Squarespace vs Shopify: which should run your store?

One is a website builder that sells. The other is a store platform that also makes websites. If you are deciding where to open a shop, the gap shows up in fees, staff, in-person selling and how far each can grow with you.

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Is the shop the business, or part of it?

If the website is mainly about your work, your services or your story, and products are one part of it, Squarespace fits well. Core at $17 a month on yearly billing in the US takes the online store transaction fee to 0% and adds shipping and tax tools, with invoicing and scheduling in the same account.

If selling is the whole point, Shopify is built for it. Its yearly prices run Basic $19, Grow $49 and Advanced $299 a month, with Plus from $2,300. It adds staff accounts, an in-person point of sale with a POS Pro add-on, live third-party shipping rates on Advanced, and a large app store.

For a small catalogue attached to a custom site, We.Inc is another option: it builds the site from your description and its Store panel takes payments through your own Stripe account. It is simpler than Shopify, and AI plans start at $20 a month.

Store plans, fees and growth room

SquarespaceShopifyWe.Inc
Trial or free start14 days, no card3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 monthsTemplates on up to 3 sites without AI, at no cost
Plans billed yearlyBasic $12, Core $17, Advanced $25Basic $19, Grow $49, Advanced $299, Plus from $2,300Starter $20, Pro $49, Max $99 (monthly)
Platform store fee2% on Basic, 0% on Core and AdvancedNot shown in the pricing page text we could readNone stated; Stripe's own fees apply
Staff2 contributors on Basic, unlimited from CoreUp to 5 staff on Grow, 15 on Advanced, unlimited on PlusCollaborators on projects
In-person salesNot a focus of the plans pageBuilt-in POS; POS Pro add-on $89 a monthNo point of sale
Digital products and membershipsFee of 7%, 5% or 0% by planThrough apps and themesDigital downloads in the Store panel

Prices as of October 2026 from each vendor's pricing page (linked in sources), US dollars a month billed yearly unless marked; payment processing fees are extra on all three.

Pros and cons

Squarespace

Best for: Brands where design and content come first and the shop is one section of the site

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

Pros: Core removes the store fee at a lower monthly price than Shopify Basic; Blog, portfolio, scheduling and invoicing sit alongside the store; Templates give a polished storefront with little setup

Cons: Fewer commerce extensions than Shopify's app store; Basic adds a 2% fee on store sales

Shopify

Best for: Merchants for whom selling, inventory and fulfilment are the core of the business

Price: Basic $19, Grow $49, Advanced $299 a month on yearly billing; Plus from $2,300 (October 2026)

Pros: Checkout, inventory and orders built for high volume; Point of sale for shops and markets, with a POS Pro add-on; Large app store and published migration guides from Squarespace, Square and WooCommerce

Cons: Monthly cost climbs steeply at Advanced and Plus; Content and blogging are less central than on a website builder

We.Inc

Best for: Makers who want a custom-built site with a modest shop and their own Stripe account

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: Store panel covers variants, digital downloads, shipping rates, discount codes and an orders list; Payments land directly in your own Stripe account; The whole site's code can be downloaded as a ZIP

Cons: No point of sale and far fewer store features than Shopify; Store data and other hosted services stay behind if you export the code

Fees on a $2,000 month

Take a shop selling $2,000 of physical products a month. On Squarespace Basic the 2% store fee is $40 a month, which is more than the $5 gap to Core, so most sellers should start on Core at $17. Advanced at $25 is mainly worth it if you sell digital content or memberships, where its fee drops to 0%, or want Squarespace's lowest payment processing rates.

On Shopify, Basic at $19 a month yearly is the entry point and the plans step up for staff and shipping features rather than fees we could confirm. Shopify's pricing page did not show its transaction fee percentages in the text we could read, so check the fee line for your payment method before you compare totals.

Where Shopify pulls ahead

Volume and operations. Grow allows five staff accounts and Advanced fifteen, Advanced adds live third-party shipping rates and region-specific storefronts, and Plus offers unlimited staff, B2B catalogues and a fully customizable checkout. If you sell in person, Shopify's point of sale and POS Pro add-on at $89 a month bring in-store inventory and pickup into the same system.

Choose Shopify if you expect to grow into a warehouse, a retail counter or several sales channels, or you need an app for a specific commerce job.

Where Squarespace is the better fit

Service businesses, artists, photographers and studios that sell a few products, classes or memberships alongside a strong portfolio. Squarespace keeps the content side front and centre, includes free invoicing, and costs less each month at the levels a small shop needs. Its unlimited contributors from Core also suit small teams that edit pages rather than manage stock.

Moving a store between Squarespace and Shopify

Shopify publishes a migration guide with a dedicated route from Squarespace. It recommends importing products and customers by CSV file or a migration app, copying single pages such as shipping or refund policies by hand, and setting up redirects for important pages, which it lets you import from a CSV file.

Leaving Squarespace has a catch: its own site export is an XML file in WordPress format and does not include store pages or product blocks. Plan to export product data separately and expect to rebuild the store design on Shopify's themes. Moving from Shopify to Squarespace is likewise a rebuild; check Shopify's help center for its current export options before you commit.

If you move to We.Inc instead, paste the address of the site you own and ask for an editable rebuild with the same structure and content, keeping your existing page paths so old links still land. Products then need adding in the Store panel connected to your Stripe account.

Start from a template

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is Squarespace cheaper than Shopify?

At small scale, yes. Squarespace Core is $17 a month on yearly billing with a 0% store fee, while Shopify Basic is $19 a month yearly. Shopify's higher tiers, $49 and $299, buy staff accounts and shipping features a small shop may not need. Payment processing is charged separately on both, so compare those rates too.

Can Shopify do a normal website as well as a store?

Yes. Shopify's product menu lists a website builder, themes, domains and built-in SEO features, so a whole brand site can run on it. It is designed around the store, though, so content-led sites often feel more natural on a website builder like Squarespace.

Which is better for selling in person?

Shopify. Its pricing page lists in-person selling from a phone, card reader or counter, and a POS Pro add-on at $89 a month for in-store inventory, pickup and staff roles. Squarespace's plans page focuses on online selling, invoices and memberships rather than a retail counter.

Does Squarespace charge a transaction fee?

Only on Basic, where online store sales carry a 2% fee. Core and Advanced charge 0% on store sales. Digital content and memberships are charged separately: 7% on Basic, 5% on Core and 0% on Advanced. Payment processing fees from Squarespace Payments or your processor apply on top.

Would We.Inc replace Shopify for a growing store?

Probably not. We.Inc's Store panel handles products with variants, digital downloads, shipping rates, discount codes and orders through your Stripe account, which suits a small catalogue. It has no point of sale and fewer commerce tools than a dedicated platform, so a fast-growing store is better served by Shopify.

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