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A Wix alternative for a café in Ireland

By Cupán Studio. Published 18 October 2026.

Two free routes are Wix's own Free plan and Square Online's free start, and you build either one yourself. If you would rather not build it, Cupán Studio builds the six-page site first, and it is €690 once.

Cupán Studio is the done-for-you alternative to Wix for an independent café in Ireland: the six-page site is built and live before you pay anything, then it is €690 once on your own domain, with hours, menu and AI-readable data included.

Wix, Square Online and Cupán Studio side by side

Here is what each company says on its own page, and where we have not checked, the cell says so.

Prices as each company's own page showed them on 18 October 2026: Wix plans and Square Online pricing (Ireland). Cupán Studio's are on our pricing page.
Wix Free Wix Light Square Online (free start) Cupán Studio Live Cupán Studio Live + Care
Price "Start for free", "No credit card required" US$17 a month, billed yearly, as shown to us in dollars; Wix sets the euro price by your billing address "Start free or upgrades starting at €14/mo" €690 once €435 once, then €79 every four weeks
Your own domain No. Wix says a Premium plan is what lets you connect your own domain Yes. "Free domain for 1 year", and the voucher only works on a new domain bought from Wix Not checked Bought and connected for you. A domain is €45 a year, a .ie is €60 Same as Live
Builder branding Wix branding stays. Wix says Premium removes it Not checked for Light by name. Wix says a Premium plan removes Wix branding Not checked A small “Site by Cupanstudio” line in the footer Same as Live
Who builds it You You You We do, from your Google listing, Instagram, reviews and menu We do
Who keeps hours and menu current You You You You, in the panel, from your phone We do. Send a photo of the chalkboard and it is on the site the same day
What you do before it is live You build it yourself You build it yourself, then buy the plan Not checked Nothing. You look at a finished site on a preview link Nothing
Cancel or leave Not checked Not checked Not checked Nothing to sign and nothing to pay unless you keep it. The preview is held fourteen days Cancel with one email

Both Cupán Studio columns leave out two things: online ordering and payments, and professional photography. Wix's Core plan, at US$29 a month billed yearly on the same page (shown to us in dollars), adds "Accept payments" and "Basic eCommerce", so if you need to take orders on the site, that is a real reason to look at it.

Our café website hasn't changed since we opened

The owner names two things: the information and the style. A café owner on r/barista put it this way: "So our cafe website sucks. It hasn't changed since the place opened in 2016 and is outdated, both with info and style." A builder can fix the style. The information goes stale again unless someone keeps it current.

A builder gives you the tools to fix that and leaves the doing to you. On Live you get a panel for hours, text, photos and menu, and on Live + Care we make those changes for you. We read the Google listings of 77 independent Dublin cafés, roasters and coffee carts on 20 September 2026, and 15 of the 77 point the website field at a site of their own (the count is here).

Is there a free website for a café?

Yes, two: Wix's Free plan and Square Online's free start, and both are tools for building it yourself. Wix says on its plans page that "Creating your own website is free", and that a Premium plan is what lets you "connect your own domain, remove Wix branding from your site, and more". Square says "Start free or upgrades starting at €14/mo".

Google used to give a café a free site too, from the Business Profile. Google shut those down in 2024: sites at business.site redirected to the listing from 1 March 2024 and the redirects ended on 10 June 2024, according to TechRadar.

What happens to a Wix site if I stop paying?

We can't tell you, because we haven't checked what Wix does on cancellation and won't guess. What the Wix FAQ does say is that a Premium plan is what connects your own domain and removes Wix branding.

Builder pages we found broken

Of the 175 coffee businesses in our own register, read on 18 October 2026, three point their Google listing at a builder page that does not work: one shows Squarespace's "Website Expired" page and two show a Wix domain-connection error page. We do not know why any of them broke, and three out of 175 is a small number. It is still worth opening your own listing's website link on your phone today.

Do I have to build it myself?

Not with us. We build the site first from what is already public, put it live on a preview link and send you the link. There is no brief to write and no call unless you want one. If you keep it, it is €690 once and goes on your own domain. If you don't, it comes down after fourteen days and you owe nothing. How it works has the three steps.

If it hasn't brought you one thing you can point at in your first 60 days live, an order, booking, call, enquiry or a review that mentions it, we keep working free until it does, or you get all €690 back and keep the site.

What about the Google Business Profile website?

It no longer exists. Google shut down websites made with Business Profiles in 2024, and TechRadar reports the business.site redirects ended on 10 June 2024. If your listing has a website field, open the link on your phone and check it still works.

When the other option is the better choice

A Wix free site is the right answer if you enjoy building and have evenings to give it. You will learn the tool, you will be able to change anything at any hour, and it costs you nothing while you find out whether you like it. It is also a fair way to put a placeholder up while you decide.

Wix is the better fit too if you need to take payments on the site, since its Core plan lists "Accept payments" and "Basic eCommerce" and ours does not. Squarespace is a fair choice if you would rather build it there; we look at it in Squarespace or Wix for a café. And if you run a cart that moves, the coffee cart page is the one to read.

A done-for-you site suits the owner who has no evenings to spare and would rather look at a finished thing than start from a blank template. For the figures on what other Irish sellers charge, see what a café website costs in Ireland, read 14 September 2026.

Every site we have built so far is for a shop in County Dublin, and the work page shows four made-up demo shops built to test the system. We have no client names to give you, so the site is built and shown to you before you pay, and you judge it yourself.

Questions café owners ask

Is Wix free for a café?
Wix has a Free plan. Its own FAQ says "Creating your own website is free", and that a Premium plan lets you connect your own domain and remove Wix branding. The Light plan was US$17 a month, billed yearly, as shown to us in dollars on 18 October 2026.
Can I use my own domain on the free plan?
Not on Wix, going by its FAQ: connecting your own domain is a Premium feature. Wix also says its free domain voucher is only valid with a purchase of a new domain from Wix and can't renew a domain you already own. We haven't checked whether Wix sells .ie domains.
Is Squarespace free?
No. Squarespace says it "doesn't offer a free plan, but every site starts with a free trial" with no credit card needed, and the trial is free for 14 days. Annual plans come with a free custom domain for one year.
What does Cupán Studio cost, compared with Wix?
€690 once for Live, or €435 once and then €79 every four weeks for Live + Care. Wix prices vary by billing address and were shown to us in dollars, so we don't convert them. The pricing page has the full list, including the domain: €45 a year, or €60 for a .ie.
Can I edit the site myself afterwards?
Yes. Every site has a panel for hours, text, photos and menu, with a screenshot manual. On Live + Care we do those changes for you as well.
Does the site take online orders?
No. Online ordering and payments are not included. The site is six pages: home, menu, hours, about, find us and contact.
Do you build for restaurants or pubs?
No. Only independent coffee businesses in Ireland: cafés, coffee shops, roasters, café-bakeries and coffee carts.
What if I like my Wix site and just want it kept up?
Then keep it. If we ever send you a preview you do not want, say so and it comes down the same day.

Get your shop's site built

Sources

Drafted with an AI assistant, checked and edited by the studio. Cupán Studio builds websites for cafés in Ireland, so read the comparison knowing who wrote it. Cupan Studio, if the fada is a nuisance to type, is the same studio.