Thinking about building a beautiful website without touching a line of code? You’ve likely landed on Squarespace, the all-in-one platform known for its stunning design templates and user-friendly interface. But before you dive in, the most pressing question is: how much does squarespace cost? Understanding the different squarespace pricing tiers is crucial for choosing the right plan for your budget and goals.
This comprehensive guide breaks down the complete squarespace cost, from the various squarespace plans to potential extra fees. We’ll explore the squarespace monthly cost versus the squarespace yearly cost, detail transaction fees, and help you decide if this popular website builder is the right investment for you. By the end, you’ll have a clear picture of the true cost of squarespace and be ready to make an informed decision.
Table of Contents
- Squarespace Plans Explained: A Detailed Look at Each Tier
- Compare Squarespace Plans: A Side-by-Side Look
- Beyond the Plan: Understanding Squarespace Hidden Costs
- Special Discounts: The Squarespace Student Plan and More
- Is Squarespace Worth It? A Final Verdict
- Frequently Asked Questions
Squarespace Plans Explained: A Detailed Look at Each Tier
Squarespace structures its squarespace pricing plans into four main tiers, designed to meet the needs of different users, from personal bloggers to large-scale online stores. Let’s break down the squarespace website pricing for each of these squarespace packages.
1. Squarespace Personal Plan
The cheapest squarespace plan available, the squarespace personal plan is perfect for individuals creating portfolios, blogs, or simple websites without the need for e-commerce or advanced marketing features.
- Price: $16/month (billed annually) or $23/month (billed monthly).
- Who It’s For: Bloggers, artists, photographers, and anyone needing a professional online presence.
- Key Features: Unlimited bandwidth, free custom domain for one year (with an annual plan), SSL security, mobile-optimized websites, and 24/7 customer support.
- Limitations: No e-commerce functionality, no promotional pop-ups or announcement bars, and no access to premium integrations or custom code.
2. Squarespace Business Plan
The squarespace business plan is a significant step up, introducing professional features and the ability to sell products or services. It’s the most popular choice for small businesses looking to grow.
- Price: $23/month (billed annually) or $33/month (billed monthly). The squarespace business plan cost offers excellent value for its features.
- Who It’s For: Small businesses, freelancers, and service providers who need e-commerce, appointment scheduling, and more robust marketing tools.
- Key Features: Everything in the Personal plan, plus professional email from Google, premium integrations, complete customization with CSS and JavaScript, and basic e-commerce capabilities.
- Transaction Fee: This plan comes with a 3% squarespace transaction fee on all sales, in addition to payment processor fees. This is a key factor when considering the squarespace business pricing.
3. Squarespace Commerce Basic Plan
For those serious about selling online, this is where the dedicated squarespace commerce plans begin. This plan removes the Squarespace transaction fee and adds powerful tools for managing your online store.
- Price: $27/month (billed annually) or $36/month (billed monthly).
- Who It’s For: Small to medium-sized online stores looking for a full suite of e-commerce tools.
- Key Features: Everything in the Business plan, plus 0% Squarespace transaction fees, customer accounts, powerful e-commerce analytics, and the ability to sell on Instagram. The squarespace ecommerce pricing at this level is very competitive.
4. Squarespace Commerce Advanced Plan
This is the top-tier plan, built for scaling e-commerce businesses that require sophisticated sales and marketing features. The squarespace ecommerce cost for this plan reflects its advanced capabilities.
- Price: $49/month (billed annually) or $65/month (billed monthly).
- Who It’s For: Established online retailers who need advanced features like subscription selling and abandoned cart recovery.
- Key Features: Everything in the Commerce Basic plan, plus abandoned cart recovery, advanced shipping options, advanced discounts, and the ability to sell subscriptions.
Compare Squarespace Plans: A Side-by-Side Look
Choosing between the different squarespace plans can be tricky. This squarespace plan comparison table highlights the key differences to help you decide which squarespace plan is best for your specific needs.
| Feature | Personal Plan | Business Plan | Commerce Basic | Commerce Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Price | $16/mo | $23/mo | $27/mo | $49/mo |
| Sell Products | – | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Squarespace Fee | – | 3% | 0% | 0% |
| Custom Code | – | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customer Accounts | – | – | Yes | Yes |
| Abandoned Cart | – | – | – | Yes |
| Sell Subscriptions | – | – | – | Yes |
Ultimately, the right choice in the squarespace plans pricing structure depends on your primary goal. If you don’t need to sell anything, the Personal plan is sufficient. If you’re just starting to sell, the Business plan works, but if sales are your main focus, a Commerce plan is essential to avoid the 3% transaction fee.
Beyond the Plan: Understanding Squarespace Hidden Costs
One of the most common questions is about potential squarespace hidden costs. While Squarespace is fairly transparent, there are additional expenses to consider beyond your squarespace subscription cost.
- Transaction Fees: As mentioned, the Business plan has a 3% transaction fee. It’s crucial to understand what are squarespace transaction fees—this is a fee Squarespace takes on top of what the payment processor charges. The Commerce plans remove this fee.
- Credit Card Processing Fees: All plans that accept payments are subject to standard squarespace credit card processing fees from providers like Stripe or PayPal (typically around 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction). These are industry-standard and not unique to Squarespace.
- Domain Name: You get a free domain for the first year with any squarespace annual plan. After that, the squarespace domain cost is typically around $20-$70 per year, depending on the TLD. If you’re wondering about the squarespace domain price, it’s competitive with other registrars.
- Professional Email: The Business plan and higher include one free professional Gmail and Google Workspace account for the first year. After that, you’ll need to pay Google’s standard rates.
- Email Marketing: If you use Squarespace’s built-in email marketing tools, you’ll need to consider the squarespace email campaigns pricing. While there’s a small free trial, the squarespace email pricing for ongoing campaigns is a separate subscription based on your contact list size and the number of emails you send.
- Squarespace Extensions: Some third-party extensions for shipping, taxes, or inventory management may have their own subscription fees.
Special Discounts: The Squarespace Student Plan and More
Squarespace offers a few ways to reduce your overall squarespace website cost.
- Annual Billing: The most significant saving comes from paying annually. Choosing the squarespace annual cost over the squarespace cost per month can save you up to 30%. This single payment covers your squarespace annual fee for the entire year.
- Squarespace Student Plan: Students with a valid academic email address can get a 50% discount on their first year of any plan. This makes Squarespace an incredibly affordable option for building a portfolio or project site while in school.
- Squarespace Nonprofit Pricing: While Squarespace does not list a specific squarespace nonprofit pricing discount on its main page, they are known to partner with certain programs like TechSoup to offer discounts. It’s always worth contacting their support to inquire about potential offers for registered nonprofits.
Is Squarespace Worth It? A Final Verdict
So, after reviewing all the squarespace prices, is squarespace worth it? For most users, the answer is a resounding yes. When people ask, "why is squarespace so expensive?", they often overlook the all-in-one value. The squarespace subscription plans bundle many services together.
Your squarespace monthly fee includes design, a powerful CMS, security, and the squarespace hosting cost. When you factor in that you don’t need to pay separately for hosting, security plugins, or premium themes, the square space pricing becomes highly competitive. The platform empowers you to create a professional-grade website without hiring a developer, saving you thousands. The final squarespace website cost is a reflection of its quality, ease of use, and award-winning support.
Ultimately, deciding which squarespace plan should i get comes down to your needs. Start with the plan that fits your immediate goals—you can always upgrade as your website or business grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Squarespace have a free plan?
No, there is no permanent squarespace free plan. However, Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial that gives you full access to the platform’s features, allowing you to build and test your site before committing to one of the squarespace website plans.
How much is a Squarespace website?
The question of how much is a website on squarespace depends on the plan you choose. Annually, prices range from $192/year for the Personal plan to $588/year for the Commerce Advanced plan. The total how much does a squarespace website cost can increase if you add extras like paid extensions or a premium email marketing plan.
What are the fees for Squarespace?
The main squarespace fees are the plan subscription costs. Beyond that, potential fees include a 3% transaction fee (on the Business plan only), standard credit card processing fees, domain renewal after the first free year, and optional subscriptions for add-ons like Email Campaigns.
What are the different Squarespace plans?
There are four primary squarespace pricing tiers: Personal (for blogs and portfolios), Business (for small businesses with light e-commerce), Commerce Basic (for dedicated online stores), and Commerce Advanced (for larger stores needing advanced features).
Does Squarespace charge transaction fees?
Yes, but only on the Business plan, which has a 3% transaction fee. A common question is does squarespace have transaction fees on all plans, and the answer is no. If you upgrade to either the Commerce Basic or Commerce Advanced plan, Squarespace charges a 0% transaction fee.
What does Squarespace cost?
The squarespace cost per year starts at $192 for the Personal plan and goes up to $588 for the Commerce Advanced plan when paid annually. The squarespace cost per month if you choose to pay monthly starts at $23 for the Personal plan and goes up to $65 for the Commerce Advanced plan. The overall squarespace costs are determined by your chosen plan and any additional services you purchase.
