Wix and Squarespace can both get a small business online without hiring help. The hard part is choosing which one you will still like when you need to change a price, add a service, or fix the phone layout.
Our pick is Squarespace for a small site with a clear style. Wix is the better starting point when bookings, apps, and business tools matter more than keeping the editor simple. Neither is the best website builder for every job.
Think about your next six months, not just launch day. A five-page portfolio and a shop with classes to book may look much alike at first. Behind the scenes, they ask different work of a website builder.
Wix vs Squarespace: the quick choice
| What matters most? | Where to start |
|---|---|
| A tidy portfolio or service site | Squarespace |
| Lots of apps and business tools | Wix |
| A free site with no trial deadline | Wix, with a branded address and Wix ads |
| Guided page layouts | Squarespace |
| More freedom to place page elements | Wix Editor |
| An online store | Compare your checkout, fees, and shipping needs first |
This comparison focuses on the standard website-building tools for owners who manage their own sites. Wix has more than one editor, including Wix Studio. Do not assume a guide for one editor applies to all of them.
Squarespace: fewer design decisions to get wrong
Squarespace is our first pick for a small site that needs a calm, unified look. Its page templates give you a useful starting point for type, spacing, and images. That helps when you know what you want to say but do not want to design every inch.
The Squarespace editor uses Fluid Engine for many page sections. It is a drag and drop interface with a grid. You can resize blocks, move them, and even overlap them. It is not as rigid as older descriptions of Squarespace suggest.
We like that middle ground. You get room to change a layout, but the grid gives you a guide. For a business owner adding a few services and a contact page, this can keep building a site focused.
Good website templates will not rescue weak photos or a page packed with text. Replace the demo content early. A layout built around one large photo may feel empty if all you have is a small logo. Choose a design that fits the material you can supply.
Squarespace offers enough room to make a site your own. Still, if your first instinct is to move every part of a template to a new place, its starting structure may not be the best match.
Wix: more freedom, more choices
Wix Editor gives you broad control over where page elements sit. Its drag and drop editor can be a good fit when you have a clear idea that does not match a ready-made layout.
Wix offers a large range of website templates and business tools. You can start from a design close to your trade, then add the pages and tools you need. The Wix App Market adds another route for tasks that the base site does not cover.
That range is Wix's strength and its burden. Each extra app brings a choice about price, support, and upkeep. More design tools also mean more ways to make a page look uneven. Keep your fonts, button styles, and spacing alike from the start.
Wix's templates deserve a close look. In Wix Editor, replacing a site's template means creating a new site rather than swapping the whole design in place. You can move some work across, but it is not a one-click theme change.
For small businesses that need several tools under one roof, we lean toward Wix. For a short site where the main job is to explain an offer well, Squarespace usually asks for fewer choices.
Mobile design needs its own check
Do not judge a website's design only on a laptop. Most owners will need their menu, forms, and main offer to work on a narrow phone screen too.
Wix creates a mobile view from your desktop content, then lets you adjust it in the mobile editor. Squarespace also adapts layouts for phones. In Fluid Engine sections, you can arrange the mobile layout apart from the desktop one.
The Squarespace mobile design guide explains which parts you can change. Use that control with care. A desktop overlap can become a cramped pile of blocks on a phone.
In either website builder, test a long heading, a wide photo, and a full form. Tap every menu item. Make sure a call button is easy to hit and no text sits under an image. Mobile-friendly defaults help, but they do not replace this check.
Wix vs Squarespace pricing: buy the plan you need
Both Wix and Squarespace bundle site hosting with paid plans. You can use your own custom domain, but the cheapest plan may not include the business tools you need.
Wix has a free plan with Wix branding and a Wix address. It is useful for learning the editor and trying a page before you pay. It is less suited to a business that wants a clean, branded address. Squarespace offers a 14-day trial rather than a free site you can keep.
The main paid plans are below. Squarespace prices are US-dollar costs per month on a yearly plan, checked in September 2026. The full year is paid up front. Wix prices vary by location and billing term, so compare the final annual quote for the named plan rather than a sale banner.
| Plan | What to check |
|---|---|
| Wix Light | A site with your domain; not the tier for taking online payments |
| Wix Core or higher | Payment and store tools; compare the tools needed for your business |
| Squarespace Basic, $19/month | $228 per year; 2% online-store transaction fee |
| Squarespace Core, $29/month | $348 per year; 0% online-store transaction fee |
| Squarespace Plus, $49/month | $588 per year; compare lower payment and digital-content fees |
| Squarespace Advanced, $99/month | $1,188 per year; aimed at higher sales volume |
Card fees are separate from the store transaction fee. Digital content and memberships also have their own fee schedule. Do not read “0%” as a promise that each sale costs nothing.
For a simple store, the gap between Squarespace Basic and Core is $10 a month on a yearly plan. A 2% fee on $500 of eligible monthly store sales is also $10. At that level, the fee saving alone can cover the price gap. This example excludes card fees, tax, and digital-content fees.
Eligible yearly plans may include a free domain for the first year. Renewal is a later bill, and not every domain extension qualifies. Business email, email marketing, paid apps, and booking tools may also add costs. Put those on the same list as the website plan.
Online stores: test the order, not just the product page
Wix and Squarespace both have store tools. A small online store can work well on either. The better ecommerce platform for you depends on what happens after someone presses Buy.
Before choosing, create one real product with the options you need. Try a size, color, or service choice. Then check shipping, tax, payment methods, and the order email. A pretty product grid does not tell you whether your daily work will be easy.
Wix is worth trying first if you want the site to handle several jobs, such as products, appointments, and events. Check the right plan and app costs for each task. The fact that Wix offers a feature does not mean it comes with every plan.
Squarespace is a strong fit for a smaller range where photos and clear product stories do much of the selling. Its store tools sit alongside the rest of the site. That can suit a maker who wants a shop, a portfolio, and a few posts with one shared style.
Neither builder should win on a feature count alone. If a needed checkout rule or shipping service is missing, it matters more than ten tools you will never use. Test the awkward order before you buy an yearly plan.
Blogs and search: both cover the basics
Both Wix and Squarespace offer blogging tools. You can publish posts as part of the same site rather than send readers to a stand-alone blog. For a business that shares tips or news, either can be enough.
Try writing a full blog post during the trial. Add headings, photos, links, and a short description for search engines. Then preview it on a phone. Good blog tools make this task feel easy.
Both have SEO settings for core page details. You can shape titles and descriptions rather than rely only on the site name. That does not make either website builder a shortcut to Google search traffic.
Useful pages need clear answers and a clear purpose. A service page should say what you do, who it helps, and what a visitor should do next. Ten vague pages will not become helpful just because the SEO tools are set correctly.
When you move an existing site, list its old page addresses and plan redirects. Search engine visibility can suffer if useful old links lead nowhere. Keep page paths steady where possible, and check the live site after launch.
Apps, marketing tools, and the cost of adding more
The Wix App Market is a useful reason to choose Wix when you know you need a certain tool. Search for the actual task before you pay. Read the app's pricing, support terms, and limits do not assume the store listing covers them all.
Squarespace offers its own marketing tools and ways to connect other services. Email campaigns and scheduling can be useful, but check their separate plans. A website plan is not always the full cost of running the business.
Keep your first site lean. A newsletter box, one good form, and a clear menu may do more for visitors than a page full of widgets. Extra marketing tools add settings to maintain and can add weight to the page.
If you need finer control over page design and repeat content, our Framer versus Webflow comparison covers two more design-focused choices. They ask more of the person building the site, so the extra control should solve a real problem.
Which website builder is easier to live with?
“Easy” depends on the job. New users may prefer a guided starting point. Someone with a fixed design in mind may find that same guidance limiting.
Set aside an hour to build the same small page in each tool. Use your own text and photos. Then ask a friend to find your price or contact details without help. That is a better test than admiring demo sites.
Next, change something. Add a service, swap a picture, and make a heading longer. Website building is not finished when the first version goes live. The editor must work for small edits too.
Use the help articles and video tutorials for the editor you actually have. Wix Editor, Wix Studio, and newer Wix tools do not share every control. The same goes for older and newer Squarespace layouts.
You do not need coding knowledge for a basic site on either platform. But both reward a little care: clear headings, short menus, readable type, and space around each section. Those choices matter more than one clever effect.
Our Wix vs Squarespace verdict
Choose Squarespace if your site is mainly a portfolio, a small shop, or a clear set of services. We prefer its guided design for owners who want a polished look without making every layout choice from scratch.
Choose Wix if the website must do more jobs and you value more choice of apps and business tools. Expect to spend more time sorting through choices and keeping the same design style.
For a broader view, our drag and drop website builder guide compares five tools by the work they suit. The right website builder should fit the site you need now, with enough room for the changes you can already see coming.
Common questions
Is Wix cheaper than Squarespace?
Wix has a free plan you can keep, while Squarespace has a trial. For paid sites, compare the right tiers, the full term, and extras. A lower starting price can lose its edge once you add payment tools or paid apps.
Can I sell on Squarespace's Basic plan?
Yes. Basic supports sales, with a 2% online-store transaction fee plus card fees. Digital content and memberships use a different fees. Compare Core if your sales make the extra monthly cost worthwhile.
Will my entire website move if I switch builders?
Do not expect a complete design to transfer between Wix and Squarespace. Plan for a rebuild, check which content can be moved, and save your original files. Map old page links to their new addresses before launch.