Shopify vs Squarespace

Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform that lets you create an online store, accept payments, and sell on social channels and in person—all from one dashboard. Build a professional storefront, manage products and inventory, process orders and shipping, automate marketing and SEO, analyze sales, and run your business from web or mobile—no coding required.

Shopify starts with a free 3-day trial—no credit card required. After your trial, most plans start at just US$1 per month for the first 3 months, then switch to standard monthly pricing.Additionally, you can choose to add POS Pro to your subscription for more advanced point of sale features like staff roles and permissions, exchanges, and flexible customer pickup and delivery options.

Yes. If you ever decide that Shopify isn't the best commerce platform for your business, simply cancel your account.If you choose a 1- or 3-year Plus subscription, you can cancel when your term commitment expires.

There are no setup fees on any of our plans.Third-party transaction fees may apply when you use a third-party payment provider (instead of Shopify Payments). The rate depends on your plan.Shopify charges a small fee to allow you to accept major credit cards, such as Visa and Mastercard, as payment in your store. These fees vary depending on the plan that you choose.

Shopify is available in nearly every country in the world. Some features vary by country—for example, Shopify Payments is available only in certain countries—so pricing and payment options can differ depending on where your business is based.

Yes. Shopify is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, and stores powered by Shopify are PCI compliant by default, which helps keep payment information secure.

Yes. You can use a domain you already own, or buy a new one. Every Shopify store also comes with a free myshopify.com address, and Shopify helps keep your site secure automatically.If you already have a domain, you can keep it where you bought it and simply connect it to Shopify—or move it to Shopify so everything is managed in one place.

Yes. Shopify includes secure commerce hosting with your Shopify plan, so you don't need to buy separate hosting. Shopify also includes unlimited bandwidth (no bandwidth fees) and provides a free TLS/SSL certificate for domains you add to Shopify.Additionally, you can use the Buy Button sales channel to embed buy buttons on an external website or blog, and let customers check out using Shopify Checkout.

Squarespace offers both monthly and annual subscriptions. We make it simple to start—and stop—your plan at any time. We also offer discounts when you choose an annual plan instead of paying monthly. Annual subscriptions also include one year of free domain registration for new websites.

Yes. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your plan at any time. Changes take effect at the end of your current billing cycle, and if you cancel, your service will continue through the period you've already paid for.

Squarespace doesn't offer a free plan, but every site starts with a free trial—no credit card required.

Every Squarespace website starts with a 14-day free trial. You can upgrade to a paid plan at any time during or after your trial.

Yes. If you purchase an annual plan, you'll receive a free custom domain for one year. You can also connect a domain you already own or buy a new domain through Squarespace with any subscription.

Yes. All Squarespace plans include our fully-managed cloud hosting, ensuring your website remains available at all times.

Squarespace occasionally runs promotions, and we always share them directly through our website or emails. For the best price long-term, our annual plans offer built-in savings compared to monthly billing. Find our current offers, discounts, and student pricing here.

Yes, eligible students can get a discount through our student program. Learn more here.

All paid Squarespace plans let you sell products or services, but specific ecommerce features vary by plan. Compare plans above to see which best supports your business.

With Squarespace Payments as your payment solution, you can centralize your finances in one easy-to-use dashboard while accepting Klarna, Afterpay, Apple Pay, ACH, and all major credit cards. Squarespace Payments is currently available in the United States, United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.

Squarespace Payments transaction fees and rates vary per subscription plan. Please see above in the Full Feature Comparison for details.

We accept AMEX, Visa, Mastercard, Discover (US dollars only), PayPal*, SEPA, Diners Club, Japan Credit Bureau (JCB). *currently only available for non-US subscribers