Squarespace Pricing: Complete Breakdown of Plans, Fees & Hidden Costs
Squarespace has four pricing tiers: Basic, Core, Plus, and Advanced. Prices range from $16 to $99 per month when billed annually, or $25 to $139 monthly. But the sticker price doesn't tell the whole story—transaction fees, payment processing rates, and add-ons can significantly change what you actually pay.
Here's everything you need to know to pick the right plan without overpaying.
Squarespace Pricing Plans at a Glance
Let's cut straight to the numbers:
| Plan | Annual (per month) | Monthly | Transaction Fee | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $16 | $25 | 2% on store sales | Portfolios, blogs, simple sites |
| Core | $23 | $36 | 0% on store sales | Small businesses, most users |
| Plus | $39 | $56 | 0% on store sales | Growing ecommerce stores |
| Advanced | $99 | $139 | 0% on everything | High-volume sellers |
All annual plans include a free custom domain for the first year. Monthly plans don't get this perk. You can save 28-36% by paying annually, so if you know you're sticking with Squarespace, go with annual billing.
Want to try before you buy? Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial on all plans.
Basic Plan: $16/month
The Basic plan is Squarespace's entry point, best suited for portfolios, personal sites, and blogs where you're not selling much (or anything).
What you get:
- Unlimited bandwidth and storage
- Access to all 190+ templates
- Basic SEO tools
- SSL security
- Ability to sell unlimited products
- 30 minutes of video hosting
- 2 contributors max
What you don't get:
- Custom CSS or JavaScript (no code injection)
- Advanced integrations (no Zapier, Mailchimp, OpenTable)
- Pop-ups or announcement bars
- Facebook pixel tracking
The biggest catch: 2% transaction fee on all sales. If you're selling products, this adds up fast. Sell $5,000/month and you're losing $100 just in Squarespace fees—on top of payment processing.
The verdict: Good for content-focused sites. If you're selling anything with meaningful volume, upgrade to Core.
Core Plan: $23/month (Best Value)
This is the plan most small businesses should choose. For just $7 more per month than Basic, you unlock pretty much everything Squarespace offers.
Everything in Basic, plus:
- 0% transaction fees on physical products and services
- 5% fee on digital products (courses, memberships)
- Custom code injection (CSS, JavaScript)
- Advanced analytics
- Unlimited contributors
- 5 hours of video hosting
- Premium integrations (Zapier, Mailchimp, OpenTable)
- Pop-ups and announcement bars
- 1 year free Google Workspace email
The Core plan removes the 2% transaction fee on regular store sales. If you sell more than $350/month, the Core plan pays for itself versus Basic.
You also get code injection, which means you can add tracking pixels, chat widgets, custom analytics, and design tweaks. This is essential for any real business.
The verdict: Best value for most users. Unless you're selling digital products at high volume, you probably don't need to go higher.
Plus Plan: $39/month
The Plus plan is for growing ecommerce stores that need lower fees and more video storage.
Everything in Core, plus:
- 1% fee on digital products (down from 5%)
- Lower payment processing: 2.7% + $0.30 (vs 2.9% on Core)
- 50 hours of video hosting
- Advanced commerce features
Honestly, the jump from Core to Plus doesn't give you much. The main benefits are reduced payment processing fees and the lower digital product fee. If you're selling $10,000+/month in digital products, the 4% difference might justify the upgrade.
The verdict: Only worth it if you're selling significant digital products or processing high volume where the 0.2% payment difference matters.
Advanced Plan: $99/month
The Advanced plan is Squarespace's top tier, designed for high-volume ecommerce operations.
Everything in Plus, plus:
- 0% transaction fees on everything (including digital products)
- Lowest payment processing: 2.5% + $0.30
- Unlimited video hosting
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Real-time carrier-calculated shipping
- Product subscriptions
- Commerce API access
The price recently jumped from $52 to $99/month, which makes this a tougher sell. You're paying an extra $720/year over Core for reduced fees and advanced commerce features.
The math: The 0.4% payment processing difference versus Core saves you $4 per $1,000 in sales. You'd need to process $180,000+ annually just to break even on the plan cost from processing savings alone.
The verdict: Only makes sense for established ecommerce stores with high volume or heavy reliance on digital products/subscriptions. If you're scaling that fast, you might want to look at Shopify instead.
Transaction Fees Breakdown
This is where Squarespace gets confusing. There are two types of fees:
Squarespace Transaction Fees
| Plan | Physical Products | Digital Products |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2% | 7% |
| Core | 0% | 5% |
| Plus | 0% | 1% |
| Advanced | 0% | 0% |
Payment Processing Fees (Squarespace Payments)
| Plan | Processing Fee |
|---|---|
| Basic & Core | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Plus | 2.7% + $0.30 |
| Advanced | 2.5% + $0.30 |
You can also use Stripe, PayPal, or Square as payment processors, but you'll pay their rates instead. Stripe's standard rate is also 2.9% + $0.30, so there's no advantage to switching unless you already have a negotiated rate.
Additional Costs to Know About
Your Squarespace bill doesn't stop at the plan price. Here's what else can add up:
Domain Renewal
Annual plans include a free domain for the first year. After that, domains cost $20-70/year depending on the extension (.com is typically around $20). You can also use a domain from another registrar if you prefer.
Email Marketing (Squarespace Campaigns)
Squarespace's built-in email marketing starts at $7/month for 500 emails. The Max plan for high-volume senders runs $68/month for up to 250,000 emails. You can also integrate Mailchimp or other email tools on Core plans and above.
Scheduling (Acuity)
If you need appointment booking, Acuity Scheduling is a separate subscription starting at $16/month. This is a notable weakness—competitors like Wix include scheduling in their base plans.
Google Workspace Email
Core plans and above include one free year of Google Workspace for professional email. After that, it's $6/month per user.
Extensions and Integrations
Third-party extensions from Squarespace's marketplace can add $5-75/month depending on what you need for shipping, inventory, accounting, etc.
Which Squarespace Plan Should You Choose?
Choose Basic ($16/month) if:
- You're building a portfolio, blog, or simple brochure site
- You won't be selling products or will sell very little
- You don't need custom code or advanced integrations
Choose Core ($23/month) if:
- You're running any kind of business
- You're selling physical products or services
- You need tracking pixels, analytics, or integrations
- You want more than 2 contributors
Choose Plus ($39/month) if:
- You're selling digital products at significant volume
- You need 50+ hours of video hosting
- Your sales volume is high enough that 0.2% processing savings matter
Choose Advanced ($99/month) if:
- You're running a serious ecommerce operation
- You need abandoned cart recovery and advanced shipping
- You sell subscriptions or high-volume digital products
- You're processing $150k+ annually
For most people reading this, Core is the answer. It removes transaction fees, unlocks all the important features, and costs just $276/year. The jump to Plus or Advanced rarely makes financial sense unless you're already doing significant volume.
How to Save on Squarespace
A few ways to reduce your costs:
- Pay annually: Save 28-36% versus monthly billing
- Use discount codes: Squarespace regularly offers 10-20% off for new subscriptions. Check our Squarespace coupon page for current deals.
- Student discount: Students can get 50% off the first year through Student Beans or TOTUM
- Start with Basic: You can always upgrade later, and Squarespace prorates the difference
Start your free Squarespace trial →
Squarespace vs Competitors: Price Comparison
How does Squarespace stack up?
| Platform | Starting Price | Ecommerce From |
|---|---|---|
| Squarespace | $16/month | $16/month (with fees) |
| Wix | $17/month | $29/month |
| Shopify | $39/month | $39/month |
| WordPress.com | $4/month | $45/month |
Squarespace is competitively priced, especially for the design quality you get. It's cheaper than Shopify for basic ecommerce, though Shopify offers more advanced store features. For a deeper comparison, see our Squarespace vs Wix and Squarespace vs Shopify guides.
Bottom Line
Squarespace pricing is straightforward once you understand the fee structure. For content-focused sites, Basic works fine. For anything business-related, Core is the sweet spot at $23/month with zero transaction fees on physical products.
The Plus and Advanced plans exist for high-volume sellers, but the recent price increases make them harder to justify unless you're already processing significant revenue.
Don't overthink it. Start with Core, pay annually, and upgrade only if your business actually needs it.