Squarespace vs Shopify: The Real Differences That Matter

Here's the short version: Shopify is built for selling stuff. Squarespace is built for beautiful websites that can also sell stuff. That distinction matters more than you'd think.

If ecommerce is your primary business, Shopify wins. If you want a gorgeous website with some selling capability, Squarespace is your pick. Let's break down exactly why.

Quick Comparison: Squarespace vs Shopify

Pricing Breakdown: What You'll Actually Pay

Squarespace Pricing

Squarespace recently rolled out four new plans: Basic, Core, Plus, and Advanced. Here's what they cost (billed annually):

• Basic: $16/month - Good for portfolios and blogs. Has a 2% transaction fee if you sell anything.
• Core: $23/month - This is the sweet spot for most small businesses. 0% transaction fees, custom code, premium integrations like Mailchimp and Zapier.
• Plus: $39/month - Adds customer accounts, advanced inventory tracking, and lower payment processing rates (2.7% + 30¢).
• Advanced: $99/month - Abandoned cart recovery, real-time shipping rates, API access. Only worth it for established stores.

All annual plans include a free custom domain for the first year. After that, you're looking at $20-70/year for renewal depending on your domain extension. For more details, check out our full Squarespace pricing guide.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify's pricing is higher but you're getting a dedicated ecommerce platform:

• Starter: $5/month - Basically just checkout links for social selling. Not a real store.
• Basic: $29/month - Full online store, 24/7 support, up to 77% shipping discounts, 10 inventory locations. Credit card rates: 2.9% + 30¢ online.
• Grow: $79/month - 5 staff accounts, professional reports, shipping insurance. Better card rates at 2.7% + 30¢.
• Advanced: $299/month - Custom reports, 15 staff accounts, third-party calculated shipping, lowest card rates at 2.5% + 30¢.

Important: If you don't use Shopify Payments (their built-in payment processor), you'll pay an additional 0.5-2% transaction fee on top of your external payment provider's fees.

Shopify offers $1/month for the first 3 months for new users, which is a solid way to test the platform.

When to Choose Squarespace

Squarespace makes sense when:

• Design matters more than features. Squarespace templates are objectively more polished. If you're a photographer, artist, restaurant, or creative business, your site will look better on Squarespace with less effort.
• Content is part of your strategy. Blogging on Squarespace is genuinely pleasant. Shopify can do blogs, but it feels like an afterthought.
• You're selling simple products or services. A small shop selling prints, a coaching business booking sessions, a band selling merch - Squarespace handles these fine.
• Budget is tight. Starting at $16/month vs $29/month adds up. If you're testing an idea or running a side hustle, the cheaper entry point helps.
• You hate dealing with apps. Squarespace is more all-in-one. You won't need to install 15 plugins to get basic functionality.

Real talk: Squarespace has built-in scheduling (Acuity), email campaigns, and member areas. These would cost extra on Shopify.

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We also have a Squarespace coupon if you decide to pull the trigger.

When to Choose Shopify

Shopify is the right call when:

• Ecommerce is your whole business. Shopify was built to sell. Inventory management, multichannel selling, dropshipping integrations - it's all native and polished.
• You want to sell on multiple channels. Shopify connects directly to Amazon, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Walmart, and more. Squarespace only really integrates with Meta platforms for direct selling.
• You need serious scalability. Planning to grow from 100 orders/month to 10,000? Shopify handles that transition without switching platforms.
• Physical retail is part of your plan. Shopify's POS system is significantly better than Squarespace's Square integration. If you're selling in-person, this matters.
• You want app flexibility. With 8,000+ apps, you can add almost any functionality imaginable. Reviews, loyalty programs, subscription boxes, custom fulfillment - there's an app for it.
• International selling matters. Multi-currency, multi-language, duties and import taxes - Shopify handles global ecommerce way better.

Shopify's checkout also converts about 15% better than competitors on average. For serious stores, that alone can justify the higher price.

Ecommerce Features: Head to Head

Where Shopify Wins

• App ecosystem: 8,000+ apps vs Squarespace's limited extension marketplace. Need something specific? Shopify probably has three apps for it.
• Payment options: Shopify integrates with way more payment gateways globally.
• Abandoned cart recovery: Available on all Shopify plans. Squarespace only offers this on the $99/month Advanced plan.
• Shipping: Real-time carrier-calculated shipping rates, 77-88% shipping discounts, integration with multiple carriers.
• Multichannel: Sell on social media, marketplaces, and in-person from one dashboard.
• Inventory: More locations, better variant handling, stronger bulk editing tools.

Where Squarespace Wins

• Template quality: Every Squarespace template looks like a designer made it. Because they did.
• Blogging: If content marketing matters, Squarespace's blog is significantly better.
• Simplicity: Less decision fatigue. You don't need to evaluate 47 apps to get basic functionality.
• Pricing transparency: What you see is what you pay. Shopify's app costs add up fast - most stores spend $30-300/month on apps alone.
• Built-in scheduling: Acuity Scheduling is included. On Shopify, you'd pay for a separate booking app.
• Digital products: Squarespace handles courses, memberships, and digital downloads natively.

Design and Templates

This isn't even close. Squarespace wins on design.

Squarespace templates are gorgeous out of the box. They're modern, mobile-optimized, and feel premium without any customization. For creatives, portfolios, restaurants, and service businesses, this matters.

Shopify has improved with its Online Store 2.0 architecture and new drag-and-drop editor, but templates still feel more "ecommerce functional" than "beautiful website." The free themes are limited, and premium themes cost $150-350.

That said, Shopify themes are optimized for conversion. If you're running a serious store, you probably care more about checkout flow than aesthetic perfection.

Ease of Use

Both platforms are drag-and-drop and don't require coding. But they feel different:

Squarespace is more intuitive for people who want a website. The interface is clean, editing is visual, and everything feels connected. Their Blueprint AI can even generate a custom template from a few words about your business.

Shopify is more intuitive for people who want a store. The dashboard is organized around products, orders, customers, and analytics. If you're thinking like a merchant, it makes sense immediately.

If you've never built a website before, Squarespace is probably easier to start with. If you've never run an online store before, Shopify's guided setup is more helpful for that specific task.

Performance

Speed matters for SEO and conversions. Testing shows Shopify loads significantly faster - around 0.9 seconds vs Squarespace's 2.2+ seconds for speed index. For a content site, that's acceptable. For an ecommerce store where every second costs conversions, Shopify's performance edge matters.

SEO Capabilities

Both platforms cover the basics: custom meta titles, descriptions, alt text, sitemaps, SSL certificates.

Shopify has a slight edge for ecommerce SEO with better product schema markup and more SEO apps available. Squarespace handles content SEO well but has some URL structure limitations that SEO purists complain about.

For most businesses, either platform will do fine. Neither is going to tank your rankings.

Customer Support

Shopify offers 24/7 chat support on all plans plus phone support on higher tiers. Their help documentation is extensive, and the community forums are active.

Squarespace has 24/7 email support with live chat available during business hours. Response times are generally good, and they have solid documentation plus webinars for learning.

Edge to Shopify here, especially if you need help at 2am when your store breaks.

The Bottom Line: Which Should You Choose?

Choose Squarespace if:

• You want a beautiful website first, ecommerce second
• You're selling simple products, services, or digital goods
• Content and design matter more than advanced selling features
• You want predictable pricing without app costs
• You're a creative, restaurant, service business, or small shop

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Choose Shopify if:

• Ecommerce is your primary business, not an add-on
• You want to sell on multiple channels (social, marketplaces, in-person)
• You plan to scale significantly
• You need advanced inventory, shipping, or fulfillment features
• You're doing dropshipping or print-on-demand (see our Printify review for POD options)

What About Alternatives?

If neither feels right:

• Wix - More design flexibility than Shopify, more ecommerce features than Squarespace's basic plans. Good middle ground. Check our Squarespace vs Wix comparison.
• WordPress + WooCommerce - Maximum flexibility, steeper learning curve. See our Squarespace vs WordPress breakdown.
• Webflow - Designer-focused with ecommerce capability. Compare in our Squarespace vs Webflow guide.

The right choice depends on what you're building. Both Squarespace and Shopify are excellent platforms - just for different jobs.