Think AI can build you a perfect website in seconds? I spent weeks testing the reality behind the hype.
AI website builders love to brag: “Generate a website in seconds!” “Launch your business with no code!” “Let AI do the work!” But I was skeptical. Do these tools actually deliver, or are they just slapping shiny templates on mediocrity?
I tested 11 different AI website builders. Some I found through Google while searching for “AI website builders,” others were recommended by fellow designers, and one showed up on Product Hunt. I was mainly looking for platforms that could quickly generate a simple, client-ready site without much manual setup or coding — ideally something a small local business could start using right away, no technical fuss.
For each platform, I used the same brief/prompt:
“Build a website for a local cleaning service called SparklePro with a homepage, service list, customer reviews, and a contact form. Use a bright, trustworthy design.”
The results? A mixed bag of impressive innovation, mediocre templates, and some genuine surprises. Here’s what I discovered.
Most AI builders are still just wrapping old-school templates in fancier packaging. But a few — Framer and Lovable.dev — feel like real evolution.
Framer required two attempts—the first version was just a hero section with two buttons. But the second attempt delivered something genuinely impressive: a modern layout with responsive design, customizable fonts and colors, and solid section structure.
What stands out is how it feels less like a “website generator” and more like a proper web design tool that leverages AI. You can publish to a Framer subdomain instantly, but you’ll want to spend time fine-tuning the details.
Verdict: One of the best results. Looks like something you’d actually pay a designer for.
Pricing: Personal starts at $5/mo for 2 landing pages, Business from $75/mo
Among the more visually impressive results, Lovable.dev generated a clean, scrollable site with working navigation and clear structure. The design aesthetic was noticeably better than most competitors.
The only significant drawback? The critical “Book Now” button required additional backend setup, which undermined the “automatic” promise and demanded technical knowledge.
Verdict: Visually solid design, great for those comfortable with some technical configuration.
Pricing: Free plan limited to 30 messages per month, Starter plan at $20/mo
Durable delivers on its promise of a complete site in seconds. While the design is fairly generic, each content block can be edited manually or with AI assistance. A standout feature: it automatically writes alt text for images—genuinely useful for SEO and accessibility.
You’ll need to pay to publish, but for quickly generating a draft for a small business site, it hits the mark.
Verdict: Good foundations, but expect to spend time customizing.
Pricing: Starts from $12/mo
Wix has evolved its platform with AI capabilities, and it shows in their smart onboarding questions. However, the experience quickly pivots to upselling domains, stores, and booking services before you even see a draft.
The generated site was functional but sterile—like those generic business cards people make and immediately forget. On the upside, all the features work right out of the box without technical setup.
Verdict: Reliable but feels more like a business funnel than a creative tool.
Pricing: From $17/mo
Readdy AI is a recently-launched tool (which made a splash on Product Hunt) that delivers decent design and copy with an intuitive editing experience. Unfortunately, the AI-generated images look like they came straight from a 2022 GAN model—uncanny and distracting.
While you can export static HTML for free, everything else costs money, and the free export still requires hosting knowledge.
Verdict: Promising, but the visuals need serious clean-up.
Pricing: Starts from $20/mo
Squarespace offers a clean, customizable onboarding process where you select site type, tone (“friendly,” “bold,” etc.), and required pages. The resulting site is polished but feels indistinguishable from every other Squarespace template.
The benefit is complete editability and Squarespace’s reliable infrastructure.
Verdict: A solid option if you need minimal fuss and don’t mind looking like everyone else.
Pricing: Starts from $16/mo
SITE123 doesn’t attempt to be cutting-edge. It feels like a platform from 2011—but in a comfortingly functional way. The AI primarily generates text, and you select stock images from their gallery. Everything works without surprises.
One notable quirk: I received six marketing emails within six hours of signing up. Someone’s AI is definitely enthusiastic about follow-up.
Verdict: Solid. Predictable. Gets the job done.
Pricing: Starts from $12.80/mo
Bolt instantly generated a functional site with mobile responsiveness included. The downside? It’s almost too minimalist, and after hitting Deploy, you’re thrown into technical integration with GitLab/GitHub and Netlify—confusing for non-technical users.
Verdict: Risky for clients who just want a website without technical knowledge.
Pricing: “Free plans have a 150,000 token daily limit and 1 million token monthly limit.” (Whatever that means.)
10Web starts strong with a slick onboarding flow and smooth UI, building anticipation… only to deliver disappointment. The generated site was bland and filled with low-quality images. Worse, you can’t edit anything without paying.
Verdict: All form, no function—like a fancy box with nothing inside.
Pricing: Starts from $10/mo
Despite asking detailed questions and building expectations, Jimdo delivered a site with a headline reading “Strategic Consulting & Innovation”—for a cleaning company. Nothing felt tailored to the brief, and the resulting site lacked personality entirely.
Verdict: Feels like legacy software pretending to be modern.
Pricing: Free for basic features, then from $11/mo
Brizi begins with a business-focused wizard that seems promising. The result had a standard modern layout but with strange floating blobs across the page. When I tried to edit, I encountered errors that refreshing couldn’t fix—suggesting it’s still in beta.
Verdict: One to revisit later, perhaps, but not ready for prime time.
Pricing: $190/yr
After testing these platforms, a few truths became clear:
What they can do:
What they can’t do:
They’re definitely not replacing actual designers. But if you’re a small business owner who just wants to stop handing out business cards with no URL on them, they’re a lifeline.
AI won’t magically understand your brand, your tone, or your customers. But it can give you a functional starting point in under an hour. And sometimes, that’s all you need.
Yes and no. Most let you build and publish a basic site for free — usually on an ugly subdomain. But the moment you want to edit the layout, connect your own domain, or add anything useful (like analytics or forms), you’ll hit a paywall.
Here’s how all 11 tested AI website builders compare based on design quality and ease of use:
| Tool | Design | Ease of use |
|---|---|---|
| Framer | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ |
| Lovable.dev | ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ |
| Wix | ⭐⭐☆☆☆ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ |
| Readdy.ai | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ |
| SITE123 | ⭐⭐☆☆☆ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ |
| Bolt | ⭐⭐☆☆☆ | ⭐⭐☆☆☆ |
| Squarespace | ⭐⭐☆☆☆ | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ |
| Brizi.io | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ | ??? |
| Durable | ⭐⭐☆☆☆ | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ |
| Jimdo | ⭐⭐☆☆☆ | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ |
| 10Web | ⭐⭐☆☆☆ | ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ |
Just remember: no matter how good the AI, it’ll still need a human to care. That’s you.
About the author
Alexander Dallow. UX writer who transforms confusing interfaces into conversations users actually want to have. Constantly testing AI chatbots for flaws, owns more drumsticks than pens, and firmly believes that user flows and workout routines have more in common than people realize.
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