Wix vs Squarespace — Which is Better?
Style Factory
E-commerce, web design and digital marketing advice and resources for growing businesses.
In this Wix vs Squarespace comparison, we’ll explore the key strengths and differences between two of the most popular website builders on the market. Whether you're looking for design flexibility, ease of use, or robust ecommerce features, both platforms offer compelling options
I’m going to highlight 6 key reasons you might want to use Wix over Squarespace, and 6 key reasons why Squarespace might be the better choice.
Let’s kick things off by taking a look at the 6 key reasons to use Wix over Squarespace.
Please note: we independently review all products in our comparisons. But when you buy through our links, we may earn a commission (at no extra cost to you). View editorial policy here.
Reasons to use Wix over Squarespace
1. A totally free Wix plan is available
Unlike Squarespace, which only gives you access to a free trial, Wix gives you a free plan that can be used indefinitely.
Now it has to be said that the Wix free plan is pretty basic — you can’t sell products with it, it doesn't let you use a custom domain name and it places fairly prominent Wix ads on your site.
But it does nonetheless let you build a simple online presence for free, and gives you a nice way to try out the platform.
2. A larger range of templates is available from Wix
When you create a website with hosted? solutions like Wix or Squarespace, you use a predesigned template as the starting point for your design.
And Wix gives you far more of these to choose from than Squarespace: there are over 800 templates available from Wix, while Squarespace limits you to 178 or so.
3. The Wix ecommerce features are better
The ecommerce features in Wix are more powerful than the ones you’ll find in Squarespace.
First, Wix gives you a lot more options for processing payments than Squarespace. While Squarespace limits you to using just a couple of payment gateways, Wix works with over 100.
Significantly, Wix lets you accept payments via Google Pay, while Squarespace doesn’t. Second, Wix lets you display prices in multiple currencies, which is not currently possible in Squarespace.
Third, an important ecommerce feature, abandoned cart recovery, is available on all Wix ecommerce plans. By contrast, you’ll need to be on the most expensive Squarespace plan to avail of this functionality.
4. Wix gives you free email marketing tools
Although Wix and Squarespace both provide you with useful email marketing features, Wix makes them available to you entirely for free. Using Wix, you can send 200 email newsletters for free each month, without incurring any charges.
By contrast, with Squarespace you’ll always have to pay to send e-newsletters using the platform.
5. It’s cheaper to build multilingual websites with Wix
If you want to translate your website into multiple languages, there are no additional charges for doing so in Wix. You just add the free ‘Wix Multilingual’ app and you can translate your existing site into over 100 different languages.
But to translate your content in Squarespace, you’ll have to make use of a paid-for Weglot integration. This can work out very expensive if you have a high word count on your site.
6. Wix has an autosave feature, but Squarespace doesn’t
Unlike Wix, Squarespace doesn’t autosave your content. This means you can occasionally lose work if your computer crashes or your internet connection goes down.
OK, so those are 6 key areas where Wix beats Squarespace.
Now it’s time to take a look at the things that Squarespace does better.
Wix vs Squarespace video review
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Reasons to use Squarespace over Wix
1. Squarespace uses responsive design
Websites that use responsive design automatically resize themselves to suit the device they’re being viewed on —?mobile, tablet or desktop.
Responsive design makes building websites easier, because you’re only dealing with one version of your site. It is also preferred by Google, and sites using it can receive preferential treatment in search results. Now, although Wix lets you create mobile friendly sites easily enough, they’re not truly responsive.
By contrast, all Squarespace templates are 100% responsive, which makes your life easier from both a design and SEO point of view.?
2. Squarespace is easier to use
Based on the website builder tests we’ve carried out at Style Factory, we feel that the Squarespace interface is one of the best available.
It’s uncluttered, elegant, and very easy to build websites with.
Although the Wix learning curve isn’t terribly steep, we feel that most users will find it easier to build and maintain a website with Squarespace.
3.?The Squarespace templates are stunning
Squarespace templates have a reputation within the web design industry as being extremely attractive in appearance. They have a wow factor that you won’t always find in competing platforms’ template ranges.
Although there are fewer templates available from Squarespace than Wix, the range is still pretty extensive, and we feel that from an aesthetics point of view, Squarespace templates beat Wix’s.
4. You can export your content more easily with Squarespace
Unlike Wix, Squarespace lets you export your website’s pages and blog posts.
So if you find yourself needing to move to another website building platform down the line, this will be more doable with Squarespace.
5. Squarespace gives you unlimited storage on all plans
Unlike Wix, Squarespace doesn’t place any limits on how many files you can store on your website.
By contrast, most Wix plans place limits on file storage, with just 2GB of storage provided on Wix’s entry-level ‘Light’ plan.?
6.?Squarespace sites are more customizable
Unlike Wix, Squarespace lets you add custom CSS to your site —?code that lets you make bespoke changes to your template. It also gives you access to a much larger range of typefaces, making it easier to keep your site consistent with your main brand.
So that’s it — 6 key reasons to use Wix over Squarespace, and 6 key reasons to choose Squarespace over Wix.??
Wix vs Squarespace conclusion
In a Wix vs Squarespace comparison, we'd say there's no clear winner — both platforms have their strengths depending on your needs.
Squarespace wins for its user-friendly interface and fully responsive templates, making it easier to create mobile-friendly sites with better SEO potential.
Wix, on the other hand, offers more flexibility with a much wider range of templates. Its ecommerce features and free email marketing tools are also more robust.
For a sleek, mobile-friendly portfolio or business site, I'd lean toward Squarespace, while Wix is a great choice for those seeking more design customization and functionality.
Of course, the best way to work out which platform is best for you is to try them out. You'll find links to free trials for Wix and Squarespace below:
There are lots more pros and cons of Wix and Squarespace to discover however — you’ll find all these in our full Wix vs Squarespace blog post comparison.
While you're here, I suggest you download our free ecommerce kit — this includes lots of free resources including our latest tips and tricks on ecommerce and growing an online business
And finally, if you have any questions, do leave them in the comments section. We read them all and will do our best to help.
Alternatives to Wix and Squarespace
There are lots of alternatives to Wix and Squarespace available, with key ones including Shopify, WordPress and Webflow. You can check out the posts below to learn more about them:
This article was written by Chris Singleton. Additional research by Matt Walsh.