Squarespace is a website that can sell. Shopify is a store that has a website.
If selling is a side feature of your business, Squarespace keeps things simple and beautiful. If the store is the business, Shopify's checkout, apps and inventory tools usually win, even though it costs more.
Our bias, declared
We work with Shopify brands every day and build sites on other platforms too. Our view is simple. A service business, studio or creator selling a handful of products is often happier on Squarespace. A brand that lives on online sales, runs paid ads, manages real inventory or plans to grow should usually start on Shopify, because moving a growing store later is expensive and risky.
Side by side
| Factor | Squarespace | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Price, billed yearly | About $19-$99 a month after July 2026 price increases | About $29 (Basic), $79 (Grow) or $299 (Advanced) a month |
| Transaction fees | Basic plan adds a fee on sales; higher plans don't | No extra fee with Shopify Payments; 0.6%-2% extra with other processors |
| Design | Polished templates that look good with little effort | Strong themes, more work to make them feel unique |
| Checkout and conversion tools | Solid basics for small catalogs | Fast checkout, Shop Pay and deep conversion tooling |
| Apps and integrations | Smaller set of extensions | Very large app ecosystem for reviews, subscriptions, shipping and more |
| Inventory and operations | Fine for small catalogs | Built for larger catalogs, multiple locations and POS |
| Scale | Best for small stores and side sales | Grows to enterprise through Shopify Plus, from about $2,300 a month |
| Content and blogging | Strong, easy content and portfolio pages | Capable but less flexible for content-heavy sites |
Choose squarespace when
Selling isn't the whole business
Studios, restaurants, coaches, artists and service businesses selling a few products or bookings get a beautiful site and simple selling in one place.
Design and content come first
Squarespace makes portfolio and content pages easy to make look good, which matters when your brand sells through story and visuals.
You want one low monthly cost
For a small catalog, Squarespace's plans cover hosting, design and selling at a lower monthly price than most Shopify setups.
Choose shopify when
The store is the business
If most of your revenue comes from online sales, Shopify's checkout, apps and reporting are built for that job.
You'll run paid ads and email at scale
Shopify connects cleanly to ad platforms, email tools like Klaviyo and analytics, which matters once you spend real money on acquisition.
You plan to grow
Shopify handles bigger catalogs, more orders, retail locations and international selling, and it grows into Shopify Plus without a rebuild.
What each really costs
On yearly billing, Squarespace runs from about $19 to $99 a month after its July 2026 price increase. Shopify's core plans run about $29, $79 and $299 a month billed yearly, or $39, $105 and $399 month to month. Check both pricing pages before you decide.
Payment fees matter more than plan prices for most stores. Shopify charges an extra 0.6%-2% per order if you use a payment processor other than Shopify Payments. Squarespace's Basic plan adds its own fee on sales.
Most Shopify stores also pay for apps, such as reviews, subscriptions or shipping tools. Budget for them up front, because a few apps can add more each month than the plan itself.
Related questions
For businesses where online sales are the main source of revenue, usually yes. Shopify's checkout, apps and inventory tools are built for stores. For businesses that sell a few products alongside services or content, Squarespace is often simpler and cheaper.
Other comparisons
Services referenced
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