Squarespace vs WordPress.com
Squarespace and WordPress.com are both website builders tools. Squarespace is aimed at small businesses and creators, while WordPress.com is aimed at creators and small businesses. WordPress.com costs less, from $9/mo versus $25/mo for Squarespace. Only WordPress.com has a free plan.
Design-led websites with commerce
Hosted WordPress by Automattic
| Pricing | Paid · $25 | Freemium · $9 |
| Starting price | $25/mo | $9/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, Creators | Creators, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web |
| Country | US · 2003 | US · 2005 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Squarespace if
Creatives and small businesses wanting a beautiful site with minimal effort.
- Beautiful designs out of the box
- All-in-one simplicity
- Reliable hosting
Look elsewhere if: Large stores (Shopify) or content-heavy sites (WordPress).
Choose WordPress.com if
Users who want WordPress without managing servers.
- Full WordPress power on Business
- Managed security and updates
- Affordable entry plans
Look elsewhere if: Developers who prefer full control (self-hosted WordPress).
Squarespace vs WordPress.com pricing
Squarespace
- Basic$25/mo$19/mo billed annually; 2% store fee, 7% digital fee
- Core$39/mo$29/mo billed annually; 0% store fee, 5% digital fee
- Plus$65/mo$49/mo billed annually; 0% store fee, 1% digital fee
- Advanced$139/mo$99/mo billed annually; 0% store and digital fees
WordPress.com
- Free$0wordpress.com subdomain
- Personal$9/mo$4/mo billed yearly; custom domain
- Premium$18/mo$8/mo billed yearly
- Business$40/mo$25/mo billed yearly; plugins
- Commerce$70/mo$45/mo billed yearly; WooCommerce
Squarespace · Key features
- Award-winning design templates
- E-commerce with products and subscriptions
- Acuity scheduling integration
- Email campaigns and member areas
- Domains and hosting included
- Blueprint AI site builder
Cons
- Less flexible than WordPress
- E-commerce features behind Shopify
- Slower page builder for complex layouts
WordPress.com · Key features
- Managed WordPress hosting
- Themes and block editor
- Plugins and SFTP on Business
- Jetpack security and backups
- WooCommerce on Commerce plan
- Newsletter and monetization tools
Cons
- Confusing plan structure
- Plugins only on higher tiers
- Performance varies
Squarespace vs WordPress.com: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Squarespace or WordPress.com?
WordPress.com starts at $9/mo and Squarespace at $25/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Squarespace and WordPress.com have a free plan?
Squarespace has no free plan, a 14-day free trial. WordPress.com has a free plan.