Is Webflow too expensive? A breakdown of the recent price hike

Have you heard about the recent Webflow price hike? With the recent changes in the price of this popular website builder, some people wonder if it is still worth the cost.

Every change in the price of a product we use, no matter how good it is, causes us to reevaluate the quality and value of that product. Some call it "outrageous," some call it "squeezing more money out of people," and some "screwing over freelancers."

In this article, we'll break down the recent price increase and provide you with an honest assessment of Webflow's pricing, along with some alternatives you can consider if the cost of Webflow is too high.

A Webflow workspace allows you to set permissions on how you want to use Webflow sites, whether in collaboration with a team or by yourself. With Workspaces, you can choose between different permissions, which helps control how work is accomplished across your team.

Everyone new to Webflow starts with a free Workspace and can upgrade or add teammates as required. However, all existing customers who don't currently use a Workspace will eventually need to transition their accounts to paid Workspaces.

This no-code platform for designing and developing responsive websites using a visual user interface is the most popular choice for web developers and designers who don't have the technical background to code a website. Plus, Workspace grows with you, making it easy to scale up or down as your team and projects evolve.

For those who are just starting with WF, Workspaces will be their default, so you won't need to transition to a Workspace. However, existing users are the ones who will experience the most significant change, as they will eventually need to switch over to a Workplace plan through their account page. The appropriate account for your team will depend on your on-site count and account complexity. Unfortunately, this comes with a steeper cost, which is why people are raising concerns about the recent price hike.

If you're signing up to Webflow for the first time, you can utilize their free starter plan. However, this is only practical for trying out Webflow and can't be used with a custom domain. In order to host, publish and use all the features of Webflow, you'll need to purchase a paid account.

If you're already using a platform, your account is likely in one of the four categories listed below, along with how the new pricing structure will apply to it.

Transition problems start with more advanced plans. The idea is that your current plan goes to the Workspace plans recommended by Webflow. So, in the beginning, you can't choose which Workspace plans you want, but after the transition, you can change from the recommended plan to another quickly. 

There are different rules for different plans. The best way to find out what you need to do is to visit the Webflow website to check the next steps you need to take. While the transition is a bit complicated, once you get to the Workspace environment, you can easily switch to another plan and make it your own without anybody's help or approval.

Webflow is shifting from a landing page builder to an enterprise-grade visual software development platform. However, many other SaaS products charge a lot more money than Webflow, right? So, why is this pricing change so negatively received in the community?

It's not a secret that companies nowadays design tools and products that force users to pay extra for features they don't need. Aside from simplicity and scalability (which Webflow had before, too), the most significant improvement on Workspace is the introduction of roles and permissions, which we described above. But does that control need to cost 70% more? Why do people resist so much?

Based on the current plans, users can choose either a free, lite, or pro plan (spoiler alert: the problematic one). Unfortunately, the pro plan will jump from $35 to $60 a month, resulting in more than $360 in additional fees each year for pro users. This was met with much criticism, and a petition even started to reduce the price.

 The idea with the coupon code is to help freelancers stay in a Pro plan. With that code, freelancers can maintain that $35 or $42 a month charge without paying the steep $60 per month. However, many wonder if it's sustainable for a long-term period.

While the change focuses on many positives for teams who use the platform, the same cannot be said for individuals.

Webflow is a platform that delivers a ton of value across the board and empowers both agencies and freelancers to find creative and visual solutions for various projects. Before Workspace was introduced, there were only two plans to choose from, Individual Plans and Team Plans. Essentially everyone could find a plan that fits their needs. However, with the new "team-focused" changes, individuality is lost, and expenses are the same for everybody.

This won't significantly impact agencies and companies because they can earn more money, take on more clients, and charge their services higher than a freelancer can. Plus, improvement in a control section can be helpful and valuable for some agencies if they're willing to pay $360 more each year for those features.

By losing the ability to choose an individual plan, freelancers are forced to choose the same plan as agencies and companies. But this change brings along a new set of problems. Freelancers usually work alone, they are located around the world, and ​the payment for their work depends on several different factors, such as experience level, country of origin, and project requirements.

So, if someone is a freelancer, how much does it cost to make a site if they must invest $60 per site? Is it realistic for the price of their work to jump by 70% as well?

Some who want to take a risk and try to sell their work for a higher price may face client-retention issues as clients may not remain loyal and instead seek someone to do the same job for less money.

To decide if Webflow is the right choice for your team, consider how much it costs to use the platform and if the cost is sustainable.

Webflow is a builder often seen as the WordPress alternative. It aims to make building a website easy for anyone and features a user-friendly interface paired with many advanced features. If you are a full-on freelancer, you probably have more than ten projects that simultaneously require white labeling and site password protection, so you are forced to take the Pro plan and have more expenses.

Whether or not to upgrade and stick with the platform depends solely on your individual needs and business plans. As a freelancer, you will need to charge more for your services to earn the same amount of money if you want to stay in the Pro plan. So, if you don't have a lot of projects and are not looking for cutting-edge features, it is worth sticking with the Lite or Free Plan. As a company, the Pro plan offers additional features that may be worth the extra money.

Ultimately, the decision to upgrade or not is up to you. Webflow provides an excellent platform for both freelancers and companies alike. However, if you are a freelancer looking to keep costs low, it may be best to choose another option.

Webflow alternatives differ from Webflow itself in their approach to content management. Most Webflow alternatives are content management systems that allow users to edit and manage content like Webflow manages the design around that content.

That means that with Webflow alternatives, you can create structured content, edit, manage it, and update it all — without touching a line of code.

Where this difference comes from?

Well, the answer is simple- the CMS structure.

Often described as a CMS, Webflow is a SaaS product and visual web design and development platform combining CMS functionality with a powerful visual editor and code-based customization options.

Webflow provides a visual design editor that allows users to create and customize website layouts, styles, and interactions without coding knowledge. It offers a more intuitive and visual approach to designing websites than many traditional CMS platforms, which often rely on templates or require more technical expertise.

With Webflow, you can create and manage content for your website or web application using a user-friendly interface. It provides features for creating and organizing web pages, designing layouts, and adding and editing content. Webflow also offers the ability to define and manage dynamic content, such as blog posts or product listings, through its CMS capabilities.

Here are a few scenarios where CMS Webflow alternatives might be a better solution for large, ever-changing projects:

WordPress is the most popular CMS on the web, with 41% of all websites using it. It's open-source software designed primarily for blogging and creating websites. It's user-friendly and straightforward to customize the design with templates and themes. But if you want a completely customized site, you'll need to code it yourself or hire a developer.

Weebly includes 40+ mobile-friendly themes, a blog with image galleries, and an online store. In addition, the free plan allows you to use your domain name. If you upgrade to a paid plan for $12/month, you'll be provided with an ad-free service.

Wix is a fast, powerful, and easy-to-use site builder that is perfect for creating small websites. With Wix, you can access 100s of free templates or create your own website with the drag-and-drop editor, which provides an excellent range of tools. Wix also provides hosting, and compared to Webflow, Wix is ideal for small websites and beginners.

BCMS is a Headless CMS that makes managing content easy. It has a simple interface and is easy to use, making it perfect for your clients to take control of their content while you can focus on coding without being restricted by tools. The best part is that your costs will remain the same no matter how big your website grows. So it won't cost more if you have more visitors and add more users, pages, or files.