Square vs Squarespace sounds alike, don’t they? Nevertheless, they are as different as chalk and cheese. While Square is popular as a payment provider with powerful POS features and lightweight eCommerce tools, Squarespace is well-known as a design-focused website builder.
So, between these two platforms, which one should you choose? Let’s find your answer with our head-to-head comparison between Squarespace and Square based on these criteria:
- Pricing
- Transaction fee
- Ease of use
- Sales and marketing features
- Website templates
- Design customization
- Integration
- Support
Let’s dive in!
Square vs Squarespace: A Fierce Battle
In a hurry? Below, we pit Square against Squarespace across seven key criteria, with a clear winner for each category:
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#1. Pricing
When considering Square vs Squarespace, it’s essential to choose the one that aligns with your budget. And this is where Square shines. Square Online has a free plan, which is ideal if you’re starting out or if your budget is limited.
If you’re looking to expand your business’s capabilities, Square provides two paid plans. The Plus plan costs $29 a month, and the Premium plan is $79 a month, each with a suite of features designed to support your growth.
In contrast, Squarespace doesn’t have a free tier but offers a selection of all-inclusive paid plans for eCommerce. Starting at $36 a month for the Business plan and scaling up to $72 a month for the Advanced Commerce plan, they cater to a range of needs from basic websites to complex online stores.
With Squarespace Business plan, you can host a basic online store on Squarespace’s server. If you move to Basic Commerce, you’ll get access to POS features, product reviews, social-selling, etc.
And for the Advanced Commerce plan, you’ll unlock premier features like abandoned cart recovery, subscription selling, etc.
📢 Square is the winner.With its free entry-level option and reasonably priced advanced plans, Square caters to both new entrepreneurs and growing businesses.
#2. Transaction fees
When it comes to payment processing and transaction fees, both Square and Squarespace offer similar online payment processing fees. Square charges 2.9% + 30¢ for its Free and Plus plans and a slightly reduced rate of 2.6% + 30¢ for its Premium plan.
Squarespace, however, maintains a flat rate of 2.9% + 30¢ across its Business, Commerce Basic, and Commerce Advanced plans.
However, Square sets itself apart with a 0% transaction fee across all plans, which can be a significant saving for businesses with a high volume of transactions. Squarespace waives transaction fees only for its Commerce plans, while its Business plan incurs a 3% fee.
#3. Ease of use
When assessing the ease of use between Square vs Squarespace, we’d love to praise Square for its straightforward setup and user-friendly interface. Square’s dashboard is intuitive, allowing quick adoption with a minimal learning curve. You can add products, manage customers, sales tax, etc., easily in one place.
Squarespace also shines with its sleek drag-and-drop website builder, which we think would benefit those looking to create aesthetically pleasing websites. Squarespace allows you to craft a website that stands out without delving into coding.
📢 It’s a tie.Both platforms are designed to be accessible to users without technical backgrounds.
#4. Sales and marketing features
Next, let’s examine Square vs Squarespace under another key factor – their sales and marketing features.
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📢 Squarespace is the winner.Considering the diversity and depth of sales and marketing tools that both Square and Squarespace offer, Squarespace takes the lead.
#5. Website templates
Building a functional web store from scratch will take eons. Therefore, we’ll continue this Square vs Squarespace comparison by looking at the template options the two platforms offer.
Squarespace impresses us with 168 aesthetic, responsive website templates, allowing you to easily pick the one that best suits your store’s niche and style.
Square templates are stunning and great, with lots of built-in features as well. However, regarding numbers, Square is far behind Squarespace in the game when the platform only has around 28 templates.
#6. Design customization
When testing Square vs Squarespace, we noticed Square offers basic design customization options compared to Squarespace. This can be a straightforward advantage for users who need simplicity and speed in setting up their stores without delving too deeply into design elements.
Squarespace, by contrast, provides users with extensive design customization options. With Squarespace’s advanced design capabilities, you can manipulate a wide range of design elements such as fonts, colors, page configurations, and more to achieve a more personalized and professional look.
#7. Integration
Square, with its expansive app marketplace featuring over 300 integrations, takes the win for providing a wide variety of functionalities that cater to all aspects of business operations.
Apps on Square span across multiple categories with a strong focus on POS features like delivery, order, booking, items and inventory, etc.
Squarespace offers a curated selection of integrations but with around 40 available in 4 main categories– shipping and fulfillment, finance, inventory and products, sales, and marketing.
Both Square and Squarespace App Store have multiple free options for you to choose from, but there are not too many.
On average, an app on the Square App Store might cost you from $15 to $350 a month or so, depending on the features you need and their complexity. Likewise, Squarespace extensions also cost you from a few dozen to hundreds depending on the app you choose.
#8. Support
Let’s finally close the battle between Square vs Squarespace by reviewing the two platforms’ support services.
Square provides its Premium plan users with 24/7 phone support, offering round-the-clock assistance. However, this level of support is not extended to users on other plans, who have access to support only from 6 am to 6 pm from Monday to Friday.
Squarespace, on the other hand, offers all users 24/7 support through multiple channels, including chat, email, and social platforms like Facebook Messenger. This wide availability makes support accessible for Squarespace users at any time, regardless of the plan they are on.
Is Square And Squarespace The Same?
Short answer: Square vs Squarespace is absolutely not the same thing.
What is Square?
Square was initially a financial services and mobile payment company founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. It is renowned for its comprehensive suite of business tools, including point-of-sale systems, payment processing, and, notably, the recently launched Square Online.
Square Online extends Square’s services into the eCommerce ocean, enabling businesses to create online stores that integrate seamlessly with Square’s payment system. This platform is particularly beneficial for existing Square users, as it allows for a unified system for in-person and online sales.
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What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a leading website builder and hosting service founded in 2003 by Anthony Casalena. It is designed to help users create professional and aesthetically pleasing websites without the need for coding.
The platform is famous for its sleek designs, customizable templates, and intuitive drag-and-drop interface. This makes Squarespace a versatile platform as it can cater to a wide range of users, from individuals to small businesses.
With Squarespace, you can build your websites for various purposes, including eCommerce, blogs, portfolios, and more. The platform comes with a comprehensive set of tools for website design, management, and optimization.
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Square and Squarespace Integration: Can They Work Together?
Nope, only Square POS can be integrated with Squarespace. In other words, Square Online cannot work with Squarespace.
If you want to migrate from Square to Squarespace, LitExtension’s automatic Squarespace migration can be a lifesaver, allowing you to perform the migration automatically & effortlessly.
And if you want a professional migration, you can choose our All-in-One package and have a dedicated Personal Assistant managing the migration project with top-tier quality.
Square vs Squarespace: FAQs
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Which One Will You Choose Between Square vs Squarespace?
Now that you’ve made it to these final words, have you decided on which platform to choose between Square vs Squarespace? Well, if you are selling offline with Square POS and want to dip your toes into the eCommerce world, Square is the optimal choice.
Meanwhile, if you are a design-focused brand that strives for a unique website with bespoke eCommerce experiences, Squarespace is the way to go.
Don’t forget to check out LitExtension’s blog and join our active Facebook Community to gain the latest eCommerce insights.