Squarespace vs Shopify: which one your small business actually needs

1 Oct

This is one of the most common questions I get, and a lot of the advice online isn't much help, because it's written by people paid to push one platform. I build in both. So here's the honest version.

The short answer? Squarespace and Shopify are built for two different jobs. Picking the right one comes down to what your business actually sells, and how.

What each one is really for

Squarespace is a website builder first. It's designed to make a beautiful, content-led site quickly, with selling as one of the things it can do. It shines for service businesses, portfolios, bookings, and shops with a small, simple product range.

Shopify is an online store first. Everything about it is built around selling physical products at scale: inventory, variants, shipping rules, point of sale, and connecting your store to other sales channels. The website side exists to serve the shop.

Neither is better. They're just better at different things.

Choose Squarespace if

You're a service business, consultant or creative, and your site is mostly about telling your story and getting enquiries
You sell a small number of products or run occasional sales
Design and a clean, cohesive brand matter a lot to you
You want to manage the whole thing yourself without a lot of moving parts

Choose Shopify if

Selling products is the core of your business, not a side feature
You have a real catalogue, with sizes, variants or stock to track
You need serious shipping, tax, or point of sale for in-person selling
You plan to grow the store and want a big library of apps to add features later

The fee thing you need to understand

This is where people get caught out, so read this bit twice.

Squarespace's entry-level Basic plan charges a small transaction fee on every online store sale, on top of normal card processing. Move up to Core or above and that fee drops away on physical products. (If you sell digital content or memberships, some higher plans still charge a fee on those, so check that too.) The more you sell, the more it pays to be on a higher plan.

Shopify doesn't charge its own transaction fee if you use Shopify Payments, its built-in payment system. Choose an outside payment provider instead and Shopify adds a fee on top of what that provider charges.

I'm deliberately not quoting exact dollar figures or percentages here, because both platforms have adjusted their pricing recently and any number I print will be out of date fast. Before you decide, check the current plans and fees on squarespace.com and shopify.com directly, or ask me and I'll run the numbers for your situation.

So which one?

If your website is your shopfront and your storytelling, and selling is light or simple, go Squarespace. If your business is the store, go Shopify.

Still not sure? That's exactly what a discovery call is for. Book a discovery call, tell me what you sell and how, and I'll tell you honestly which one fits. Even if the answer is the cheaper one.