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- Best ecommerce tools and checkout
- Huge app ecosystem
- Scales to large stores
- Strong multichannel selling
- Stunning, design-led templates
- Selling from $19/mo billed yearly
- Courses, memberships and bookings built in
- Simple, all-in-one platform
Shopify is better for selling, with more powerful store features, a stronger checkout and far more apps. Squarespace is better for design-led brands such as photographers, artists, studios and small boutiques who want a beautiful website first and a simple shop alongside it.
Squarespace is known for gorgeous templates and Shopify for powerful selling. Both are hosted, both are easy, and both can run an online store. The question is whether your business is a store with a website, or a website with a store.
Shopify vs Squarespace at a glance
| Shopify | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Online stores | Design-led websites |
| Cheapest selling plan | Basic: $29/mo yearly | Basic: $19/mo yearly (2% fee on physical products) |
| Cheapest plan with no transaction fee on products | Basic (with Shopify Payments) | Core: $29/mo yearly |
| Card processing (US online) | 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic | 2.9% + 30¢ (lower on Plus and Advanced) |
| Templates | Many, ecommerce-focused | Fewer, design-focused |
| Apps | Thousands | Limited extensions |
| Best for | Product businesses | Creatives, services, small shops |
| Our pick | Serious stores | Design-first brands |
Pricing and fees
Squarespace plans
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Fee on physical products | Fee on digital products | Card rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $25/mo | $19/mo | 2% | 7% | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Core | $39/mo | $29/mo | 0% | 5% | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Plus | $65/mo | $49/mo | 0% | 1% | 2.7% + 30¢ |
| Advanced | $139/mo | $99/mo | 0% | 0% | 2.5% + 30¢ |
Shopify plans
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Online card rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39/mo | $29/mo | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Grow | $105/mo | $79/mo | 2.7% + 30¢ |
| Advanced | $399/mo | $299/mo | 2.5% + 30¢ |
US prices as of autumn 2026. Squarespace’s digital-product fees cover courses, memberships and similar sales.
Squarespace’s Basic plan is the cheapest way in, but its 2% fee on physical product sales adds up quickly; most sellers should start on Core. Compared like for like, Squarespace Core and Shopify Basic both cost $29 a month billed yearly with no extra fee on physical product sales.
Winner: Tie for physical products; Shopify for digital products on lower plans
Design
Squarespace’s templates are among the most beautiful in website building, with elegant typography and image-led layouts that suit portfolios, studios and lifestyle brands. Its editor keeps designs polished and consistent, so it is hard to make a Squarespace site look bad.
Shopify’s themes are built to sell, with product-focused layouts, filters and conversion features. They look professional, but fewer are as striking as Squarespace’s best templates.
Winner: Squarespace
Ecommerce features
Shopify has the deeper toolset: a faster, more trusted checkout with Shop Pay, stronger inventory and order management, international selling with Shopify Markets, a capable point-of-sale system, and selling channels across social media, Google and marketplaces.
Squarespace covers what a small shop needs: unlimited products, checkout on your own domain, customer accounts, abandoned cart recovery, gift cards and point of sale (US). Core adds real-time carrier shipping rates, shipping labels, Google Shopping listings and advanced analytics. More complex needs, such as advanced inventory, rely on paid extensions.
Winner: Shopify
Digital products, services and memberships
Squarespace is strong here. It supports online courses, memberships, video content, scheduling and donations alongside a store, all in one platform. Note the higher fees on digital sales on lower plans.
Shopify can sell digital products and subscriptions through free and paid apps, and is better for product-led businesses that add digital goods.
Winner: Squarespace for creators and services
Apps and integrations
Shopify’s App Store has thousands of apps for almost any need. Squarespace offers a curated set of extensions and integrations, including Mailchimp and Zapier on Core and above. If you expect to need specialized tools, Shopify is the safer choice.
Winner: Shopify
Shopify or Squarespace: which should you choose?
Choose Shopify if you…
Pros- are building a product business
- plan to grow beyond a small shop
- sell across many channels
- need specialized ecommerce apps
- care most about a design-led portfolio site
Choose Squarespace if you…
Pros- want a beautiful, design-first website
- sell a small range of products
- sell courses, memberships or bookings
- prefer one simple all-in-one tool
- plan a large or complex store
Shopify is the stronger ecommerce platform for product businesses that want to grow. Squarespace is the better pick for creatives and small brands that want a stunning website with a simple store.
Compare more platforms: Shopify vs Wix, Shopify vs BigCommerce and our full Shopify review.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify better than Squarespace?
For online stores, yes. Shopify has stronger ecommerce features, checkout and apps. Squarespace is better for design-led websites with a smaller shop.
Does Squarespace charge transaction fees?
On the Basic plan, Squarespace charges 2% on physical product sales and 7% on digital products. Core removes the fee on physical products; higher plans reduce digital fees.
Which is cheaper, Shopify or Squarespace?
Squarespace Basic is cheaper upfront, but its transaction fee makes Core the better comparison. Squarespace Core and Shopify Basic both cost $29 a month billed yearly.
Can Squarespace handle a large store?
It can handle many products, but large or complex stores usually find Shopify’s inventory, multichannel and app ecosystem a better fit.
Does Squarespace have a free trial?
Yes, a 14-day trial, though trial sites cannot take payments.
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