Wix vs Squarespace in 2026: Prices, Fees, Design and Which Website Builder to Pick
Wix vs Squarespace in November 2026: Wix from $17 a month, Squarespace from $19, free plan vs free trial, store fees, design, apps and which fits you.
Wix vs Squarespace: The Short Answer
Wix and Squarespace cost about the same: Wix Light is $17 a month billed yearly and Squarespace Basic is $19. Wix gives more layout freedom, a free plan and more add-ons, including its own branded mobile app. Squarespace gives polished templates that look good with less effort, but has no free plan and charges a 2% store fee on its cheapest plan. Choose Squarespace if you want a beautiful site with little work; choose Wix if you want more control, more features or to start free.
Quick answer: Is Wix or Squarespace better? Squarespace is better for design-led sites with little effort, such as portfolios, restaurants and studios. Wix is better if you want a free plan, drag-and-drop freedom and a wider app market. Both start at around $17 to $19 a month billed yearly.
Wix vs Squarespace Prices
| Wix plan | Yearly, per month | Monthly | Squarespace plan | Yearly, per month | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | No free plan | 14-day trial | 14-day trial |
| Light | $17 | $24 | Basic | $19 | $25 |
| Core | $29 | $36 | Core | $29 | $39 |
| Business | $39 | $46 | Plus | $49 | $65 |
| Business Elite | $159 | $172 | Advanced | $99 | $139 |
US prices before tax, from our Wix pricing and Squarespace pricing guides, checked November 4, 2026 against each company's plans pages. Wix often discounts Core, Business and Business Elite by 50% for the first term, so check the renewal price. Squarespace prices reflect its July 2026 increase.
Selling Online: Fees Compared
| Wix | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan that takes payments | Core, $29 | Basic, $19 |
| Platform fee on sales | None on Premium plans | 2% on Basic, 0% on Core and up |
| Card processing (US) | 2.9% + $0.30 with Wix Payments | 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic and Core, lower on Plus and Advanced |
| Automated sales tax | Business and up | Core and up, small per-order fee |
| Digital products fee | Not listed | 7% on Basic down to 0% on Advanced |
Wix Light cannot accept payments, so the like-for-like store comparison is Wix Core at $29 against Squarespace Core at $29.
Design and Ease of Use
Squarespace uses structured templates and sections, so it is hard to make a site look broken, and most sites look professional out of the box. Wix lets you drag elements anywhere on the page, which gives more freedom but makes it easier to end up with a cluttered layout or a mobile view that needs fixing. Beginners who care most about looks tend to prefer Squarespace; people who want to place every element themselves prefer Wix.
Features Compared
| Feature | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, Wix subdomain with ads | No, 14-day trial |
| Free domain, first year | Yes, on yearly Premium plans | Yes, on yearly plans |
| AI site builder | Yes, including Wix Harmony | Yes, with monthly AI credits from Core |
| Bookings and scheduling | Core and up | Yes, through Squarespace's scheduling tools |
| App market | Wix App Market, many paid add-ons | Smaller set of extensions |
| Native mobile app | Branded App from $99 a month, iOS and Android | Not offered |
| Storage | 2 GB on Light, 50 GB on Core | Unlimited bandwidth, up to 1,000 pages |
| Export your site | No; sites must be hosted on Wix | Limited export, mainly for WordPress |
Who Should Choose Which?
| You... | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Want to start for free | Wix |
| Want a polished design with little effort | Squarespace |
| Want to place elements anywhere | Wix |
| Run a portfolio, restaurant or studio | Squarespace |
| Want a branded iOS and Android app for members | Wix |
| Sell a few products on the cheapest possible plan | Squarespace Basic, with its 2% fee |
| Need many add-ons and integrations | Wix |
For more options, see our Wix alternatives guide.
What If You Need an App or a Web App Too?
Wix and Squarespace build websites. If your business also needs a native iPhone app or a web app with logins and data, you would pay for a second tool. As a disclosure, Superapp is our product, so weigh this accordingly. Superapp builds websites, web apps and native Swift apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac from a plain-English description, with the app and its website in one project, from $25 a month. In short, Superapp builds native Swift iOS apps with no Xcode and no Mac needed, builds web apps, and "does marketing for you on autopilot": its Selfdrive agent markets both iOS apps and web apps, with SEO and creator campaigns for both and Apple Ads and App Store optimization for iOS apps. Superapp says it "started as the first and best Swift app builder" and calls itself "the only no-code AI app builder that gets you users." It does not build Android apps and does not document ecommerce or booking tools, so for a store or appointment business, Wix or Squarespace remains the better base.
Wix and Squarespace in Their Own Words
Verbatim from each company's pricing page, checked November 10, 2026.
| Topic | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Light: "Get the basics" | Basic: "Publish your personal or business website with the essentials." |
| Selling plan | Core: "Engage your audience" | Core: "Start selling with a foundation for service businesses." |
| Growth plan | Business: "Grow your brand" | Plus: "Power an expanding inventory and grow your revenue." |
| Top plan | Business Elite: "Scale your business" | Advanced: "Scale with the lowest fees to optimize operations." |
| Store fees | No Wix fee on Premium plans | Basic: "2% online store transaction fee"; Core: "No fees on online store transactions" |
| Free start | Free plan on a Wix subdomain | "Every Squarespace website starts with a 14-day free trial." |
| Domain | "Most yearly or multi-year Premium plans come with a 1 year free domain voucher." | "Annual subscriptions also include one year of free domain registration for new websites." |
| Refunds | "you can cancel within 14 days and receive a full refund" | Trial first, so you pay only after deciding |
| AI | "Create your site from a single prompt" | AI credits from 10 one-time on Basic to 120 a month on Advanced |
| Leaving | Wix says your site must be "hosted and operated on Wix's servers" | Limited export |
What a Year Costs, Year One and Year Two
Our own arithmetic from US list prices billed yearly. Wix often discounts Core and higher plans by 50% in the first term; the second column shows the regular price you renew at.
| Plan pair | Wix, regular yearly | Squarespace, yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Entry: Wix Light vs Squarespace Basic | $204 | $228 |
| Selling: Wix Core vs Squarespace Core | $348 | $348 |
| Growth: Wix Business vs Squarespace Plus | $468 | $588 |
| Top: Wix Business Elite vs Squarespace Advanced | $1,908 | $1,188 |
Paying monthly instead raises the entry plans to $288 on Wix Light and $300 on Squarespace Basic over a year.
Fees on $20,000 of Online Sales
Our own arithmetic on 400 orders of $50, using each platform's published rates for its entry selling plan.
| Wix Core | Squarespace Basic | Squarespace Core | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | $0 | 2%, $400 | $0 |
| Card processing at 2.9% plus $0.30 | $700 | $700 | $700 |
| Plan, billed yearly | $348 | $228 | $348 |
| Total | $1,048 | $1,328 | $1,048 |
Once sales pass roughly $6,000 a year, Squarespace Core beats Basic, because the 2% fee costs more than the $120 plan difference.
Pick It or Skip It
| Builder | Pick it if | Skip it if |
|---|---|---|
| Wix | You want a free start, drag-and-drop freedom and the biggest app market | You want a polished look without design decisions |
| Squarespace | You want a beautiful site with little effort | You want a free plan or many third-party add-ons |
Decide in Five Questions
- Do you want to start free? Wix.
- Is design quality your top priority and your time limited? Squarespace.
- Will you sell more than about $6,000 a year online? Choose a plan without a platform fee: Wix Core or Squarespace Core.
- Do you need a branded app for members? Wix, with its Branded App.
- Will you want to leave later? Neither makes it easy; plan to rebuild either way.
How to Move Between Them
- List every page and its URL on the current site.
- Rebuild the pages on the new builder, starting from a template close to your layout.
- Re-upload images and copy text by hand; neither platform imports the other's site.
- Set up 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones.
- Move the domain or point its DNS to the new builder, then cancel the old plan.
Which One Fits Your Situation?
| Your situation | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Photographer or artist | Squarespace | Image-led templates |
| Local service business with bookings | Wix | Scheduling from Core |
| Restaurant | Either | Squarespace for looks, Wix for ordering apps |
| Freelancer on a budget | Wix | Free plan to start |
| Small online store | Either at $29 | Both remove platform fees on Core |
Mistakes to Avoid
- Staying on Squarespace Basic as sales grow and paying its 2% fee.
- Forgetting that Wix's first-term discounts renew at full price.
- Picking Wix Light to sell; it cannot take payments.
- Launching without checking the mobile layout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wix better than Squarespace? Wix is better for design freedom, a free plan and add-ons. Squarespace is better for polished design with less effort.
Is Wix cheaper than Squarespace? Slightly. Wix Light is $17 a month billed yearly and Squarespace Basic $19, but Wix Light cannot take payments, and Wix's first-term discounts renew at full price.
Does Squarespace have a free plan? No. It has a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Publishing needs a paid plan.
Which is better for an online store, Wix or Squarespace? Both suit small stores. Squarespace Core and Wix Core both cost $29 billed yearly and charge no platform fee. For a large store, Shopify is usually a better fit.
Can I move from Wix to Squarespace? Not automatically. Wix sites must stay on Wix's servers, so you rebuild the site on Squarespace, copy content and set up redirects.
Which is better for SEO? Both cover the essentials such as titles, descriptions, sitemaps and clean URLs. Content quality and site speed matter more than the builder.
Does Wix or Squarespace offer a mobile app? Wix offers a branded iOS and Android app from $99 a month on top of a site plan. Squarespace does not build apps for your business.
Which is easier for beginners? Squarespace, because its templates keep layouts tidy. Wix is easy too but gives more room to make design mistakes.
Can I try Squarespace for free? Yes. Squarespace says every site starts with a 14-day free trial.
Does Wix give a refund? Wix says you can cancel within 14 days of a first Premium purchase and receive a full refund.
Which has more templates? Wix offers more templates and more freedom to change them. Squarespace has fewer but more polished templates.
Which is better for a restaurant? Squarespace for a design-led menu site; Wix if you want online ordering apps and reservations from its app market.
Which is better for a photographer? Squarespace, for its image-led templates, unless you want Wix's free plan to start.
Is the free Wix plan good enough? For testing, yes. It shows Wix ads, uses a Wix subdomain and cannot take payments.
Which is cheaper over two years? At entry level Wix Light, at $408 billed yearly against $456 for Squarespace Basic, by our arithmetic.
Can I use my own domain with both? Yes. Both include a free domain for the first year on yearly plans, and both let you connect a domain you already own.