Square Online vs Squarespace
We give Square Online and Squarespace the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. Square Online grades higher on the free plan. Squarespace grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Square Online
Online store builder that shares stock and payments with Square POS
Squarespace
Template-based website builder with an online store and invoicing
How we grade them
| 2.6GPASquare OnlineGood | 2.6GPASquarespaceGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CA store on your own domain means Square Plus at $49 a month per location, with no yearly rate on record. That's the dear end of this category, though Plus covers Square's point of sale and invoices too. Square's own cut is its card rate: 2.9% + 30¢ online on Plus. | CBasic is $19 a month for one site on yearly billing ($25 monthly), and it's the plan a small business would buy, since the store comes with it. That's the ordinary middle of this category ($9 to $22). Core at $29 drops the 2% store fee. |
| Free plan and trial | BSquare Free is a real store with no monthly fee: SEO tools, pickup, local delivery and shipping labels. The catches are a Square web address and online cards at 3.3% + 30¢ rather than 2.9% + 30¢. There's a 30-day trial of Plus or Premium too. | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial with no card needed, which is long enough to build the thing and see if you like it, but after that every site needs a paid plan. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole job: a builder with SEO tools, one stock count with your shop, pickup, local delivery, bulk labels with discounted US rates, and Afterpay. Abandoned-cart emails need Plus and live carrier rates need Premium at $149, but the core is all there. | BTemplates, a drag-and-drop editor, a store on every plan, invoicing, memberships, forms, newsletters and SEO tools. That's the whole job of a small business site. Custom code and pop-ups wait for Core, but nothing core is missing. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record for the store itself. If your items are already in Square they carry over, but you're still building a site from layouts, so it lands on a C. | B4.6 from about 18,800 App Store ratings for its phone app. Templates do most of the design work, so you're mostly swapping in your own words and photos. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Facebook, Instagram, Google and Afterpay, and a Wix store can sync to the Square catalog. It's a short list, and there's no desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Google Workspace, Mailchimp, Zapier, Stripe, PayPal and Printful, plus commerce APIs on Core and up. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | shops already taking payments with Square | polished template sites with a shop built in |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Square Online and Squarespace. How we grade
Where they differ
- Square Online starts at $49 per location / month (Square Plus). Squarespace starts at $19 per site / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly).
- Square Online has a free plan. Squarespace does not, though it has a free trial.
- Square Online also covers inventory, online store and shipping labels.
- Squarespace also covers templates, forms and invoicing.
At a glance
| Square Online | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per location / month (Square Plus) | $19 per site / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Square Free: a store on a Square web address with SEO tools, pickup, local delivery and shipping labels, and no monthly fee. Online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢, and a custom domain needs Plus. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of Square Plus or Square Premium | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Block, Inc. | Squarespace, Inc. |
| Price read from | squareup.com | squarespace.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Square Online
- Shops and restaurants that already take payments with Square in person
- Small sellers who want to start a store with no monthly fee
- Businesses offering pickup or local delivery alongside shipping
Squarespace
- Creatives and small businesses who want a polished site from a template
- Service businesses that also invoice clients and take payments
- Small shops that want the store and the website in one subscription
Worth knowing
Square Online
- Square Free cannot connect a custom domain; that takes Square Plus at $49 a month per location.
- Online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢ on Square Free against 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium.
- Plus and Premium are Square-wide plans billed per location, which also cover point of sale, invoices, staff and booking tools.
- Real-time carrier shipping rates at checkout need Square Premium at $149 a month per location.
Squarespace
- There is no free plan; after the 14-day trial every site needs a paid plan.
- Basic takes a 2% fee on online store sales and allows only 2 contributors; Core removes both limits.
- Custom JavaScript, code injection, pop-ups and shipping labels all need Core or higher.
- The free domain covers the first year of an annual plan only and then renews at Squarespace's standard rate.
Key features
Square Online
- Website builder with SEO tools
- Build a single ordering page or a multi-page store with layouts, a blog and SEO tools, and run several Square Online sites from one account.
- Shared catalog with Square POS
- Items, stock and discounts are shared with Square Point of Sale, so stock is tracked across shop locations and online. A Wix store can also sync to the Square catalog.
- Pickup, delivery and shipping
- Offer in-store or curbside pickup, local delivery by staff or couriers, and shipping, with bulk label printing and discounted US shipping rates on every plan.
- Payments built in
- Square processes cards, digital wallets and Afterpay installments. Afterpay costs the seller 6% + 30¢ per sale, and cards issued outside the US add 1.5%.
- Marketing and social selling
- Coupons, pop-ups and lead forms on every plan, Facebook and Instagram connections with Facebook ads, and abandoned-cart emails from Square Plus.
Squarespace
- Templates and drag-and-drop editing
- Sites start from a designer template and are laid out in the Fluid Engine drag-and-drop editor. Every site is adjusted for phones automatically.
- AI site builder and AI credits
- Blueprint builds a starting site from a few answers, and built-in AI writes content. Credits run from 10 one-time on Basic to 120 a month on Advanced.
- Online store on every plan
- Sell unlimited physical products, services, digital goods, gift cards and subscriptions, with abandoned-cart emails on all plans. Basic adds a 2% fee on store sales.
- Invoicing, memberships and paid content
- Branded invoices and pay links are free on every plan. Courses, memberships and paywalled content carry a fee of 7% on Basic, falling to 0% on Advanced.
- Hosting, SSL and unlimited bandwidth
- Managed hosting, free SSL certificates and uncapped bandwidth and storage come with every plan. Video hosting runs from 30 minutes on Basic to unlimited on Advanced.
- Forms, newsletters and SEO tools
- Form and newsletter blocks feed a contacts panel, and SEO guidance and keyword reports come built in. Pop-ups and the announcement bar need Core or higher.
Plans
Square Online
Square Free$0
Website builder with SEO tools, pickup, delivery and shipping labels; online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢ and in-person ones 2.6% + 15¢.
Square Plus$49
per location / month
Custom domain, expanded design and custom code, abandoned-cart emails, reviews, preorders and subscriptions, with online card payments at 2.9% + 30¢.
Square Premium$149
per location / month
Adds real-time shipping rates, advanced reporting and 24/7 phone support, with online cards at 2.9% + 30¢ and in-person at 2.4% + 15¢.
Square ProCustom
For businesses processing over $250,000 a year: custom pricing and processing fees, arranged with Square's sales team.
Squarespace
Basic$19
per site / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
A full website and store with up to 2 contributors, 30 minutes of video, a 2% fee on online sales and 7% on paid memberships.
Core$29
per site / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Unlimited contributors, no fee on store sales, custom CSS and JavaScript, shipping labels, commerce APIs and 20 AI credits a month.
Plus$49
per site / month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)
Lower card rates (2.7% + $0.30), a 1% fee on paid memberships, 50 hours of video and 40 AI credits a month.
Advanced$99
per site / month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly)
The lowest card rates (2.5% + $0.30), no fee on memberships, unlimited video and 120 AI credits a month.
Ways to pay less
Square Online
No public discounts listed.
Squarespace
- Annual discount
Pay yearly to save about 24% to 29%
Basic costs $19 a month billed yearly against $25 billed monthly, and Advanced $99 against $139. Squarespace's page advertises savings of up to 36%.
- Other savings
Free domain for a year with an annual plan
Annual website plans include one year of free registration for one domain on Squarespace's cheapest pricing tier; it then renews at the standard rate.
- Education
Students get 50% off the first year
Students who verify their status through Student Beans get 50% off their first full year on a new annual website plan.
