Quick answer: Pick Wix if you want a free plan to start, the cheapest paid entry ($17/month) and the biggest template library. Pick Squarespace if you want a polished design with less fiddling, and you plan to sell from day one, since even its $19 Basic plan can take payments. Their mid-tier plans cost exactly the same: $29/month billed yearly on both, or $1,044 over three years.
I checked both pricing pages on November 7, 2026, put the plans side by side, and worked out the three-year cost and the point where each platform becomes cheaper for selling online. I also show a quick way to tell which of the two any site is built on.
Wix vs Squarespace Pricing Side by Side
| Tier | Wix (billed yearly) | Squarespace (billed yearly) | 3-year cost, Wix | 3-year cost, Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (Free plan) | None (14-day trial) | $0 | – |
| Entry | Light $17/mo | Basic $19/mo | $612 | $684 |
| Mid | Core $29/mo | Core $29/mo | $1,044 | $1,044 |
| Upper | Business $39/mo | Plus $49/mo | $1,404 | $1,764 |
| Top | Business Elite $159/mo | Advanced $99/mo | $5,724 | $3,564 |
Wix is cheaper at the bottom and in the upper-middle. The two are identical at $29. At the very top the order flips: Wix Business Elite costs $60 a month more than Squarespace Advanced. Both include one free year of domain registration on yearly plans, so add a domain renewal from year two either way.
Selling Online: Which Is Cheaper?
This is where the entry plans differ the most. Wix Light can’t accept payments at all; you need Wix Core ($29/month) or higher. Squarespace Basic ($19/month) can sell, but it charges a 2% online store fee on top of card processing.
| Cheapest plan that sells | Yearly cost | Platform fee on sales | Standard card rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squarespace Basic | $228 | 2% | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Wix Core | $348 | 0% | 2.9% + $0.30 (Wix Payments, US) |
| Squarespace Core | $348 | 0% | 2.9% + $0.30 |
Squarespace Basic is $120 a year cheaper, and the 2% fee eats that $120 once you sell $6,000 a year online ($500 a month). Below that, Squarespace Basic is the cheapest way to sell on either platform. Above it, Wix Core and Squarespace Core cost the same, so the choice comes down to features, not price.
For courses and memberships, check Squarespace’s separate digital content fee: 7% on Basic, 5% on Core, 1% on Plus and 0% on Advanced. If memberships are your main income, read my Squarespace pricing breakdown before choosing a plan. And if a store is the whole point of the site, compare a dedicated platform too: I covered that in WooCommerce vs Shopify.
Free Plan and Trial
Wix has a free plan with no credit card required. It’s good for trying the editor or building a draft, but a free site uses a Wix-branded address and shows Wix ads, so it isn’t something to run a business on. Paid Wix plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Squarespace has no free plan, only a 14-day free trial. You can build the whole site during the trial, but you need a paid plan to publish it.
Templates and Design
Wix advertises 2,000+ templates. Squarespace’s templates page listed 199 template demos when I checked. Wix gives you more starting points and more freedom to drag elements anywhere. Squarespace gives you fewer, tighter designs built on its Fluid Engine editor, which keeps layouts consistent but limits how far you can push them.
In practice: if you like to tinker and want lots of options, Wix suits you better. If you want something that looks good with less effort and don’t want to make design decisions, Squarespace is the safer pick.
Team Size and Storage
| Feature | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Collaborators | 2 (Light), 5 (Core), 10 (Business), 100 (Business Elite) | 2 (Basic), unlimited on Core and up |
| Storage | 2 GB (Light), 50 GB (Core), 100 GB (Business), unlimited (Business Elite) | No caps on bandwidth or storage on any plan |
| Video | No separate video limit listed | 30 min (Basic), 5 hours (Core), 50 hours (Plus), unlimited (Advanced) |
Squarespace is more generous here. On Core it allows unlimited contributors and doesn’t cap storage, while Wix Core stops at 5 collaborators and 50 GB. For a team or a site with lots of images, that tips things toward Squarespace.
How to Tell if a Site Uses Wix or Squarespace
If you’re choosing based on sites you like, check which platform they use. Both platforms identify themselves in the server header. Run this in a terminal:
curl -sI https://example.com | grep -i serverWhen I ran it on November 7, 2026, a Squarespace template demo returned server: Squarespace, and wix.com returned server: Pepyaka, the name of Wix’s web server. If you see either, you know what the site was built with.
Wix or Squarespace: Which Should You Pick?
- Tight budget, no selling: Wix Light ($17/month), the cheapest paid plan of the two.
- Selling under $500 a month: Squarespace Basic. It’s the cheapest plan on either platform that takes payments.
- Selling more, or a team site: either Core plan costs the same $29. Squarespace if you want unlimited contributors and no storage cap; Wix if you want more templates and design freedom.
- Just testing: Wix’s free plan.
If you might outgrow both, it’s worth comparing them with WordPress before you commit, since moving off either one later usually means a rebuild. See my Wix vs WordPress and Squarespace vs WordPress comparisons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wix or Squarespace cheaper?
Wix is cheaper at the entry level: Light costs $17/month billed yearly versus $19 for Squarespace Basic. Both Core plans cost $29/month. At the top, Squarespace Advanced ($99) is cheaper than Wix Business Elite ($159).
Does Wix have a free plan?
Yes. Wix has a free plan with no credit card required, but free sites use a Wix-branded address and show Wix ads. Squarespace has no free plan, only a 14-day trial.
Which is better for an online store, Wix or Squarespace?
For small sales, Squarespace Basic is the cheapest plan that can sell, with a 2% fee. Once you sell over about $6,000 a year, Wix Core and Squarespace Core cost the same and charge no platform fee, so choose on features.
Which has more templates, Wix or Squarespace?
Wix, by a wide margin. Wix advertises 2,000+ templates, while Squarespace’s templates page listed 199 template demos in November 2026.
Can I move from Wix to Squarespace?
Not automatically. Neither platform exports a design the other can import, so moving means rebuilding the design and copying content across. Plan your choice carefully up front.
Wrapping Up
Wix wins on price at the bottom, templates and a free plan. Squarespace wins on selling at the entry level, team access and storage. At $29 they cost the same, so pick the editor you enjoy using: try Wix’s free plan and Squarespace’s 14-day trial side by side before you pay for either.
If you’d rather have a site you fully own and can grow without limits, I build fast WordPress and Framer sites for small businesses. Get in touch and tell me what you need.
Shahbaz Ali is a senior WordPress and Framer developer with 6+ years of agency experience, specializing in WordPress development, Framer builds, and speed optimization.