaver Elements | 8B AI | Sitely | Pinegrow | Webflow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kind of tool | Desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux; the same engine runs in the browser | Native Mac app, plus separate iPad and iPhone apps | Native app for macOS only | Browser builder, nothing to install | Mac and iPad apps sharing one project | Code-first editor installed on Mac, Windows or Linux | Runs in a browser tab; no download |
| Mac requirement | High Sierra (10.13) or newer; separate Apple Silicon and Intel downloads | Big Sur or newer; one universal build | Ventura (13) or newer; Apple Silicon or Intel | None; it runs in a browser | 10.14.4 or later; Apple Silicon support not stated | A separate download per chip type | None; runs in Safari, Chrome, Firefox or Edge |
| Free to use | As many sites as you like, uploaded from the Mac; 3 hosted sites; Mobirise branding | Free edition to build in; publishing and export need a license | Trial only; you subscribe to publish | A full design from a sentence; no publishing | 14-day Pro trial; sites carry Sitely branding | Trial with all features on | One webflow.io site with a Webflow badge |
| Price and billing | Free app; $149 a year for KIT, $199 a year for BASE with hosting on your domain | One-time: Standard $112.99 or Plus $179.99, tax included | $99 Base, $149 Plus, $249 Pro, all yearly; stop renewing and the app still runs, minus updates | $9 monthly, paid yearly (Pro) | Yearly $59.99, or buy once: $79.99 Personal, $119.99 Pro | List price $99 per user a year; can also be bought once | Billed yearly: $15 a month on the Basic site plan |
| Without Wi-Fi | Edits and previews offline; going online is required for AI and publishing | Works offline, per the vendor | Works offline, per the vendor | No | Desktop app the vendor promotes for off-the-grid work | The vendor doesn't say | No |
| iPad and iPhone | No iOS app; use the browser builder in Safari | Separate iPad and iPhone apps | No; Mac only | Works in a phone's browser | iPad app opens the same project | No; desktop systems only | Browser only |
| Where the site goes | Every plan sends sites to a folder, to GitHub Pages or over FTP/FTPES; 3 free mobirisesite.com sites with HTTPS | Your own hosting or an export, with a paid license | Elements Hosting by Realmac; also SFTP, FTP, Amazon S3 or a folder | Built-in hosting with SSL and your domain, on Pro | SFTP, FTP or FTP over TLS, or a folder; no hosting | GitHub, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, SFTP or Pinegrow Online | Webflow's own hosting; other hosts need the code export from a paid plan |
Native, cross-platform or in the browser
Mac website builder software falls into three groups, and each group gives something up. Decide which trade-off you can live with, then compare features.
Apps made only for macOS
Blocs, RapidWeaver Elements and Sitely follow Mac conventions closely, and two of them reach the iPad. The cost: the tool stays behind if your next computer runs Windows, and recent versions want a recent macOS, Ventura in the case of RapidWeaver Elements.
Desktop apps for every system
Mobirise and Pinegrow install on Mac, Windows and Linux and keep projects on your own disk. Moving to a PC means no new tool to learn. The interface looks the same everywhere, so it feels less like a Mac app.
Builders in Safari or Chrome
Webflow, Squarespace, Wix and 8B AI need no install and don't care which chip or macOS you have. In exchange, each edit needs a connection, the site lives on their servers, and a custom domain means a recurring fee.
A quick filter: if you may leave the Mac in a few years, skip the Mac-only apps. If you often work without Wi-Fi, skip the browser builders. If you want to keep the site files, favor tools that save plain HTML to a folder. For no-cost options on any system, see our page on free website builder software.
Looking for an iWeb alternative
Apple stopped developing iWeb in 2011, yet people still search for a replacement. Judge any candidate, ours included, against these six points.
It runs on the macOS you have
Check the minimum system first: RapidWeaver Elements needs Ventura, Blocs Big Sur, Sitely 10.14.4 and Mobirise 10.13. If your Mac can't update, the list gets short fast.
No code on the way
Look for page templates or prebuilt sections where you only swap in your text and photos. Pinegrow is a capable web editor for Mac, but it is a code tool and a different kind of work.
Phones handled for you
Most visitors read on a phone, so ask how the tool adapts pages. Mobirise blocks adjust by themselves and you preview three widths, though you can't keep a separate phone layout.
An exit route for your files
Software can stop being updated. A tool that saves plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript lets you move the site to any host later; Mobirise does this on every plan, Blocs with a paid license.
Publishing that fits your host
With a hosting account of your own, the tool needs FTP or SFTP upload. Without one, compare built-in hosting on your own domain: $9 monthly for 8B AI Pro and $15 monthly for Webflow's Basic site plan, both billed yearly, against $199 a year for Mobirise BASE.
A price model you accept
Mac tools sell once (Blocs), by the year (RapidWeaver Elements) or either way (Sitely, Pinegrow). Ask what you lose when you stop paying: with RapidWeaver Elements it is updates, not the app.
Apple Silicon or Intel: which download
Version 6.1.12 ships as two separate .dmg files, each roughly 134 MB. Neither runs on a macOS older than 10.13.
Choose About This Mac from the Apple menu. The window shows either a Chip line or a Processor line, plus your macOS version, and those two details decide which file you need.
Chip: an Apple M-series (M1 to M4)
Download the Apple Silicon build. It is the one made for Macs with Apple's own chips.
Processor: Intel
Download the Intel build. Any Intel Mac that runs High Sierra or later can use the current release.
macOS older than 10.13
The current version won't install. Update macOS if the Mac allows it; otherwise build in the browser on a newer device, since it is the same Mobirise.
history.mobirisesite.com lists both .dmg files alongside past releases. Open the one you downloaded, drag Mobirise into Applications and launch it.
Working on a MacBook away from Wi-Fi
A desktop website builder for MacBook owners pays off on trains, planes and in cafés with weak signal. Plan around the few things that need a connection.
Before you leave
Sign in, install updates and download every theme you plan to use. Run AI prompts now as well, because Mobirise AI works only online.
Build offline
Add installed blocks, type your text, swap in photos from your disk and change each block's settings. None of this needs a network.
Check three widths
Flip the preview to phone width, then tablet, then desktop. One layout serves all three, so fix problems by trimming text, not by making a phone version.
Publish back online
Back on hotel Wi-Fi, send the finished pages to your host (FTP or FTPES), publish them on GitHub Pages, or drop them into a Finder folder.
Blocs and RapidWeaver Elements also list offline editing; Webflow and 8B AI need a live connection. The complete offline and online split is on our offline website software page.
On iPhone and iPad, Mobirise runs in Safari
Mobirise has no app for iOS or iPadOS.
In Safari on an iPad or iPhone, go to a.mobirise.com, the browser version of Mobirise. Behind it is the engine the Mac app uses, block library included, so you can describe a site to the AI website creator, choose one of four designs and keep editing on the tablet. FTP uploads, though, happen in the desktop app.
If a native iPad app matters to you, Sitely opens one project on both Mac and iPad, and Blocs has separate iPad and iPhone apps. For Android, the Google Play listing is called AI Website Builder: Mobirise.
Should you use Mobirise on your Mac?
Mobirise fits if
- You want a free website builder app for Mac that keeps site files in your own folders
- You edit on a MacBook in places with patchy Wi-Fi
- You also use a Windows or Linux PC and want one tool on both
- You'd rather fill in ready blocks than position every element
- Your hosting account already exists, and you want to publish to it, or to GitHub Pages, at no cost
- Your Mac can't go past High Sierra: the Mac-only apps we compared all need a newer macOS
Another tool fits better if
- You want a native macOS website builder: Blocs or RapidWeaver Elements
- Most of your design work happens on a tablet: Sitely and Blocs ship native iPad apps, whereas Mobirise on an iPad means the browser
- Your site already lives in another tool, or you bought an HTML template: Mobirise can't import either, while Pinegrow edits existing code
- You want free placement or a separate phone layout: Sitely lets you place elements anywhere, and Webflow sets each breakpoint by hand
- You want your own domain on built-in hosting at no charge: with Mobirise that starts at BASE, $199 a year, and free sites show branding. Our check of free drag and drop website builders shows which plan unlocks a custom domain at each
Questions Mac owners ask
Which website builder for Mac should a beginner try first?
Pick by how you like to work. For ready blocks and a free app, try Mobirise; for a Mac-only app you buy once, Blocs; for polished templates with nothing to install, Squarespace. Use the free plan or trial before paying for any of them. For picks beyond the Mac, read our list of website builders for beginners.
Is Mobirise free on a Mac?
Yes. You get a free website builder for Macs with Apple Silicon or Intel chips, and you can build commercial sites with it too. Installing it gets you the basic theme and its 200+ blocks, with no cap on sites sent from the Mac to your own hosting. Free-plan sites show Mobirise branding; KIT ($149, billed yearly) removes it and unlocks 220+ premium themes.
Which Mobirise file do I download for my Mac?
Check your chip. M-series chips (M1 to M4) take the Apple Silicon build, and Intel processors take the Intel one. Each .dmg is roughly 134 MB, and High Sierra (10.13) is the oldest macOS either supports.
Does Apple have a website builder?
Not anymore: Apple's own builder, iWeb, stopped being developed in 2011. If stacking ready sections appeals, try Mobirise; to place each element freely, Sitely; for an app that exists only on the Mac, Blocs or RapidWeaver Elements; for nothing to install, Squarespace in Safari. Then run them through the six-point checklist above.
Can I build on a MacBook with no internet?
Yes. Once it's installed, the MacBook can stay offline while you edit, preview and use any theme or block already downloaded. Reconnect when you want AI, to publish, to sign in or buy a plan, or to fetch app updates and themes you haven't installed.
Is there a Mobirise app for iPhone or iPad?
No. On iOS and iPadOS you work in Safari instead; the browser version runs the one Mobirise engine, AI included, with every block. Android phones have their own Mobirise app on Google Play.
Can my site use a domain I already own?
Yes. Point the domain at any web host, then upload the site there over FTP or FTPES with the desktop app, which every plan allows. If you'd rather Mobirise host the site on your domain, that takes the BASE plan ($199 yearly) or GROW ($249 yearly).
Can Mobirise open a site built in another app?
No. A project has to start life in Mobirise; sites built with RapidWeaver, Blocs or Sitely, and HTML templates you bought, can't be brought in. If you need to keep working on such a site, Pinegrow edits existing HTML and CSS.
Do I have to write code?
No. Mobirise works as a WYSIWYG website builder for the Mac: you drag blocks out of the side panel, type straight into headings, click any picture to pick a new file from Finder, and set spacing, background or column count in each block's parameters. If you know HTML, paid plans add the Code Editor, which opens the markup of a single block or a whole page. Our page on visual HTML editors shows what you set by eye and what takes code.
Can Mobirise AI start the site for me?
Yes, when your Mac is online. Mobirise AI works in the desktop app and in Safari, so you have an AI website builder for the Mac either way. Type a brief in any language you like, or hand it a drawing or a screen capture, and four designs come back; the free plan covers 3 of these generations each month. Refine your pick by chat, or edit its blocks yourself.
Make your first page today
Start with AI in the browser or download the free app. It is the same Mobirise either way.