Wix vs Squarespace: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

Wix and Squarespace offer compelling features for website builders, but Wix takes a slight lead in overall versatility and functionality.

• 
  Wix (Overall Grade: 8.5/10)
  
  excels with its extensive range of customizable templates, user-friendly design interface, and comprehensive suite of features. It stands out for its AI capabilities, robust ecommerce tools, and a wide array of plugins and integrations. Wix is particularly suited for users seeking creative freedom, extensive functionality, and a platform that caters to both beginners and advanced users alike.
• 
  Squarespace (Overall Grade: 7.9/10)
  
  is renowned for its sleek design templates, intuitive drag-and-drop editor, and solid ecommerce features. It offers a streamlined experience for users prioritizing aesthetics and ease of use. While it provides a strong foundation for building professional websites, it falls slightly behind Wix in terms of customization options and the breadth of features.

	Overall grade: 8.5	Overall grade: 7.9
Design Functionalities & Templates	8.6	8.0
Ease of Use	9.0	8.3
Ecommerce	8.0	8.2
Website Editors	8.5	8.3
Product Testing Options	8.1	7.4
Price	8.7	8.4
Hosting Quality	8.5	7.6
Website Speed Optimization	8.3	6.7
Plugins and Integrations	8.2	6.8
Marketing Features	8.4	8.1
Customer Support	8.2	7.8
Security	8.5	8.8
AI Capabilities	8.7	7.5
User Management	8.2	7.4
Overall	8.5	7.9

Best for ecommerce

8.0

8.2

Verdict

: Squarespace slightly edges out Wix in ecommerce capabilities, making it the better choice for businesses looking for detailed product customization and diverse payment options.

• 
  Wix
  
  : Offers a user-friendly platform with a variety of templates and basic ecommerce features suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. Its intuitive store builder and flexible design options make it a strong contender for those prioritizing ease of use and design flexibility.
• 
  Squarespace
  
  : Stands out with its slightly higher ecommerce score and a focus on design and product presentation. It offers a more curated experience with its selection of templates and advanced product page customization options, making it ideal for businesses that prioritize aesthetics alongside functionality.

Best for informational & business websites

8.3

8.4

• 
  Wix
  
  : Boasting a score of 8.3, Wix is renowned for its extensive customization options and user-friendly interface, making it a strong contender for creating and managing informational websites. Its wide range of templates and ease of use make it a versatile choice for businesses aiming for a unique online presence.
• 
  Squarespace
  
  : Scoring a narrow victory with 8.4, Squarespace is slightly more favorable for informational and business websites. It combines professional, high-quality templates with a straightforward editing experience, making it ideal for businesses looking for a blend of simplicity and sophistication in their website design.

Detailed comparison

8.6

8.0

🏆

Winner: Wix.

Wix offers a wider range of highly customizable templates suitable for various website types, not just ecommerce. It also provides more creative freedom in design, appealing to a diverse user base.

Wix stands out with its wide range of highly customizable templates suitable for various website types, not just ecommerce. It offers creative freedom in design, appealing to a diverse user base. While Wix doesn’t have a premium template marketplace, it has 3-rd party theme shops that allow you to get more sophisticated design choices.

Wix Themes

On the other hand, Squarespace boasts an impressive variety of website templates, offering over 120 pre-designed options to choose from. These templates cater to a wide range of needs and industries, from creative portfolios and sleek online stores to professional business websites and personal blogs.

Squarespace Themes

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9.0

8.3

🏆 Winner: Wix

. With an ease of use score of 9.0, Wix stands out for its exceptional user-friendliness, featuring an intuitive drag-and-drop interface and an Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) tool for effortless website creation. Squarespace, scoring 8.3, is also user-friendly with a drag-and-drop editor and straightforward navigation, but falls slightly short when compared to Wix.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: Squarespace

. Both platforms offer solid learning resources, but Squarespace goes a step further with its comprehensive Help Center, clear video tutorials, live webinars, an informative blog, and an active community forum. This makes it easier for users to learn and adapt to the platform.

8.0

8.2

When it comes to ecommerce, both Wix and Squarespace offer a range of features to help businesses set up and manage their online stores. However, Squarespace slightly edges out Wix with a score of 8.2 compared to Wix’s 8.0.

Ecommerce themes and templates	7.5	7.5
Product page customization	7.3	7.0
Payment processing and commissions	8.7	7.8
POS capabilities	6.0	6.5
Payment gateways	8.2	7.5
Product numbers	8.0	6.8
Additional ecommerce features	7.8	7.2

Wix ecommerce features:

• Intuitive store builder
• Wix Payments and various gateways
• Basic inventory tools
• Multi-channel sales options
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Basic analytics and SEO tools

Squarespace ecommerce features:

• Intuitive interface
• Secure payment processing
• Built-in marketing tools
• SEO optimization
• Website analytics

Ecommerce themes & templates

Wix provides around 120 free templates for ecommerce. However, these templates are not fully responsive and may need manual adjustments for mobile display. Wix allows for flexible website design but has limited options for in-depth customization using HTML or CSS. For advanced users, Wix Velo offers more detailed customization possibilities.

On the other hand, Squarespace provides a diverse selection of around 50 ecommerce templates, catering to various industries like fashion, beauty, home goods, and technology. These templates range from clean and minimalist to bold and colorful, accommodating different brand aesthetics and product types. Offering unique layout elements such as product sliders and featured collections, these templates enhance visual interest and engagement.

Product page customization

Wix permits the inclusion of six options per item with a total of 1000 unique variations for products. However, the potential complexity of having customers choose six attributes for a single item is acknowledged, and it is recommended to consider splitting products with extensive options into different listings for a more user friendly experience. Wix stands out for its ease of customization, allowing users to add features like ribbons, size charts, wishlists, and more. While Wix supports product videos in its themes, incorporating 3D models on Wix requires coding.

Customizing Squarespace product pages offers options for layout, design, and interactive elements. Choose templates, customize colors, fonts, and content. Enhance engagement with features like customizable buttons, wishlists, comparisons, reviews, and related products. Advanced options include custom code injection and third-party app integrations. Limitations include fixed core page structure and the need for technical expertise. Free templates have fewer customization options than premium ones.

Payment processing

Wix provides versatile payment options, generally around 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, without additional commission fees. This makes Wix an attractive option for businesses using diverse payment processors. Wix Payments allows Wix users to manage transactions directly on their site, also supporting various payment methods and currencies.

Squarespace provides flexible payment processing for online stores with integrated gateways like Stripe and PayPal. External gateways can be set up for specific needs. Transaction fees may apply depending on the plan and payment method. Security measures include PCI compliance and fraud prevention. Additional features include payment links, support for subscriptions, and the ability to accept international payments in various currencies.

8.5

8.3

🏆

Winner: Wix

. Wix, with a score of 8.5, offers multiple editors catering to different user needs. Its standard editor is renowned for its drag-and-drop simplicity, allowing for extensive customization without needing to code. Additionally, Wix provides the ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) editor, which creates a personalized website based on user responses to a few questions, and the Corvid by Wix editor, which allows for advanced web development with JavaScript and Wix APIs.

Squarespace’s editor, scoring 8.3, allows easy drag-and-drop website creation without coding. With visually appealing templates and customization options, it caters to beginners and pros alike. The real-time editing experience ensures instant previews. Prioritizing content, it’s mobile-responsive and offers functional features like forms, social media integration, and online stores. Squarespace seamlessly integrates with tools for extended capabilities.

Mobile editor/app

9.2

8.5

🏆

Winner: Wix

. Both Wix and Squarespace offer mobile apps for managing and editing your website, but they cater to different needs and skill levels. Wix’s mobile app stands out with its user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface, allowing users to edit various aspects of their website with ease. It is particularly beginner-friendly, making it easy for users with no prior website building experience to create and manage their website.

Squarespace’s mobile app, on the other hand, allows for content editing, website analytics, online store management, and social media scheduling. However, it lacks the full range of functionalities available on the desktop editor, making it less versatile compared to Wix’s mobile app.

In summary, Wix receives a higher rating due to its versatility in general website editing and a more beginner-friendly interface, while Squarespace provides essential features but lacks the comprehensive editing capabilities of Wix’s mobile app.

8.1

7.4

Overall Result

:

Wix wins

. Wix scores 8.1 in product testing options, while Squarespace scores 7.4. Wix offers a free plan with basic features for an unlimited duration and occasionally offers opportunities to test premium features through promotions or limited-time trials. Squarespace, on the other hand, provides a 14-day free trial, but some premium features like custom code, premium integrations, and removal of Squarespace branding are not available for testing.

Free Plan	Yes (Basic features, indefinitely)	No (14-day free trial)
Trial Duration	Unlimited (Free plan)	14 days
Testing Premium Features	Limited, occasionally through promotions	Most features, except for custom code, premium integrations and removal of Squarespace branding

8.7

8.4

Wix and Squarespace both offer a range of price plans, but Wix has a slightly higher price score and offers a larger discount on annual subscriptions.

	Offerings	Offerings
$10-$15	No offering at this amount.	Personal ($12/month): Build a basic website with limited features for personal use. Access to basic templates, mobile-friendly design, and some social media integrations. Value for Price: 5.0
$15-$20	No offering at this amount.	Business ($16/month): Upgrade features with custom domain, SEO tools, marketing tools like email campaigns, and analytics. Value for Price: 6.5
$20-$30	Core Plan ($27/month): Unlimited physical products, ~2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, Digital products, Free custom domain for a year, Abandoned cart recovery, Gift cards (via app), Recurring payments, No staff account limit. Value for Price: 8.5	Commerce ($26/month): Perfect for online stores with built-in eCommerce functionality (unlimited products), secure checkout, inventory management, and marketing tools. Value for Price: 8.0
$30-$50	Business ($32/month): Advanced ecommerce features, Same transaction fees, Free domain for a year, Subscription payments, Automated international sales tax, Label printing, Dropshipping, Product reviews, No staff account limit. Value for Price: 8.7	Advanced Commerce ($40/month): Cater to high-volume stores with advanced eCommerce features like abandoned cart recovery, product subscriptions, gift cards, and real-time shipping quotes. Value for Price: 9.0
$100+	Business Elite ($159/month): All ecommerce features, Automated sales tax for up to 500 transactions/month, Custom reports, Loyalty program, Priority support, No staff account limit. Value for Price: 9.0	No offering at this amount.

8.5

7.6

Winner: Wix

. Wix offers a variety of hosting plans to suit different needs, including a free plan with limited features. It uses a multi-cloud infrastructure and has 10 global data centers. However, it does not offer an uptime guarantee. On the other hand, Squarespace offers proprietary cloud-based hosting included in all of their plans and guarantees an uptime of 99.9%. Despite this, Wix has a higher hosting quality score.

Do they offer hosting?	Yes, included in all paid plans, free plan with limited features	Yes, included in all of their plans
Data Centers:	10 globally: USA (Ashburn, Virginia; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida), Germany (Frankfurt), Israel (Tel Aviv), India (Mumbai), Brazil (São Paulo), Singapore, South Korea (Seoul), and Taiwan (Taipei)	Squarespace’s data centers are strategically scattered across North America, Europe, and Asia
Type of hosting:	Multi-Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, GCP, own data centers)	Proprietary cloud-based hosting
Uptime:	99.95%	99.9%
Uptime Guarantee:	No	Yes

8.3

6.7

🏆 Winner: Wix

Both Wix and Squarespace prioritize website performance and page speed, but Wix has a slight edge in terms of website speed optimization.

Focus	Media optimization, CDN, Mobile-first	Responsive design, image optimization, CDN, code minification, lazy loading of images
Performance Tools	Google PageSpeed Insights Integration	Google Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights
Key Strategies	Media optimization, CDN, Mobile-first	Responsive design, image optimization, CDN, code minification, lazy loading of images
Load Times	0.8s to 3.5s (Average: 1.6s)	0.7s to 9.1 s (Average: 2.9s)
Page Speed Scores Range	34/100 to 98/100 (Average: 81.9/100)	20/100 to 93/100 (Average: 62.7/100)
Core Web Vitals Improvement	25% increase in good CWV scores over a year	Emphasis on LCP, FID, CLS improvements

Wix has significantly focused on enhancing website performance and page speed, integrating tools like the Site Speed dashboard with Google PageSpeed Insights to provide a holistic view of website performance metrics. Emphasizing media optimization, code simplification, content distribution networks, lazy load techniques, and mobile-first designs, Wix’s infrastructure includes globally distributed CDNs, improving content delivery. Successfully improving Core Web Vitals (CWV) scores, Wix saw a 25% increase in sites with good CWV scores over a year. Real-world performance analysis of 909 Wix websites showed a wide range of page speed scores from 34/100 to 98/100, averaging 81.9/100, with the Largest Contentful Paint an important metric for website loading, ranged from 0.8 seconds to 3.5 seconds, with an average of 1.6 seconds.

Squarespace, like Wix, places a strong emphasis on website performance and page speed. Squarespace’s approach to enhancing site speed includes responsive design, image optimization, CDN, code minification, and lazy loading of images. This approach leverages Squarespace’s fast servers and CDN network to boost load speed. Analysis of three Squarespace sites showed a range of Squarespace speed scores from 20 to 93, Google PSI scores from 20 to 93, and load times varying from 0.7 seconds to 9.1 seconds, with an average of 2.9 seconds. Continuous maintenance and optimization are essential for keeping Squarespace sites fast.

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8.2

6.8

🏆 Winner: Wix.

Wix scores 8.2, offering over 500 apps in its App Market, covering a wide range of functionalities. These apps come with various pricing options, including free, paid, freemium, and one-time payment models. Wix’s plugins and integrations extend its functionality across various domains, including advanced ecommerce tools, SEO optimization, social media integration, email marketing, website analytics, appointment scheduling, customer support, enhanced media galleries, blogging features, custom forms and surveys, diverse payment processing options, website localization, improved security measures, and the addition of custom widgets. Wix’s top integrations include Google Analytics, Mailchimp, social media platforms, Wix Stores, Wix Bookings, Wix SEO Wiz, Wix Blog, Wix Forms, PayPal, Wix Chat, Wix Events, Zapier, Wix Video, Wix Music, and Google Ads.

Squarespace, with a score of 6.8, lacks an official app store but supports integrations and extensions through custom code injection and third-party tools. With over 20 official partner integrations in categories like analytics, marketing, commerce, and social media, Squarespace offers seamless functionality. Squarespace’s top integrations cover email marketing with Mailchimp, comprehensive SEO optimization through Yoast SEO and Rank Math, user behavior analytics with Hotjar, and varied payment options with Stripe, PayPal, ShipStation, and Afterpay. For analytics and tracking, essential tools include Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Kissmetrics, and Hotjar for valuable user behavior insights.

Wix Applications

Squarespace Applications

8.4

8.1

🏆

Overall Winner: Wix

. Wix edges out Squarespace with a slightly higher marketing features score. Both platforms offer a comprehensive set of marketing tools, but Wix stands out with its advanced social media integration and sophisticated ad campaign management.

SEO Tools
Email Marketing
Blogging
Social Media Integration	Advanced integration for selling directly on social platforms	Direct linking and selling on social platforms, plus feed displays on-site
Analytics and Reporting	Detailed analytics for in-depth insights	Detailed insights into website performance and visitor behavior
Ads and Promotions	Google Ads integration; sophisticated ad campaign management	Tools and resources for promoting a website, but lacks an internal ad platform

8.2

7.8

🏆 Winner: Wix

. Wix edges out Squarespace in this category with a customer support score of 8.2 compared to Squarespace’s 7.8. Wix offers phone support, live chat available 24/7 in English and other languages, and a large community forum. Users can also benefit from the Wix Enterprise support system, which includes a dedicated account manager, VIP support, customized solutions, and additional resources such as flexible billing and early access to beta features.

Squarespace, on the other hand, provides live chat and phone support on weekdays from 6 AM to 6 PM PST, and 24/7 email support. It also has a community forum and a comprehensive help center. For enterprises, Squarespace offers a personal account manager, priority support with extended hours, strategic guidance, and advanced security measures.

8.5

8.8

🏆

Winner: Squarespace

. Squarespace edges out Wix in terms of security with a slightly higher score. Squarespace prioritizes data privacy and security through secure server storage, encryption, strict access controls, and compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA. They also offer additional security measures like vulnerability scanning and malware detection.

Wix also prioritizes website and data security through secure servers, encryption, and compliance with privacy regulations. They have strict access controls, regular security audits, and additional features like two-factor authentication. However, Squarespace’s comprehensive approach to security gives it a slight advantage.

8.7

7.5

AI Builder	Wix ADI for personalized website creation
AI Ecommerce features	Personalized marketing, dynamic product recommendations, optimized social media advertising	AI-powered copywriting, SEO optimization, related product suggestions
AI Content Generation	ADI suggesting captions, blog content assistant, social media post ideas	AI-generated product descriptions, website copy, blog posts, social media captions
Additional AI features	Automated code generation, content creation and optimization, website A/B testing	SEO optimization suggestions, email marketing insights, inventory management insights

🏆 Winner: Wix

. With a score of 8.7, Wix’s AI capabilities are more comprehensive and user-friendly. Wix ADI is a standout feature, offering a personalized and intuitive website creation experience. Its AI-powered ecommerce features and content generation tools also contribute to a streamlined and engaging online presence.

Squarespace, scoring 7.5, offers various AI-powered features, particularly in ecommerce and content generation. However, it lacks a fully automated AI website builder, which puts it at a disadvantage compared to Wix.

8.2

7.4

🏆 Winner: Wix

. Managing your online team with Wix and Squarespace involves different approaches to website editing access.

• Wix allows unlimited editors regardless of the plan, but caution is needed with 50+ editors to avoid potential
  backend performance issues. It excels for large, collaborative teams.
• The number of users with editing access on your Squarespace website varies by plan. The Personal Plan allows one owner, Business and Commerce Plans permit 2 collaborators with different access levels, and the Enterprise Plan offers unlimited users, each with customizable access privileges, from full administrators to restricted contributors.

Both platforms support simultaneous editing. Wix uses avatar icons to indicate co-workers, while Squarespace displays a warning for concurrent editing, preventing accidental overwrites.

Wix User Roles and Access Levels:

Squarespace User Roles and Access Levels:

Additional Features

SSL Certificate
Custom Domain
Free Custom Domain Included
International Domains
Mobile Responsive
Page Speed
Website Builder Mobile App
Convert a Website To An App
Website Analytics
Multilingual Sites
Multiple Users

User Feedback

Wix

1641 reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars

Squarespace

1049 reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars

Wix, though well-regarded, caters to a diverse set of website requirements beyond just ecommerce. This inclusive strategy attracts a broad user audience but might not align as closely with individuals prioritizing advanced ecommerce features.

Squarespace is well-liked for its easy-to-use interface and versatile tools, making it ideal for those who aren’t tech-savvy. It offers various features like website creation, SEO, online selling, and more, catering to different users. Customers appreciate its good customer support and visually appealing templates, creating a professional online presence. However, some users find issues with domain transfer/setup, limited customization options, and consider the pricing slightly higher. There are also occasional concerns about customer service and technical limitations like template rigidity and missing features.

FAQ