In this comparison of two fantastic ecommerce systems, you’ll see how Squarespace stacks up against Shopify. We understand how difficult it is to choose the best website builder for your online store.
When it comes to Shopify vs Squarespace, though, the answer is straightforward: it all comes down to what you’re looking for. Shopify is a platform for serious entrepreneurs. It’s the perfect platform for big or ambitious web shops that need a lot of ecommerce features.
It’s our best-rated ecommerce website builder, with features tailored to selling online. It should come as no surprise, then, that Shopify is the overall winner today. It is, however, not for everyone, as with anything else in life. While it is the greatest e-commerce builder overall, it may not be suitable for your items, budget, or style.
Squarespace is on the other corner. If you’re wanting to sell online, it’s known as an “all-around‘ website builder with some extra e-commerce functionality. These sales tools aren’t as complex as Shopify’s, but they’re less expensive. Squarespace is also the design king.
So, if you’re seeking to sell a few things online and have some beautiful templates to go with them, this may be the builder for you. But where do you begin when deciding between Shopify and Squarespace? You’ll be relieved to know that we’ve made things simpler for you.
We investigated each builder in depth, diving into each platform to discover how they perform in important areas of online commerce. We also invited individuals like you to put them to the test in order to gain a different perspective.
Shopify vs. Squarespace
To say the least, it’s one of the largest battles amongst ecommerce platforms.
Shopify
Squarespace is technically older, having been launched in New York in 2013. Shopify, on the other hand, was founded in Ontario, Canada, three years later. When it comes to ecommerce, It is really the older of the two. It took off right away after being created, making it a 12-year veteran in the ecommerce hosting industry.
That helps to explain how it was able to gain the second largest worldwide market share by 2017. Squarespace was mostly used as a website builder during this time. Well, until the company launched the Squarespace Commerce section in 2013, that is.
Squarespace
Squarespace is unquestionably a latecomer as a result of this. They entered the ecommerce industry, however, with all guns blazing. A large war chest of cash is only part of the story. They also have a decade of website development experience under their belts.
As a result, it’s no surprise that Squarespace was able to put the heat on Shopify and other ecommerce platforms right once. It didn’t stop there, though. Since then, it has grown at an exponential rate as more people jump on board. Then there’s a bang!
Squarespace is currently one of the most popular platforms on the internet, which is maybe unexpected. But It isn’t going down without a fight. Every new feature revealed by one of the services is greeted with a counter-strategy from the other. They will, without a doubt, never be the same.
Shopify and Squarespace have different functionality, even if some of their features are the same and they both facilitate ecommerce shops. Finally, there’s the elephant in the room.
Which of the two has the best features?
Shopify vs. Squarespace
When comparing Shopify vs Squarespace, or any two ecommerce shop choices for that matter, it’s generally helpful to break down the two tools’ most major advantages and disadvantages.
After all, every website-building option on the market today has its own set of benefits and drawbacks.
Pros of Shopify
- With plenty of wonderful shopping features, it’s ideal for ecommerce.
- There are a lot of add-ons and extensions that you may use with your favourite tools.
- Excellent customer service via live chat and email.
- There’s a lot of user-friendliness built in, as well as a big knowledge base.
- A large and active community where you may get answers to your questions.
- You may select from a variety of premium and free templates.
- Integrations with third-party sales platforms
- It offers multi–channel selling via Instagram and Facebook.
Cons of Shopify
- Unless you’re using Shopify Payments, transaction fees are necessary.
- The charges might build up depending on the tools and programmes you utilise.
- It may take you longer to adjust to Shopify than it does to Squarespace.
Pros of Squarespace
- Because of the emphasis on design, you’ll find a plethora of appealing templates.
- It’s quite simple to use and there’s a lot of help available.
- Offline selling possibilities integrations
- Excellent for print-on-demand selling, with an analytics system to help you analyse your store’s success.
- Excellent blogging tools to help you with your content marketing plan
- Budget-conscious businesses would appreciate the pricing alternatives available.
Cons of Squarespace
- For extensibility, there is no app store or marketplace.
- In the Shopify vs Squarespace discussion, payment choices are restricted.
- There aren’t as many selling choices as there are with It.
Pricing vs. Shopify vs. Squarespace
You’re probably thinking how much money you’ll have to spend on all of the things we’ve discussed. The good news is that Shopify and Squarespace both provide solutions for different sorts of companies at different price ranges. Unfortunately, digging through them to compare characteristics is not as simple as it appears.
Pricing for Squarespace
To begin, Squarespace offers four different price choices. Two are for “online stores,” while the others are for “websites.” You can select from the following options under “online store”:
- Basic plans start at $26 per month if paid annually, or $30 if paid monthly.
- Advanced at $40 per month invoiced annually, or $46 per month if you wish to pay monthly.
- Personal is $12 per month billed annually, or $16 per month billed monthly.
- Business costs $18 per month if paid annually, or $26 if paid monthly.
- You might be wondering why the business package is classified as a “website,” as opposed to other “online shop” possibilities.
It’s quite straightforward. All internet companies are not ecommerce retailers, if you think about it. And this is the bundle that is most suited for that particular sort of website.
Let’s look at the main distinctions between these pricing points now:
- It is impossible to sell online using the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).
- Additionally, if you choose the Personal option, you won’t be able to use developer mode or add javascript and CSS to your website.
- Transaction fees of 3% are applied to all sales made through the Business plan.
While all other price levels allow for an infinite number of contributors, the Personal plan only allows for two. The all-important abandoned cart recovery feature is only available in the Advanced plan.
If you sign up for the Business, Basic, or Advanced plans, you’ll get a free Google Apps account for a year. Ecommerce reporting is included in all “Online Stores” options. When you choose annual pricing over monthly billing, you will receive a free custom domain.
Pricing for Shopify
While Squarespace restricts the number of possibilities to four, Its adds a fifth, bringing the total to five.
They are as follows:
- Shopify Lite is available at $9 per month.
- Basic Shopify is available at $29 per month.
- It is available for $79 per month.
- Advanced Shopify is available at $299 per month.
- Shopify Plus, which includes additional services for large enterprises, costs $2000 per month.
Shopify, like Squarespace, gives you a discount if you pay in advance for a longer length of time. If you subscribe for 12 months, you will receive a 10% discount, and if you subscribe for 24 months, you will receive a 20% discount.
Here are the main distinctions between the plans to help you make an educated decision:
- Shopify Lite lacks the tools needed to develop and build an ecommerce site.
- It’s only a viable choice if you want to sell via a Facebook page, a point-of-sale system, or a current website.
- Except for Shopify Lite, all Shopify plans include with the abandoned cart saving function, unlike Squarespace.
- Gift cards are supported by the Shopify, Advanced Shopify, and Shopify Plus plans.
- Shopify, Advanced Shopify, and Shopify Plus are the only platforms that enable advanced reporting.
Conclusion
This is the point at which you understand that making a final decision requires a great deal of thought. However, you may make things easier by using the 14-day free trial period offered by both Squarespace and Shopify.
Overall, Squarespace is clearly less expensive than other.
