Website builders
Squarespace vs Wix
Squarespace suits people who want a small number of well-designed templates and are happy to work within them. Wix suits people who want more granular drag-and-drop control and a larger marketplace of apps and integrations, even if the result needs more manual tidying.
- No affiliate links
- Public pricing only
- Updated by hand
Squarespace or Wix — which should you use?
Squarespace suits people who want a small number of well-designed templates and are happy to work within them. Wix suits people who want more granular drag-and-drop control and a larger marketplace of apps and integrations, even if the result needs more manual tidying. Squarespace starts at From roughly $16/month billed annually for the Basic plan (free tier: No permanent free plan; free trial available.); Wix starts at From roughly $17/month billed annually for entry paid plans (free tier: Free plan with Wix branding and a wix.com subdomain.). Prices are list prices and change, so check the vendor pages before buying.
Last updated 3 August 2026
Both are hosted, all-in-one website builders aimed at small businesses and individuals rather than developers, and both include hosting, templates and a store option in their pricing.
The difference shows up once you start building. Squarespace's templates are fewer but more consistently designed, and the editor nudges you toward good-looking pages. Wix gives you a blank-canvas drag-and-drop editor with far more granular control, which means more freedom and more chances to make a page look cluttered.
Side by side
Squarespace and Wix in short.
Squarespace
All-in-one website builder with a curated set of design-forward templates.
- Free
- No permanent free plan; free trial available.
- Paid from
- From roughly $16/month billed annually for the Basic plan
Good at
- Templates are consistently well-designed and hard to make look bad
- Built-in blogging, scheduling and basic ecommerce cover most small-business needs
- Simpler editor with fewer decisions to make
Weak at
- Less granular control over exact element placement than Wix
- Smaller third-party app marketplace
Wix
Drag-and-drop website builder with granular design control and a large app market.
- Free
- Free plan with Wix branding and a wix.com subdomain.
- Paid from
- From roughly $17/month billed annually for entry paid plans
Good at
- Drag-and-drop editor allows pixel-level placement of elements
- Large app market covers bookings, forms, marketing tools and more
- Wix ADI/AI site generator can produce a starting layout quickly
Weak at
- Free-form control makes it easier to build a cluttered or inconsistent page
- Switching templates after launch is more limited than switching within Squarespace's system
The differences
Where they actually diverge.
| Feature | Squarespace | Wix |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes, with branding |
| Entry price | ~$16/month annual | ~$17/month annual |
| Editor style | Structured, template-guided | Free-form drag-and-drop |
| Design consistency | High out of the box | Depends on the builder's care |
| App/integration market | Smaller, curated | Larger, broader |
| Built-in blog/store | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Design-conscious small sites and portfolios | Sites needing more granular layout or app integrations |
Pick one
Which one fits you.
Choose Squarespace if
- You want a good-looking site without much design decision-making
- You're a photographer, studio or small business where visual consistency matters
- You'd rather work inside a template than build from scratch
Choose Wix if
- You want precise, pixel-level control over layout
- You need a specific app or integration from a larger marketplace
- You want to try a free plan before paying
When neither is the answer
If the site needs a serious content operation with structured collections, or will be handed to a developer, Webflow or WordPress will hold up better than either builder.
Questions
Common questions.
Can I switch templates later without rebuilding?
Wix historically limits switching templates once a site is live without largely starting over on the new template; Squarespace's newer editor (Fluid Engine) makes moving between styles somewhat easier within its system, but neither offers a seamless one-click switch.
Does either handle ecommerce properly?
Both offer built-in store features suitable for small catalogues; larger or more complex stores are usually better served by Shopify or WooCommerce.
Which is better for SEO?
Both support essential SEO controls like titles, meta descriptions and sitemaps. Neither has a structural SEO disadvantage; results depend mostly on content and site structure.
Can I use my own domain on the free Wix plan?
No, the free plan uses a wix.com subdomain; a custom domain requires a paid plan.
Is either good for a blog-heavy site?
Squarespace's blogging tools are polished and simple. Wix supports blogging too, but a content-heavy site with complex taxonomy may outgrow either over time.
Prices are list prices published by each vendor and change often — check the linked pricing pages before you buy. We take no affiliate commission and nobody pays to appear here.
Elsewhere on gtm.help
Keep exploring.
gtm.help
Skip the tool research. Get the plan first.
Paste your website and gtm.help reads it, then writes a ranked growth plan for your business — with the tools each task needs, what they cost, and what to do first. Free to start.