Squarespace vs Webflow: Which Website Builder Should You Pick?
Squarespace and Webflow both let you build professional websites without coding—but they're built for very different users. Squarespace is the polished, easy-to-use option for people who want beautiful templates and don't want to think about design systems. Webflow is the power tool for designers and developers who want granular control over every pixel.
This comparison breaks down pricing, features, ease of use, and when each platform makes sense. Let's get into it.
Quick Verdict: Which One Should You Choose?
Choose Squarespace if: You want a simple, all-in-one platform with gorgeous templates. You're building a portfolio, small business site, blog, or basic ecommerce store. You don't want to learn CSS or deal with complex settings.
Choose Webflow if: You want complete design freedom and don't mind a steeper learning curve. You're a designer, agency, or developer building custom sites for clients. You need advanced CMS functionality or complex animations.
Pricing Comparison
Both platforms use tiered pricing, but the structures are quite different. Squarespace keeps it simple with one price per plan. Webflow splits costs between Site plans (for hosting) and Workspace plans (for collaboration).
Squarespace Pricing
Squarespace recently rolled out new plan names: Basic, Core, Plus, and Advanced. These replace the old Personal, Business, and Commerce tiers. All plans include hosting, SSL, templates, and a free custom domain for the first year on annual billing.
| Plan | Monthly (Billed Annually) | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $16/month | 2 contributors, 30 min video hosting, 2% store transaction fee, 7% digital products fee |
| Core | $23/month | Unlimited contributors, custom code, 0% store fee, 5% digital fee, 5 hours video |
| Plus | $28/month | 1% digital fee, 50 hours video, lower payment processing rates |
| Advanced | $65/month | 0% digital fee, unlimited video, advanced shipping, abandoned cart recovery |
The Core plan hits the sweet spot for most small businesses—it removes transaction fees on physical products and unlocks custom code injection. If you're selling digital products or memberships heavily, you'll want Plus or Advanced to avoid those percentage fees eating into margins.
Check out our full Squarespace pricing breakdown for more details, and grab a Squarespace coupon before signing up.
Webflow Pricing
Webflow's pricing is more complex because you pay separately for hosting (Site plans) and collaboration tools (Workspace plans).
Site Plans (per website):
| Plan | Monthly (Billed Annually) | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | 2 pages, webflow.io subdomain, 1GB bandwidth, 50 CMS items |
| Basic | $14/month | 150 pages, custom domain, 10GB bandwidth, no CMS |
| CMS | $23/month | 2,000 CMS items, 50GB bandwidth, 3 editors |
| Business | $39/month | 10,000 CMS items, 100GB bandwidth, form file uploads |
Ecommerce Site Plans:
| Plan | Monthly (Billed Annually) | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $29/month | 500 products, 2% transaction fee |
| Plus | $74/month | 5,000 products, 0% transaction fee |
| Advanced | $212/month | 15,000 products, 0% transaction fee |
That $212/month Advanced ecommerce plan is eye-watering compared to Squarespace's $65/month max. Webflow's ecommerce is really only worth it if you need its design flexibility—otherwise you're overpaying.
Workspace plans add another layer of cost if you're working with a team. The free Starter workspace limits you to 2 sites. Paid workspaces (starting at $16/month for Freelancer) unlock collaboration features, more unhosted projects, and code export capabilities.
Ease of Use
Squarespace: Built for Non-Designers
Squarespace is drag-and-drop in the truest sense. You pick a template, swap in your content, adjust colors and fonts, and you're done. The editor is intuitive—most people can build a decent site in a weekend without watching tutorials.
The trade-off is flexibility. You're working within Squarespace's design system. You can customize, but you can't fundamentally change how things work. For most small business owners, that's actually a feature, not a bug.
Need help getting started? Check out our Squarespace tutorial.
Webflow: Steep Learning Curve, Total Control
Webflow's Designer feels more like a visual version of CSS than a traditional website builder. You're manipulating flexbox, grid layouts, and positioning—just through a visual interface instead of code.
This means incredible power. You can build literally anything. But it also means a significant learning curve. Plan on spending at least a few weeks getting comfortable if you're not already familiar with web design concepts.
Webflow is overkill for a simple portfolio or small business site. It shines when you need custom animations, complex CMS structures, or pixel-perfect brand implementations.
Templates and Design
Squarespace Templates
Squarespace templates are genuinely beautiful and all mobile-optimized. They're designed by professionals and cover most use cases: portfolios, restaurants, retail, services, blogs. The templates all share the same underlying engine (since Squarespace 7.1), so you're really choosing a starting point rather than locking into a rigid structure.
All templates are free—no premium template marketplace to worry about.
Webflow Templates
Webflow has free and paid templates (paid ones range from $49-$149 typically). The quality varies more than Squarespace since many are community-created. The real value of Webflow isn't templates though—it's building from scratch with complete creative freedom.
If you're buying a Webflow template and not customizing it significantly, you're probably paying too much for the platform.
Ecommerce Capabilities
Squarespace Ecommerce
Squarespace handles small to medium ecommerce well. You can sell physical products, digital downloads, services, gift cards, and subscriptions. The checkout process is clean and mobile-friendly.
Key limitations: No native abandoned cart recovery until the Advanced plan ($65/month). Transaction fees on lower tiers. Limited product variants and options compared to dedicated ecommerce platforms.
For most small shops selling under $50k/year, Squarespace's Core plan works fine. Beyond that, you might want to look at dedicated platforms like Shopify. See our Squarespace vs Shopify comparison for that breakdown.
Webflow Ecommerce
Webflow ecommerce gives you complete design control over product pages, carts, and checkout flows. You can create unique shopping experiences that Squarespace simply can't match.
The catch: You're paying a premium for that flexibility. The Standard plan ($29/month) has a 2% transaction fee on top of payment processor fees. To drop that transaction fee, you need the Plus plan at $74/month—almost 3x what Squarespace charges for 0% fees.
Webflow ecommerce makes sense for brands where design differentiation is critical. For most standard stores, it's expensive overkill.
SEO and Performance
Both platforms handle SEO basics well: clean URLs, meta tags, sitemaps, SSL certificates. Neither will hold back your search rankings.
Webflow edges ahead for performance optimization since you have more control over page structure and can avoid unnecessary bloat. Squarespace sites load fast enough for most purposes, but Webflow's cleaner code output can matter for large, complex sites.
For the average small business site, the SEO difference is negligible. Your content strategy matters far more than your platform choice.
Integrations and Extensibility
Squarespace
Squarespace integrates with the basics: Mailchimp, Zapier, Google Workspace, social platforms. The Core plan and above unlock custom code injection, letting you add third-party scripts.
The platform keeps a walled-garden approach. You can extend functionality through code injection, but there's no plugin marketplace. This keeps things stable and secure but limits advanced customization.
Webflow
Webflow's API access and code export capabilities make it far more extensible. You can build complex integrations, use third-party services, and even export your code to host elsewhere (though dynamic CMS content doesn't export).
Webflow also integrates with headless CMS solutions and has robust API access on higher-tier plans. For developers and agencies, this flexibility is a major selling point.
Support and Resources
Squarespace offers 24/7 customer support through email and live chat. Their help documentation is comprehensive. For most users, issues get resolved quickly.
Webflow relies more heavily on community support and documentation. You get email support on paid plans, with priority support reserved for Enterprise customers. Webflow University (their free tutorial library) is genuinely excellent for learning the platform.
Who Should Use Squarespace?
- Small business owners who need a professional site without hiring a designer
- Creatives and freelancers building portfolios
- Restaurants, salons, and local services needing online booking and basic commerce
- Bloggers and content creators who want beautiful templates without fuss
- Anyone who values simplicity over maximum customization
Squarespace is the "just works" option. You trade some flexibility for a dramatically simpler experience.
Try Squarespace free for 14 days →
Who Should Use Webflow?
- Web designers and developers who want visual development without writing code
- Agencies building custom sites for clients
- Brands requiring unique design that templates can't deliver
- Marketing teams who need to iterate on landing pages quickly
- Anyone comfortable with CSS concepts who wants more control
Webflow is for people who find Squarespace limiting. If you've never felt constrained by templates, you probably don't need Webflow's complexity.
The Bottom Line
For 80% of small businesses and individuals, Squarespace is the better choice. It's simpler, more affordable (especially for ecommerce), and produces professional results without requiring design skills.
Webflow wins when you need complete creative control and have the skills (or budget to hire someone) to use it effectively. It's a professional tool for professional use cases.
Don't overthink it: If you're debating between the two and don't have specific design requirements, start with Squarespace. You can always migrate later if you outgrow it.