The best way to build an internet business in 2026 (AI vs DIY)

The best way to build an internet business depends on one question: do you want to operate the tools yourself, or do you want help with the actual work? If you're figuring out how to start an AI business or just want a faster path to your first paying customer, the decision tree below will help you find the right approach — without buying more tool subscriptions than you need.

The six approaches (and who each one suits)

There is no single best path. The right choice depends on your budget, your time, your technical comfort, and how much of the work you want to do yourself. The list below is ordered by category, not by rank — Locus sits in a different category from the others (autonomous AI cofounder rather than a tool you operate).

Approach Best for Effort level Typical cost
DIY (code + freelancers) Developers or well-funded founders Very high Variable — can be cheap or expensive
No-code website builder Simple brochure sites and online stores Low-medium $15–$40/month
Commerce platform Product-first businesses (physical or digital) Medium From ~$39/month + transaction fees
AI cofounder Founders who want the building, marketing, and selling done for them Low From $50/month
AI app / site builder Founders who want a custom web app built fast Low-medium $25–$50/month
General AI agents Task automation across many domains Medium From ~$20/month

1. DIY — build it yourself or hire a team

What it is: You write the code (or commission a dev agency), wire up payments, run your own ads, and manage every vendor relationship.

Genuinely good at: Full flexibility. If your idea requires something unusual — a custom marketplace, a proprietary algorithm, a complex SaaS — you will eventually need this approach.

The honest catch: Most early-stage internet businesses don't need this level of customization, and the overhead is brutal before you've validated anything. A solo founder who codes can move fast; everyone else will spend months and real money before earning the first dollar.

2. No-code website builders

These tools let you drag-and-drop a site into existence without writing code. The main players:

Wix

A genuinely capable all-rounder. Four paid tiers ranging from $17/month (Light, no selling) to $159/month (Business Elite), billed annually. You can sell on the Core plan ($29/month) and up. Good template library, built-in SEO tools, reasonable e-commerce features. How it compares to Locus.

Squarespace

Clean design, dependable hosting, four plans from $16/month (Basic) to $99/month (Advanced), billed annually. Strong for portfolio and service businesses. Transaction fees waived on the Core plan ($23/month) and above. How it compares to Locus.

Webflow

More design control than Wix or Squarespace but with a steeper learning curve. Site plans start at $15/month (Basic) on annual billing, with a Premium plan at $25/month. Excellent if you care about pixel-level design or CMS-driven content. How it compares to Locus.

Framer

A favourite among designers for fast, polished marketing sites. How it compares to Locus.

Carrd

Minimal and cheap — one-page sites, fast. How it compares to Locus.

Durable

AI-generated websites in under a minute. Starts around $12–$22/month depending on plan and billing cadence. Includes a basic CRM and invoicing. How it compares to Locus.

Hostinger

Budget-friendly hosting and website builder. How it compares to Locus.

The honest catch: Every one of these tools builds a site. None of them do your outreach, run your ads, or close your first customer. You still operate everything yourself.

3. Commerce and creator platforms

For founders selling products or courses directly:

Shopify

The dominant e-commerce platform. Plans range from $39/month (Basic) to $399/month (Advanced), billed annually, with a Starter plan at $5/month for social selling only. Transaction fees apply unless you use Shopify Payments. Strong app ecosystem, reliable at scale. How it compares to Locus. See also our roundup of Shopify alternatives.

Kajabi

Purpose-built for courses, memberships, and coaching. After a January 2026 pricing restructure, plans run from around $71/month (Starter) to $399/month (Pro) on annual billing — check kajabi.com/pricing for current rates. Transaction fees apply on all plans: processing fees of 2.9%+$0.30 (Starter/Basic) down to 2.7%+$0.30 (Pro) via Kajabi Payments, with higher fees if you use a third-party processor. Solid email marketing and pipeline builder included. How it compares to Locus.

Systeme.io

An all-in-one funnel-and-email platform with a genuinely useful free tier (2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, unlimited emails). Paid plans start at $17/month. No transaction fees on any plan. How it compares to Locus.

Gumroad

Pay-as-you-go for digital product creators. Flat 10% platform fee plus $0.50 per transaction — no monthly subscription. Merchant of Record handles tax compliance globally. Good for one-off digital products; gets expensive at volume. How it compares to Locus.

Stan Store

A link-in-bio store for creators who already have an audience. How it compares to Locus.

The honest catch: These platforms make you a better store operator. They don't do the outreach, the ads, or the lead nurturing — you do, or you pay separately for those tools.

4. Locus — an AI cofounder (distinct category)

Locus fits none of the other categories neatly. It is not a website builder, not an app builder, and not a general agent. It is purpose-built to go from idea to revenue — autonomously.

Describe your business idea over iMessage, Telegram, or the web. Locus builds a real site on a domain (usually within the first hour), runs cold outreach, creates and tunes ad campaigns, keeps a CRM, and wires in Stripe payments. You keep the final word on anything customer-facing before it goes out.

Pricing: $50/month (Founder Monthly) or $500/year (Founder Annual — two months free). Every workspace starts with a 24-hour free trial — $5 of agent credit, card on file, cancel before it ends and you owe nothing. Customer payments settle into your own Stripe account; Locus adds a 1% fee per successful charge. Revenue share kicks in only above $1,000/month — Locus takes 5% of revenue above that line; the first $1,000 each month is entirely yours. You own everything: domain, customers, Stripe account, content.

Honest limitation: Locus is not the right tool if you need a complex custom web application, have deep technical requirements, or want to control every pixel of the experience yourself. For those founders, an AI app builder or custom code is the better path.

Where Locus fits in the AI cofounder tools landscape: it is the most end-to-end option, but it trades flexibility for autonomy. Other emerging players in this space include Polsia, Amboras, and Vibiz, each taking a different angle on AI-assisted business building.

5. AI app and site builders

A newer category: describe what you want to build, and an AI writes the code.

Lovable

Chat-based React app builder. Free tier gives 5 daily credits (capped at 30 per calendar month); Pro at $25/month (100 monthly credits plus 5 daily credits, up to 150/month); Business at $50/month (same daily credits, adds SSO and design templates). Good for founders who want a web app with real backend logic but don't want to write code. How it compares to Locus.

Bolt.new

Token-based AI coding environment. Free plan with 1M tokens/month, Pro at $25/month (10M tokens). Fast for spinning up full-stack prototypes. How it compares to Locus.

v0 (Vercel)

UI-component generator from Vercel, strong for React/Next.js projects. How it compares to Locus.

Replit Agent

Browser-based coding environment with an AI that writes and runs code for you. How it compares to Locus.

Base44

AI-built internal tools and apps. How it compares to Locus.

Bubble

Visual no-code app builder — more logic and database power than a website builder. How it compares to Locus.

Softr and Glide

Low-code tools for building apps on top of Airtable, Google Sheets, or other data sources. Softr vs Locus | Glide vs Locus.

The honest catch: These tools build the thing. They do not market it, run outreach, manage customers, or take payments on your behalf. A Lovable app or Bolt prototype is the beginning of the work, not the end. See our full roundup of AI app builders and no-code app builders.

6. General AI agents

Tools like Manus, Lindy, and Genspark are general-purpose autonomous agents that can complete multi-step tasks across the web. Manus Pro plans run from $20/month. They are genuinely impressive at research, data gathering, and workflow automation.

The honest catch: General agents are horizontal — they can do many things, but they aren't structured around the specific lifecycle of launching and running an internet business. You still need to define the business logic, integrate payments, and orchestrate the tools yourself.

How to choose: a practical decision tree

Start here: what does your idea actually need in the next 90 days?

FAQ

What is the cheapest way to start an internet business?

For a simple site: Carrd ($9/year for a one-pager) or Squarespace's Basic plan ($16/month). For selling digital products: Gumroad charges nothing upfront — just 10% + $0.50 per sale. For a fully managed setup where the AI does the work: Locus's 24-hour free trial ($5 credit, no charge if you cancel) lets you see whether the approach fits before spending anything.

Do I need to know how to code to start an AI business?

No. Tools like Lovable, Bolt, and Wix need no coding knowledge. Locus needs none either — you describe your idea in plain language and the agent handles the technical execution.

What is an AI business plan generator?

Most AI business plan generators (standalone tools or ChatGPT prompts) produce a document. Locus goes further: it uses the business plan to take action — building the site, running outreach, and testing the idea against real prospects. An AI business plan is only as useful as what happens after you read it.

How long does it take to get a first customer?

With Locus, a live website is typically up within the first hour and cold outreach begins within a day. First replies from real prospects often come within days, depending on the idea and the target market. No tool can guarantee sales, but the shortest path to a real signal is to get in front of real people fast.

Ready to see what an AI cofounder can do in 24 hours? Start a free Locus workspace — no charge unless you decide to stay.