Squarespace leads with design and sells well enough for most small brands. Shopify leads with commerce and grows with you.
Sign up free: 3 template sites on a we.inc address. AI building from $20/mo.
Choose Squarespace if your brand, content and look matter as much as the shop, and your catalogue is modest. Choose Shopify if the store is the business, you need many products, or you sell in person too.
Squarespace Core is $23/mo with no store fee. Shopify Basic is $19/mo on annual billing, plus 2% if you do not use Shopify Payments.
We.Inc builds the whole site from a description and connects your own Stripe. Free for 3 template sites; AI from $20/mo.
| Squarespace | Shopify | We.Inc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No, 14-day free trial only | No; 3-day trial, then $1/mo for 3 months | Yes: 3 template sites, we.inc address, no AI |
| Cheapest plan with no store fee | Core $23/mo | Basic $19/mo with Shopify Payments | $20/mo Starter (250 AI credits) |
| All plans | Basic $16, Core $23, Plus $39, Advanced $99 per month (monthly billing costs more) | Basic $19, Grow $49, Advanced $299 per month; Plus from $2,300/mo | Starter $20, Pro $50, Unlimited $99 per month |
| Store fees | 2% store fee on Basic, 0% on Core and up | 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced) extra if you skip Shopify Payments | None from We.Inc |
| Design | Excellent out of the box | Good themes, more tweaking | Designed by AI from your brief |
| Code export | No | Theme code only | Yes, export to GitHub |
Prices checked September 2026, in US dollars per month on annual billing unless noted. Vendors change prices often, so confirm on their pricing page before you buy.
Best for: Design-led brands, creatives and service businesses
Price: Basic $16, Core $23, Plus $39, Advanced $99 per month (monthly billing costs more)
Pros: Beautiful templates; Commerce, scheduling and email campaigns built in; No store fee from Core up; Nothing to maintain
Cons: No free plan; 2% store fee on Basic; Less layout freedom; No code export
Best for: Stores where selling is the main job of the website
Price: Basic $19, Grow $49, Advanced $299 per month; Plus from $2,300/mo
Pros: The deepest ecommerce toolset of the three; Huge app store for inventory, shipping and marketing; Point of sale for in-person selling; Scales from first sale to large brands
Cons: Extra 0.6% to 2% fee if you skip Shopify Payments; Paid apps add up quickly; Content pages and blogging are basic; No free plan after the trial
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, Unlimited $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
Shopify Basic is $19/mo and Squarespace Core is $23/mo on annual billing. Squarespace Basic ($16/mo) can sell but takes a 2% fee. Shopify adds a fee only if you skip Shopify Payments.
For under a few dozen products with a strong brand story, Squarespace is often enough. For growing catalogues, inventory and shipping rules, Shopify.
Yes. Digital content and memberships carry separate fees: 7% on Basic, 5% on Core, 1% on Plus and 0% on Advanced.
Yes. Products can be exported as CSV and imported into Shopify; pages and design need to be rebuilt.
No. Payments go through your own Stripe account and We.Inc adds no fee on top.
Sign up free and publish your first site today.
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 are custom priced, with no per-site fees.