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Best Squarespace Alternatives Of 2025

Audited & Verified: Apr 23, 2025, 8:00am
Written By
Staff Writer
Reviewed
Staff Editor
& 1 other
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.

One of the best e-commerce platforms, Squarespace isnโ€™t the right choice for everyone. While its quick setup and initial ease of use can draw new users in, the limitations quickly become problematic for some.

Transaction fees, limited third-party integrations (especially for dropshipping), limited SEO controls and often dated themes can make it necessary for sellers to look elsewhere for an e-commerce solution. There are plenty of Squarespace competitors, and Iโ€™ve narrowed that dizzying array of options down to my picks for the best Squarespace alternatives to help you find the right choice for your online store.

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Compare the Best Squarespace Alternatives

4.5
On Squarespace's Website
Superlative
Better for POS integration
Starting Monthly Price
$16.00 (billed annually)
Pros
Integrates with Square POS systems
Cons
Transaction fees on many plans
Expert Take
A streamlined e-commerce tool thatโ€™s quick to set up
4.9
On Hostinger's Website
Superlative
Better for AI design help
Starting Monthly Price
$11.99 plus one-time $4.99 setup fee
Pros
Many hosting types available
Cons
Many e-commerce features rely on WordPress
Expert Take
A good option for those who may want more advanced hosting types later on
4.8
On WordPress.com's Website
Superlative
Better for portability
Starting Monthly Price
Free
Pros
Makes getting started with WordPress less technically demanding
Cons
WordPress features severely limited on some plans
Expert Take
A good WordPress introduction that allows users to migrate to hosts with more features and lower costs later
4.4
On Shopify's Website
Superlative
Better for third-party integrations
Starting Monthly Price
$39.00
Pros
Offers around 4,000 third-party integrations
Cons
Generally more expensive than other solutions
Expert Take
Offers extensive functionality, but extra costs for templates and features can be cost-prohibitive for many
4.1
On Wix's Website
Superlative
Better for customization
Starting Monthly Price
Free
Pros
Offers deep customization tools
Cons
Carries a steep learning curve
Expert Take
Two website builders offer flexibility for e-commerce and non-e-commerce sites

The Best Squarespace Alternatives of 2025


Better for AI Design Help

Hostinger

Hostinger
4.9
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Price Range

$11.99 (plus one-time $4.99 setup fee) to $27.99 monthly

Free Trial

No

Transaction Fees

No

Hostinger
Learn More Arrow

On Hostinger's Website

$11.99 (plus one-time $4.99 setup fee) to $27.99 monthly

No

No

Expert Take

Hostinger is best known for shared web hosting, but it also features a powerful AI website builder with an e-commerce suite option. A great option for those with zero web design experience, Hostingerโ€™s AI-powered website builder makes it simple to get online quickly with a professional-looking website for e-commerce or other non-commercial types of websites.

However, as a generalist platform, not all plans include e-commerce capabilities. So, for the e-commerce tool suite, youโ€™ll need to opt for at least the Business or Business Website Builder plan at $13.99 monthly plus a one-time $4.99 setup fee. Both plans include the website builder, even though they are marketed differently. You can also save up to around 70% if you pay upfront for a four-year contract.

Screenshots of Squarespaceโ€™s website creation and Hostingerโ€™s website hosting choices.
Squarespace (left) includes hosting while Hostinger (right) gives you several hosting type options.

Hostinger also has an advantage over Squarespace in support. Hostinger offers live chat 24/7, while Squarespace has limited live chat hours. Hostingerโ€™s AI chatbot is also far less infuriating to deal with before getting to a live person than Squarespaceโ€™s obtuse system.

Learn more: Read our full Hostinger review.

Better for Portability

WordPress.com

WordPress.com
4.8
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Price Range

Free to custom

Free Trial

No

Transaction Fees

Up to 10%, depending on plan

WordPress.com
Learn More Arrow

On WordPress.com's Website

Free to custom

No

Up to 10%, depending on plan

Expert Take

WordPress.com is the gateway to full WordPress websites for many business owners without a technical background. While WordPress.org is the worldโ€™s most popular CMS and a powerful blogging platform, it is also notorious for an outdated interface, security issues and needing plugins for most functionality. WordPress.com makes WordPress more accessible with included hosting, a visual builder and added security features.

All of those extras make WordPress.com a viable Squarespace alternative. However, like other generalist platforms, e-commerce isnโ€™t enabled for free or lower-tier plans. Shared WordAds monetization and PayPal payment collection are available as early as the $18 monthly Premium plan, with more payment methods and plugin capability added with the Business plan at $40 monthly.

Screenshots comparing e-commerce tools between Squarespace and WordPress.com.
Squarespace (left) includes integrated e-commerce tools, while WordPress.com (right) relies on WordPress.org plugins such as WooCommerce to provide e-commerce functions.

The shared WordAds monetization rules on paid plans and how harshly WordPress.org features are locked by plan level are my biggest gripes with WordPress.com. However, being able to migrate your website to another WordPress host later is a big plus. Portability gives you the freedom to seek more server resources, better service or lower costs with another host later. WordPress.com is also more transparent than Squarespace in terms of the server resources that each plan includes.

Better for Third-Party Integrations

Shopify

Shopify
4.4
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Price Range

$39 to $2,300 monthly plus custom

Free Trial

Three days

Transaction Fees

2% or less for third-party payment providers, depending on plan

Shopify
Learn More Arrow

On Shopify's Website

$39 to $2,300 monthly plus custom

Three days

2% or less for third-party payment providers, depending on plan

Expert Take

Shopify is the bruiser on the block. For many, Shopify is used almost as a replacement term for e-commerce, much like saying โ€œGoogleโ€ instead of โ€œsearch engine.โ€ It could even be compared to the e-commerce equivalent of WordPress.org due to its huge number of third-party integrations (over 4,000) that allow you to connect your accounting software, pick a dropshipper, integrate with shipping providers or even add password-protected product pages.

While Squarespace is certainly a strong option in many cases, Shopify is a larger, more robust platform with more options. It also has a higher cost, with the base website-builder-included plan starting at $39 monthly. That said, if you only want to sell on social media, there is a $5 monthly plan that may just be a perfect fit.

Screenshots of Squarespaceโ€™s plans, including POS integration and the additional costs for the same functions from Shopify.
While Squarespace (left) plans include Square POS integration, Shopify (right) charges extra for POS capabilities in many cases.

The biggest concerns with Shopify are the higher plan costs and the complicated implementation of some customizations. I know of store owners on the highest-cost plan who still have to hire coding help regularly to make store adjustments.

Learn more: Read our full Shopify review.

Better for Customization

Wix

Wix
4.1
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Price Range

Free to custom

Free Trial

No

Transaction Fees

No

Wix
Learn More Arrow

On Wix's Website

Free to custom

No

No

Expert Take

While Squarespace is primarily an e-commerce platform and website builder with the capability for non-monetized content and blogs, Wix is a generalist platform that offers e-commerce on some plans. Where Squarespace offers streamlined creation processes, Wix offers more flexibility, in-depth design and SEO customization.

Admittedly, Wix has a steeper learning curve, largely because it offers so much more design capability with many more starting templates. Wix also offers two builders to choose from to suit your needs better. These are the Classic builder and the Studio builder, with the Studio builder offering the most design features and more hosting resources in many plans.

Screenshots comparing Wix SEO and Squarespace SEO.Squarespace (left) generally has fewer SEO options than Wix (right).

While Wix offers a free plan and several plans cheaper than Squarespace, it doesnโ€™t offer e-commerce until the $36 monthly (Classic builder) and $34 monthly (Studio builder) plans. However, while Squarespaceโ€™s introductory plan is $25 monthly, it also tacks on extra costs through transaction fees for every sale.

Learn more: Read our full Wix vs. Squarespace comparison.

What Squarespace Does Well

Squarespace does a great job for many companies, especially those needing point-of-sale (POS) integration, paywall blogging features and an easy initial setup.

POS Integration

Most location-based companies need both e-commerce and POS capabilities. Squarespace partners with Square, so merchants can easily sell in person with Square hardware and the Squarespace app. Itโ€™s particularly helpful for SMBs such as food trucks, craft fair vendors and individuals selling at pop-up shows.

Blog Paywalls

Flexible content paywalls for bloggers are often hard to come by, especially easy-to-configure paywalls. Squarespace does a great job of making paywalled content, including subscriptions and memberships, manageable for content creators. In fact, itโ€™s one of my top blogging platform picks.

Easy Initial Setup

Learning curves can murder motivation, especially for DIYers creating their first websites. With a streamlined creation process, Squarespace makes setting up a first e-commerce website much easier than many platforms.


Where Squarespace Fails

Weโ€™ve all seen pro and con lists for e-commerce platforms and website builders. But going beyond the short, pithy comments, letโ€™s dig into common Squarespace problems, including SEO, customization limits, transaction fees and integrations.

SEO

While far better than it was a few short years ago, Squarespace SEO still lags behind, especially in heading schemes. What needs to be marked as H1 for SEO may not always need visual H1 formatting, but Squarespaceโ€™s heading and design structures are often linked. That means you can be forced to choose between a pleasing visual design and good SEO mojo. Wix is one of our alternative picks that offers more SEO choices.

Integrations

Squarespace calls third-party integrations and apps extensions, but there arenโ€™t that many to choose from. For example, there are only two dropshipping extensions, Spocket and Syncee Collective. For more integrations, look at Shopify with its over 4,000 options.

Design Customization

Beyond the often-dated themes and templates with limited customization, Squarespace has issues with generic 404 pages, accessibility features such as limited alt text and even poor mobile optimization. All of those design issues add up to a serious problem for many shops in the long term. Wix is hard to beat for its design options.

Transaction Fees

Transaction fees paired with low (or free) plans can greatly help new businesses on a shoestring because they only pay when they make a sale. However, as sales and budgets increase, that initial cost savings measure can quickly become more of a burden that costs more than a more expensive subscription without transaction fees. That said, some Squarespace competitors, such as GoDaddy, can be even more costly when considering add-on costs. To avoid transaction fees, look at Wix and Hostinger.

Learn more: Read our full Squarespace review.


What To Look for in a Squarespace Alternative

Much of the process of choosing the best Squarespace alternative for you depends on matching features, pricing and service to your specific needs.

  • Strong e-commerce tools: Squarespace focuses on e-commerce, so when evaluating Squarespace competitors, itโ€™s important to compare the most desired e-commerce features. Look for features such as payment processing options, product variations, third-party integrations, inventory management and store management tools.
  • Sustainable pricing: Be sure to evaluate not only plan costs but also transaction fees, add-on and integration costs and additional equipment costs.
  • Customer service and tech support: Itโ€™s the nature of tech that errors occur occasionally. Quick and efficient help can save aggravation, downtime and money.
  • Hosting resources: Hosting resources and support tools are the computing power and software powering your website. Features such as storage space, server response speed, bandwidth, security features such as automatic off-server backups and firewalls, CDNs and user access controls work together to keep your website online and functioning properly.
  • Powerful website builder: Unless you are fond of coding and technically skilled, finding the best website builder is important to create a professional-looking and functional website with good mobile optimization.

Next Up In eCommerce


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