Shopify vs Squarespace: Which e-commerce platform is best for your business in 2025?

The Shopify vs Squarespace decision is a critical crossroad for any small business planning to sell online. This isn’t just about choosing a website builder; it’s about selecting the engine that will power your entire sales operation. Both platforms are leaders in the e-commerce space, but they are built to serve fundamentally different business strategies and priorities.

Shopify is a pure, powerful e-commerce machine, designed from the ground up with one primary goal: to help you sell more products. In contrast, Squarespace is a design-led, all-in-one platform for building a beautiful brand, where commerce is a seamlessly integrated (but not the only) feature. This in-depth analysis will break down their core differences in terms of sales tools, transaction fees, scalability, and overall ROI to help your business make the right investment.

Key points for busy business owners

• Shopify is best for serious, product-focused businesses that prioritize sales tools, inventory management, and scalability. It is a dedicated commerce platform.
• Squarespace is stronger for content-driven brands, creatives, and service-based businesses that sell products as part of a broader brand experience. It is a website builder with excellent commerce features.
• The main difference for your business is specialization vs. integration. Shopify offers unparalleled depth in sales features. Squarespace offers superior tools for blogging and branding alongside its commerce tools.
• Transaction Fees are key: Shopify incentivizes you to use its own processor (Shopify Payments) for 0% transaction fees. Squarespace charges a 3% fee on its entry-level Business plan.
• Ease of Use: Squarespace is generally considered easier for a complete beginner to get started with. Shopify has a steeper learning curve because its platform is more powerful and feature-rich.
• Point of Sale (POS): For businesses that sell both online and in-person, Shopify POS is a far more robust and scalable retail solution.

Shopify vs Squarespace: A side-by-side comparison

Does Shopify have better templates than Squarespace?

The quality of templates—called “Themes” in Shopify—depends entirely on your business goal: are you building a storefront or a brand showcase?

Shopify themes: Built to convert

Shopify offers over 170 themes in its official Theme Store, with a mix of free and premium (paid, often $180-$350) options.

• Conversion-Focused: Shopify themes are not just designs; they are powerful conversion tools. They are optimized for speed, mobile shopping, and guiding customers to the “buy” button.
• Industry Specific: You can find themes built for large catalogs, single-product stores, restaurants, and more.
• Customization: Basic customization is easy, but significant changes often require using third-party apps or editing code (HTML/CSS).

Squarespace templates: Built to impress

Squarespace offers over 160 templates, and they are all included for free with your plan.

• Design-Led: Squarespace templates are famous for their award-winning, sophisticated design. They are perfect for establishing a premium brand image and telling a visual story.
• Easy Customization: The Fluid Engine editor makes it easy to customize your template’s layout without any code, giving you significant creative control.
• Flexibility: You can switch templates at any time without losing your content, which is a huge advantage for an evolving brand.

Verdict

Shopify themes are better if your single most important goal is to maximize online sales. Squarespace templates are better if your goal is to build a beautiful, content-rich brand that also sells products.

Is Shopify or Squarespace cheaper? A full cost breakdown

For an SMB, the true cost includes monthly fees and, crucially, transaction fees.

How much does Shopify cost?

Shopify’s main plans are straightforward (prices reflect annual billing):

• Basic Shopify ($29/month): Perfect for new e-commerce businesses. Includes all the essential tools to launch and grow.
• Shopify ($79/month): For growing businesses that need more staff accounts and better reporting.
• Advanced Shopify ($299/month): For scaling businesses that need advanced analytics and lower payment processing rates.

How much does Squarespace cost?

The Squarespace plans relevant for selling are (prices reflect annual billing):

• Business ($23/month): The first plan that allows you to sell. It’s a great starting point but includes a 3% Squarespace transaction fee.
• Commerce Basic ($27/month): The best choice for most sellers. It removes the 3% transaction fee and adds more e-commerce tools.
• Commerce Advanced ($49/month): Unlocks advanced features like subscription sales and abandoned cart recovery.

The crucial role of transaction fees

• Shopify: If you use their in-house processor, Shopify Payments, they charge 0% transaction fees. If you choose to use an external gateway (like PayPal Express Checkout), they charge a fee of up to 2% on top of what your processor charges. This strongly incentivizes you to use their system.
• Squarespace: Charges a 3% transaction fee on its Business plan. You must upgrade to a Commerce plan to eliminate this fee.

Value analysis

For a new business starting to sell online, Shopify’s Basic plan often provides better long-term value. Although its monthly fee is slightly higher than Squarespace’s Commerce Basic plan, its native sales tools are more powerful from day one. Squarespace is a better value for businesses that need a website first and may only sell a few items occasionally.

Support options compared: Shopify vs Squarespace

The bottom line on support: For businesses that need 24/7 access to support across all channels, including phone, Shopify is the clear winner.

Head-to-head comparison: A detailed breakdown

E-commerce capabilities: The core difference

Sales tools and features

Shopify is in a league of its own here. It includes professional-grade features like unlimited products, abandoned cart recovery, and multi-channel selling (on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon) right out of the box on its Basic plan. Its App Store contains over 8,000 apps to add any functionality imaginable.

Squarespace has excellent e-commerce features, but some essentials (like abandoned cart recovery and subscriptions) are locked behind its most expensive plan.

Payment processing

Shopify offers Shopify Payments, its own integrated solution that simplifies setup and removes transaction fees. It also supports over 100 other payment gateways.

Squarespace is more limited, integrating with Stripe, PayPal, and Square. This covers most needs but offers less flexibility.

Point of Sale (POS)

For any business that sells in-person (retail stores, markets), Shopify POS is a far superior solution. It’s a robust, scalable system that fully syncs your in-person and online inventory, sales, and customer data. Squarespace’s POS is very basic, designed for occasional in-person sales via the Squarespace app.

Content and branding: Blogging and portfolios

This is where Squarespace shines. Its blogging tools are more powerful and intuitive than Shopify’s, making it the superior platform for any business using a content marketing strategy to drive sales. Its templates are also far better suited for building a visually stunning brand portfolio around your products.

Final verdict: Which should you choose for your business?

FAQ: Your business questions about Shopify vs Squarespace answered

1. What is the main difference for a business between Shopify and Squarespace?
   The main difference is focus: Shopify is a dedicated e-commerce platform built for selling at scale. Squarespace is a website builder focused on branding and design, with excellent e-commerce features built-in.
2. Is Shopify cheaper than Squarespace?
   Initially, Squarespace’s plans look cheaper. However, once you account for transaction fees, **Shopify’s Basic plan ($29/mo with 0% fees) is often a better value for a serious seller** than Squarespace’s Commerce Basic plan ($27/mo with 0% fees) because its sales tools are more powerful.
3. Can a beginner use Shopify?
   Yes, but there is a steeper learning curve than with Squarespace. Shopify is built for commerce, so you’ll need to learn concepts like inventory, shipping zones, and payment gateways. It’s powerful but requires more initial setup.
4. Which is better for SEO?
   Both platforms have excellent SEO tools and provide everything a business needs to rank on Google. This should not be a deciding factor in your choice.
5. Can I sell services or appointments?
   While you can on both, Squarespace is far better for service-based businesses due to its seamless integration with Acuity Scheduling, a best-in-class booking tool.
6. Which is better for dropshipping?
   Shopify is the undisputed king of dropshipping. Its deep integrations with apps like DSers (for AliExpress) and Printful make it the industry standard.
7. Do I need a long-term contract?
   No. Both platforms offer flexible month-to-month and annual plans. Annual plans offer a significant discount.
8. Can I use my own business domain?
   Yes, both platforms are designed for you to connect your professional, custom domain name.