So which is better, Squarespace or Wix? Well, I’d say that in this shootout there is not a clear winner — both products are fairly evenly matched, and which product is right for you will probably boil down to personal preference and specific requirements you may have.
For me, Squarespace scores higher than Wix in the user-friendliness stakes; I much prefer its interface to Wix’s. And the fact that its templates are all fully-responsive means it is technically a better platform from an SEO point of view. However, the complete lack of export functionality on the latest version of Squarespace, 7.1, is a major concern.
Wix is definitely the more flexible platform — more templates are available, you can edit your website’s design to the nth degree using its editor, and the import and export options are more comprehensive. I also think that its e-commerce feature set is a bit stronger than Squarespace’s.
Below you’ll find a summary of why and when you might want to use each of these products over each other.
The quality of templates is a bit higher in Squarespace than in Wix.
A wider range of typefaces is available in Squarespace.
Squarespace templates are fully responsive; Wix’s are not.
You can add CSS to Squarespace sites.
Its interface is more elegant than Wix’s and considerably easier to use.
You get unlimited file storage on all Squarespace plans.
Its blogging features are slightly stronger than Wix’s.
It’s easier to sell services and subscriptions in Squarespace.
You can sell an unlimited number of products on any e-commerce-enabled Squarespace plan — this is not the case with Wix.
The product option limit is higher in Squarespace.
Despite not having an app store, you arguably have more flexibility in Squarespace when it comes to integrating other services with your site (this is mainly because Squarespace’s out-of-the box integrations are very good, and because you can also use Zapier to connect Squarespace to other apps).
Data captured with Squarespace forms can be sent to multiple storage options, including Mailchimp — Wix is more limiting in this regard unless you are happy to pay extra for a suitable forms app.
SEO functionality is slightly stronger in Squarespace than in Wix (chiefly because its templates are responsive).
You can try Squarespace for free here.
A totally free plan is available.
Its paid for plans are, in general, cheaper than the Squarespace equivalents.
A much wider range of templates is available.
You can import and export content in Wix (although the degree to which you can do this depends on whether you are using ADI, Editor or Corvid). The latest version of Squarespace, 7.1, doesn’t permit content import or exports at all.
Although I personally find the Wix Editor a bit fiddly, it does offer considerably more flexibility when it comes to designing web pages than Squarespace.
More gallery layouts are available in Wix.
A searchable media manager is available for Wix; this is not the case in Squarespace.
Wix autosaves your content and makes it easier to restore older versions of your website (although oddly, this functionality doesn’t seem to be available for blog posts).
Wix’s mobile app currently allows you to manage more aspects of your site on the go than Squarespace’s.
The product variant limit is considerably higher in Wix — 300 to Squarespace’s 100.
Point-of-sale functionality is available in Wix — but note that it is only available to US users.
A key e-commerce feature, abandoned cart saving functionality, is available at a considerably lower price point in Wix ($23 to Squarespace’s $46).
No transaction fees apply on any Wix plans — on the cheapest Squarespace plan facilitating e-commerce, you’re looking at a 3% transaction fee.
You can use a much wider range of payment gateways with Wix.
Wix’s email marketing feature, ShoutOuts, is much cheaper to use than Squarespace’s equivalent Email Marketing Campaigns tool (and facilitates single opt-in too).
Phone support is available for Wix.
You can try Wix for free here.
Free trials are available for both Wix and Squarespace. In the case of Wix, there's an entirely free plan available (even if it is quite basic in nature, and supported by ads). With Squarespace, you can opt for a 2-week free trial of the product. Just follow the links below to avail of either.