Despite the similar names, they are separate companies. Square is a payments and point-of-sale company with a website builder attached. Squarespace is a website builder with selling built in.
Sign up free: 3 template sites on a we.inc address. AI building from $20/mo.
Pick Square (Square Online) if you already take payments in person with Square and want your website, menu or shop to share the same items, orders and payouts. Pick Squarespace if the website itself matters most: design, content, a blog, bookings or a portfolio.
Squarespace is Basic $12, Core $17 and Advanced $25 a month billed annually (checked September 2026), with no free plan. We did not check Square's plan prices for this page, so see Square's own pricing page for current plans and processing fees.
We.Inc builds the site from a description and takes payments through your own Stripe. Free for 3 template sites; AI from $20/mo.
| Square Online | Squarespace | We.Inc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Website builder from a payments and POS company | Website builder with selling built in | AI website builder |
| Plans | See squareup.com (not checked for this page) | Basic $12, Core $17, Advanced $25 per month billed annually ($19, $27, $36 month to month) (prices checked September 2026) | Starter $20, Pro $50, Max $99 per month |
| Free plan | Check Square's current plans | No, 14-day free trial only | Yes: 3 template sites, we.inc address, no AI |
| In-person selling | Core strength: Square POS and hardware | Available, but not its focus | No POS; online payments via Stripe |
| Design and content | Simpler, store-first layouts | Polished templates, strong blogging | Designed by AI from your brief |
| Code export | No | No | Yes, export to GitHub |
Squarespace prices checked September 2026 on its pricing page, in US dollars. Square prices are not quoted because we did not check them for this page; confirm both on the vendors' own pages before you buy.
Best for: Cafes, restaurants and shops that already sell in person with Square
Price: See Square's pricing page for current plans and processing fees
Pros: Shares items, orders and payouts with Square POS; Built for pickup, delivery and online ordering; One company for card readers, payments and the site
Cons: Design and content tools are simpler; Weaker for blogs and content-led sites; Tied to Square for payments; No code export
Best for: Design-led businesses, creatives and service providers
Price: Basic $12, Core $17, Advanced $25 per month billed annually ($19, $27, $36 month to month) (prices checked September 2026)
Pros: Polished templates; Strong blogging, scheduling and email campaigns; No store fee from Core up; Nothing to maintain
Cons: No free plan; 2% store fee on Basic; In-person selling is not its focus; No code export
Best for: People who want to describe a site or web app in plain English and have AI build it
Price: Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no AI. AI building from $20/mo (Starter, 250 credits). Pro $50/mo, Max $99/mo.
Pros: Describe what you want in chat and AI builds a full, editable site or app; Edit by clicking on the page, by asking in chat, or in a real code editor; Export the React and TypeScript code to GitHub, so you are never locked in; Unlimited sites on paid plans, custom domains from Starter
Cons: The free plan is templates only; AI building needs a paid plan; Newer platform with a smaller app marketplace than the big names; Store features are simpler than a dedicated ecommerce platform
A cafe, restaurant or shop already using Square card readers: Square Online, so online orders land in the same system. A salon, consultant, photographer or any business where the site sells the service: Squarespace. A content-led business with a blog: Squarespace. A business that takes no in-person payments and just wants a good site fast: either works, and a builder that writes the site for you is also worth a look.
Squarespace, on annual billing at the prices checked September 2026 and assuming no change: Basic is $144 a year and $432 over three years; Core, with no store fee, is $204 and $612. We do not quote Square's plan prices here because we did not check them for this page. Note Square's plan price and its online processing fee, then multiply by the years you expect to keep the site.
Card processing is charged on every option, so compare the fee on your expected monthly sales, not just the plan price. We.Inc, for comparison: the free plan costs nothing but has no AI and no custom domain. Starter, which adds AI building and custom domains, is $20 a month: $240 for the first year and $720 over three years at today's price.
Prices only tell you half the story. The fairest way to judge Square and Squarespace is to give it the same small job you would give any builder: a five-page website for a local service business (home, services, about, reviews and contact).
1. Build the service list with a price or short description for each service. 2. Add a quote request form and send yourself a test entry to check it arrives. 3. Connect a custom domain and confirm the site loads on it with a padlock. 4. Change one piece of content, such as a new service or opening hours, and time how long it takes. 5. Check the result on a phone.
Note which plan each step needed. That tells you the plan you will really pay for, which is often not the cheapest one advertised. When the site is live, run it through our free website grader to check search basics and speed.
Neither exports a site to run on another host, so moving later means rebuilding the pages. Square Online is closely tied to Square's payments and POS, which is the point if you use them and a limit if you do not. Squarespace offers extensions for outside services. Your domain can stay wherever it is registered and point at either.
Square wins when in-person and online sales need to share one system. Squarespace wins on design, content and service businesses. We.Inc is an option if you would rather describe the business and have AI write the first version: free for 3 template sites on a we.inc address without AI, and AI building with custom domains from $20 a month.
We.Inc makes a competing website builder, so read this with that in mind. Every price on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown, with a link to it. We say where the other option is the better choice, and we do not publish scores for tests we have not run.
No. Square is a payments and point-of-sale company that offers a website builder called Square Online. Squarespace is a separate website builder company.
It depends on the plan and your sales. Squarespace Basic is $12 a month billed annually (checked September 2026). Check Square's pricing page for its current plans, and compare card processing fees on your expected sales too.
If you already use Square at the counter, Square Online keeps online orders in the same system. If the site is mainly about atmosphere, menu and bookings, Squarespace gives more design freedom.
You rebuild the pages in Squarespace and point your domain at it. Product lists can usually be exported and imported as CSV; check both platforms' current import options.
No. The free plan publishes up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address. AI building starts on Starter at $20/mo.
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How we research, test and update this page: our editorial policy. We.Inc is our own product.
We.Inc is an AI-powered website builder you can resell under your own brand. Launch a branded client dashboard, bill on Stripe Connect, and deliver AI-generated websites in minutes. White-label plans start at $99 a month for 25 client sites, with a 7-day free trial and no per-site fees.