The best Google Sites alternative for the site that has to earn something
Google Sites is free, collaborative and lives in Drive, which makes it perfect for an intranet page and a poor fit for a business. There is no blog, no store, no newsletter, no real SEO control and no way to make it look like anything but a Google Site. Grigora is all of those from $12/mo.
Last updated September 2026
Google Sites is the right tool for the job it was built for: a shared page inside a Workspace, edited by a team, permissioned like a Doc. As a public business website it is the wrong tool, and this page will be specific about why. No blog engine, no store, no email marketing, near-zero SEO controls, a handful of themes and a look that announces itself. Free is the whole argument, and it is a good one right up to the moment the site needs to bring in a customer.
- A site that looks like your business, not a Google product
- A blog with directories and moderated comments
- A store and a newsletter in the same plan
- SEO controls and a free toolkit
- An AI-generated first draft
- •Are building an intranet, a class page or a project hub
- •Need Drive-style permissions and real-time co-editing
- •Want it free and inside the Workspace you already pay for
Google Sites alternatives at a glance
How free and near-free builders compare on what a business site needs.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column
| Platform | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Sales commission | Export your site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grigora | A business site with everything in | Yes | From $12/mo | 0% (processing only) | |
| Google Sites | Intranets and team pages | Yes | Free, Workspace for business use | No store | Takeout |
| Carrd | One-page sites, cheapest | Yes (3 sites) | From $19/yr | No native store | Zip on Pro Standard+ |
| Wix | Templates and app market | Yes (Wix ads) | From $17/mo | 0% (processing only) | |
| Zoho Sites | Businesses inside the Zoho suite | Trial | From $5/site/mo | Store is Zoho Commerce | |
| WordPress.com | Blogs and content sites | Yes (ads) | From $4/mo | 0% (processing only) |
List pricing as of September 2026. Google Sites has no price of its own; business use typically sits inside a Google Workspace subscription priced per user. Verify current pricing on each provider's site.
Why people move from Google Sites to Grigora
The moments a shared page stops being enough.
It looks like a Google Site
Customers notice. A handful of themes and limited layout control produce the same page every time.
There is no blog
Pages added by hand, with no feed, categories, authors or comments.
It cannot sell or send
No store, no newsletter. Both mean other products embedded into the page.
Search cannot find it
Minimal SEO controls and, on free accounts, a sites.google.com address.
What Google Sites does well
- Free with any Google account
- Real-time co-editing and Drive-style permissions
- Native embeds for Docs, Sheets, Slides, Maps and Calendar
- Exportable through Google Takeout
Where Google Sites falls short
- No blog engine, store or email marketing
- Minimal SEO controls
- A handful of themes and a recognisable look
- Business use and custom domains run through Workspace
Grigora vs Google Sites at a glance
What free includes, and what a business site needs.
Free page builder in Workspace
All-in-one platform
Grigora vs Google Sites: feature by feature
A category-by-category breakdown, pricing, AI, design, e-commerce, email, SEO, performance, and support.
What it was built for
Even matchGoogle Sites is a Workspace app in the same family as Docs and Slides. It is superb at a page a team edits together and shares with permissions. It was never meant to be a storefront, a blog or a marketing site, and it does not pretend to be. Grigora was built for exactly those.
| Feature | Grigora | Google Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Intranet or team page | Possible | Ideal |
| Public business site | Ideal | Possible, limited |
| Real-time co-editing | ||
| Drive-style sharing and permissions | Roles |
Takeaway: Right tool, different jobs. The question is which job your site is.
Design & themes
Grigora winsGoogle Sites offers a small set of themes and limited layout control, which is why every Google Site is recognisable. Grigora generates a design direction from your description and gives you 131 templates and a block editor.
| Feature | Grigora | Google Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Themes | 131 templates | A handful |
| Layout control | Block editor | Sections and grids |
| Custom code | Custom code injection | Embeds only |
| Fonts and brand control | Full | Limited |
| Distinctiveness | Varies by site | Recognisably Google |
Takeaway: A Google Site looks like a Google Site. That is fine internally and costly publicly.
Blog & content
Grigora winsGoogle Sites has no blog engine. Posts are pages you add by hand, with no categories, feeds, authors or comments. Grigora's CMS is the centre of the product.
| Feature | Grigora | Google Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Blog engine | Full CMS | |
| Categories, feeds and authors | ||
| Directories and collections | Built in | |
| Comments and moderation | Included, with admin replies | |
| AI blog writing |
Takeaway: There is no blog on Google Sites. There are pages you keep adding.
Selling and email
Grigora winsGoogle Sites cannot sell and cannot send a campaign. Both are possible only through embeds and other products. Grigora includes a store with 0% platform commission and a newsletter with automations.
| Feature | Grigora | Google Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Online store | Included | |
| Digital downloads | ||
| Email marketing | 2,500 to 25,000 subscribers | |
| Signup forms tied to the site | Google Forms embed | |
| Platform commission | 0% | Not applicable |
Takeaway: A Google Site can link to a checkout and a mailing list. It cannot be either.
SEO & search presence
Grigora winsGoogle Sites gives you almost no SEO control: no custom meta descriptions of note, no schema, no sitemap management, and on a free account a sites.google.com address. Grigora provides all of it plus IndexNow and 210 free tools.
| Feature | Grigora | Google Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Meta and sitemap controls | Minimal | |
| Schema controls | ||
| IndexNow submission | ||
| Free SEO tools suite | 210 tools | |
| URL structure control | Limited |
Takeaway: It is a Google product and it still gives you no SEO controls. Draw your own conclusion.
Cost
Google Sites winsGoogle Sites is free with a Google account, and for a business already paying for Workspace it costs nothing more. Grigora starts at $12 a month. On price alone, Google wins and this page says so.
| Feature | Grigora | Google Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Price of the builder | $12/mo | Free |
| Business use with a domain | $12/mo | Inside Workspace, per user |
| Free plan | Yes | It is the plan |
| What the price includes | Site, CMS, newsletter, store | Pages |
Takeaway: Free is unbeatable on price. It is only competitive if pages are all you need.
Collaboration & permissions
Google Sites winsThis is the category Google Sites was built for. Multiple people edit at once, changes are visible live, and access is managed like any Drive file. Grigora has roles; it does not have Docs-style co-editing.
| Feature | Grigora | Google Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Simultaneous editing | ||
| Permission model | Roles | Drive sharing |
| Version history | Limited | |
| Embedding Drive content | Embeds | Native |
Takeaway: For a team page, Google Sites wins outright.
Ownership & export
Even matchGoogle Sites can be exported through Google Takeout, which is better than most hosted builders offer. Grigora exports content. Neither hands over a design you can run elsewhere.
| Feature | Grigora | Google Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Export the site | Content export | Google Takeout |
| Move the design elsewhere | Rebuild | Rebuild |
| White label for agencies | $199/mo plan | |
| Support | Email, priority on higher plans | Workspace support if subscribed |
Takeaway: Both let the content out. Only one of them was ever a business site.
Grigora vs Google Sites pricing
One is free and the other is $12. What each one is for matters more than the gap.
Website, newsletter & store in one plan
Annual rates shown. The CMS, newsletter and store are included on every plan, with 0% platform commission on any gateway.
Free; business use inside Workspace
Google Sites carries no price of its own. Business use, custom domains and admin controls sit inside a Google Workspace subscription priced per user. Workspace figures are approximate; verify on Google's pricing page for your region.
Google Sites is free and includes pages. Grigora Starter is $12/mo and includes the site, the CMS, the newsletter and the store.
The real cost: Grigora vs Google Sites
What it takes to make a Google Site do a business site's job.
| What you pay for | Google Sites | Grigora |
|---|---|---|
| The pages | Free | $12/mo (all-in) |
| A blog with feeds and categories | Another platform | Included |
| A store | Another platform, embedded | Included |
| Email marketing | Another platform | Included (2,500 to 25,000 subs) |
| SEO controls | Not available | Included, plus 210 free tools |
| A design that is not a Google theme | Not available | 131 templates + AI |
| Team co-editing | Included | Roles only |
Grigora vs Google Sites, side by side
Google Sites is a page in your Workspace. Grigora is a website for your customers.
Is Grigora the right Google Sites alternative for you?
Where Grigora is the stronger choice, and where Google Sites is simply right.
Best Google Sites alternative for a business website
A public site that ranks, publishes, sells and emails, with a design that is yours.
… for the club or school that outgrew the Site
When the newsletter, the shop and the blog moved onto three other tools, one platform is simpler.
… for creators and small brands
Directories, moderated comments, a store and a list, generated from a description.
Google Sites is the right call if…
The site is internal, a class hub or a project page, edited by a team inside Workspace. Keep it there.
Which one is right for you?
Choose Grigora if…
- The site faces customers
- You need a blog, a store or a newsletter
- You want SEO controls and tooling
- You want a design that is not a Google theme
- You are an agency that resells
Choose Google Sites if…
- •The site is internal or for a team
- •You need real-time co-editing and Drive permissions
- •Free inside Workspace is the whole requirement
How to move from Google Sites to Grigora
Google Takeout exports the Site; the AI draft rebuilds it as a business site with the parts Google Sites never had.
- 1
Export with Takeout
Use Google Takeout to export the Site so you have every page's text and images.
- 2
Start your Grigora site
Describe the business in a sentence and the AI generates a first draft with pages, layout and copy.
- 3
Rebuild the pages
Reproduce the key pages in the block editor from the export.
- 4
Add what was missing
Turn the news pages into a blog in Grigora's CMS, add the store, and import any contact list into the newsletter.
- 5
Point a domain
Connect your domain and, if the old site had a public URL, redirect it.
Why people look for a Google Sites alternative in 2026
Google Sites is not a bad product. It is a well-made internal one that people keep using externally because it is free and already there. The gap between those two jobs is what this page is about.
Built for the intranet
Sites belongs to the Docs, Sheets and Slides family. Its strengths are theirs: several people editing at once, permissions from Drive, native embeds of everything else in Workspace. Those are exactly the wrong strengths for a page whose job is to convince a stranger.
Nothing to publish with, nothing to sell with
There is no blog engine, only pages you add by hand. There is no store and no email marketing; both mean another product embedded into the page. Search engine controls are close to nonexistent, which is a strange thing to say about a Google product, and true.
Every Google Site looks like one
A handful of themes and grid-based layout produce a recognisable result. Internally that is a virtue: consistency. Externally it tells the visitor what you used before it tells them what you do.
How Grigora compares
Grigora is a public website platform. The CMS, the newsletter and the store are the product, the design is generated for your business, and the SEO controls are there because ranking is the point.
Twelve dollars for the parts free leaves out
Starter at $12 a month billed annually includes the site, the CMS with directories and moderated comments, a newsletter with 2,500 subscribers, and a store with no platform commission on your own gateway. None of those exists on Google Sites at any price.
Where Google Sites still wins
Internal pages and cost. For a team hub, a class site or a project page edited by several people, Google Sites is better than Grigora and free. Use it for that, and use a website platform for the website.
Frequently asked questions
For a public business website, Grigora is the strongest all-in-one alternative: site, CMS, newsletter and store in one plan from $12/mo, with real SEO controls and a design that is yours. For internal team pages, Google Sites itself remains the better tool.
Yes, with any Google account. Business use, custom domains and admin controls typically sit inside a Google Workspace subscription, which is priced per user per month.
You can publish one, but Sites has no blog engine, no store, no email marketing and minimal SEO controls, and its themes are limited. It is designed for internal and team pages.
No. Posts are pages added by hand, with no feed, categories, authors or comments. Grigora includes a full CMS with directories and moderated comments.
Not natively. Selling means embedding another product's checkout. Grigora includes a store on every plan with 0% platform commission.
Yes, through Google Takeout, which is more than most hosted builders offer. Moving to Grigora means rebuilding the pages, which the AI draft makes quick, with the export as your source.
Compare Grigora with other platforms
Give the business a real website
Site, CMS, newsletter and store in one plan from $12/mo. Try Grigora free, no credit card required.
14-day free trial • No credit card required • Cancel anytime