Squarespace vs Wix Pricing in 2026: Which One Costs You Less (and Where Wix’s Hidden Fees Bite)
You’ve got a budget, a website idea, and two builder tabs open. One quote says $16/month, the other says $17/month, and both claim to be “the best value.” Then you start reading fine print and the numbers stop matching the marketing.
I’ve built client sites on both. Three on Squarespace, two on Wix, plus my own portfolio which I migrated from Wix to Squarespace in 2024 (and slightly regretted, more on that later). Here’s the real cost breakdown for 2026.
Key Takeaways (TL;DR)
- Wix starts cheaper: its Light plan is $17/month, and Squarespace’s entry Basic plan is $25/month.
- Squarespace is cheaper long-term for stores once you factor transaction fees.
- Wix’s annual discounts are steeper (often 40-50% off) but you pay the full year upfront.
- Squarespace has no free plan. Wix does, though it slaps ads on your site.
- For pure blogs or portfolios, Squarespace is worth the extra $8/month. For everything else, Wix usually wins on price.
- If you want the short version: Check Wix pricing here if budget rules, or try Squarespace here if design quality matters more than $100/year.
Squarespace Pricing in 2026: The Actual Numbers
Squarespace keeps four plans. Prices below are monthly billing rates; annual billing knocks roughly 25-30% off.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $25 | ~$16 | Simple sites, portfolios |
| Core | $39 | ~$23 | Custom domains, more pages |
| Business | $66 | ~$33 | Small sites selling occasionally |
| Commerce Basic | $34/month billed annually | ~$28 | Serious online stores |
| Commerce Plus | $71/month billed annually | ~$49 | Stores with inventory needs |
Wait, that’s five tiers now. Squarespace reshuffled things in late 2025 and split Business from Commerce more cleanly, which honestly makes choosing easier.
A few things that caught me off guard on my first Squarespace build:
- Business plan charges a 3% transaction fee on sales. Commerce plans don’t.
- The Basic plan won’t let you sell anything. No commerce features at all.
- Email campaigns cost extra, roughly $7/month on top.
Wix Pricing in 2026: Cheaper Entry, Fiddlier Math
Wix also has multiple tiers, and the pricing page gets confusing because they show the discounted annual rate first.
| Plan | Annual (per month) | Monthly billing |
|---|---|---|
| Light | $17 | ~$24 |
| Core | $29 | ~$39 |
| Business | $39 | ~$49 |
| Business Elite | $159 | ~$172 |
The Core plan and up include ecommerce. Light does not.
Wix also runs the free plan, which is genuinely useful for testing. Your site lives on a wixsite.com subdomain with Wix ads. I built my sister’s bakery site on free for two weeks before upgrading. Zero pressure, which I appreciated.
Wix’s extra costs:
- Domain is free for one year on annual plans, then ~$18/year after.
- Wix Ascend (marketing tools) adds $10-35/month if you want email and automations.
- App market add-ons can quietly add $5-20/month. A booking app, a chat widget, an invoicing tool. It adds up fast.
That last one is the real trap. My Wix site’s “true” cost crept from $29 to about $55/month before I noticed.
Head-to-Head: Same Job, Different Bill
Let’s price three real scenarios.
Scenario 1: Simple portfolio or blog
- Squarespace Basic: ~$16/month annually
- Wix Light: $17/month annually
Basically a tie. But Squarespace includes unlimited bandwidth and their templates look better out of the box, in my opinion. Wix’s free tier also exists if $200/year is too much right now.
Winner: Wix on price, Squarespace on quality.
Scenario 2: Small online store (10-50 products)
- Squarespace Commerce Basic: ~$28/month annually, 0% transaction fees
- Wix Core: $29/month annually, 0% transaction fees
Prices match almost exactly. The difference is what’s included. Squarespace bundles better checkout and abandoned cart recovery at this tier. Wix Core limits you to 2 collaborators and 50GB storage.
Winner: slight edge to Squarespace.
Scenario 3: Selling occasionally on a content site
- Squarespace Business: ~$33/month annually, but 3% per sale
- Wix Core: $29/month annually, 0% fees
Sell $1,000/month through Squarespace Business and you pay $30 in fees. That erases the price gap instantly.
Winner: Wix, clearly.
Hidden Costs People Miss
On Squarespace
- No free plan means no free trial beyond 14 days. You commit fast.
- Promotional pop-ups require the Business plan or higher.
- Advanced analytics (search keywords, conversion funnels) are locked to higher tiers.
On Wix
- Storage limits are stingy on lower plans (2GB on Light). Image-heavy sites hit that wall.
- Removing Wix ads requires a paid plan, obviously, but even then some promotional elements linger on cheap tiers.
- The app market is a money leak if you’re not careful. Every shiny app wants a subscription.
To be frank, I trust Squarespace’s pricing more. It’s boring and predictable. Wix gives you a low floor and then sells you upsells the whole way up.
Free Domains, Renewals, and the Fine Print
Both advertise intro rates that jump on renewal. Squarespace’s Basic plan renews at $25/month if you were on monthly billing. Wix Light renews around $24/month. Neither is sneaky about it, but people forget.
One Squarespace annoyance from my own experience: their domain transfer process took four days and their support queue during that stretch was slow. Wix moved my other domain in under 24 hours. Small thing, but it cost me a weekend of stress.
Which Should You Actually Pick?
Pick Wix if:
- Budget is tight and $16-17/month is your ceiling
- You want the free plan to test before paying
- You need booking systems, events, or niche apps from their marketplace
- You’re selling a little bit on a mostly content site
Pick Squarespace if:
- Design quality directly affects your income (photographers, designers, restaurants)
- You’re running a real store and want predictable fees
- You hate tinkering. Squarespace’s editor constrains you in a good way
My unpopular opinion: most small business owners overestimate how much design freedom they need. Wix’s drag-everywhere editor sounds great until you spend three hours nudging a button. Squarespace’s grid system prevents that. But Wix fixed a lot of its messiness with the 2023 editor refresh, so the gap is smaller than it used to be.
Our Verdict
Wix wins on raw pricing. Entry at $17/month, a genuinely usable free tier, and cheaper full-featured stores via Core at $29. Squarespace wins on value-per-dollar if design and commerce polish matter, but you’ll pay at least $16/month and there’s no free option.
My default recommendation for a small business on a budget: start with Wix’s free plan, upgrade to Core when you’re ready to sell. If you’re a creative professional whose site is your portfolio, pay the Squarespace premium. It shows.
Check current Wix pricing here or try Squarespace here. Both run promotions regularly, and prices in this article reflect monthly-billing rates, so annual billing will usually save you 25-50%.
FAQ
Is Wix or Squarespace cheaper in 2026?
Wix, for entry-level sites. Light runs $17/month on annual billing versus Squarespace’s ~$16 Basic rate only after the annual discount; Squarespace’s monthly rate is $25. For stores, they’re nearly identical at $28-29/month.
Does Squarespace have a free plan?
No. Only a 14-day trial. Wix’s free plan is permanent, though it includes ads and a Wix subdomain.
Which platform charges transaction fees?
Squarespace’s Business plan takes 3% per sale. Wix Core and above charge 0% on top of your payment processor’s standard fees.
Are the advertised prices per month or per year?
Wix shows the monthly rate if you pay annually upfront. Squarespace shows both. If you cancel an annual plan early, neither refunds the full amount, so only commit annually when you’re sure.
Can I switch from Wix to Squarespace later?
Yes, but there’s no one-click migration. You’ll rebuild the site and manually move content. I’ve done it. Budget a full weekend for a five-page site.