How much does Squarespace charge?
Selecting the right Squarespace plan is essential to your business's online success. Whether you're running a small, one-person operation or managing a large e-commerce store, there's a plan tailored to meet your needs. For example, a personal plan might be perfect for a solo entrepreneur, but a growing e-commerce store will quickly outgrow this option and find more value in a commerce-focused plan.
With the variety of plans that Squarespace presents, it’s more important than ever to have all the information you need to make an informed choice. In this article, we’ll break down the details of each Squarespace plan and help you decide on which one best fits your business. We'll also cover key factors to consider when choosing the right plan for your website.
Overview of Squarespace Plans
Squarespace offers four different plans with prices ranging from the cheapest $16 to the most expensive at $49 per month, if you pay annually. There's no free plan but you get a 14-day free trial.
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Here's a comprehensive guide of the four Squarespace plans:
Squarespace Personal Plan
The personal plan is the cheapest, costing $16 per month if you pay annually or $25 if you pay monthly. It allows only a maximum of two contributors and is suitable for when you want to build a portfolio, create a blog or a site for a very small business.
With this plan, you get a mobile-optimized site with unlimited storage for uploading photos and images.
Features include:
Mobile-optimized website with unlimited pages and bandwidth
SSL security
Free custom domain for the first year
Two contributors
Basic website analytics
Basic design options
24/7 customer support
Limitations:
Limited e-commerce functionality
No promotional pop-ups
No advanced analytics.
Reduced access to custom code features
Squarespace Business Plan
The business plan starts at $23 per month when billed annually and is raised to $36 when paid monthly. It is the best plan for small / medium scale businesses that need websites with basic e-commerce functionalities.
With the opportunity to add an unlimited number of contributors, it is a great fit for businesses with a good number of employees. The advanced website metrics that the plan offers allows you to monitor visitor’s interactions with your site’s content and update areas with low traffic as necessary.
With an offer of $100 of Google Ad credit and access to promotional pop-ups, you can enjoy onboard new customers more easily and announce new offers on the go.
It is also always a sign that you need to upgrade from personal to business when you need to connect third-party apps to your Squarespace site e.g. apps through which customers can place orders.
Features:
Mobile-optimized website with unlimited pages and bandwidth
Free custom domain for the first year
Unlimited contributors
Basic e-commerce functionality with 3% transaction fee
SSL security
Free professional email from Google for the first year
Advanced website analytics
Access to marketing tools like promotional pop-ups and banners
Advanced code access for further customization
Limitations:
3% transaction fees on sales
No advanced e-commerce functionality
Commerce Plan (Basic and Advanced)
The commerce plans, your go-to if your primary goal is to sell online, are divided into two tiers—Basic and Advanced.
Basic Commerce Plan
The greatest advantage the commerce plan has over the business plan is its 0% transaction fee. Starting at $28 per month when billed annually and $40 when billed monthly, the basic commerce plan is best for both retail stores and larger stores with advanced marketing needs.
Features include:
All features included in the business plan
0% transaction fees
More advanced website metrics
Premium design options
Local and regional shopping
Customer accounts for repeat business
Product reviews and product importing from other e-commerce platforms
Limited availability labels
Limitations:
Lacks advanced features like abandoned cart recovery.
Advanced Commerce Plan
This is the most advanced Squarespace plan and, therefore, the most expensive, starting at $52 when billed annually and $72 when billed monthly. It is best suited to large businesses that require the most advanced e-commerce capabilities like subscriptions and advanced shipping.
Features include:
All features of Basic Commerce Plan
Advanced shipping with rate calculations for USPS, FedEx, and UPS
Most advanced e-commerce functionality
Subscriptions and recurring payments
Access to API for integrations
Abandoned cart recovery
Digital gift card sale
Flexible discounts
Limitations:
Higher cost for this level of functionality which might be unnecessary for smaller operations
Factors to Consider When Choosing A Plan
Considering the range of options before you, there are factors you should consider when choosing a Squarespace website plan. They are:
Purpose of Your Website:
The purpose of your website is the first and most important determinant of which plan you'll purchase. If your website is for personal use e.g. a portfolio or a website for a small cooking club, it is a no-brainer that a personal plan is the best choice for you.
More thought has to go into it when your site is purely for business. If you own a small business that isn't making sales of up to $135 monthly, you should probably stick to a business plan because you might run at a loss with a commerce plan.
The Advanced commerce plan should be a go-to only if you have a large enterprise that requires all the robust features that it has to offer and if you are making enough to cover its relatively high cost. Otherwise, it is best you stick with the basic commerce plan.
Budget Constraints:
It all boils down to the price in the end. To reiterate, if you will be using your site for a year, it is best to pay for the full year instead of monthly to save yourself up to 36% of the total cost. Below is a detailed table containing the price of each plan and how much you can save by paying annually.
| Plan | Annual Cost | Monthly Cost | Total Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | $16 | $25 | $108/yr (36%) |
| Business | $23 | $36 | $156/yr (36%) |
| Basic Commerce | $28 | $40 | $144/yr (30%) |
| Advanced Commerce | $52 | $72 | $240/yr (27%) |
However, there are some potential hidden costs apart from the regular fee for the website. Other fees you may have to cough up include those for custom domains, email marketing, credit card transaction fees, third party apps, digital products, and premium images.
After taking all these into consideration, you can assess if the total price is worth its purpose. For instance, with the potential hidden fees, a personal plan may sum up to a little over $200 in the end when you start to pay for a custom domain (between $20-$70 annually) after the first year. You may also subscribe to advanced email marketing tools on Squarespace (starting at $5 per month) or a digital products plan.
Required Features:
As a rule, if you can avoid paying for a feature you don't need, you shouldn't pay for it. This mostly applies to the Advanced Commerce plan which has the most complex features which could be unnecessary for small operations.
Scalability:
When considering what plan to get, you should not only factor in where your business is at right now but also where you hope it will be in the next few years, with a solid road map, of course. While you may not sell products today, you may plan to sell them in the near future. In a case like this, you wouldn't want to test the waters with an expensive plan like the Advanced Commerce, the more affordable business plan might be more suitable for figuring things out.
Who Should Choose Squarespace:
Squarespace remains one of the best and easy-to-use website building platforms. So, who should choose Squarespace?
Beginners who have no interest in having to write their own code
Small businesses that want to build a website without breaking sweat
Those who would prefer to have all they need for their website in one place without the need for extensive customization, and,
Individuals searching for an easy-to-use platform for their personal use.
At Spaceworks, we are experts in designing Squarespace websites and can take the entire task off your hands. We'll build a competitive, modern, and easy-to-manage site with advanced features, and provide custom training afterward.
In conclusion,
Choosing a Squarespace website plan is not an easy task but it is not impossible with a detailed guide like this one. Remember to consider your budget, purpose, and scalability when deciding between the personal, business, and commerce plans. You can learn more about the Squarespace plans through Squarespace support and you can always start out with the 14-day free trial that the site offers. To stay up to date with further insights on Squarespace, subscribe to our blog at Spaceworks.
