Introduction
Building a website has never been easier, thanks to powerful website builders like Wix and Squarespace. Both platforms allow anyone to create stunning, professional websites without writing a single line of code. But with two excellent options on the table, how do you decide which one is right for your project?
Whether you're launching a personal blog, a portfolio, a small business site, or an online store, choosing the right platform can significantly impact your success. In this comprehensive comparison, we'll break down everything you need to know about Wix and Squarespace to help you make an informed decision.
What is Wix?
Wix is a cloud-based website builder that has grown to become one of the most popular platforms in the world, powering over 250 million websites. Founded in 2006, Wix is known for its intuitive drag-and-drop editor that gives users complete creative freedom.
Key Features of Wix
- Drag-and-drop editor: Move elements anywhere on the page with pixel-perfect precision
- Wix ADI: Artificial Design Intelligence that creates a website for you automatically
- App Market: Over 300 apps to extend functionality
- Velo by Wix: Advanced development platform for custom coding
- Free plan available: Build and publish a site at no cost (with Wix branding)
Best For: Wix is ideal for beginners who want maximum design flexibility, small businesses, restaurants, photographers, and anyone who wants complete control over their site's layout.
What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a premium website builder known for its award-winning, designer-quality templates and polished aesthetic. Founded in 2003, Squarespace has become the go-to platform for creatives, artists, and businesses that prioritize visual appeal.
Key Features of Squarespace
- Designer templates: Stunning, professionally designed templates across all categories
- Fluid Engine: Modern drag-and-drop editor with structured flexibility
- Built-in features: Most features included natively without third-party apps
- Squarespace Scheduling: Integrated appointment booking system
- Member Areas: Create gated content for subscribers
Best For: Squarespace is perfect for creatives, photographers, artists, portfolios, restaurants, and businesses that want sophisticated, visually stunning websites with minimal effort.
Key Differences Between Wix and Squarespace
While both platforms serve similar purposes, they approach website building differently. Here's a side-by-side comparison of their core features:
| Feature | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | β Very beginner-friendly | β Moderate learning curve |
| Design Flexibility | β Complete freedom | β οΈ Structured flexibility |
| Template Quality | β Good variety | β Premium, designer-quality |
| Free Plan | β Available | β No free plan (14-day trial) |
| App/Extensions | β 300+ apps | β οΈ Limited extensions |
| E-commerce | β Strong features | β Excellent features |
| Blogging | β Good | β Excellent |
| Customer Support | β 24/7 support | β 24/7 support |
| Starting Price | π° $17/month | π° $16/month |
Ease of Use Comparison
Wix's Editor
Wix offers one of the most intuitive website building experiences available. Its true drag-and-drop editor allows you to grab any element and place it anywhere on the page. There are no grid restrictions, giving you absolute creative control. For those who want even less work, Wix ADI can generate a complete website based on answers to a few simple questions.
However, this freedom comes with a caveat: it's possible to create messy, unbalanced designs if you're not careful. The platform also doesn't allow you to switch templates once your site is live without rebuilding from scratch.
Squarespace's Editor
Squarespace's Fluid Engine editor offers a more structured approach. While you can drag and drop elements, they snap to a grid system that helps maintain visual harmony. This approach makes it harder to create poorly designed pages but offers less flexibility than Wix.
The learning curve is slightly steeper than Wix, but most users get comfortable within an hour or two. Squarespace allows you to switch templates at any time while keeping your content intactβa major advantage over Wix.
Verdict: Wix wins for absolute beginners and those who want total design freedom. Squarespace wins for users who prefer guided design and want protection against creating unbalanced layouts.
Design & Templates
Wix Templates
Wix offers over 900 templates across dozens of categories including business, online store, photography, restaurants, portfolios, events, and more. Templates range from simple and clean to bold and creative. Quality variesβsome templates look dated while others are modern and stunning.
Wix also provides blank templates for users who want to start from scratch, plus the ability to use Wix ADI for AI-generated designs customized to your needs.
Squarespace Templates
Squarespace offers around 150 templates, but what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality. Every Squarespace template looks like it was designed by a professional agency. The aesthetic is consistently modern, elegant, and sophisticated.
Squarespace templates are particularly strong for portfolios, photography, art, fashion, and lifestyle brands. They're also fully responsive and look great on all devices.
Verdict: Squarespace wins for template quality and consistency. Wix wins for variety and options across niche categories.
Pricing Comparison
Understanding the pricing structure of both platforms is essential for budgeting your website project. Here's how they compare:
Wix Pricing (Billed Annually)
- Free: $0/month β Wix branding, no custom domain
- Light: $17/month β Custom domain, remove Wix ads
- Core: $29/month β More storage, collaborative features
- Business: $36/month β Accept online payments, e-commerce
- Business Elite: $159/month β Advanced e-commerce features
Squarespace Pricing (Billed Annually)
- Personal: $16/month β Custom domain, SSL, unlimited bandwidth
- Business: $23/month β Professional email, advanced analytics
- Commerce Basic: $28/month β Full e-commerce, 0% transaction fees
- Commerce Advanced: $52/month β Subscriptions, advanced shipping
Verdict: Both platforms are competitively priced. Wix offers a free plan for budget-conscious users, while Squarespace provides more value at lower tiers with features like unlimited bandwidth included from the start.
E-commerce Features
Wix E-commerce
Wix provides robust e-commerce capabilities through its Business and Business Elite plans. You can sell physical products, digital downloads, services, and subscriptions. The platform supports multiple payment gateways, abandoned cart recovery, and integrates with dropshipping services like Modalyst and Printful.
Wix's App Market extends functionality with inventory management, loyalty programs, and advanced shipping solutions.
Squarespace E-commerce
Squarespace's commerce features are built natively into the platform, offering a more seamless experience. You get beautiful product pages, inventory management, flexible payment options (including Apple Pay, Afterpay, and Clearpay), and powerful merchandising tools.
Squarespace excels at selling services with its integrated scheduling system, and its Commerce Advanced plan offers subscription products, advanced discounts, and commerce APIs.
Verdict: Both platforms are excellent for e-commerce. Squarespace offers a more polished, integrated experience, while Wix provides more flexibility through its app ecosystem.
SEO & Marketing Tools
Wix SEO
Wix has invested heavily in SEO capabilities in recent years. The platform offers Wix SEO Wiz, a step-by-step tool that creates a personalized SEO plan for your site. You have full control over meta titles, descriptions, URL slugs, alt text, and structured data.
Wix also supports fast loading speeds, mobile optimization, and automatic sitemap generation. The platform integrates with Google Search Console and Analytics for tracking performance.
Squarespace SEO
Squarespace provides solid SEO fundamentals including clean URLs, automatic sitemaps, mobile responsiveness, and SSL certificates. You can customize meta information, add alt text, and implement 301 redirects.
Squarespace's built-in analytics provide insights into traffic sources, popular content, and audience behavior. The platform also offers email marketing through Squarespace Email Campaigns.
Verdict: Wix has a slight edge with its SEO Wiz tool and broader marketing integrations, but both platforms provide everything you need to rank well in search engines.
Pros and Cons Comparison
Wix Advantages and Disadvantages
β Wix Pros
- Complete design freedom with true drag-and-drop
- Free plan available for testing
- 900+ templates across many categories
- Extensive App Market with 300+ integrations
- Wix ADI for automated website creation
- Strong SEO tools and documentation
- Velo platform for custom development
β Wix Cons
- Cannot switch templates after publishing
- Some templates look outdated
- Storage limits on lower plans
- Wix branding on free plan
- Can create cluttered designs easily
- Third-party apps may increase costs
Squarespace Advantages and Disadvantages
β Squarespace Pros
- Award-winning, designer-quality templates
- All templates are mobile-responsive
- Can switch templates without losing content
- Built-in features reduce need for third-party apps
- Excellent blogging capabilities
- Integrated scheduling and member areas
- Consistent, polished aesthetic
β Squarespace Cons
- No free plan (only 14-day trial)
- Less design flexibility than Wix
- Fewer templates to choose from
- Limited third-party integrations
- Steeper learning curve for beginners
- No AI website builder option
Conclusion: Which Should You Choose?
Both Wix and Squarespace are excellent website builders, but they cater to different needs and preferences. Your choice should depend on what matters most to you.
Choose Wix if: You want maximum creative control, prefer a free plan to get started, need extensive third-party app integrations, or are building a site for a niche industry with specific requirements. Wix is also great if you want AI assistance in creating your website through Wix ADI.
Choose Squarespace if: Design quality is your top priority, you're a creative professional or artist, you want a sophisticated website with minimal effort, you prefer built-in features over third-party apps, or you might want to change your template in the future.
Bottom Line: For pure design flexibility and budget-consciousness, go with Wix. For stunning, professional aesthetics and an all-in-one solution, choose Squarespace. Both platforms offer excellent valueβyou can't go wrong with either choice.
Ready to start building your website? Check out our comprehensive website builder comparison guide to explore more options and find the perfect platform for your needs.