Wix vs Squarespace: which website builder is better?

When it comes to picking the best website builder for you to build an online presence, many have similar features that could make picking the right one for you quite challenging.

Two of the most popular names in easy-to-use website builders are Wix and Squarespace. 

Behind over 50% of the websites created using website builders, on the surface you may think that there’s not much distinction between Wix and Squarespace in terms of their offerings, but there are actually key differences you may want to consider before making a final decision on which one to pick. 

From awesome templates to user-friendly navigation, website builders gaining popularity these days is not at all surprising. After all, these website building tools are a big help for businesses to gain online presence. 

In this article, we will thoroughly examine the differences between Wix and Squarespace, highlighting all their pros and cons so that you can then decide for yourself which of the two is right for you.

No coding skills? No problem. Both Wix and Squarespace utilize tools known as ‘software as a service’ or SaaS, which allows the creation and maintenance of a website to be done by a novice. Be that as it may, here are some identified differences between the two.

Wix relatively makes creating the website without coding skills a lot easier than Squarespace. The latter, however, becomes easier with practice, and for website builders who don’t have a lot of time to spare, Wix is an easy choice.

Wix vs Squarespace: The main difference 

Wix allows a lot more freedom to customize your website pages whereas Squarespace has a structured editor. Wix has more overall features to work with but Squarespace is designed to make the features it does have easier to apply and use. 

Wix vs Squarespace: Page Editor 

Wix offers drag-and-drop by the pixel. That means any element can be moved to any space on the page. This drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to start designing your website as you can do so freely. Wix’s editor is intuitive, which is ideal for beginners who have very little experience of building a website. This also makes reverting to previous versions easier as well as recovering content in the event that the need arises. 

Squarespace has a more structured drag-and-drop feature in that it’s more section-based as opposed to the drag-and-drop anywhere feature that Wix offers. This means that when you drag elements, you’ll essentially be dropping them into specific columns and rows where they can snap into. This takes away a great deal of the creative freedom Wix offers, but it only takes some getting used to and it becomes just as easy to manoeuvre. 

Wix vs Squarespace: Pricing

Wix offers a free plan where the most basic tools can be utilized. Its paid plans are divided into two categories: website plans for when you’re creating a professional website, and business and eCommerce plans for when the website needs to accept online payments. 

With prices ranging from US $4.50 to $24.50 per month, users who avail of the website plans get from 1GB to unlimited bandwidth, up to 35GB of storage space, up to five hours of video, Site Booster and Visitor Analytics apps free for an entire year, a professional logo, social media logo files, and 24/7 dedicated customer support. 

Business and eCommerce plans, on the other hand, range from US $17 to $35 per month. These plans allow users not only to accept online payments, but also scale their business and access to the full VIP suite. All plans offer unlimited bandwidth, 20, 35, and 50GB of storage, and the same level of dedicated customer care as the website plans. 

Choosing a Squarespace plan is less complicated as there are only four. It follows the logic of getting more features made available the higher the tier of the plan users choose. The cheapest plan called the Personal plan gives a user a custom domain whereas Wix’s Connect or most basic plan doesn’t. This basic plan also gives users unlimited bandwidth and storage, as opposed to Wix’s 1GB bandwidth and 500MB of storage for the same plan. 

Though noticeably different in features, it is important to consider the price difference between the two basic plans. Wix Connect Domain plan has a monthly recurring charge of US $4.50, whereas Squarespace Personal plan costs $12 per month. It is also worth noting that Wix Connect Domain plan displays Wix ads, something a user would not have to deal with if they went with Squarespace.

For users who aren’t as concerned about bandwidth and storage and want to focus on design and having a website and don’t mind ads, Wix is a cheaper option. It can be even cheaper depending on the Wix promo codes currently available. There are also often several generous Squarespace promo codes, that can make the platform even more competitively priced when stacked against Wix. 

Wix vs Squarespace: Extra features 

With over 200 apps for third party integration (both paid and free) found exclusively in its own dedicated App Market, Wix lets users maximize how they can personalize their website even further. The App Market offers a wide selection of “made by Wix” apps as well as third party apps that help add an extra layer of functionality to sites easily. The apps featured in the App Market include email marketing apps, call conversion apps, interactive videos, dropshipping tools, calendars, notification tools, and a lot more.

Squarespace, on the other hand, doesn’t offer extra features in the form of apps. Instead, anything that isn’t already offered by Squarespace in-house can be added via third-party integration. Instead of an app store, Squarespace has extensions that help users manage, optimize, and expand their site. There are extensions for shipping and fulfillment, finance, inventory and products, and sales and marketing. 

Wix definitely outdoes Squarespace in the number of apps to choose from, making customization much easier, however, quality-wise, we think Squarespace has the edge over Wix. 

Ecommerce: Wix Store vs Squarespace Shop

Wix Store lets users create a professional online store with features such as custom product pages, shopping cart, multiple sales channels, and a lot more. Mainly, it’s geared towards small and medium online stores alike, and it’s affordable and convenient. 

Squarespace does not fall behind Wix in terms of features, and certainly has the upper hand when it comes to a sleek overall design. It's main disadvantage, however, is that it does not have its own store, which means if the feature is not built-in, it can’t be implemented.  

Verdict

If you’re ready for your business to take off, choosing the best builder can help you get started. Unless you’ve found the perfect tools and have found comfort in either option, you can opt to try them both and see where the most benefits are. 

As Wix is for anyone who wants to give website creation a try, it comes highly recommended as the interface is intuitive, and there are tons of extra options. You can get your creativity working, and personalize your site as much as you need to. 

Squarespace is the perfect option if you want to achieve giving your site a sleek look with premium features, never mind how limited the options are.