6 Squarespace Alternatives: Should You Make Space For Other Platforms?

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Squarespace may be the king of design both in our research and in the wider web-building consensus, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for everybody. If you’re looking for the perfect fit for your website or want a change from Squarespace, it’s always good to know the alternatives.

But before we begin with our six best Squarespace alternatives, let’s take a quick look at the best three. Wix is the top choice, covering all bases from stunning designs to beginner-friendly tools. Shopify is next as the best way to scale an online store. If you want an alternative to using Squarespace to open an online store, you may be better off using Shopify. And finally, we have GoDaddy as the fastest way to build a website. If you value your time, don’t take this builder for granted over Squarespace.

We’ve done extensive research into web-building for this list, and examined all the providers from top to bottom so you can believe us when we say these are the best Squarespace alternatives!

These may be our top three, but let’s take a look at the rest of the list:

6 Best Squarespace Alternatives

  1. Wix Best overall Squarespace alternative
  2. Shopify Best for building a scalable online store
  3. GoDaddy Best for building a website quickly
  4. Hostinger Best for creating a website using AI tools
  5. WordPress.com Best for creating a blogging website
  6. IONOS Best for keeping building costs low
In creating this list and article, we put every website builder we review through an in-house research and testing process, so we can give you, our readers, the best results possible.

Each builder is tested and given an overall score for six major categories, each containing various individual categories we also analyze and give scores for. The six main categories are

Website features – Quality features, app market, blogging, SEO, marketing, etc.

Design functionalities – Template design, UX, mobile editor, flexibility of design.

Value for money – Average price plan, free trial, feature vs price.

Help and support – Help features vs price plan, knowledge center, customer support.

Customer satisfaction – Market analysis, likely to recommend, online comments, brand recognition, etc.

Ease of use – User testing comments, comparisons to other builders.

We got real people to sit and test all these categories across all our builders, so you can trust us. We like to put extra emphasis on value for money, ease of use, and design functionalities since we know these are what customers are going to be more concerned with.

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Wix

Shopify

GoDaddy

Hostinger

WordPress.com

IONOS

Overall Rating
4.9
Overall Rating
4.5
Overall Rating
4.4
Overall Rating
3.4
Overall Rating
3.2
Overall Rating
3.0
Starting from
Starting from
Starting from

$10.99

Starting from

$11.99

Currently discounted at $2.49 + 3 months free (starting with the 48-month plan)

Starting from

$4

Starting from

$1

Free plan or free trial

Free plan

Free plan or free trial

Free trial

Free plan or free trial

Free plan

Free plan or free trial

No

Free plan or free trial

Free plan

Free plan or free trial

No

Ease of use
4.4
Ease of use
4.0
Ease of use
4.1
Ease of use
3.9
Ease of use
3.2
Ease of use
2.8
Design Flexibility
4.3
Design Flexibility
4.0
Design Flexibility
4.1
Design Flexibility
3.6
Design Flexibility
1.8
Design Flexibility
2.6
Visit Wix Visit Shopify Visit GoDaddy Visit Hostinger Visit WordPress Visit IONOS

Further Information:

Before we start, find out more with our handy Best Website Builders page.

Or, the Best Website Builders for Small Businesses.

See how these builders match up side by side in our expert Website Builder Comparison Chart.

Is price a factor in your decision? Check out our review of the Cheapest Website Builders for budget-friendly options.

#1. Wix

Best overall Squarespace alternative

Price: $0 to $159/month

Editor's Choice

Wix

Best overall Squarespace alternative

Outstanding

4.9

out of 5
  • Best internal features
  • 800+ template designs
  • Powerful SEO tools
dollar icon svg

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $16 - $159 / month

Pros

  • icon yes svg Best overall website builder
  • icon yes svg Ties with Squarespace for ease of use
  • icon yes svg Users more likely to recommend

Cons

  • icon no svg Can’t switch template once site is live
  • icon no svg Creative freedom can feel overwhelming
  • icon no svg International growth needs support
Read Review

Wix is the best all-around website builder on the market today. What makes it so good? Simply put, it has everything you could ever need in one place. And over 200 million registered users would agree.

Though Squarespace put up a worthy battle, its scores having risen in a lot of our research, Wix still comes out on top as the best overall website builder with 4.8 out of 5, beating Squarespace’s 4.7. Major improvements Wix has made since last year are in its design functionality and help and support, giving stiffer competition to Squarespace where it previously had none.

Wix’s best quality is undoubtedly its top-of-the-range features, which we rated 4.8 out of 5.  The world’s best drag-and-drop feature makes designing websites a dream, with some other of the most convenient features including:

  • A free plan
  • Over 800 stunning templates covering every industry
  • 24/7 phone support for all your Wix worries.

Best of all, Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) lets you create a beautiful website with just a few clicks. Read more about Wix Editor vs Wix  ADI in our full guide.

Of course, it has a couple of small downsides like Wix ads on the free plan, and you can’t switch templates, but overall it’s a superb Squarespace substitute.

Wix is our undisputed king of features. From unlimited storage and bandwidth to unlimited creative freedom thanks to its drag-and-drop editor, Wix remains the best stop for users to go to if they want a ton of features.

If it all seems like too much, Wix can do most of the heavy lifting for you with its ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) feature. Simply fill out a small questionnaire and Wix will create a website based on your answers!

Wix continues to place importance on its in-house marketing, ecommerce, and internal functionality instead of having users download third-party apps or plugins. An example of this since last year’s round of testing is its increased SEO capabilities with Wix now having Semrush integration. Users can now keyword search and keep an SEO checklist from Wix, making it easier than ever to keep track of your site’s metrics. And for those wanting to grow their site internationally, Wix now supports 180 languages instead of 100, meaning there’s now very little separating your site from the rest of the world.

Squarespace used to have no competition for design amongst website builders – till now. In our most recent testing and research, Wix has shot up by 4.5% from last year’s design score of 4.4 to 4.6 out of 5, almost reaching Squarespace’s 4.7 out of 5.

With a larger focus on delivering quality templates, Wix’s templates are now more easily-navigated with a life-long appeal. It has over 800 templates across 80 subcategories, with standouts including:

  • Business
  • Online Store
  • Photography
  • Blogging
  • Portfolio and CV
  • Restaurants
  • Architecture
  • Hotels and B&Bs

Squarespace’s domination of design used to be undisputed, but now Wix is closing the gap, making it an excellent alternative if design is still your number one concern.

Wix offers four website plans and three have dedicated ecommerce plans, plus one enterprise plan for very large companies. Here’s how they break down:
  • Light: $16 per month, billed annually
  • Core: $27 per month, billed annually (Basic ecommerce)
  • Business: $32 per month, billed annually (Standard ecommerce)
  • Business Elite: $159 per month, billed annually (Advanced ecommerce)

Finally, the Enterprise plan can only be accessed by calling, in which developers will give you a personal quote depending on the size of your company.

Admittedly, Wix is on the expensive side of website builders, getting a 3 out of 5 overall for value of money. Quality-wise, you get what you pay for, so if you don’t mind splashing a bit of extra cash, Wix can make it worthwhile.

Wix has long been seen as easier to use than Squarespace. Times change, however –Squarespace made considerable strides since last year and now both providers sit at an overall score of 4.4 out of 5 for ease of use in our research.

Our testers, who got hands-on experience with all the builders featured in this list, commented that Wix was:

“More straightforward than Squarespace”

This is more than likely due to Wix’s complete creative freedom within the editor, since its drag-and-drop function lets you place any element wherever you want. Be careful though, because sometimes this freedom can be a bit overwhelming for beginners and can result in a cluttered site.

Wix has really increased its help and support since last year, rising 10.5% in our score rankings from 4.3 to 4.8 out of 5, now drawing with Squarespace.

The main factors behind the increase are its knowledge center and the amount of help on offer vs its price plan. In our research, we noticed an increased amount of articles were readily available for support queries, with clear, directional communication, leading to a jump in the knowledge center score from a 4 to a perfect 5 out of 5, which in turn increased its help and support vs pricing metric.

Wix’s customer satisfaction score increased by 1.1% since last year, beating Squarespace’s 4.5 out of 5 with a 4.7 out of 5.

This increase is due to a massive jump in Wix’s TrustPilot score from 1.6 to 4.1, showing that Wix has done a lot in the past year to regain users’ trust.

wix logo

Is Wix the Best Choice For You?

Wix is our top rated website builder, and its choice of templates and easy to use editor make it the best Squarespace alternative.

Further Information:

On a tight budget? Discover the Best Free Website Builders here.

Learn more about Wix with our Wix Pricing Review.

Read our full Wix Review.

#2. Shopify

Best for building a scalable online store

Price: $29 to $299/month

Shopify

Best for building a scalable online store

Very Good

4.5

out of 5
  • Supports big inventories
  • Popular with our users
  • Heavily reliant on apps
dollar icon svg

Free trial available

Paid Plans: $29 - $299 / month

Pros

  • icon yes svg Sell across 10 channels
  • icon yes svg Brilliant inventory system
  • icon yes svg Best all-around ecommerce platform

Cons

  • icon no svg Need to reformat themes if you switch
  • icon no svg Costs can add up with apps
  • icon no svg Transaction fees based on payment option
Read Review

If you’re looking to sell online, now is the time to start. US ecommerce sales reached $1.03 trillion in 2022 for the first time ever! Shopify is a top-rated online store builder – it has the most comprehensive set of tools on the market, and it came first in our customer satisfaction research with a 4.8 out of 5, beating both Squarespace and Wix.

Yes, you can add ecommerce features on Squarespace, but it can’t match the strength and depth of Shopify.

It has everything you need to manage and grow your business, including multiple channel selling, a huge inventory system, and access to 1200+ apps. There’s also Shopify Plus, an all-in-one ecommerce platform for large-scale companies. The customer support is excellent, too, with 24/7 live chat, phone, and email help.

Shopify powers more than 1,700,000 stores. You could join the happy crowd for just $29 per month, starting with a 3-day free trial and $1 per month for three months. If that sounds like too much, Shopify’s latest addition, the Starter Plan, can get an online store up and running for only $1 per month.

Shopify’s features are mainly centered around ecommerce, and in that regard, they are some of the best. From multichannel selling to abandoned cart recovery, Shopify makes selling online a breeze. Its inventory system is particularly impressive, allowing for unlimited products, and a recent merger with logistics startup Deliverr makes getting products to customers’ doors easy as pie! Shopify’s sales features score 4.7 out of 5 in our research, whereas Squarespace only has 3.7 out of 5.

Much of Shopify’s capabilities come from its app market, however. With over 6,000 apps to choose from, you’ve got plenty of options.

Shopify can technically still be used to build normal, non-ecommerce websites, but we don’t recommend it. You’ll be paying for a ton of sales features you never use, plus an editor that isn’t as good with features that aren’t designed for normal websites. We say if you’re using Shopify, stick to online stores.

It should come as no surprise that a platform built for online stores might not have as strong a design sense as Squarespace. In our research, Shopify scores 4 out of 5 for design functionality, coming in fourth overall in our rankings.

The issues come in Shopify having only 86 themes, with only ten of them being free. You can expect to be paying anywhere between $150 to $350 for just a theme! You can still edit them to reflect your brand, but they don’t have the same creative freedom as other builders.

There are three main Shopify pricing plans:
  • Basic Shopify: $29 per month
  • Shopify: $79 per month
  • Advanced Shopify: $299 per month

There is also the aforementioned Starter Plan, a lightweight plan optimized for mobile selling on social media. At the other end of the scale, you have Shopify Plus+, an enterprise plan for high-volume businesses which can run you up to $2000 per month. The plan you need will depend on what type of store you want to run, so it’s always best to compare pricing with Shopify.

Shopify ties with Wix in our research with a value-for-money score of 3 out of 5, compared to Squarespace’s 4.6 out of 5. While you get a lot of really amazing sales features, Shopify does also include extra fees such as a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee on all purchases, as well as having to pay for any extra apps or themes. Still, if you’re set on opening an online store, Shopify is absolutely the best alternative to Squarespace.

Shopify has an ease of use score of 4 out of 5. It isn’t as intuitive to build a normal website with as Wix or Squarespace, and its editor can seem clunky or confusing at times.

For those making online stores, it does a very good job of predicting merchant needs exactly when needed, especially in regard to product inventories, so you can never miss a potential sale again. Neat!

Shopify’s help and support offerings are decent, scoring 3.5 out of 5 in our research. The help and support it offers to all customers are:
  • 24/7 phone support
  • Social media support
  • 24/7 live chat support
  • Community forum
  • Email support
  • Help center
  • Video tutorials
  • Advanced specialist support

Shopify is our people-pleasing provider of choice for our users, coming first in our customer satisfaction research with a 4.8 out of 5. In comparison, Squarespace comes fourth with a customer score of 4.5 out of 5 – so if you value what other users think, Shopify is a must-try. Being #1 in the ecommerce sector and helping many achieve their online dreams certainly puts Shopify in a good light, as do its great sales features.

With promising acquisitions and new methods (like the Starter Plan) being used to tackle new markets and avenues, Shopify seems to be gunning to become a one-stop-shop for all ecommerce needs, from selling to marketing and shipping.

shopify logo small website builder

Do You Want to Sell Online?

Shopify is the best platform to use if you want to build and grow an online store, thanks to its powerful sales tools.

Further Information:

Like the sound of Shopify? Learn How to use Shopify in just 9 steps.

Read our full Shopify Review.

#3. GoDaddy

Best for building a website quickly

Price: $9.99 to $29.99/month

GoDaddy

Best for building a website quickly

Very Good

4.4

out of 5
  • 5-minute setup
  • Good for basic sites
  • Affordable starting plan
dollar icon svg

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $6.99 - $469.99 / month

Pros

  • icon yes svg Fastest route to building a website
  • icon yes svg Switch templates at any time
  • icon yes svg Start with its free plan

Cons

  • icon no svg Only suitable for basic websites
  • icon no svg More restrictive block elements
  • icon no svg Limited blogging tools
Read Review

Need a website that’s ready to GO? This is your solution. GoDaddy is the Usain Bolt of website builders, using ADI to create a site in just a few minutes.

Why is it on the list? GoDaddy is not only quick but really user-friendly, with an ease of use score of 4.1 out of 5, coming just behind Wix and Squarespace. Like an ostrich though, GoDaddy prioritizes speed over looks. That doesn’t mean it’s ugly, however, as it still scored a 4.1 out of 5 for design, coming in third overall.

If time and convenience are your main concerns, GoDaddy is a good Squarespace alternative.

GoDaddy does have its flaws, though. It currently has no app market, meaning you can’t add additional functionality from outside sources, and in our research, GoDaddy actually fell by -6.7% in our rankings from a 3.3 to a 3.1 out of 5 since last year.

As we mentioned, GoDaddy prioritizes its speed and ease of use over features. In fact, its site speed actually rose by 7% in our most recent testing, now giving it a “good” rating – the only builder to achieve it.

That’s not to say GoDaddy has no features. You still have access to all the basics like blogging, SEO, and even ADI functionality. In fact, GoDaddy’s SEO remains one of its standout features, and our research saw a 33.3% rise in its SEO from a 3 last year to a 4 out of 5 this year.

Other features added to SEO are custom headers and URLs, meaning you can make your site more easily found online. Other recent improvements since the last time we tested the platform include a logo maker and the ability to add customer testimonials to your site.

The best thing we can say about GoDaddy’s design functionality is that it’s fast. You can have a website published in under 10 minutes with GoDaddy through a combination of its ADI and amazingly simple-to-use editor. If you are the type of person who can tend to agonize over every minute design decision, GoDaddy cuts that stress in half by basically building the site for you.

GoDaddy’s template designs aren’t bad. In fact, some are actually quite stylish and sleek. But GoDaddy cannot keep the same consistency of template designs and themes across its 100+ templates like Wix or Squarespace can. In our most recent testing, GoDaddy’s templates score fell -25% from a 4 to a 3 out of 5, and its overall design score also fell by -5.8% from 4.3 to a 4.1 out of 5.

GoDaddy has four website builder plans
  • Basic: $9.99 per month, billed annually
  • Premium: $13.99 per month, billed annually
  • Commerce: $14.99 per month, billed annually
  • Commerce Plus: $29.99 per month, billed annually

GoDaddy also has a free plan, meaning you can use the builder for free, though you will have to upgrade to get access to some features.

With a 4.1 out of 5 for ease of use overall in our website rankings, GoDaddy is just behind Squarespace when it comes to an easy experience building a website. Although its design quality can’t square up to Squarespace, its clear and simple editor gives you everything you need for the type of website you want to have. As one of our testers said:

It was easy to use. I could find everything I needed to find. If I needed to make a simple website for a business this is the one I would choose.”

While GoDaddy may be super easy and lightning quick, don’t expect much in the way of leveling up your site beyond anything other than a simple website. The ability to scale and the overall functionality just isn’t on the level as say Squarespace or Shopify is.

GoDaddy offers good help and support with an overall score in our research of 4.3 out of 5. It offers phone, live chat, community center, and knowledge base support. Though this is the same score as last time, GoDaddy has made a few changes.

You can now contact GoDaddy for help and support via email, and the GoDaddy knowledge center now has articles for video, GIF, and image tutorials.

Customer awareness of GoDaddy has never been an issue – from its high-profile Super Bowl ads to the exploits of its eccentric CEO, GoDaddy remains one of the most well-known names in the industry. This past year proved a great success for GoDaddy in the minds of customers with a perfect 5 out of 5 for positive online comments  – the only builder in this list to receive one! This has resulted in a  rise in overall customer satisfaction by 5.9% from 4.3 to 4.6 out of 5.
godaddy logo

Do You Need a Website Fast?

GoDaddy is the fastest way to create a website, meaning it’s great if you need a simple website live quickly.

Further Information:

Can’t decide on a platform? Read our Squarespace vs GoDaddy piece.

Read our full GoDaddy Review.

#4. Hostinger

Best for creating a website using AI tools

Price: $2.99/month

Hostinger

Best for creating a website using AI tools

Above Average

4.2

out of 5
  • Simple templates
  • Drag-and-drop editor
  • Affordable single plan

Paid Plans: $2.99 - $109.99 / month

Pros

  • icon yes svg A cheap, basic platform for beginners
  • icon yes svg Keep things simple with one plan
  • icon yes svg 24/7 live chat support

Cons

  • icon no svg Lack of creative control
  • icon no svg Weaker features than Wix and Squarespace
  • icon no svg Poor scalability due to its single plan

Hostinger (used to be Zyro) is better known for its hosting, but its website builder is actually a solid alternative for Squarespace users. Year after year, Hostinger surprises us with its upgrades, especially in the design department. Its grid-based drag-and-drop editor makes editing super simple, and improvements to its templates have shot its template choice score up 66.67% from a 3 all the way to a perfect 5 out of 5!

Although it can’t boast the same range of features and support as Squarespace or any of the other big builders, it’s a provider that gives its users all the necessary tools they need and is definitely one to watch.

With a 2.8 out of 5 for overall features in our research, Hostinger is not on the same level as Squarespace with its 4.6 out of 5. That being said, Hostinger continually improves its features year after year, rising 16.6% just since last year from 2.3 out of 5.

We especially like its Google Analytics functionality, a really great feature included for such a smaller builder comparatively. In our research, its SEO actually rose a whole 100% in our rankings from a 2 to a 4 out of 5. That being said, its marketing and ecommerce functionalities could use some more love.

Due to its other life as a hosting provider, you can expect all the main hosting features to be included, such as a free SSL certificate and a free domain name.

As we said, Hostinger’s design has really improved since we last tested, jumping from 3.1 to 3.6 out of 5 overall for design. What used to be clunky and outdated is now cool, sleek, and easy to use. Its aesthetic capabilities have improved dramatically as well, rising a whole 200% from just a 1 out of 5 to a 3 out of 5.

Hostinger’s templates have really improved too, with over 130 templates covering a wide range of occupations and businesses. Its Smart Layout function was previously locked to its Adelina template but is now available on all its templates. Its grid-based layout lets you see all the live elements at once, making sure your design remains consistent even as you add new features.

Hostinger keeps things simple and streamlined. It may not be able to reach the heights of Squarespace, but sometimes less is more.

Hostinger saw a small decrease in its overall value for money score since last year, falling -4.8% from a 4.2 to a 4 out of 5. That said, it’s still a much more affordable, but lower-value option, for Squarespace. As long as you don’t need those scalable features, it’s fantastic for those on a tight budget.

A single-plan website, you can get a combined web-hosting and website builder plan for $2.99 per month (billed annually).  For that price, you get 100 websites, unlimited traffic, 24/7 help and support, and a free email and domain ($7.99 value).

A slight decrease in score from last year from a 4 down to a 3.9 out of 5, our testers still had a lot of positive to say about Hostinger, praising the intuitive grid-based design that was easy for beginners. One tester said,

“It’s definitely improved since the last time I tested it. It was a lot easier to navigate.”

All the negatives were about its lack of advanced features and creative control as found on other builders like Squarespace.

With a 3.3 out of 5, Hostinger’s help and support score remains the same as last year. Hostinger makes a point of having no phone support, which for those not as computer literate can be an issue. Users can contact Hostinger 24/7 through live chat, email, and a knowledge center.

Our testers did notice that finding articles through the knowledge center was more challenging than in previous years, resulting in a -33.33% fall in our rankings from a 3 to a 2 out of 5 for knowledge centers.

While Hostinger saw a 100% rise in our research for both brand recognition and market analysis since last year, both going from 1 to 2 out of 5, Hostinger still struggled in some areas of customer satisfaction, especially likely to recommend, where it dropped 40% from a 5 out of 5 to just a 3.

This is more than likely due to the whole rebrand from Zyro confusing a number of customers. Overall, Hostinger scores 2.8 out of 5 for customer satisfaction.

hostinger logo

Want Something Small And Sweet?

Hostinger is a website builder and hosting provider that doesn’t give you thousands of features all at once, making it perfect for small hobby sites.

Further Information:

Read our Hostinger Hosting Review for some more information about that

#5. WordPress

Best for creating a blogging website

Price: $0 to $45/month

WordPress.com

Best for creating a blogging website

Above Average

3.2

out of 5
  • Well-suited to blogs
  • Not beginner-friendly
  • Customize with code
dollar icon svg

Free plan available

Paid Plans: $4 - $45 / month

Pros

  • icon yes svg Literally built for blogging
  • icon yes svg Thousands of plugins to add
  • icon yes svg Paid plans start at just $4/month

Cons

  • icon no svg Challenging editing interface
  • icon no svg Not great for websites that aren’t blogs
  • icon no svg Comes with extra costs, such as hosting
Read Review

43% of all websites are built with WordPress, and it is the standout choice for blogs. But hang on, what’s the difference between .com and .org? Well, there’s one major thing you should know.

The latter requires you to download WordPress software to a separate host – it’s like rental space for websites – so you have more freedom, but you also need to have a healthy knowledge of how to code since it gives you a blank canvas. WordPress.com, what we’ll be talking about today, is WordPress’s website builder, and while it’s a lot easier to build with, we still wouldn’t recommend complete beginners use it.

Squarespace is our best option for blogging platforms, but WordPress offers an excellent alternative, as it lets you take your website to the next level thanks to the limitless customization. In our research, WordPress.com scores a perfect 5 out of 5 for blogging. However, overall WordPress actually suffered an overall loss in our rankings in our recent testing, falling -9.8% from a 3.5 to a 3.2 out of 5.

Overall, WordPress.com only scores 2.8 out of 5 for features in our research. That’s still a massive improvement from last year, where it scored only 2.1 out of 5 (a rise of 33.9%!), but it still can’t hold a candle to the in-built features of Squarespace, which scores 4.6 out of 5. Whereas Squarespace serves as a one-stop shop for all things website building, WordPress wants its users to use plugins and craft it from the ground up, with a plugin market with over 58,000 plugins (that its users can use if they’re on the $25/month Business plan).

The reason for so few in-built features is because of WordPress’s primary focus on blogging. The tools you get included are:

  • Social bookmarking
  • RSS feed
  • Archives
  • Comments
  • Search feature

While WordPress can certainly be used for things other than blogging, it’s a lot harder to twist into shape if you are just relying on in-built features. That said, we did notice a massive increase in WordPress.com’s marketing capabilities, a whole 300% increase from a 1 out of 5 to a 4 out of 5!

WordPress has risen 8.3% from 1.8 to 2 out of 5 in design functionality overall, putting it just below the bottom of our ranking. To put it simply, WordPress.com is quite difficult to design. A basic level of coding isn’t needed but is definitely preferable, and if you want to make something else other than a content-heavy site like a blog, you may be facing an uphill battle.

WordPress has over 300 themes but sadly you will have to pay for the majority of them, since they price anywhere from $30 to $80.

Falling 14.6% in our rankings from last year from 4.8 to 4.1 out of 5 still puts WordPress fourth overall for value for money in our rankings, mostly by offering a free plan on top of its four premium plans, so you can try out its features without having to commit.

The free plan includes visitor stats, contact forms, spam protection, and 1GB of storage. If you think you’ll need more you can upgrade to the premium plans:

  • Personal: $5 per month, billed annually
  • Premium: $8 per month, billed annually
  • Business: $25 per month, billed annually
  • Commerce: $45 per month, billed annually

WordPress also has an Enterprise plan which starts at $25,000 and is used by Disney, Facebook, and CNN!

We won’t sugarcoat it: WordPress.com is not easy to use. In fact, in our user testing, it got the worst score out of all the builders in this list with a 2.7 out of 5, down -14.6% from last year. If you are an experienced builder with some coding knowledge, WordPress may have its uses. But for our testers, it proved to be very difficult, with one saying:

“You are initially presented with so much to do that I became flustered. I couldn’t work out how to do the simple things because there was so much in the way.”

You may think with such bad ease of use that WordPress should compensate with excellent help and support, right? Sadly, that is not the case. In keeping with the open-source beginnings of WordPress.org, WordPress.com provides little in the way of help and support, or guides.

That being said, it did rise 7.1% from last year, from 2.8 to 3 out of 5.  There is a knowledge center and community forums for frustrated builders, but with extremely limited topics and suggestions.

WordPress.com’s community score is down as well from 4 last year to 3.9 out of 5 this year. Since so many use WordPress online, it has more of an awareness and almost reverence, especially from those who have been using website building since the 90s.

However, major losses in the opinion of its UX (as can be attained by our testers), dropping by -50% from 2 to 1 out of 5 have left WordPress.com leaving its customers less than satisfied.

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Do You Want a Powerful Website?

WordPress is a powerful platform that’s amazing for blogging but also gives you a huge amount of control over your site.

Further Information:

Need help on deciding? See how Squarespace compares to WordPress.

Are you a blogger? Read about our Top Rated Blogging Platforms.

Read our full WordPress.com Review.

#6. IONOS

Best for keeping building costs low

Price: $7 to $25/month

IONOS

Best for keeping building costs low

Average

3

out of 5
  • Basic tools and features
  • Multilingual options
  • Cheap introductory deals

Paid Plans: $0.5 - $35 / month

Pros

  • icon yes svg Lots of scalable tools
  • icon yes svg Templates cover wide industry range
  • icon yes svg Set up sites in different languages

Cons

  • icon no svg Templates aren’t so visually appealing
  • icon no svg Requires commitment to paid plan
  • icon no svg Confusing to work with
Read Review

For any small corporation looking to get online, IONOS could be the one. How is that so? It’s specifically designed for professionals, offering a by-the-numbers builder with limited hassle and cheap, introductory prices.

While the templates can look a bit dated, they cover a lot of industries. But the strength of IONOS is in the tools – some of the best include multilingual translation, and visitor targeting, which personalizes the journey for each customer. It’s also made some of the biggest dramatic leaps in help and support since last year, rising 35.7% in our rankings from a 3.5 to a 4.8 out of 5, tying it with Squarespace.

IONOS represents a good option for bloggers, and small businesses who want to grow. It’s also worth noting it doesn’t have a free plan, but it offers a money-back trial. If Squarespace’s starter plan of $16 per month is too expensive for you, then IONOS’ affordable plans are a great alternative from just $1 per month to start with. Overall, we gave it a 3 out of 5 in our research.

As a hosting provider, IONOS is known for its cheap prices and performance. For its web builder, not much has changed. Its mobile editor has the fastest site speed of any we’ve tested! Other than being speedy, IONOS doesn’t offer much in the way of advanced features, being a very barebones builder and only scoring 2.2 out of 5 for features – the worst of all the builders on this list.

It has no ADI, app market, or ecommerce capabilities, definitely making the scope for those who would be interested in this builder limited. However, it has added blogging since the last time we tested. Although not the best blogging (we rated it 3 out of 5), it shows that IONOS is committed to improving in the areas it’s lacking. Other improvements include its SEO and marketing.

IONOS’ greatest feature strength is its internationalization features. If you want your website to appeal to audiences all over the world and need it to be in multiple languages, then you’re in luck. Available on all plans, IONOS’ multilingual abilities stretch to over 60 languages. In our research, we awarded it a 5 out of 5, beating out Squarespace who we only awarded a 2 out of 5.

A rise of 4% from last year’s 2.5 to 2.6 out of 5 still doesn’t proclaim IONOS as a king of design functionality. However, IONOS did make noticeable improvements to its template design, which in previous years were derided by our testers, saying:

“Such a limited range of templates and they look really dated.”

The template design rose by 33.3% from a 3 to a 4 out of 5 in our research. However, the editor is still clunky to use and the choices of stock images aren’t great either. If you love Squarespace’s designs and want a similar aesthetic from your new builder, we don’t recommend choosing IONOS

IONOS’ three plans can sometimes be hard to believe. “$1 for a web-builder? Can it be true?” some of you may say. It is true, but do be aware these discounted prices end after 12 months, and you will start paying the renewal prices afterward. Let’s see the discounted prices and their renewal prices together:
  • Starter: $1 per month for 12 months, then $5 per month
  • Plus: $5 per month for 12 months, then $10 per month
  • Pro: $10 per month for 23 months, then $15 per month

As you can see, IONOS still remains on the cheaper side. In fact, it used to beat Squarespace for value for money last year in our rankings, with 4.2 out of 5 to Squarespace’s 4. However, since last year Squarespace has improved its value score to 4.6, while IONOS has dropped to 3.1. All the builders have put up their prices, but not necessarily their included features to match. IONOS is a builder that, even though cheap, doesn’t provide enough value for money that a slightly more expensive builder could provide.

On top of that, IONOS has no free plan or free trial. If you want to take it for a test drive, you’re going to have to pay upfront.

IONOS’ ease of use has remained the same as last year, with a score of 2.8 out of 5 overall. Many of our testers commented on its lack of customization, but some did note that there were some positives, like:

“IONOS’ editor was pretty easy-to-use and intuitive – it had some really nice elements and flexibility when designing”

However, all felt that there was something lacking in the editing of IONOS. Unlike Squarespace, many of our testers felt there was no creative feeling in the design and ease of use, that everything felt very clinical and matter-of-fact. If you have a real eye for design, IONOS might not be the alternative for you.

As we mentioned before, IONOS has made great improvements to its help and support since our last round of testing, rising 35.7% in our overall help and support to reach a score of 4.8 out of 5 – the same as Squarespace. IONOS also scores a perfect 5 out of 5 in both the restore option and knowledge center.

The knowledge center especially was a large improvement, adding more articles covering a range of options plus refining their clarity for all readers.

A slight fall from 4 out of 5 to 3.9 since last year’s testing for IONOS’ scores in customer satisfaction.  Ultimately there weren’t many big changes in this category, except for a rise in inline comments of 25% from a 4 to a 5 out of 5.
1&1 IONOS logo

Do You Need a Business Site?

IONOS can’t compete with Squarespace’s designs, but it does cater to a wide range of industries and comes packed with features!

Further Information:

Is IONOS the right hosting platform for you? Find out by reading our IONOS Review.

Squarespace Alternatives: Conclusion

Simply put, Squarespace is a dream for designers. It has the best themes on the market, helping produce some of the internet’s nicest pages. However, it’s not the only option for creating wonderful-looking websites.

For example, if you’re a tech beginner, you can find much easier platforms. Bloggers can find more suitable brands, and budding entrepreneurs are likely to achieve success online elsewhere.

6 Best Squarespace Alternatives

  1. Wix Best overall Squarespace alternative
  2. Shopify Best for building a scalable online store
  3. GoDaddy Best for building a website quickly
  4. Hostinger Best for creating a website using AI tools
  5. WordPress.com Best for creating a blogging website
  6. IONOS Best for keeping building costs low

There we have it: our list of six great alternatives. Whether you want a corporate site, blog, or portfolio, there are so many alternatives out there. So, If you’re trying to fit circles into Squarespace-d holes when building a website, it’s time to try something new.

FAQs

Squarespace’s cheapest plan costs $16 per month (billed annually). The best Squarespace alternatives that cost less than this are:

It’s worth mentioning that Wix, Weebly, Strikingly, and Site123 all come with free plans!

Yes! In our research, Wix outperformed Squarespace to claim the title of best overall website builder. Squarespace has better templates, but Wix is the better all-rounder. That said, the question is better than Squarespace for you – our goal is to help you find the platform with the features that match your unique needs.
Yes! If you already have a Squarespace website, but want to switch to a new platform, you can do this. Not all your content will be transferred, but you can export your Squarespace website into an .xml file (this is particularly useful for exporting to WordPress).

Website builders can be tricky to move between because so much of their content is reliant on their unique platform’s code. Some make it easier to switch than others, so always check before starting. In many cases you’ll need to start again from scratch, which is less than ideal, but you may be able to use a third party migration tool such as Cart2Cart (for online stores).

Over 1,700 companies reportedly use Squarespace in their tech stacks, including Accenture, HBO, and DoorDash.
In our research, Wix is the best alternative to Squarespace. It comes first overall in our research as the best website builder, scoring a 4.8 out of 5 overall in our research compared to Squarespace’s 4.7 out of 5.
Written by:
headshot of Sam Jagger
Being a Writer for Website Builder Expert isn’t just typing words on a laptop. Each day, I’m finding new and innovative ways to help you get online in a mode you feel comfortable with. And it’s a task I do with enthusiasm and gusto. Not only do I have experience building with all the providers we talk about - creating websites such as this Strikingly demo - but we also have our wonderful, constantly updated research fielded by our researchers, so you can be reassured that what we say is an honest reflection of our professional opinions. I’ve written articles and featured guest posts for apps like UXPin on web design in the modern age, as well as answered over 100 user comments on the site and delved into the world of choosing a domain name and adding Bitcoin payments to your site in my own pitched articles. All of this is to say that when I want to get you online - I mean it! Outside the office, I have attended the eCommerce Expo and built up a ton of industry knowledge through talks, workshops, and guided learning sessions with noted experts. The internet is made for everyone, so come online and let us help you get there.
Researched by:
natasha_willett
I love to understand human behavior and the cognitive biases that drive us to do what we do. For over nine years I have worked as a mixed method researcher – research using a mix of numerical data and personal experiences – across a range of sectors, from insurance and policy development to finally arriving at Website Builder Expert five years ago. Fascinated by consumer decision-making, I meticulously built our leading ranking methodology to explore where providers like Wix sit within a competitive industry and what value they truly bring to our audience.
As a member of the Market Research Society, I’m an advocate for high ethical, commercial, and methodological best practices. All of this combines to give you the most ethical recommendations based on real data.

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