Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, BestStacked may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never affects our scores, rankings or verdicts. Full disclosure.
Squarespace Review
Reviewed by Carlos Gil · Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Updated 6 min readEditorially reviewed
Quick facts
- Starting price
- Basic $19/mo billed annually ($25 monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Best for
- Small businesses, creatives and service providers who want a good-looking site with hosting, selling and support in one subscription
- Platforms
- Web (editor and hosted sites)
BestStacked Score
Weighted average of 5 categories. Methodology below.
Quick answer
What is Squarespace, and is it worth paying for?
Squarespace is a hosted website builder: you pick a template or let its Blueprint AI generate a starting site, then edit pages, a blog, an online store or member areas in one editor, with hosting, security and a free domain for the first year on annual plans. It's worth it if you want a polished site without managing plugins or servers. It's a weaker fit if you need custom server-side code, a large app ecosystem or an easy way to move a store elsewhere. On October 14, 2026 the plans were Basic at $19 a month billed annually ($25 monthly), Core at $29 ($39), Plus at $49 ($65) and Advanced at $99 ($139). There's no free plan; a 14-day trial needs no credit card.
- Best for
- Service businesses, creatives and small shops that value design and want one bill for site, hosting and selling.
- Skip it if
- You need server-side code, a big plugin marketplace, or a site you can export in full to another platform.
- Strongest capability
- Design-led templates and an editor that keep a small business site looking finished, with commerce built into every plan.
- Biggest limitation
- Basic charges a 2% store fee and 7% on digital products and memberships, and exports leave out store and portfolio pages.
- Current cost
- $19 to $99 a month billed annually ($25 to $139 monthly), plus card processing; scheduling and email campaigns cost extra.
The Verdict
Squarespace is still one of the easiest ways for a small business to get a site that looks professionally designed, and since its 2026 plan reset every plan can sell products, subscriptions and invoices. The catch is in the plan details. Basic keeps a 2% online store transaction fee, a 7% fee on digital content and memberships, two contributors, 30 minutes of video and no code injection, so most sellers will want Core at $29 a month billed annually. Appointment scheduling (Acuity) and Email Campaigns are separate subscriptions. Its help center says sites can't run server-side code and that a site export leaves out store, portfolio and album pages, which makes leaving harder than joining. Annual plans are refundable only within 14 days. We score Squarespace 8.3/10.
Best for
Service businesses, creatives and small online shops who want a polished, hosted site and are happy to work inside Squarespace's templates.
Skip if
You need custom back-end code, a large app marketplace, agency-style client management, or a store you can move to another platform easily.
The Background
What Is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a website builder and hosting service founded in 2003. The investment firm Permira completed its acquisition of the company in October 2024, taking it off the New York Stock Exchange. You build in a browser editor from designer templates or a Blueprint AI draft, and the same account runs pages, blogs, an online store (physical and digital products, subscriptions, invoices), member areas, email campaigns, domains and scheduling through Acuity, which Squarespace owns. Hosting and unlimited storage and bandwidth are included. In February 2026 Squarespace closed its older Personal, Business and Commerce plans to new sign-ups and replaced them with Basic, Core, Plus and Advanced.
The Product
Squarespace Features: What You Actually Get
Templates, Blueprint AI and the editor
Sites start from a template or from Blueprint AI, which generates pages, text, images and style settings from a few answers. Squarespace's help center also lists Clarkson, a chat assistant that edits the site (rolling out in waves), Image Studio for generating and editing images, AI text tools and an SEO and AI Visibility panel. Only AI Visibility and Image Studio use AI credits: 10 one-time on Basic, then 20, 40 and 120 a month on Core, Plus and Advanced. Squarespace says some features use OpenAI, Anthropic and Google models.
A photographer generates a starting site with Blueprint, swaps in a portfolio template and publishes the same afternoon.
Commerce on every plan
All four plans include unlimited products, subscription products, abandoned cart recovery and invoices without a transaction fee. Basic adds a 2% fee on online store sales, which Core, Plus and Advanced remove, and digital content and memberships carry 7%, 5%, 1% or 0% by plan. Squarespace Payments card rates fall from 2.9% plus 30 cents on Basic and Core to 2.7% on Plus and 2.5% on Advanced. Discounts, carrier-calculated shipping, shipping labels, Commerce APIs and ecommerce analytics start on Core.
A ceramics studio sells pieces and a monthly subscription box on Core, avoiding Basic's 2% store fee.
Scheduling, email and member areas
Appointment booking runs on Acuity Scheduling, which Squarespace bills as its own subscription; Acuity's signup page lists Starter at $16 or $20 a month depending on billing period, with Standard and Premium above it. Email Campaigns is also a separate subscription, priced by monthly sends with unlimited contacts. Member areas and digital content are part of the website plans, subject to the per-plan fees above.
A yoga teacher takes class bookings through Acuity and sells an on-demand video library as a member area.
Hosting, domains and Google Workspace
Hosting and unlimited storage and bandwidth are included, with video hosting capped at 30 minutes on Basic, 5 hours on Core, 50 hours on Plus and unlimited on Advanced. Annual plans include a free custom domain for the first year, which then renews at the extension's normal price. Core and above include one Google Workspace account free for the first year.
A consultant registers a domain with the annual plan and sets up a branded inbox with the free Workspace year.
Feature recap
- Designer templates plus Blueprint AI site generation
- Commerce on every plan; 2% store fee on Basic only
- Fees on digital content and memberships: 7% / 5% / 1% / 0% by plan
- Unlimited storage and bandwidth; video hosting capped by plan
- Free domain for the first year on annual plans
- Acuity Scheduling and Email Campaigns sold as separate subscriptions
- No server-side code; code injection from Core
- 14-day trial without a card; annual plans refundable within 14 days
The Numbers
Squarespace Pricing: Every Plan Explained
These are the prices on Squarespace's pricing page on October 14, 2026, in US dollars per month. The annual figure is the monthly equivalent of a year paid upfront. Card processing is charged on top.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Included Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $25/mo | $19/mo billed annually | 2 contributors, commerce with a 2% online store fee, 7% fee on digital content and memberships, 30 minutes of video, 10 one-time AI credits, no code injection | A simple brochure site or blog with occasional sales |
| CoreBest value | $39/mo | $29/mo billed annually | Unlimited contributors, 0% store fee, 5% on digital content, 5 hours of video, 20 AI credits a month, code injection, discounts and advanced shipping, Mailchimp and Zapier integrations, free Google Workspace account for a year | Most small businesses that sell online |
| Plus | $65/mo | $49/mo billed annually | Everything in Core, 1% on digital content, 2.7% + 30¢ card rate, 50 hours of video, 40 AI credits a month, reserved cart and timer | Growing shops and course or membership sellers |
| Advanced | $139/mo | $99/mo billed annually | Everything in Plus, 0% on digital content, 2.5% + 30¢ card rate, unlimited video, 120 AI credits a month | Higher-volume stores and membership businesses |
| Free trial | $0 for 14 days | — | No credit card required; a one-time 7-day extension is available; trial sites can't be exported | Building a draft before choosing a plan |
The Basic price hides two fees: 2% on store sales and 7% on digital content and memberships. On $1,000 a month of product sales, Basic's 2% costs $20, so Core ($10 more a month billed annually) pays for itself at about $500 a month in sales. Card processing is separate: 2.9% plus 30 cents per standard card on Basic and Core through Squarespace Payments, lower on Plus and Advanced. Annual billing saves 24% to 29% at today's prices, although the pricing page says 'up to 36%'. Budget for extras: Acuity scheduling, Email Campaigns, extra AI credits and the domain renewal after year one. Squarespace's refund policy gives a full refund on annual plans cancelled within 14 days, minus the cost of a free domain; monthly plans, renewals and annual plans after 14 days aren't refunded, so turn off auto-renewal if you plan to leave.
Read before you buy
Where Squarespace's own pages differ
Plans: the pricing page lists only Basic, Core, Plus and Advanced, and a help article says the older Personal, Business and Commerce plans closed to new sign-ups in February 2026. Squarespace's payment-rates article still calls Business and Commerce 'current plans' and says the new plans are 'rolling out in waves'.
Refunds: the refund policy promises a full refund on annual plans cancelled within 14 days, with the domain cost deducted, while the free-domain article describes a 'prorated refund, with a deduction' for the domain.
Savings: the pricing page says annual billing saves up to 36%, but the largest gap between its monthly and annual prices is about 29% (Advanced, $139 against $99).
Before you commit
Code, export and lock-in
Squarespace's help center says sites can't run server-side code such as PHP, Ruby or SQL, custom code is outside the scope of its support, and code injection needs Core or above.
Exporting produces a WordPress-format XML file with regular pages, one blog and text and image blocks. Store, portfolio, album and other collection pages, extra blogs, audio, product and video blocks and custom CSS aren't exported, and trial sites can't be exported at all. Plan for a manual rebuild if you might move later.
Sites can hold up to 1,000 pages (Squarespace recommends about 400) and 10,000 products.
The Tradeoffs
Squarespace Pros and Cons
What we love
- Design-led templates and an editor that's easy for non-designers
- Commerce, subscriptions and invoices on every plan
- Hosting with unlimited storage and bandwidth included
- Blueprint AI and AI editing tools built in
- 14-day trial without a credit card
- Free domain for the first year on annual plans
What could be better
- Basic charges a 2% store fee and 7% on digital products
- Scheduling and email campaigns cost extra
- No server-side code; code injection starts on Core
- Exports leave out store, portfolio and album pages
- Monthly plans and renewals aren't refundable
- Smaller extension marketplace than Wix or WordPress
The Audience
Who Should Use Squarespace?
Best for: service businesses and creatives
Photographers, consultants, studios and restaurants that want a site that looks designed, with booking or selling added later, get the most from Squarespace's templates and one-bill setup.
Best for: small shops and membership sellers
Shops selling a few hundred products, subscriptions or digital content can run everything in one account. Core removes the 2% store fee; Plus and Advanced lower card rates and digital-content fees.
Skip if: you need custom code or full portability
Developers and agencies that need server-side logic, a CMS with an API-first workflow, or many client sites should look at Webflow, Framer or self-hosted WordPress.
The Methodology
How We Reviewed Squarespace
This is an editorial review, not a documented hands-on test. We didn't build a Squarespace site for this review. It's based on Squarespace's pricing page, help-center articles on plans, payment rates, legacy plans, trials, refunds, cancellation, free domains, AI tools and credits, Acuity billing, custom code, exporting and page limits, its extensions and company pages, the Permira acquisition release and Acuity's signup page, all checked on October 14, 2026. Where Squarespace's pages differ, we report both statements. No design, speed or support results are claimed.
Our editorial evaluation considers product information, official documentation, pricing, features and professional experience. It is not a claim of documented hands-on testing.
Our review methodology →What changed
- : First published. Editorial review based on Squarespace's pricing page, help-center articles on plans, payment rates, legacy plans, trials, refunds, cancellation, domains, AI, Acuity billing, custom code, export and page limits, its company and extensions pages and the Permira acquisition release, all checked October 14, 2026. Sub-scores are provisional pending editorial approval.
The Field
Squarespace vs The Competition
Squarespace competes with other hosted builders and with WordPress. Prices below were checked on each vendor's pricing page on October 14, 2026, in US dollars.
| Tool | Starting Price | Free plan | Best Feature | BS Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squarespace | Basic $19/mo billed annually ($25 monthly) | No | Templates, Blueprint AI and the editor | 8.3/10 |
| Wix | Free; Light $17/mo (yearly subscription) | Yes | Free plan and a large app market | —No BestStacked review yet |
| Webflow | Free Starter; Basic $15/mo billed yearly ($25 monthly) | Yes | Visual development with a full CMS | 9.1/10 |
| Framer | Free; Basic $10/mo | Yes | Design-tool editing for marketing sites | 8.7/10 |
| WordPress.com | Free; Personal $4/mo billed yearly ($9 monthly) | Yes | Hosted WordPress with plugins on paid plans | —No BestStacked review yet |
| Durable | Launch $22/mo billed yearly ($25 monthly) | No | AI-generated sites for service businesses | 7.7/10 |
Wix: Wix has a free plan, an AI site generator, a larger app market and a 14-day money-back guarantee. Squarespace's templates are more opinionated; Wix gives more layout freedom and add-ons. BestStacked hasn't reviewed Wix yet.
Webflow: Webflow gives designers and agencies far more control over layout, interactions and CMS content, at the cost of a steeper learning curve. Pick Squarespace for speed and simplicity, Webflow for custom design systems.Read our Webflow review →
Framer: Framer suits designers building marketing sites and landing pages, with a free plan, but it has no native online store. Squarespace is the better fit if you sell products or take bookings.Read our Framer review →
WordPress.com: WordPress.com is Automattic's hosted WordPress service, with a free plan and plugins on higher tiers. It's more flexible and portable than Squarespace but asks more of you. Self-hosted WordPress has its own review.Visit WordPress.com
Durable: Durable generates a site for a local service business in minutes and bundles a CRM and invoicing. Squarespace offers far more design control and commerce depth.Read our Durable review →
In The Wild
How People Actually Use Squarespace
A consultant who needs a credible site
Basic ($19 billed annually) covers a few pages, a blog and a contact form. Move to Core if you need code injection, more than two contributors or the free Workspace year.
A small online shop
Start on Core ($29 billed annually) to avoid Basic's 2% store fee. Compare your expected card volume with Plus's lower 2.7% rate before choosing.
A coach selling bookings and a course
Add Acuity for appointments and sell the course as digital content or a member area. Digital-content fees fall from 7% on Basic to 1% on Plus, so run the numbers at your expected sales.
The Ecosystem
Squarespace Integrations
Squarespace includes its own payments, scheduling and email products and lists a few dozen third-party extensions.
- →Squarespace Payments (cards, ACH, Klarna and Afterpay)
- →Acuity Scheduling (separate subscription)
- →Squarespace Email Campaigns (separate subscription)
- →Google Workspace (free for the first year from Core)
- →Mailchimp and Zapier (Core and above)
- →Extensions such as QuickBooks, Printful, Printify, ShipStation, ShipBob and Weglot
- →Commerce APIs (Core and above)
Extensions are run and priced by their providers, which also give their own support. The marketplace is much smaller than Wix's App Market or WordPress's plugin directory, and server-side code isn't supported.
Common Questions
Squarespace FAQ
The Final Word
Should You Use Squarespace?
Squarespace remains a strong choice for a small business that wants a polished, hosted site with selling built in, and the 2026 plans make commerce available on every tier. Read the fee table before choosing Basic, budget separately for scheduling and email, and know that leaving means rebuilding store and portfolio pages by hand. We score Squarespace 8.3/10.
Yes, if
You want a design-led site with hosting, selling and support in one subscription and are happy inside Squarespace's templates.
No, if
You need server-side code, a large plugin ecosystem, or full portability for your store.
About the reviewer
Carlos Gil
Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Carlos Gil is the bestselling author of The End of Marketing, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and founder of The Best Network. He brings 15+ years in marketing to practical reviews of AI, SaaS, email marketing, creator, and ecommerce software.
Get the best of BestStacked
The AI tools worth knowing. None of the noise.
- New AI tool and software reviews as they publish
- Head-to-head comparisons and stack breakdowns
- The occasional recommendation worth knowing
No fake urgency. No made-up weekly cadence. Unsubscribe anytime.