Carrd vs Strikingly

Carrd is a builder for simple, responsive one-page websites: landing pages, personal profiles, link-in-bio pages, portfolios, waitlists and event pages. It is built and run by a single independent developer, known as AJ, who also created the HTML5 UP template collection, and it has stayed deliberately small and focused for years.

The editor works with sections, containers and elements on a single page, with fine-grained control over typography, spacing and backgrounds, and a library of clean templates. The free plan allows up to three sites on a carrd.co subdomain. Paid plans are billed yearly rather than monthly: Pro Lite removes Carrd branding and unlocks premium carrd.co addresses, Pro Standard adds custom domains with SSL, forms that connect to Mailchimp, Kit, Formspree and other services, plus embeds, widgets such as Stripe and PayPal buttons and Google Analytics, and Pro Plus adds advanced site settings, more sites and the option to download a site's source files. Even the top plan costs less per year than many builders charge per month.

Carrd is ideal for indie makers, freelancers and early-stage startups who need a polished single page in an afternoon. Its limits are structural: there is no CMS, no blog, no real multi-page navigation and no team collaboration, and interactions and animations are basic. When a project needs several pages, Framer and Webflow are the usual next steps; Linktree is simpler for pure link lists, and Squarespace or Wix suit small businesses that want a full site with commerce.

Strikingly is a website builder known for fast, mobile-friendly one-page sites. It was founded in 2012 by David Chen, Dafeng Guo and Teng Bao, went through Y Combinator, and is often described as the first Chinese startup to graduate from the accelerator. The company operates from Shanghai and San Francisco. Its core job is letting non-technical people publish a good-looking personal, portfolio or small business site in an afternoon.

Sites are built by stacking ready-made sections such as banners, galleries, pricing tables, forms and blog feeds, and the editor keeps layouts mobile-ready. A Simple Store sells physical or digital products, alongside a blog, newsletter tools and basic analytics, and Strikingly has added an AI site builder that drafts a first version from a short prompt. Every account can publish unlimited free sites on a strikingly.com subdomain; paid tiers add custom domains, more sites and pages, more store products and lower transaction fees.

Strikingly fits freelancers, students, event pages and very small businesses that want a tidy site without a learning curve. It is limited for larger sites: the Limited plan caps pages per site, the store is basic, and design freedom is narrower than in Wix or Webflow. Carrd is cheaper for single landing pages, Wix offers far more apps and templates, and Squarespace has stronger design and commerce.

A buying tip: yearly and multi-year billing cut the monthly cost sharply, with Pro dropping from $20 to $16 a month, and the Limited and Pro plans include a free domain for the first year.