Squarespace vs Wix

A side-by-side comparison of Squarespace and Wix for small teams choosing a website builder — covering pricing, e-commerce, templates, and what you give up switching between them.

Updated 2026-10 · 2026

Squarespace

Design-first website builder for portfolios, blogs, and small businesses

$16/momonth (billed annually)

Strengths

+Polished, designer-quality templates out of the box
+Strong built-in blogging with clean typography controls
+Integrated email marketing (Squarespace Email Campaigns)

Weaknesses

-No real free plan, only a 14-day trial
-Smaller third-party app/extension marketplace than Wix
-Harder to deeply customize layout without custom code

Best for

Freelancers, creatives, and small businesses that want a polished-looking site fast without heavy customization needs

Wix

Flexible drag-and-drop website builder with a large app ecosystem

$17/momonth (billed annually, Light plan)

Strengths

+Genuine free plan (wixsite.com subdomain, with ads)
+Large app marketplace (Wix App Market) for integrations
+Full drag-and-drop freedom over layout and positioning

Weaknesses

-Free and lower-tier plans show Wix ads and subdomain
-Can't switch templates after the site is built without rebuilding
-Pages can get bloated, affecting load speed

Best for

Small businesses on a tight budget that want flexibility, a real free tier to start, and lots of third-party integrations

Feature Comparison

Feature	Squarespace	Wix
Free plan	No (trial only)	Yes (with ads, Wix subdomain)
Starting paid price	$16/mo	$17/mo
Template flexibility	Fixed structure, limited repositioning	Full drag-and-drop freedom
Switch templates after launch	Limited, often requires rebuild	Not supported, requires rebuild
Built-in blogging	Strong, native	Decent, less polished
E-commerce	Commerce plans from $28/mo	Business plans from $36/mo
Custom code support	CSS/JS injection	Velo (full dev platform)
App/integration marketplace	Small, curated extensions	Large app market
AI site builder	Basic AI design assist	Wix ADI full AI builder
Email marketing	Built-in (Email Campaigns)	Via Wix Ascend / third-party apps
SEO tools	Good built-in basics	Good built-in + SEO Wiz tool
Mobile app for site management	Yes	Yes

The Verdict

Squarespace wins on design polish, typography, and built-in blogging — it looks better out of the box with less effort. Wix wins on price flexibility (real free plan), customization freedom, and third-party app support, making it the better pick for budget-conscious teams that want to bolt on more tools later. If brand and content presentation matter most, pick Squarespace; if budget and extensibility matter more, pick Wix.

How to switch from Squarespace to Wix

1In Squarespace, go to Settings > Advanced > Import/Export and export pages and blog posts as a WordPress-compatible XML file; separately export your product catalog as CSV from the Commerce panel if you run a store.
2Create a Wix account, choose a template that matches your old design (the XML export won't carry over styling), and use Wix's 'Import from WordPress' tool to bring in the XML file with your posts and pages.
3Manually re-upload image galleries and media assets, since links in the exported XML point back to Squarespace's CDN and will break after cutover.
4Rebuild any custom CSS or JavaScript using Wix Velo, since Squarespace's injected custom code isn't portable.
5Reconnect integrations like Mailchimp, payment processors, and Google Analytics through the Wix App Market, and verify any email automations still fire correctly.
6Point your domain's DNS to Wix, test the live site thoroughly, then update checkout/payment settings and notify your team of the cutover date.

Squarespace vs Wix: common questions

How do I export my data from Squarespace before switching to Wix?+

Squarespace lets you export blog posts and pages via Settings > Advanced > Import/Export, which generates a WordPress-compatible XML file. Product catalogs and inventory from Squarespace Commerce need to be exported separately as CSV files. There's no direct Squarespace-to-Wix migration tool, so plan for manual cleanup after import.

What features do I lose moving from Squarespace to Wix?+

You lose Squarespace's native blogging structure (categories/tags often don't map cleanly after import) and its integrated email marketing templates. Any custom CSS or JavaScript injected into Squarespace's style editor also won't carry over and must be rebuilt using Wix's Velo code platform.

Is Wix's free plan enough for a small team?+

No. The free plan shows Wix ads, uses a wixsite.com subdomain, and doesn't support e-commerce or a custom domain. For a small team that needs a real domain and no ads, you'll need at least the Core plan ($29/mo billed annually).

Does Wix integrate with the tools we already use?+

Yes — the Wix App Market has native integrations for tools like Mailchimp, QuickBooks, and Calendly, generally covering more third-party apps than Squarespace's smaller extension library. Squarespace instead leans on its own built-in marketing and commerce features rather than external integrations.

Will switching to Wix actually save money over time?+

For a basic content site, savings are minimal — Wix Core ($29/mo) is close to Squarespace Business ($23/mo). The bigger cost gap shows up in e-commerce: Squarespace's Commerce plans (from $28/mo) offer full e-commerce with no added transaction fees sooner than Wix, which typically needs a Business plan ($36/mo+) for the same.