Web hosting with an AI website builder and the Horizons AI app/site builder (now part of Hostinger AI Builder).
Squarespace vs Webflow
Features, pricing, strengths and trade-offs — and which one fits your situation.
The verdict
Summary
Squarespace is best for creatives and small businesses wanting a polished, design-led site with built-in selling, while Webflow is best for design and marketing teams building custom, CMS-driven websites with near-developer control. Squarespace has a low learning curve, compared with high for Webflow. Webflow has a free plan, while Squarespace offers a free trial.
Which should you choose?
Choose Squarespace if…
- You need creatives and small businesses wanting a polished, design-led site with built-in selling
- You're one of: photographers and creatives, restaurants and local businesses, small online shops
- You want something quicker to learn
- Consistently polished design output with little effort
Choose Webflow if…
- You need design and marketing teams building custom, CMS-driven websites with near-developer control
- You're one of: web designers and agencies, marketing teams at startups and saas companies, content-heavy sites with structured cms
- You want a free plan (Squarespace only has a trial)
- High design freedom with clean, semantic output
At a glance
| Squarespace | Webflow | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Creatives and small businesses wanting a polished, design-led site with built-in selling | Design and marketing teams building custom, CMS-driven websites with near-developer control |
| Free plan | Trial only | Yes |
| Starting price | From $16/mo | From $15/mo |
| Learning curve | Low | High |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, API |
| Ideal for | Photographers and creatives, Restaurants and local businesses, Small online shops, Consultants selling services | Web designers and agencies, Marketing teams at startups and SaaS companies, Content-heavy sites with structured CMS, Designers moving from Figma to production |
Feature comparison
| Squarespace | Webflow | |
|---|---|---|
| AI site generation | Guided (Blueprint AI) | Paid Workspace plans |
| E-commerce | Yes | Yes |
| Blog / CMS | Yes | Yes |
| Hosting included | Yes | Yes |
| Custom domain | Yes | Paid site plans only |
| Code / content export | Limited | Static code, paid plans |
| SEO tools | Yes | Yes |
| App / plugin marketplace | Limited | Yes |
| Design freedom | Medium | High |
IncludedLimited / higher plansNot available— Not confirmed
Security & enterprise
| Squarespace | Webflow | |
|---|---|---|
| Business / enterprise plan | Yes | Yes |
| SSO (SAML / OIDC) | Enterprise plan | Enterprise plan |
| SCIM user provisioning | — | Enterprise plan |
| SOC 2 | Type II | Type II |
| ISO 27001 | — | Yes |
| HIPAA (BAA available) | — | — |
| GDPR DPA | — | Yes |
| Data residency options | — | — |
| No training on your data | — | — |
| Audit logs | — | Enterprise plan (API) |
| Admin controls | Enterprise plan | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
From each vendor's security documentation. "—" = not confirmed. What to ask vendors · Compare all tools
What each tool does
Squarespace
Squarespace is an all-in-one website builder known for its designer templates, with hosting, SSL and commerce included. Its Blueprint AI builder asks about your goals and style, then assembles a site from its design system that you refine in the Fluid Engine editor. It also bundles scheduling, invoicing, email campaigns and member areas.
Key features- Designer templates and Fluid Engine drag-and-drop editor
- Blueprint AI guided site builder on every plan
- Online store for physical, digital products and services
- Blog with scheduling and categories
- Acuity Scheduling, invoicing and email campaigns
- Extensions for shipping, tax and accounting
Webflow
Webflow is a visual web development platform where users build with real HTML and CSS concepts such as classes, flexbox and grid, then publish to Webflow's hosting. It includes a flexible CMS, e-commerce, localization and an AI site builder that generates a site with a design system from a prompt. It is used by designers, agencies and marketing teams that need custom sites without hand-coding.
Key features- Visual designer based on HTML and CSS box model
- Flexible CMS with custom collections
- AI site builder on paid Workspace plans
- Webflow Ecommerce with Stripe and PayPal
- Localization and hosting on a global CDN
- App marketplace installed inside the Designer
Pricing
Squarespace
Free plan: no (14-day trial). Paid from ~$16/mo billed annually (Personal)
Webflow
Free Starter plan; Basic site plan $15/mo billed yearly
Prices last checked September 2026. Plans change often — confirm on each vendor's site.
Pros and cons
Squarespace
Strengths- Consistently polished design output with little effort
- Hosting, security and updates fully managed
- Commerce, scheduling and marketing tools in one account
- Mobile app for editing and managing orders
- No free plan, only a trial
- Only blog and page content can be exported, not the full site design
- Far smaller extension ecosystem than Shopify or WordPress
- Advanced store needs such as complex filtering or custom checkouts are limited
Not ideal for: Large stores with complex catalogues should use Shopify, and sites needing extensive custom functionality are better on WordPress or Webflow.
Webflow
Strengths- High design freedom with clean, semantic output
- One of the most flexible CMSs among hosted builders
- Static HTML, CSS and JS export on paid plans
- Large community, templates and app ecosystem
- Steeper learning curve than Wix or Squarespace
- Code export excludes CMS, e-commerce and forms functionality
- E-commerce is limited to Stripe and PayPal with product caps
- Separate site and workspace plans make pricing confusing
Not ideal for: Beginners wanting a quick site with minimal learning, and large stores, will be better served by Wix, Squarespace or Shopify.
Integrations
Squarespace
Webflow
FAQ
What is the main difference between Squarespace and Webflow?
Squarespace is built for creatives and small businesses wanting a polished, design-led site with built-in selling; Webflow is built for design and marketing teams building custom, CMS-driven websites with near-developer control.
Is Squarespace or Webflow cheaper?
Squarespace starts from $16/mo and Webflow starts from $15/mo (as of September 2026). On entry price, Webflow is cheaper — but compare what each plan includes, since limits differ. Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Do Squarespace and Webflow have free plans?
Webflow has a free plan, while Squarespace offers a free trial.
Which is easier to use, Squarespace or Webflow?
Squarespace is generally quicker to learn (Squarespace: low, Webflow: high learning curve).
What are good alternatives to Squarespace and Webflow?
Other website builders tools worth comparing include Hostinger, Wix and Framer.
