Wix vs Squarespace:
match the plan to your visitor’s next step.
Compare Wix and Squarespace for a business website: free publishing, custom domains, contributor access, payment tiers and separate digital-content fees.
Choose around the work your business needs.
Wix offers a continuing branded free website and moves payment acceptance to Core and above. Squarespace offers a trial followed by paid publishing, with commerce available on current Basic and higher packages. Choose by the required publishing and selling workflow, then price collaborators and fees.
Seven differences that change the shortlist
| Buying question | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Continuing free site | Branded Wix URL and site | No continuing free production site; 14-day trial |
| Custom domain | Paid site plan required | Paid publishing; domain terms depend on purchase |
| Entry paid collaborators | Light: two site collaborators | Basic: two contributors |
| Larger editorial team | Core: five; Business: ten; Business Elite: one hundred | Core and higher: unlimited contributors |
| Accepting payments | Core and higher; Light does not accept payments | Current Basic and higher support selling |
| Commerce platform fee | Check product, processor and local terms | Basic 2%; Core and higher 0%; processor additional |
| Gated digital content | Quote the required product and workflow | Digital Product fee: Basic 7%, Core 5%, Plus 1%, Advanced 0% |
Four worked buying briefs
These are hypothetical scenarios with explicit assumptions. They do not establish equal capabilities, measured usability or a negotiated price.
| People requiring access | Wix Light: 2 | Wix Core: 5 | Squarespace Basic: 2 | Squarespace Core: unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fits | Fits | Fits | Fits |
| 3 | Exceeded | Fits | Exceeded | Fits |
| 5 | Exceeded | Fits exactly | Exceeded | Fits |
| 6 | Exceeded | Exceeded | Exceeded | Fits |
A solo portfolio with no sales
Can the business publish without buying a site plan?
Wix: Free publishing is possible with Wix branding and a Wix URL.
Squarespace: Evaluate the 14-day trial, then choose a paid publishing package.
A branded subdomain is different from a business site on its own domain.
Three people editing a brochure website
Does the entry paid collaborator cap fit?
Wix: Three exceeds Light’s two; Core’s five fits the numerical requirement.
Squarespace: Three exceeds Basic’s two; Core permits unlimited contributors.
Test roles and publishing permissions; equal headcount does not mean equal controls.
A small physical-product store
Which entry package accepts payments?
Wix: Evaluate Core or higher; Light is not a payment-enabled choice.
Squarespace: Basic supports commerce with a 2% platform fee; Core removes that particular fee.
Processor, subscription, shipping and optional tools remain separate. No complete price winner is inferred.
A publication selling gated courses or memberships
Is digital content priced like a physical order?
Wix: Quote the exact Wix product, access workflow and transaction arrangement.
Squarespace: Current Digital Product percentages differ from commerce percentages.
Check the actual sale type, entitlement, cancellation and renewal workflow before applying a percentage.
Evaluate a real page at phone width
Build a representative service page, blog article and enquiry form. Inspect heading order, image descriptions, menu reach and the keyboard path through the form. Judge the output you need rather than a template gallery alone.
Wix Free can support an initial public prototype, but a custom domain and removal of Wix branding select a paid plan. A Squarespace trial does not establish continuing free publishing. These examples are evaluation briefs, not completed editor tests.
Separate the website subscription from business services
Neither a free-domain promotion nor an annual monthly equivalent proves a permanently free domain or monthly billing. Record renewal rates, eligible new-domain terms, email, scheduling and optional integrations separately.
Wix displayed USD reference pricing and Squarespace displayed EUR pricing during this check. No GBP quote or currency conversion is inferred. Wix Studio packages are separate from the Wix site packages compared here.
Distinguish commerce from gated digital content
On current Squarespace packages, the Basic commerce platform percentage is 2% and Core, Plus and Advanced remove that fee. Digital Product percentages are 7%, 5%, 1% and 0% respectively. Payment processing remains additional and country dependent.
For a hypothetical £1,000 of eligible commerce sales, a 2% fee alone is £20. For £1,000 of eligible Digital Product sales, the isolated percentages give £70, £50, £10 or £0. These arithmetic examples are not UK subscription quotes or complete checkout costs.
Test permissions and the sale type you need
Invite only authorised test collaborators and check who can edit, publish, manage orders or see customer details. A capacity allowance does not promise every collaborator the same role.
For a store or membership site, inspect the test checkout, confirmation, access expiry and refund workflow. Confirm export and redirect requirements before committing to a migration. No live customer data or transaction was used for this comparison.
Questions before you choose
Can Wix Light accept payments?
No. Evaluate Core or a higher Wix site plan for payment acceptance.
Does Squarespace Basic allow three contributors?
The checked Basic allowance is two. Core and higher permit unlimited contributors; permissions still need a separate check.
Does a zero Squarespace commerce fee mean free payment processing?
No. Processor charges are separate, and Digital Product fees use a different schedule from commerce fees.
Which builder will rank my business higher?
Plan features do not establish a ranking outcome. Content quality, crawl access, useful page structure and real audience demand need ongoing work and measurement.
Keep the assumptions with the figures
Use the date, billing cycle, units and limits with each example. Check current account terms before purchasing. Unverified prices and model costs stay unpriced.
Download the buying examples as JSON ↓Share the comparison
Use these examples when discussing the shortlist with your team.