Wix vs Squarespace: which one should you pick in 2026?

Both host your site for a yearly or monthly fee and both are edited visually. The real split is between Wix's free-form canvas with a free starter tier and Squarespace's tidier sections with lower entry pricing but no free tier.

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

Squarespace or Wix: the quick verdict

Choose Squarespace when looks matter most and you would rather not fuss over alignment. Its section editor keeps pages orderly, Basic costs $12 a month on annual billing, and Core removes the 2% online store fee for $17 a month. Choose Wix when you want to start for nothing, place elements wherever you like, and lean on a large set of business apps.

Squarespace offers a 14-day trial with no card needed but no free tier. Wix has a $0 plan with no card needed. Wix's paid prices change by country. Its US list prices, verified from a US location in September 2026, are Light $17, Core $29, Business $39 and Business Elite $159 a month on yearly billing; our October 17 check came from outside the US and showed a regional, tax-inclusive display instead, so confirm your own figure on wix.com/plans.

A third route, if neither editor appeals, is We.Inc: you describe the business in a chat and it produces an editable site. Its free plan covers up to 3 template sites with no AI; AI building starts at $20 a month.

Plans, fees and exit options side by side

WixSquarespaceWe.Inc
Free tierYes, $0 with no card requiredNo; 14-day trial, no card requiredYes: 3 template sites, we.inc address, no AI
Entry paid planLight, $17/mo yearly (US price, verified September 2026; varies by country)Basic, $12/mo yearly or $19 month to monthStarter $20/mo (250 AI credits)
Full plan listLight, Core, Business, Business EliteBasic $12, Core $17, Advanced $25 yearly ($19, $27, $36 monthly)Starter $20, Pro $49, Max $99 per month
Taking paymentsCore and up (Light does not list payments)All plans; 2% store fee on Basic, 0% on Core and AdvancedStore panel using your own Stripe account
Storage2 GB on Light up to unlimited on Business EliteVideo hosting from 30 minutes (Basic) to unlimited (Advanced)File storage in the Cloud panel
Free domain1-year voucher with a first yearly Premium plan1 year with annual plans on eligible domainsConnect your own domain from Starter, or buy one in-product
ExportPartial: CMS, products and contacts as CSV; blog posts cannot be exportedWordPress-format XML for some page types and one blogFull project as a ZIP on any plan; GitHub push on Max

Prices are as of October 2026 from each vendor's pricing page (linked in sources): Squarespace and We.Inc in US dollars per month, Wix figures as its page displayed them on yearly billing, which Wix says vary by location.

Pros and cons

Wix

Best for: Owners who want a no-cost start and freedom to drag anything anywhere

Price: Free plan; Light $17, Core $29, Business $39, Business Elite $159 per month on yearly billing (US prices verified September 2026; vary by country)

Pros: A $0 plan you can keep, with no credit card; Higher tiers scale storage up to unlimited on Business Elite; Store products, CMS collections and contacts can be downloaded as CSV

Cons: The cheapest paid tier, Light, does not list accepting payments; Blog posts cannot currently be exported to other platforms, per Wix's help center

Squarespace

Best for: Design-minded brands, studios and restaurants that want tidy pages with little upkeep

Price: Basic $12, Core $17, Advanced $25 per month billed yearly; $19, $27, $36 month to month (October 2026)

Pros: Lowest entry price of the two on yearly billing; Core drops the store fee to 0% and adds code injection and advanced analytics; One free year of domain registration with annual plans

Cons: Basic adds a 2% fee on store sales and 7% on digital content and memberships; No permanent free tier; trial sites cannot be exported

We.Inc

Best for: Anyone stuck between two drag-and-drop editors who would rather describe the site and edit what comes back

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: Pages arrive written and laid out from your description, then you click, chat or open the code to change them; The whole project downloads as a ZIP that runs locally, on any plan; Paid plans allow unlimited sites

Cons: Without a paid plan you only get templates, no AI; Its store tools are simpler than Squarespace Commerce or a dedicated shop platform

Free-form canvas versus snap-to-grid sections

The editing feel is the biggest practical difference. Wix lets you drop a button, image or text box at any spot on the page, which suits people who have a clear layout in mind. The cost of that freedom is that a page which looks right on a laptop can need separate attention on a phone.

Squarespace builds pages from stacked sections and blocks that snap into place. You get fewer pixel-level choices, but a first-time user is far less likely to end up with overlapping elements, and the result tends to look consistent across screen sizes.

Where selling and memberships cost more

On Squarespace, every plan can sell, but Basic takes 2% of store sales and 7% of digital content and membership sales. Core cuts those to 0% and 5%, and Advanced to 0% on both. Core also adds discounts, carrier-calculated shipping, shipping labels and automated tax at 0.15% per transaction capped at $0.99; Advanced lowers that tax fee to 0.05%.

Wix's plans page ties payments to Core and above, with eCommerce described as Basic on Core, Standard on Business and Advanced on Business Elite. The page did not state transaction fees, so check checkout terms in your region before committing. For a shop of a few dozen products, Squarespace Core at $17 a month yearly is the cheaper route on paper; for a business that also needs bookings or events apps, Wix's higher tiers may justify the spend.

Squarespace is the better pick when

You are a photographer, designer, boutique or restaurant and the site is mostly a showcase. You want one bill that covers hosting, SSL and a first-year domain. You plan to sell a modest catalogue and are happy on Core, where the store fee is zero.

Wix is the better pick when

You want to launch at no cost and upgrade later. You need lots of storage, since Business offers 100 GB and Business Elite is unlimited. You expect to keep product, contact or collection data in spreadsheets, because Wix exports those as CSV files that you can reuse elsewhere.

Switching between Wix and Squarespace later

Neither hands you a working copy of the site. Squarespace exports a WordPress-format XML file containing layout pages, one blog with its posts, text and image blocks and gallery pages. Store, album, portfolio and calendar pages, headers and footers, product and video blocks, drafts and custom CSS stay behind, and the site must be public, since trial sites cannot export.

Wix's help center describes several partial exports: CMS collections, store products and up to 50,000 contacts as CSV. It says blog posts cannot currently be exported to other platforms, so a Wix blog is copied over by hand. In either direction, plan a rebuild of the design, move content in batches, keep a list of old page addresses and reuse the same paths on the new site where you can, and point your domain at the new host only once the new site is ready.

If you would rather not rebuild by hand, We.Inc can take the address of a site you own and rebuild an editable version with the same structure and content as a starting point; ask it to keep the old page addresses so existing links still work. From there you connect your domain with one CNAME record and an HTTPS certificate is issued automatically.

Start from a template

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is Squarespace cheaper than Wix in 2026?

At the entry level, yes. Squarespace Basic is $12 a month on yearly billing. Wix Light is $17 a month on yearly billing at US prices (verified September 2026), though Wix sets prices by country and includes tax in some regions. For selling, Squarespace Core at $17 compares with Wix Core at $29 (US, September 2026). Wix does have a $0 plan, which Squarespace lacks.

Can I sell products on the cheapest plan of each?

Squarespace Basic can sell, but it takes a 2% fee on store sales and 7% on digital products and memberships. Wix's plans page lists accepting payments from Core upward, not on Light. If selling is the main job, compare Squarespace Core with Wix Core, then check the checkout fees that apply in your country before you pay for a year.

What can I take with me if I leave Squarespace?

A WordPress-format XML file with your layout pages, one blog and its posts, text and image blocks and gallery pages. Store pages, product blocks, video and audio blocks, drafts, headers, footers and custom CSS are not included. Images may need downloading by hand. The site must be published and public, because trial sites cannot be exported.

Can I move a Wix blog to another platform?

Not with a built-in tool. Wix's help center says blog posts cannot currently be exported to other platforms, so you copy them across manually. Other data travels more easily: CMS collections, store products and contacts can each be downloaded as a CSV file and imported into the new platform's tools.

Does either one include a domain?

Both give a free first year in some form. Squarespace includes one year of registration for an eligible domain on annual plans. Wix gives a one-year voucher with a first yearly or multi-year Premium plan, redeemable within 60 days for a new domain bought through Wix. After that year you pay the renewal.

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