Lanternbee vs Wix

Lanternbee as a Wix alternative

A drag-and-drop website builder with store plans. Its prices and features sit next to Lanternbee’s below, including where Wix does better.

Not open yet. We’re letting authors in from the waitlist, a few at a time.

What Wix is

Wix builds websites by dragging pieces onto a page. Its store plans add a checkout, digital products and shipping.

Who it suits

Authors who want to design every page of their website themselves and sell a few books from it.

What Wix costs

US prices, checked against the sources at the bottom of this page.

PlanPriceFee on sales
CoreUS$29 a month. Billed yearly; monthly billing is priced at checkoutNo Wix fee on store orders; Wix Payments charges 2.9% + US$0.30 in the US
BusinessUS$39 a month. Billed yearlyNo Wix fee on store orders; card fees apply

Wix and Lanternbee side by side

Wix and Lanternbee, feature by feature
What you needWixLanternbee
One book in several formatsPartlyProduct options on one product.Yes. Ebook, audiobook, paperback and hardback live on one book page.
Series with a reading orderPartlyCategories in your own order; no series.Yes, with the reading order you set.
Bundles and box setsPartlyEbooks only as one zip file, or with an app.Yes. Readers who own book one pay less for the rest.
Ebook and audiobook deliveryYesDigital products by download.Yes. Download links by email, and a reader library.
Send to KindleNot listedYes, from the reader library.
Print on demand for booksWith an appThe Lulu Direct or Bookvault app prints and ships books.Partly. Printed formats are set up for BookVault or Lulu; sending orders to the printer is being built.
Your reader listPartlyEmail marketing, with limits by plan.Yes. Every buyer lands on your reader list, with tags.
Your own domainYesYes. yourname.lanternbee.shop or shop.yourname.com.
Monthly costCore: US$29 a month. Billed yearly; monthly billing is priced at checkoutBusiness: US$39 a month. Billed yearlyFree: nothing a month. Author: US$39 a month, or US$29 paid yearly.
Fee on salesCore: No Wix fee on store orders; Wix Payments charges 2.9% + US$0.30 in the USBusiness: No Wix fee on store orders; card fees applyNone, on every plan.

Wix prices in US dollars. “Not listed” means we could not find it on Wix’s own pages or in the sources below, so check with them. Rows we could not check at all are left out. Card fees apply everywhere; on Lanternbee they are Stripe’s, with nothing added.

What Wix does better

Fair reasons to stay where you are.

  • Free-form page design. You can place anything anywhere.
  • Bookings, events and a blog in the same site.
  • No Wix fee on store orders.

Moving from Wix

There’s no importer for Wix. Moving by hand takes these steps.

  1. Keep your Wix website if you like it, and link the book buttons to your Lanternbee store.
  2. Add your books on Lanternbee, with every format on one page and your series in order.
  3. Download your Wix customers if you need them and keep them in your email tool. Lanternbee cannot import that list yet.

Questions about Wix and Lanternbee

Does Wix charge a fee on book sales?

Not on regular store orders, according to the guides we checked. You pay the plan and the card fees. Memberships sold with Wix Pricing Plans carry a fee on some plans.

Is Lanternbee cheaper than Wix?

Wix Core is US$29 a month billed yearly, and Business is US$39. Lanternbee Free costs nothing a month and takes no fee, for up to 3 books; Author is US$29 a month paid yearly, for as many books as you like, also with no fee. Wix also builds your whole website; Lanternbee is only the store.

Can I keep my Wix site?

Yes. Put the store on an address such as shop.yourname.com and link to it from your Wix pages.