Is Preact or Wix better?

Neither clearly leads. Preact starts at Free and Wix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Preact or Wix?

Preact starts at Free and Wix at Free.

Does Preact or Wix run on more platforms?

Preact runs on Web. Wix runs on Web, iOS, Android.

Can I use Preact for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Preact best used for?

Preact is most often used for embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay small, marketing and content sites where javascript payload affects core web vitals, applications targeting low-bandwidth or low-powered devices. Of those, embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay small and marketing and content sites where javascript payload affects core web vitals are not what Wix is typically brought in for.

What can Preact do that Wix cannot?

Preact covers 3kB runtime, preact/compat, Same modern API, Fast rendering. Wix covers Visual editor, Wix ADI, App Market, Velo.

Web Development · head to head

Preact vs Wix

Preact

Web Development

3kB alternative to React with the same modern API

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Wix

Web Development

Drag-and-drop website builder with hosting, e-commerce and marketing bundled into one subscription

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Preact compatibility through preact/compat is good but not total, and some React libraries break in ways that are hard to diagnose; Wix there is no site export, so moving to another host means rebuilding the site from scratch; the blog exports as WXR and products as CSV but the design and app configuration do not come with you.
They diverge on capability: Preact covers 3kB runtime, Wix covers Visual editor.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Preact and Wix actually diverge.

Attributes where Preact and Wix differ
Attribute	Preact	Wix
Pricing model	Open source, no licence fee	Per site per month
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Web Development).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Preact

3kB runtime
preact/compat
Same modern API
Fast rendering

Only in Wix

Visual editor
Wix ADI
App Market
Velo
Wix Payments
Bookings and Restaurants
Marketing suite
Managed hosting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Preact

Embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay smallnot Wix
Marketing and content sites where JavaScript payload affects Core Web Vitalsnot Wix
Applications targeting low-bandwidth or low-powered devicesnot Wix

Wix

A restaurant that needs a menu, online ordering and reservations live before the weekend without a developernot Preact
A tradesperson or consultant who wants a credible five-page brochure site and a contact form without ongoing maintenancenot Preact
A photographer or designer publishing a portfolio where visual control matters more than markup qualitynot Preact
An agency using Wix Studio to deliver low-budget client sites on a fixed fee with client-editable content areasnot Preact

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Preact

Compatibility through preact/compat is good but not total, and some React libraries break in ways that are hard to diagnose
Behavioural differences from React exist in edge cases, particularly around event handling
A much smaller community, so unusual problems have fewer existing answers than React

Wix

There is no site export, so moving to another host means rebuilding the site from scratch; the blog exports as WXR and products as CSV but the design and app configuration do not come with you.
Advertised prices are annual-billing rates and monthly billing costs substantially more, so the 17 USD Light plan is really 24 USD if you are not willing to commit for a year.
Templates cannot be swapped after publishing; changing the look of an existing site means rebuilding it page by page on a new template.
The absolute-positioning editor produces heavy markup and Wix sites routinely score poorly on Core Web Vitals compared with a hand-built or static site, which matters if organic search is your main channel.
E-commerce is gated behind the 39 USD Business tier, so a shop paying 29 USD on Core discovers mid-project that abandoned-cart recovery, subscriptions and multi-currency all need an upgrade.

Pricing, plan by plan

Preact

Free

PreactFree
- Full library
- Commercial use permitted
- No usage limits

Wix

Free

FreeFree
- Wix subdomain only
- Wix branding on every page
- 500MB storage
Light$17/month
- Custom domain
- No Wix ads
- 2GB storage
Core$29/month
- Accept payments
- 50GB storage
- Basic marketing suite
Business$39/month
- Full e-commerce
- 100GB storage
- Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Preact if

You need 3kb runtime.
You want to start without paying.
You also want preact/compat.

Preact review

Choose Wix if

You need visual editor.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want wix adi.

Wix review

Questions people ask

Is Preact or Wix better?: Neither clearly leads. Preact starts at Free and Wix at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Preact or Wix?: Preact starts at Free and Wix at Free.
Does Preact or Wix run on more platforms?: Preact runs on Web. Wix runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Preact for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Preact best used for?: Preact is most often used for embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay small, marketing and content sites where javascript payload affects core web vitals, applications targeting low-bandwidth or low-powered devices. Of those, embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay small and marketing and content sites where javascript payload affects core web vitals are not what Wix is typically brought in for.
What can Preact do that Wix cannot?: Preact covers 3kB runtime, preact/compat, Same modern API, Fast rendering. Wix covers Visual editor, Wix ADI, App Market, Velo.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Preact: Is Preact free?

Yes, open source under the MIT licence.

Wix: Can I move my Wix site to WordPress?

Not directly. You can export blog posts as WXR and products as CSV, but the pages, design and app settings have to be rebuilt.

Preact: Can I use React libraries with Preact?

Most, through the preact/compat layer. Compatibility is good but not complete, so libraries relying on React internals can break.

Wix: Is the free plan usable for a business?

No. It shows Wix ads on every page and does not allow a custom domain.

Preact: Why choose Preact over React?

Bundle size, almost always. If payload is not a binding constraint, React’s ecosystem is usually the better trade.

Wix: Does Wix charge transaction fees?

Wix itself does not add a commission on paid plans, but Wix Payments charges standard card processing fees per transaction.

Wix: What is the difference between Wix and Wix Studio?

Studio is the agency-oriented editor with responsive CSS-grid layout, reusable design systems and client handover; it targets people building sites for other people.

Preact vs Wix

Preact

Wix

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Preact

Only in Wix

What people use each for

Preact

Wix

Where each one falls short

Preact

Wix

Pricing, plan by plan

Preact

Wix

Which should you pick?

Choose Preact if

Choose Wix if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Preact

More on Wix

Keep looking

Other head to heads