Squarespace vs. Wix: Which Website Builder Should You Actually Use?
Squarespace builds more beautiful websites with less effort. Wix gives you more features and total creative freedom. Think of it like Mac vs. PC — Squarespace is curated and polished, Wix is flexible and occasionally chaotic. I built real sites on both. Here's the full story.
The Website Builder Duopoly
Together, Wix and Squarespace power over half of all websites built with a website builder. They're the two biggest names for a reason — both are genuinely good. But they attract very different people, and choosing the wrong one means rebuilding your entire site later when you realize it doesn't fit.
I built complete websites on both platforms — a portfolio site on Squarespace and a small business site with ecommerce on Wix. I tested the editors, mobile experience, SEO tools, ecommerce features, and loading speed. Here's what actually matters.
Squarespace: The Good and the Bad
✅ What I Liked
- Templates are stunning — 150+ designs that look professional out of the box, no tweaking needed
- Structured editor keeps you safe — elements snap to grids, so it's hard to make something ugly
- You can sell on every plan now — even the $16/month Basic allows unlimited products (but with a 2% transaction fee — go Core at $23/month to drop that)
- Faster page loading — CDN-backed, pages rendered noticeably quicker than Wix in my tests
- Unlimited storage and bandwidth on all plans — no worrying about limits
- Perfect for creatives — photographers, artists, and designers love this tool for good reason
❌ What Bugged Me
- No free plan — just a 14-day trial, and if you stop paying, your site vanishes
- Less design freedom — the grid structure is a blessing and a curse
- Fewer templates than Wix — 150+ vs. Wix's 900+
- App ecosystem is limited — Squarespace Extensions can't compete with Wix's App Market
- No autosave in the editor — lose your internet and you might lose your work
- Email marketing costs extra — $7–68/month on top of your plan
Wix: The Good and the Bad
✅ What I Liked
- Truly free plan — with Wix branding, but your site stays up forever at no cost
- Total design freedom — drag anything anywhere, no grid restrictions
- 900+ templates — something for every niche and industry
- AI website builder is impressive — describe your business and Wix generates a site in minutes
- Massive app market — hundreds of add-ons for booking, events, forums, memberships
- Better SEO tools — personalized SEO checklist, keyword research, site audit built in
❌ What Bugged Me
- Design freedom means design chaos — easy to make things look messy
- Pages load slower — consistently lagged behind Squarespace in speed tests
- Paid plans are pricier than they look — $17–159/month, and annual billing is the only option
- "Free to install" apps often aren't free — most have paid versions hidden behind the install
- Can't switch templates after publishing — locked into your choice unless you rebuild
- No transaction-fee-free plan under $29/month — Core plan and above for ecommerce
Pricing Comparison
Squarespace: No free plan (14-day trial only). Basic at $16/month. Core at $23/month. Plus at $39/month. Advanced at $99/month. All include unlimited storage, bandwidth, and a free custom domain for year one. You can technically sell on any plan now — but the Basic plan charges a 2% transaction fee on sales plus 7% on digital products, which kills profitability fast. Core and above drops that to 0% transaction fees, which is why any serious seller should start at Core ($23/month) minimum.
Wix: Free plan with Wix branding. Light at $17/month. Core at $29/month. Business at $39/month. Business Elite at $159/month. All paid plans are annual billing only. Free domain for the first year on paid plans. Ecommerce requires Core plan or higher to avoid transaction fees.
My take: For a simple, non-ecommerce website, Squarespace Basic ($16) and Wix Light ($17) are virtually the same price, but Squarespace includes unlimited storage and no branding. For ecommerce, Squarespace technically lets you sell from $16/month but takes a 2% cut — you really want the Core plan at $23/month for fee-free selling, which is still cheaper than Wix's $29/month Core plan. Squarespace's pricing is cleaner and more straightforward overall.
Who Should Pick Squarespace?
- You want a beautiful, professional site without needing design skills
- You're a creative — photographer, artist, designer, restaurant, or portfolio site
- You want to sell products or services with minimal setup (Core plan at $23/month has zero transaction fees)
- Site speed and performance matter to you
- You prefer a structured, hard-to-mess-up editing experience
Who Should Pick Wix?
- You want total creative control over every pixel of your site
- You need a free plan that lets you stay online indefinitely
- Your site needs specific functionality — bookings, memberships, forums, events
- You want AI to generate your initial site and then customize from there
- SEO is a priority and you want built-in keyword tools and audit features
My Final Take
If you care most about how your website looks and you don't want to fight with a design tool, Squarespace is the safer bet. Its templates are gorgeous, the editor keeps you from making bad choices, and sites load faster. You'll have a professional-looking site up in an afternoon.
If you care most about what your website can do and you want maximum flexibility, Wix is the more powerful platform. More templates, more apps, more AI tools, more SEO features. You can build almost anything — the trade-off is that "anything" includes "a mess" if you're not careful.
What I'd actually do: If you're a complete beginner or a creative professional, start with Squarespace. The structured editor will save you from yourself, and the results look consistently polished. If you need specific functionality that Squarespace's limited app ecosystem doesn't cover — or you refuse to pay before testing thoroughly — Wix's free plan and app market give you more room to experiment.
Wix has a free plan; Squarespace has a 14-day trial. Build a quick test page on each and see which editor fits your brain.
Try Squarespace Free → Try Wix Free →
Not affiliate links. I make $0 if you sign up for either one.
Tested by: UnbiasedSaaS | Last updated: February 2026 | Questions? Get in touch