Hostinger vs Squarespace: which website builder should you pick?

Hostinger competes on a very low starting price if you prepay for years. Squarespace charges more each month but its yearly price is the price. This page works out what each really costs, what you get for it and when the cheaper option is the right one.

Sign up free: 3 template sites on a we.inc address. AI building from $20/mo.

The headline price versus the renewal price

Hostinger Website Builder's plans are Premium at $2.49, Unlimited at $3.49 and Cloud Startup at $7.99 a month, but only when you pay 48 months upfront. They then renew at $10.99, $16.99 and $25.99 a month. Hostinger says all plans are paid in advance, includes a free domain for the first year, and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Squarespace's US plans are Basic $12, Core $17 and Advanced $25 a month on annual billing, after a 14-day trial with no card. It costs more at the start, but it is the stronger choice for design quality, content tools and selling services or memberships.

If you want the site built for you rather than assembled from a template, We.Inc writes it from a description, with unlimited sites on paid plans. AI building starts at $20 a month.

Prepaid deal against yearly plan

Hostinger Website BuilderSquarespaceWe.Inc
Entry planPremium $2.49 a month on a 48-month prepay ($119.52), renews at $10.99Basic $12 a month billed yearlyStarter $20 a month, 250 AI credits
Other plansUnlimited $3.49 (renews $16.99); Cloud Startup $7.99 (renews $25.99)Core $17, Advanced $25Pro $49, Max $99
Sites includedUp to 3 on Premium; unlimited on Unlimited and Cloud StartupOne site per subscriptionUnlimited on paid plans
SellingEcommerce on Unlimited and Cloud Startup; 0% transaction feesEvery plan; 2% store fee on Basic onlyStore panel through your Stripe
EmailMailboxes free for one yearGoogle Workspace email offered from CoreNot included
Try first30-day money-back guarantee14-day free trialThree template sites at no cost, AI excluded

Both vendors' October 2026 prices come from their own pricing pages, listed under sources; Hostinger figures are per month on a 48-month prepaid term, Squarespace's per month billed yearly.

Pros and cons

Hostinger Website Builder

Best for: Budget-conscious owners who are happy to prepay for four years for a simple site or several

Price: Premium $2.49, Unlimited $3.49, Cloud Startup $7.99 a month on a 48-month prepay; renews at $10.99, $16.99, $25.99 (October 2026)

Pros: Very low cost per month for the first term; Several sites on one plan, unlimited from the Unlimited tier; Ecommerce on Unlimited with no Hostinger transaction fee

Cons: Low price requires paying four years upfront; AI credits are a one-time gift of 250, 500 or 1,000, not monthly

Squarespace

Best for: Businesses that want a design-led site with blogging, invoicing and memberships

Price: Basic $12, Core $17, Advanced $25 a month on annual billing, US (October 2026)

Pros: Templates and typography with a more finished look; Selling of services, content and memberships beside the store; Unlimited contributors from Core

Cons: Costs more in year one than any Hostinger plan; One site per subscription

We.Inc

Best for: Owners who want a custom site written for them, and more than one site on one plan

Price: Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no AI. AI building from $20/mo (Starter, 250 credits). Pro $49/mo, Max $99/mo.

Pros: Monthly billing with unlimited sites on every paid plan; Click, chat or code editing on the finished site; Download the project to host anywhere that builds a Vite app

Cons: Higher monthly price than Hostinger's prepaid deals; Email hosting is not part of the plans

Four years of each, worked out

Hostinger's Premium plan costs $119.52 for the first 48 months, which Hostinger lists against a regular price of $585.12. Unlimited is $167.52 for 48 months, and Cloud Startup $383.52. After that term, renewals are $10.99, $16.99 and $25.99 a month, so year five onwards on Unlimited costs about $204 a year.

Squarespace Core at $17 a month yearly is $204 a year from day one, or $816 over four years; Basic is $576 over four years. Over a four-year horizon Hostinger is far cheaper, and from renewal onwards the gap narrows sharply. Factor in that Hostinger's price is paid in one lump.

What Hostinger includes that Squarespace does not

Hostinger bundles mailboxes free for the first year, an AI assistant for managing a store, AI tools for copy, logos and product descriptions, and email marketing through its Reach tool on Unlimited and Cloud Startup. It advertises 0% transaction fees and over 100 payment methods, and more sites per plan.

Squarespace instead leans on design and business features: advanced analytics and CSS and JavaScript customization from Core, free invoicing, digital content and memberships, and professional shipping and tax services.

Hostinger makes more sense when

Price is the deciding factor and you are confident you will keep the site for four years. You run several small sites, such as a portfolio, a side project and a link-in-bio page, and want them on one bill. You need mailboxes and do not already pay for email.

Squarespace makes more sense when

The site has to impress: a studio, a consultancy, a restaurant or a creative brand. You want to sell memberships or digital content, send invoices, or have a team of contributors edit pages. You prefer paying a year at a time rather than four, and want the option to stop after one. Squarespace's 14-day trial also lets you build most of the site before you spend anything.

Changing from one to the other

Squarespace's export creates a WordPress-format XML file containing layout pages, one blog with its posts, text and image blocks and gallery pages. Store pages, product, video and audio blocks, drafts, style settings and custom CSS do not export, and a trial site cannot export at all.

Hostinger's export help articles redirected or returned an error when we tried to read them, so check Hostinger's support center for its current export options before planning a move away. Either way, the design will need rebuilding on the new platform.

Keep your current page addresses and recreate them on the new site so search results do not break. Moving to We.Inc instead? Give it the web address of your current site, which you must own, and it produces an editable version carrying over the structure and content. Tell it to reuse the existing paths, then connect your domain with one CNAME record.

Start from a template

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is Hostinger really $2.49 a month?

Only on a 48-month prepaid term for the Premium plan, which totals $119.52 upfront. It then renews at $10.99 a month. Hostinger says all plans are paid upfront and the monthly figure is the total divided by the months. Check the checkout page for the term you actually choose, since the 48-month figure is the one Hostinger headlines.

Does Squarespace have cheaper long-term deals?

Squarespace offers monthly or annual billing and says paying annually saves up to 36%. Its US annual prices are $12, $17 and $25 a month. We did not find multi-year prepay discounts on its pricing page.

Can I sell online on Hostinger's cheapest plan?

Hostinger lists ecommerce on Unlimited and Cloud Startup, not on Premium. Unlimited is $3.49 a month on a 48-month prepay and renews at $16.99. Squarespace allows selling on every plan, with a 2% store fee on Basic and none from Core at $17.

Which has better templates?

That is a matter of taste. Squarespace builds its pitch around templates and design, and its section system keeps spacing consistent. Hostinger advertises over 400 templates plus AI generation from a short description, and its drag-and-drop editor lets you change colours and images freely.

Why would someone choose We.Inc over both?

Mainly to get a site written for the business instead of a template, with the full code downloadable. We.Inc bills monthly with unlimited sites on paid plans, which suits agencies and owners with several projects. It costs more than Hostinger's prepaid deals and does not include email hosting.

Related reading

Sign up free and publish your first site today.

More in Compare

Build your own site

More on this topic

How we research, test and update this page: our editorial policy. We.Inc is our own product.

Product

Who It's For

Features

Resources

Company

View Sitemap