Squarespace versus Wix
Honest Comparison for Small Business Owners
If you're trying to choose between Squarespace and Wix, you're not alone - and you're asking the right question. These two platforms look similar on the surface (both are website builders, both are beginner-friendly, both are popular), but they're genuinely different in ways that can matter a lot depending on your business and how you work.
I'll be upfront: I'm a Squarespace designer. With 250+ Squarespace websites built for small businesses, I have a clear perspective on the platform. But I've also had clients come to me who were previously on Wix - and I've referred some people back to Wix when it was the better fit.
This isn't a Squarespace ad. It's the comparison I'd give a friend who asked me over coffee which platform to use.
Quick Summary: Squarespace vs Wix
| Squarespace | Wix | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No (14-day free trial) | Yes (Wix ads shown) |
| Starting price | ~$16 USD/mo (billed annually) | ~$17 USD/mo (billed annually) |
| Design quality | Consistently polished and professional | More templates, more freedom - quality varies |
| Ease of use | Moderate learning curve | Highly flexible drag-and-drop |
| SEO | Strong, clean foundations out of the box | Solid, but requires more setup |
| Template switching | Yes (Squarespace 7.1) | No - rebuilding required |
| E-commerce | Excellent | Excellent |
| Best for | Service businesses, creatives, coaches | Businesses needing layout flexibility or free plan |
Note: Pricing shown in USD. Both platforms price in USD - factor in the exchange rate if you're budgeting in CAD.
What Is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a website builder built around design quality. It uses a section-based editor - you build pages by adding and stacking sections and blocks - which gives it a more structured feel than fully open drag-and-drop tools. That structure is intentional. It produces cleaner, more consistent layouts, and it makes it harder to accidentally build something that looks unprofessional.
There's no free plan, but there's a 14-day free trial. All paid plans include SSL, a free custom domain for the first year, SEO tools, unlimited bandwidth, and built-in analytics.
Squarespace 7.1 is the current version. If you're starting a new site today, this is what you'll be working with - it's significantly more flexible than older versions.
What Is Wix?
Wix is a drag-and-drop website builder with over 800 templates and a genuine free plan option. It gives you maximum layout freedom - you can place elements anywhere on the page, pixel by pixel. Wix also has an App Market with hundreds of third-party integrations for businesses with more specific functionality needs.
The free plan is real, but it comes with Wix-branded ads on your site and a wix.com subdomain. Most businesses upgrade to a paid plan when they're ready to look professional.
One important limitation worth knowing upfront: once you've published a Wix site, you can't switch to a different template without rebuilding your site from scratch. Squarespace 7.1 doesn't have this restriction.
Squarespace vs Wix: Head-to-Head Comparison
Design Quality and Templates
Squarespace has a smaller template library - around 100+ templates in 7.1 - but the quality is consistently high and all templates are fully responsive. The section-based editor means there's a natural ceiling on how messy a layout can get. For business owners without a design background, this is a feature: you get a professional result without having to make dozens of micro-design decisions.
Wix has 800+ templates and a true drag-and-drop editor. That flexibility is genuine - you can build layouts that Squarespace simply won't let you build. The trade-off is that the same freedom that enables creative layouts also enables disorganized ones. Without a design eye, it's easy to end up with a site that looks DIY even if you spent hours on it.
My take: For most small service businesses, Squarespace's constraints are an advantage. When you're running a business and updating your own website, "harder to mess up" matters.
Ease of Use
Both platforms are beginner-friendly, but they're beginner-friendly in different ways.
Wix is more immediately intuitive - drag something, drop it somewhere, it stays there. There's less to learn to get started. But that open canvas also means more decisions, which takes more time and more design judgment.
Squarespace has a mild learning curve because the section-based system is unfamiliar at first. Most people get comfortable within a few hours of use. Once past that initial adjustment, many users find Squarespace faster to work in because there's less to think about - the system keeps things organized.
If you want maximum hands-on control, Wix gives you that. If you want to build something that looks good without spending a lot of time making layout decisions, Squarespace is typically faster.
My take: Tie - it depends on how you think about layout. Detail-oriented people who enjoy design often prefer Wix. People who want results without the fuss usually prefer Squarespace.
SEO
This is an area I have strong opinions about, based on working inside Squarespace's platform on hundreds of client sites.
Squarespace generates clean, well-structured HTML automatically. It creates XML sitemaps, handles canonical URLs correctly, and gives you full per-page control over title tags, meta descriptions, URL slugs, and image alt text. In Squarespace 7.1, you manage per-page SEO settings at Pages > [Page Name] > Settings > SEO. The platform's clean code structure also means fewer page speed issues to diagnose - and page speed is a Google ranking factor.
Wix has improved its SEO substantially in recent years and isn't the SEO black hole it had a reputation for being. It has a dedicated SEO Wiz tool that walks you through on-page optimization. That said, some Wix sites carry more code overhead than Squarespace sites, which can affect page speed if you add a lot of apps or custom elements.
Neither platform does your SEO for you. Both require intentional setup: writing good title tags, meta descriptions, alt text, and building real content. But Squarespace's cleaner foundation means there's less to troubleshoot from the start.
If you want a deeper look at what Squarespace SEO setup actually involves, the Squarespace site audit guide walks through exactly what to check.
My take: Squarespace edges ahead on SEO foundations. Wix is a reasonable choice if you're willing to put in the optimization work.
Pricing
Both platforms fall in a similar price range for paid plans. Here's a rough comparison (USD, billed annually - verify current pricing directly on each platform, as rates change):
| Plan level | Squarespace | Wix |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | ~$16/mo (Personal) | ~$17/mo (Light) |
| Mid-tier | ~$23/mo (Business) | ~$29/mo (Core) |
| E-commerce | ~$28/mo (Basic Commerce) | ~$36/mo (Business) |
The key difference: Wix has a free plan. If you're genuinely starting from zero and can't yet allocate a monthly budget to your website, Wix gives you a way to exist online. The trade-off is Wix branding on your site and a wix.com subdomain - which looks fine for a very early-stage business but isn't where you want to stay long-term.
On paid plans, Squarespace bundles more features out of the box. You're less likely to need to pay for additional apps to get core functionality. On Wix, some features that come standard with Squarespace require an additional app purchase.
My take: Wix wins on cost if the free plan matters to you. On paid plans, the total cost of ownership is more similar than the base price suggests.
E-Commerce
Both platforms handle e-commerce well for small businesses selling a reasonable number of products.
Squarespace Commerce (available on Basic Commerce and Advanced Commerce plans) includes clean product pages, integrated payment processing via Stripe and PayPal, inventory management, abandoned cart recovery, and a polished checkout experience. The design quality carries through to the shopping experience.
Wix offers e-commerce on its Business plans with comparable core features, plus access to the Wix App Market for additional payment options and inventory management tools. If you need very specific integrations - niche payment processors, specialized shipping apps, or third-party inventory systems - Wix's app ecosystem may serve you better.
My take: Tie for most small businesses. If your e-commerce needs are straightforward, both work well. If you need specific integrations, Wix has the broader app library.
Flexibility and Customization
Wix wins here, clearly. If you have a specific, non-standard layout vision - elements overlapping, content placed in unusual positions, highly customized section designs - Wix gives you the freedom to build it.
Squarespace is more constrained. You're working within a grid and a section structure, and while 7.1 offers more flexibility than older versions, it won't give you the pixel-perfect placement control that Wix does.
For businesses working with a professional Squarespace designer, the platform's constraints tend to work in your favour - experienced designers know exactly how to work within the system to produce results that look custom without the risk of things going sideways.
My take: Wix wins on raw flexibility. Whether that flexibility is a benefit depends on whether you have the design judgment to use it well.
When Squarespace Is the Right Choice
Choose Squarespace if any of these sound like you:
You're a service provider, coach, consultant, or creative who wants a site that looks polished and professional without a lot of design work on your end
You're planning to work with a Squarespace designer - most boutique web designers in the small business space specialize in Squarespace
SEO is a priority and you want clean technical foundations from day one
Blogging or content marketing is part of your strategy - Squarespace's blogging tools are solid and its clean URL structure helps
You want built-in features (analytics, SEO tools, e-commerce, scheduling) without managing a library of third-party apps
Design consistency matters more than total layout freedom - you want your site to look intentional two years from now, not just on launch day
When Wix Is the Right Choice
Choose Wix if any of these apply:
You need a free plan to get started while revenue is still limited - Wix's free tier is a real option for early-stage businesses
You're building a community or membership site with complex interactive features - Wix's more advanced functionality and app ecosystem handles this kind of experience better than Squarespace
You have a very specific, non-standard layout that Squarespace's section system can't accommodate
You need niche functionality available in the Wix App Market that Squarespace doesn't offer natively
You're a more technical user who wants hands-on control and has the time and design confidence to use it well
I won't pretend Wix is a lesser platform. For the right business, it's a strong choice. What I can say honestly is that most of the small Canadian service businesses I work with - coaches, consultants, local service providers, creative professionals - tend to get better results on Squarespace.
My Recommendation
After building 250+ Squarespace websites for small businesses, here's the plain answer:
For most Canadian small service businesses: Squarespace.
The design quality, SEO foundations, and included features make it the better long-term investment for businesses in the service, coaching, consulting, and creative space. The constraints that feel limiting at first are exactly what keep your site looking professional as you update it yourself over time.
Choose Wix if: you're building a community or membership-driven experience, you genuinely need the free plan right now, or you have specific layout or integration requirements that Squarespace can't meet.
One thing I've noticed after working with a lot of small business owners: Squarespace fits the way most of them actually work. They want to be able to log in, swap out a photo, update a service price, or add a new testimonial - without needing to think about design. Squarespace makes those small updates straightforward. Wix gives you more power, but more power means more decisions, and that can become a barrier when you're busy running your business.
One thing worth factoring in: if you're considering hiring a web designer at any point, most boutique designers who work with small businesses specialize in Squarespace. The community of Squarespace-specific designers, templates, and resources runs deep. You'll have an easier time finding skilled help.
For a fuller picture of what a Squarespace website involves from strategy to launch, the Squarespace web design guide covers everything in detail. If you're comparing Squarespace to WordPress instead, that comparison is coming soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Wix better than Squarespace?
Wix is the better choice in a few specific situations: when you need a free plan to start, when you're building a community or membership-driven site that requires more advanced interactivity, or when you need very specific third-party integrations available in the Wix App Market. Its drag-and-drop editor also gives more layout freedom for technically confident users who have a specific vision in mind.
What are the downsides of using Squarespace?
Squarespace has no free plan, its template library is smaller than Wix's, and its section-based editor can feel limiting if you want non-standard layouts. Some people also find the initial learning curve frustrating - though most users get comfortable within a few hours. Pricing is comparable to Wix, but there's no entry-level free option.
Why don't companies use Wix?
Larger companies typically have existing tech stacks (WordPress, custom-built platforms) that are better suited to their scale and complexity. For small businesses, Wix is a perfectly viable platform - the old perception that it's not "professional" is mostly outdated. What matters is how well the site is built and maintained, not which builder it runs on.
What is the #1 website builder?
It depends entirely on the use case. Squarespace leads for design-forward small service businesses. Wix leads for flexibility and low-cost entry. WordPress is the choice for large content sites or custom functionality. Shopify dominates for e-commerce. For the small business owner choosing between Squarespace and Wix, both are genuinely good platforms - the right one is whichever fits your specific business needs.
If Squarespace sounds like the right fit for your business, I'd love to help you build it. I've worked on 250+ Squarespace sites for small businesses across Canada and I care about getting it right.
