Wix Studio vs Squarespace: Squarespace Looks Better Out of the Box

Wix Studio and Squarespace target a similar audience: people who want a professional website without writing code. Wix Studio gives you more control over layout and design. Squarespace gives you better-looking results with less work.

Squarespace wins for most people. The templates are just better.

What Wix Studio does well

Wix Studio gives you real design freedom. CSS grid layouts, responsive breakpoint control, and flexible positioning mean you can build almost any layout you imagine. Squarespace can't match that level of customization.

The app marketplace is also a strength. If you need booking, events, memberships, forums, or a restaurant menu, there's probably a Wix app that handles it. Squarespace covers the basics but doesn't have the same breadth.

For designers who want pixel-level control, Wix Studio is the more powerful tool. It just requires more skill to make it look good.

What Squarespace does well

Squarespace templates are the gold standard for out-of-the-box design quality. Every template looks like it was designed by a professional, because it was. The typography, spacing, and layout decisions are already made, and they're good decisions.

This matters more than people think. With Wix Studio, you can build anything, but "anything" includes ugly. Squarespace constrains you in ways that protect the final result. Your site will look polished even if you're not a designer.

Squarespace's blogging and content tools are also more refined. The editor is clean, scheduling works well, and the SEO features are straightforward. For content-focused sites like blogs, portfolios, and small business pages, Squarespace handles the workflow better.

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Pricing

Wix Studio: Free plan available. Paid plans from $16/month (Lite) to $159/month (Business Elite).

Squarespace: No free plan. Starts at $16/month (Personal) and goes up to $49/month (Commerce Advanced).

Wix Studio's free tier is an advantage for testing, but Squarespace's paid plans include more design polish per dollar. The Personal plan at $16/month gives you a fully functional, professional-looking site.

The honest split

Wix Studio is the right choice for:

• Sites that need specific built-in functionality (booking, memberships, forums)
• Designers who want full layout control
• Projects with unique layouts that templates can't handle
• Testing ideas on a free plan before committing

Squarespace is the right choice for:

• Portfolios, blogs, and small business sites
• Non-designers who want a polished result without design skills
• Content-focused sites where the writing experience matters
• Anyone who values aesthetic consistency over customization

Start Building on Squarespace