Shopify vs Squarespace: Which eCommerce Platform is the Best in 2024?
Are you looking for an e-commerce platform to launch your online store? Two popular options that you may have come across are Shopify and Squarespace. Both of these platforms are designed to help small and medium-sized businesses build and manage their online stores, but which one is right for you?
In this article, we'll compare Shopify vs Squarespace, looking at their features, ease of use, pricing, and more. By the end of this article, you'll have a better idea of which platform is best for your needs.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that lets you create and manage your online store. It's a cloud-based platform, which means that you don't need to worry about hosting or server maintenance.
You can use Shopify to build your website, manage your inventory, process payments, and more. As of 2023, 4.4 million websites use Shopify across 175 different countries. This popularity has led to Shopify being the go-to when someone thinks of building an e-commerce platform.
What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a website builder that also offers e-commerce capabilities. It's known for its user-friendly interface and beautiful templates.
Squarespace lets you build your website using drag-and-drop tools, and you can use it to sell physical and digital products. Unlike Shopify, Squarespace is not exclusively an e-commerce platform; it's designed to help you build any type of website.
With over 3.7m subscribers on Squarespace's platform, not only is this a popular place to build a website, but the platform is also improving massively, especially compared to its competitors like Shopify.
Considerations of Each Platform
Below are some considerations you should bear in mind when deciding between Squarespace and Shopify. They are both fantastic platforms in their own right, so make sure to take the time to weigh them up for your business.
Ease of Use
Both Shopify and Squarespace are designed to be user-friendly and intuitive. Shopify has a straightforward interface that makes setting up your online store easy. The platform offers a variety of templates (some free and some paid), and you can customize your site by editing the HTML and CSS. Shopify Themes built on the newer Online Store 2.0 framework do feature better drag-and-drop functionality and more options to add sections to non-shop pages. This opens up a lot of design capabilities that Shopify previously lacked.
By comparison, Squarespace features a full drag-and-drop interface. Squarespace sites built on the latest Fluid Engine platform have almost endless possibilities for customization and design and while there are paid Squarespace template options out there (see some favorites here) all design features and functions are available even if you choose to start from a free template. Setting up a store on Squarespace is also a simple process, though some sellers with larger catalogs may find it harder to organize or manage their inventory without some extra support.
Features
Both Shopify and Squarespace offer a wide range of features to help you build and manage your online store. Here are some of the key features of each platform:
Shopify:
Inventory management
Payment processing
Order management
Shipping and fulfillment
Marketing and SEO tools
App store with over 4,000 apps and integrations
Squarespace:
eCommerce tools
Marketing and SEO tools
Customizable templates
Domain registration and hosting
Blogging tools
Exciting extensions and plugins, such as the Squarespace SEO plugin
Third-party integrations with platforms like EasyShip and TaxJar
Pricing
Pricing is an important factor to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform. Here's how Shopify and Squarespace stack up in terms of pricing:
Shopify:
Basic Shopify: $29 per month
Shopify: $79 per month
Advanced Shopify: $299 per month
Squarespace:
Business: $23 per month
Basic Commerce: $27 per month
Advanced Commerce: $49 per month
It's worth noting that both platforms offer free trials, so you can test them out before deciding which one to move forward with for your business.
Aside from monthly platform costs, you also need to factor in costs for any extra apps or plugins that you may need. Shopify features a very large app store which can be tempting to turn to but nearly every quality app requires a monthly subscription in addition to what you pay Shopify. These fees can range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars or more per month so if you’re not careful they can really add up quickly.
There are apps, extensions, and plugins that you can add to Squarespace as well but in general, there is more built-in functionality within Squarespace that does not require any extra monthly spend. Aside from features such as Scheduling or Email Campaigns, everything else is included with your Squarespace subscription which can help you keep your budget in check.
Bonus: Check out this post to determine which Squarespace plan is right for you and use code KRISTINE10 for 10% off your Squarespace subscription.
Shopify vs. Squarespace Conclusion
After a detailed comparison between Shopify and Squarespace, it is evident that both platforms offer a lot of features and benefits to their users. However, Squarespace comes out on top due to its ease of use, affordability, and the availability of all the essential features required to run an online store. Shopify is a great solution for some businesses but Squarespace is the ideal solution for small businesses and startups who want a sleek and modern-looking website with the ability to sell products with ease. As your business grows in complexity or needs to scale, you may find yourself looking to Shopify as a solution but you’ll need to be willing to take on the additional costs and some design limitations when you do.
Shopify Vs Squarespace FAQs
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Yes, Shopify does offer website templates that don't have an e-commerce functionality. However, these templates may not be as flexible as that Squarespace offers. If you don’t plan on selling anything right away or plan on using an alternate checkout method, go with Squarespace!
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Squarespace does not offer a free plan.
Shopify does offer a very low cost “Starter” plan but it’s really geared towards those that do not want or need a full website of their own and is not really recommended for most users.
Both platforms offer free trials so that you can try them out before subscribing to a paid plan.
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Yes, Squarespace allows users to sell digital products like ebooks, music files, and video downloads. Check out this post for all of the things you can sell on Squarespace without the need for any additional third-party apps.
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Yes, Shopify does charge transaction fees of 2% on their Basic Plan, but these can be waived if users use Shopify Payments as their payment gateway.
Both of the Squarespace Commerce plans feature 0% transaction fees.
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Yes, Squarespace allows users to use their own custom domain name or purchase one through Squarespace.
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To improve your Squarespace SEO you can follow this Squarespace SEO checklist or list of Squarespace SEO tips.
This post was co-authored by guest contributor Henry Purchase, Founder of SEOSpace. SEOSpace offers an easy-to-use Chrome plugin created specifically for Squarespace. Their tool analyzes your Squarespace website for SEO and provides actionable steps to help you improve your search performance. It’s the “Yoast for Squarespace!”
