Wix vs Squarespace: Which Website Builder Is Right for You?

If you’re debating which is better: Wix or Squarespace, you’re not alone. These two giants dominate the website builder space, each praised for its user-friendly approach and powerful features. Yet they excel in slightly different ways. Some people love Wix’s enormous template library and total creative freedom, while others swear by Squarespace’s polished layouts and elegant simplicity. Whether you’re launching a portfolio, an online store, or a small business site, this comprehensive guide will show you exactly where each platform shines—and where it might fall short.

1. Strengths & Weaknesses

Wix: A Closer Look

Strengths:

Wix is frequently labeled the “best overall” website builder, largely thanks to its vast customization options and broad feature set. It has over 800 templates for virtually every industry—from restaurants and gyms to personal blogs and event planners. Each template offers a drag-and-drop editor, allowing you to position elements anywhere on the page for genuine design freedom.

A major plus is that Wix comes with a free plan (though it includes Wix ads), so you can experiment before committing. Once you’re comfortable, you can tap into the Wix App Market, featuring hundreds of add-ons like booking forms, live chats, or newsletter integrations. There’s even a developer tool called Velo, which enables advanced coding if you need custom apps or database-driven pages.

Weaknesses:

Wix’s feature-rich environment can overwhelm beginners who just want a simple, streamlined site. The editor’s free-form style means it’s easy to accidentally create uneven layouts if you’re not careful about alignment. Pricing also climbs quickly if you need higher-tier plans with more storage or specialized e-commerce perks. Another drawback is that you cannot switch your website’s template once it’s live, forcing you to rebuild if you want a new design style. Finally, although Wix has improved its page load speeds, especially with its SEO Wiz tool and performance updates, unoptimized sites can still feel a bit heavy.

Squarespace: A Closer Look

Strengths:

Squarespace is famous for its award-winning, visually striking templates and polished aesthetics. Every template automatically adjusts to mobile devices, ensuring a sleek look without manual tweaks. Squarespace’s platform is all-in-one, meaning it handles blogging, email marketing, and e-commerce seamlessly. You also get unlimited storage and bandwidth on all paid plans, letting you upload high-resolution images or videos without worrying about hitting a cap.

Squarespace’s layout editor is structured, keeping everything neat and aligned so you don’t have to fuss with pixel-by-pixel control. Many people appreciate how effortless it is to maintain design consistency. This system particularly appeals to creatives—photographers, designers, wedding planners—who want an elegant portfolio site. Built-in features like social media blocks, email campaigns, and built-in scheduling (Squarespace Scheduling) also remove the need for many third-party apps.

Weaknesses:

Because Squarespace’s editor uses a rigid design grid, you have less freedom than Wix’s drag-anywhere approach. There’s no permanently free plan—only a 14-day trial—so you’ll need to pay once you’re ready to go live. While Squarespace covers most core features in-house, it has a smaller extension library compared to Wix’s App Market. Advanced custom coding is possible through code blocks or CSS injections, but there’s no deep developer platform like Velo. If you require a membership system or extensive customization, Squarespace might feel constrained. Additionally, using large, high-resolution images can slow down your site if you don’t optimize them.

2. Best Uses & Ideal Users

Who Should Choose Wix?

• Small Business Owners & Entrepreneurs wanting an all-in-one platform with a ton of features and apps (booking systems, restaurants menus, appointment tools).
• Users Seeking Maximum Control over layout and design—Wix’s drag-and-drop editor is extremely flexible.
• Anyone on a Budget who wants to start on a free plan before committing to a premium subscription.

Who Should Choose Squarespace?

• Photographers, Designers, Artists craving the aesthetic edge of Squarespace’s stunning templates and full-bleed imagery.
• Bloggers & Creative Portfolios needing minimal fuss, strong built-in tools, and a sleek look from day one.
• Businesses That Value Branding and want a curated design environment to ensure a consistent, polished presentation.

3. Pricing & Packages

Wix Pricing Overview

Wix offers a free tier (with Wix ads and limited bandwidth) plus four main premium plans. Exact plan names may differ by region, but typically you’ll see something like:

• Free Plan: Good for testing; includes a Wix subdomain and ads.
• Light ($17/month): Known in some areas as the “Combo” plan, removes ads, and gives 2 GB storage. However, it doesn’t allow e-commerce.
• Core ($29/month): Suitable for small online stores, includes more storage (often 5–10 GB) and app benefits like site booster or ad vouchers.
• Business ($36/month): Offers additional business features like abandoned cart recovery and higher storage (around 10–20 GB). Good for growing stores.
• Business Elite ($159/month): Intended for large or enterprise-level sites needing VIP support and unlimited bandwidth.

Each premium plan (when paid annually) includes a free domain for one year and SSL. Note that Wix’s monthly rate can jump at higher tiers, so it’s worth double-checking which features you truly need.

Squarespace Pricing Overview

Squarespace provides a 14-day free trial but no permanent free plan. Paid plans come in four tiers (annual billing):

• Personal ($16/month): Ideal for a simple portfolio or blog, with unlimited storage/bandwidth. Doesn’t support e-commerce aside from small donation buttons.
• Business ($23/month): Adds e-commerce support, although a 3% transaction fee applies to sales. You gain more design control (custom CSS) and marketing features like pop-ups.
• Basic Commerce ($28/month): Waives the 3% transaction fee, provides more robust store features, and enables Instagram selling. Intended for small to medium online shops.
• Advanced Commerce ($52/month): Includes abandoned cart recovery, advanced shipping calculations, and subscription selling—suitable for larger-scale e-commerce.

Squarespace’s top plan is $52/month, notably less than Wix’s $159 high-end tier. That makes Squarespace a more affordable option if you need a fully-loaded approach, although Wix’s many plans can also cater to different budgets.

4. Customization & Features

Design Flexibility

• Wix: True drag-and-drop freedom—move elements anywhere. Over 900 templates, but you can’t switch templates after publishing.
• Squarespace: Fewer (180+) but gorgeous templates. A structured editor enforces clean, modern layouts with less manual tweaking.

App Market vs. Extensions

• Wix: Large app marketplace (300+ apps) for everything from forms to booking systems. Perfect for adding specialized features.
• Squarespace: Smaller Extensions library, but strong built-in features for blogging, e-commerce, galleries, and email marketing.

Advanced Customizations

• Wix Velo (Developer Mode): Add JavaScript, create databases, build dynamic pages—unparalleled control if you can code.
• Squarespace Code Injection: Enough for custom CSS or small embeds, but no full dev environment for building complex apps.

5. SEO & Marketing Tools

Wix and Squarespace both let you set page titles, meta descriptions, and other essential SEO elements. Neither platform includes any harmful code that would block search engine ranking. However, Wix excels at guiding users step by step. Its SEO Wiz prompts you with tasks like “Add alt text here” or “Insert your site name in the homepage title,” which beginners find incredibly handy. Wix also integrates with Semrush for keyword discovery and offers an AI-based meta tag generator.

Squarespace has strong SEO fundamentals—particularly clean URLs, fast-scaling images, and well-structured HTML—but lacks a guided checklist. You’ll set your SEO preferences mostly on your own or by following Squarespace’s comprehensive help articles. For marketing, both platforms provide built-in email campaign tools and social media integrations, but Wix’s large app store may give it an extra edge. If you want advanced marketing or flexible pop-ups and special promotions, Wix likely has the app for you, while Squarespace has a more controlled set of features that cover most needs smoothly.

6. E-commerce Capabilities

Wix and Squarespace both support online stores, but they aim for slightly different types of sellers. Wix’s e-commerce module (Wix Stores) can scale significantly with advanced shipping options, multiple payment gateways, and even multi-currency support (via integrations like Global-e). It’s great if you anticipate your store growing larger or requiring specialized apps like loyalty programs or print-on-demand.

Squarespace e-commerce is known for its style and simplicity. Ideal for boutiques, designers, or small-to-medium shops that want a visually stunning storefront without a steep learning curve. You manage products in a built-in commerce panel, and the two Commerce plans remove transaction fees. If you need advanced cart features like abandoned cart recovery or subscriptions, you’ll want the $52 Advanced Commerce plan. The simplicity is a plus, but Squarespace lacks the huge ecosystem of third-party apps that Wix has. That said, many sellers don’t need more than what Squarespace natively offers.

7. Ease of Use & User Experience

Wix: Drag. Drop. Organize. This free-form approach can feel liberating for design-minded individuals. However, the array of features can initially overwhelm absolute beginners. Wix also offers an “ADI” (Artificial Design Intelligence) mode, which can automatically generate an initial layout for you—a great shortcut if you prefer a quick start.

Squarespace: Structured blocks that snap neatly into place, ensuring a consistent layout even if you’re not design-savvy. Squarespace’s interface is sleek and minimal, so you won’t be bombarded with buttons. Instead, you adjust styles in a cohesive, site-wide manner. Many call it the easiest builder to get a professional look with minimal fuss, though you sacrifice some design freedom.

In short, if you’re extremely picky about layouts, or you want pixel-level control, Wix might suit you better. If you prefer curated elegance (and don’t mind a more constrained editor), Squarespace is usually simpler.

8. Scalability & Growth Potential

Feature Growth

• Wix: Huge app market, developer options, enterprise tiers. Suited for evolving business needs and custom site expansions.
• Squarespace: Covers most standard scenarios for small-medium ventures, fewer advanced expansions. Perfect for creative or design-focused users who don’t foresee needing heavy custom apps.

Performance & Content Volume

• Wix: Manage large catalogs, custom-coded functionalities, and multilingual setups. Must keep an eye on site speed with many add-ons.
• Squarespace: Unlimited storage/bandwidth, but less specialized for ultra-complex expansions or global commerce at scale. Good for large amounts of visual content, provided you optimize images.

Overall Verdict

Wix

• Best for: Small businesses, entrepreneurs, and anyone seeking maximum creative control. Also great for advanced e-commerce or specialized site features.
• Pros: Huge template selection, flexible editor, extensive app market, robust SEO guidance, can scale to enterprise.
• Cons: Potentially overwhelming interface, higher-tier plans get pricey, can’t switch templates later.

Squarespace

• Best for: Creatives, designers, photographers, and brand-conscious businesses wanting a sleek, professional look fast.
• Pros: Gorgeous templates, straightforward editing, unlimited storage, integrated features for blogging and e-commerce, excellent design consistency.
• Cons: Less freedom in layout, no permanent free plan, a smaller extension library, limited dev features compared to Wix.

Which Should You Pick?

• Go with Wix if you demand flexibility, might need unique apps or coding, or plan to grow into a feature-rich site with advanced marketing.
• Choose Squarespace if you want a visually stunning site without wrestling with too many design decisions, plus a cleaner all-in-one approach. It’s a favorite for portfolios, creative services, and stylish online stores.