Shopify and Squarespace are two of the best-known platforms for building an online store, each with a different set of strengths.

Both are household names, even among people who aren’t tech-savvy, and Shopify is the larger by a wide margin: it says merchants have made $1.1 trillion in sales on its platform.

Shopify is an ecommerce-first platform with features built for product-led businesses that sell tangible and digital goods, online or offline.

Squarespace is a strong choice for companies that prioritize aesthetics (its drag-and-drop page builder is one of the best), digital content, and member experiences.

But the details matter. Here’s how Shopify and Squarespace compare, so you can decide which fits your business. New to Shopify? Our guide to how Shopify works covers setup, pricing, and pros and cons.

Shopify and Squarespace feature comparison

We’ll compare Shopify and Squarespace across six dimensions:

1. Ecommerce features
2. Customization and design
3. Cost
4. SEO and marketing tools
5. App and plugin options
6. Payment options

Ecommerce features

Shopify

Shopify is one of the titans of ecommerce, with a wide range of tools designed for online sales.

From the start, store owners get features like inventory management, a range of payment gateways, and multichannel selling (so merchants can sell not just on their website but also on social platforms and marketplaces).

Shopify’s App Store adds thousands of integrations and plugins that extend the base platform, from dropshipping to advanced SEO tools. Its dedicated ecommerce focus makes it a preferred choice for many retailers.

Shopify also supports a variety of international payment methods and currencies, so businesses can serve a global audience without significant hurdles.

Squarespace

Squarespace began as a website builder for content creators and businesses looking for beautiful designs. Over the years, it has added ecommerce capabilities, making it easier to sell products and services directly through a Squarespace site.

It offers an easy-to-use interface and stunning templates, and its store features now cover the basics well: unlimited products, gift cards, subscriptions, abandoned cart recovery, and a point of sale option. But compared with Shopify, its ecommerce toolkit is narrower, particularly for multichannel selling and the breadth of integrations.

For businesses that want a content-rich site with a smaller ecommerce component, Squarespace can be an ideal choice. It presents content beautifully alongside a functional online store, though it’s less comprehensive than Shopify.

Both platforms support ecommerce. Shopify stands out for its comprehensive online selling tools, while Squarespace blends content and commerce.

Verdict: Shopify wins

Customization and design

Shopify

When it comes to customization and design, Shopify is no slouch. With its large selection of professionally designed themes, both free and paid, merchants can create a store that fits their brand and audience.

The themes cater to a wide range of industries, from fashion to electronics, so businesses of all types can find something suitable.

Beyond the initial theme, Shopify allows deep customization. Even people without technical know-how can make significant design changes with the drag-and-drop editor.

For those with coding knowledge or access to developers, Shopify’s Liquid template language opens up even more design potential, letting you fine-tune almost every aspect of the storefront.

Squarespace

Squarespace has earned its reputation mainly through its out-of-the-box design. Even beginners can build a site that looks professionally designed.

Every template is carefully crafted for aesthetics, which is why photographers, artists, and other creative professionals favor them.

The platform offers a straightforward drag-and-drop editor for adjusting layouts and tweaking designs without touching code, so even the least technical users can achieve a polished result.

For those who want to go deeper, Squarespace provides access to CSS and, on higher plans, code injection, for a higher degree of customization.

In short, Shopify excels at commerce-focused design with the flexibility to customize deeply, and Squarespace stands out for polished templates built for visual appeal. The choice depends on your priorities: a commerce-centric design or a visually striking presentation.

Whether you build with Squarespace’s editor or start from a feature-rich Shopify theme, both platforms give you good options.

Verdict: Tie

Pricing and costs

Pricing changes, so check each platform’s official pricing page (Shopify, Squarespace) before you decide. The figures below are in US dollars, as of October 2026, and assume annual billing.

Shopify

• Basic ($29/month): For solo entrepreneurs and new stores. Covers the essentials, with card rates from 2.9% + 30¢.
• Grow ($79/month): For small teams, with up to five staff accounts and lower card rates.
• Advanced ($299/month): For stores with global reach, with up to 15 staff accounts, live third-party shipping rates, and the lowest card rates of the standard plans.
• Plus (from $2,300/month): For complex, high-volume businesses, with a fully customizable checkout, unlimited staff accounts, and priority support.

Paying monthly instead of annually costs more ($39, $105, and $399 per month for Basic, Grow, and Advanced).

Beyond the subscription, budget for third-party apps, which can add up. Shopify also has its own payment processor, Shopify Payments. If you use a different payment gateway instead, Shopify charges an extra transaction fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, and 0.2% on Plus.

Squarespace

• Basic ($19/month): Supports selling products and services, with a 2% online store transaction fee.
• Core ($29/month): No online store transaction fee, plus discounts, carrier-calculated shipping, and Google Shopping integration.
• Plus ($49/month): Lower payment processing rates and more advanced selling features.
• Advanced ($99/month): The lowest payment processing rates and the most advanced commerce tools.

Monthly billing costs more ($25, $39, $65, and $139 per month). Squarespace’s pricing is straightforward, but its commerce features and costs depend on the tier, so most serious stores will want Core or above. Advanced integrations may also need paid third-party extensions.

Hidden costs

Both platforms have hidden costs. Shopify’s app library is rich, but it’s easy to collect apps, and each adds to your monthly fees. Transaction fees also accumulate if you don’t use Shopify Payments.

Squarespace is open about its costs, but to use its full commerce toolkit you’ll need to move up from the cheapest plan, and tools it doesn’t offer natively may mean external costs.

The true cost of either platform depends on your specific needs and how you use the tools.

On paper, Squarespace’s lower entry price and its inclusion of more commerce features in each tier make it the cheaper option for most small stores, so we’ll give this one to Squarespace.

Verdict: Squarespace wins

SEO and marketing tools

Shopify’s SEO and marketing features

Shopify understands the importance of organic search for driving traffic to online stores, and offers a range of SEO tools:

• Meta descriptions and titles: Customize them for products, blog posts, and pages to target your keywords.
• Clean URLs: Shopify creates SEO-friendly URLs, and you can edit the handle (slug) for each product, page, and collection. The folder prefixes, such as /products/ and /collections/, are fixed, which disappoints some SEO specialists.
• Site speed: Shopify’s hosting is optimized for speed, and a built-in content delivery network (CDN) serves pages quickly worldwide.
• Integrated blogging: A built-in blogging tool helps stores publish content, which is key for SEO, though its content editor is basic.

Shopify’s app library also gives store owners access to advanced SEO tools and plugins.

On the marketing side, Shopify supports email campaigns, connects easily with major social platforms, and integrates with Google and Meta for ads.

Squarespace’s SEO and marketing features

Squarespace, known for its design-centric approach, holds its own in SEO and marketing:

• SEO checklists: Built-in guidance helps users optimize their sites.
• URL customization: Squarespace offers some extra freedom in URL structure, which can help for SEO.
• Automatic tags and categories: For blog posts and products, automatic tagging can help with site structure.
• Integrated blogging: Like Shopify, Squarespace provides blogging tools.

On the marketing front, Squarespace’s integrated email campaigns give cohesive branding and messaging, and its social integrations make sharing content across channels simple. Its analytics also give useful insight into marketing efforts.

Both platforms support Google Analytics.

Verdict: Tie

App and plugin options

Shopify’s App Store

Shopify has one of the most extensive ecommerce app libraries on the market. With thousands of apps, it helps store owners customize their sites for almost any need:

• Diverse functionality: From SEO tools to product reviews and dropshipping integrations, the App Store covers virtually every part of ecommerce.
• Integration with major services: Shopify connects with services like Facebook, Instagram, and Google Shopping.
• Quality assurance: Apps go through a review process that checks for certain standards of quality and security.
• Room to grow: As a business grows, apps are available for larger-scale needs like advanced inventory management or customer relationship management.

Squarespace’s extensions

Squarespace’s native tools are strong, but its third-party add-on library, which it calls extensions, is smaller than Shopify’s. It still offers meaningful integrations:

• Focused selection: Instead of an overwhelming array, Squarespace offers a curated selection of extensions.
• Design consistency: Extensions integrate visually with Squarespace’s templates.
• Essential ecommerce tools: Extensions cover functions like shipping, tax compliance, and dropshipping, though not as broadly as Shopify’s.
• Key platform integrations: Squarespace connects with essential third-party platforms, though the list is shorter.

Verdict: Shopify wins

Shopify and Squarespace: payment options

Shopify’s payment gateways

Shopify offers a wide choice of payment options for a diverse global audience.

• Shopify Payments: Shopify’s own processor offers competitive card rates and no extra transaction fees, and it integrates tightly with the platform. It’s available only in certain countries.
• Third-party payment providers: For merchants outside the reach of Shopify Payments, or who prefer another provider, Shopify supports many third-party gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Amazon Pay. Transaction fees apply, as described above.
• Currency and regional flexibility: Shopify supports multi-currency selling and local payment methods in many regions.

Squarespace’s payment solutions

Squarespace offers reliable payment options for its user base, though it has fewer choices than Shopify.

• Squarespace Payments: Squarespace’s own processor accepts major cards and wallets like Apple Pay, plus buy-now-pay-later options such as Klarna and Afterpay, with card rates from 2.9% + 30¢ falling to 2.5% on the Advanced plan.
• Stripe and PayPal: You can also accept payments through Stripe and PayPal.
• Regional limitations: Payment providers aren’t available in every country, so merchants selling to a broad international audience should check availability.

Verdict: Tie

What’s the user experience like with Shopify vs Squarespace?

Both Shopify and Squarespace offer intuitive, user-friendly experiences, but they suit different needs.

Shopify is built for businesses focused on ecommerce, with tools that simplify online selling.

Squarespace takes a design-centric approach that emphasizes aesthetics, and is ideal for those prioritizing how their website looks.

Ease of use

Shopify’s user experience

• Business-centric dashboard: After you log in, the dashboard shows relevant ecommerce metrics, so you can quickly see sales performance, order status, and customer activity.
• Guided setup: Newcomers get a step-by-step guide, so even people unfamiliar with ecommerce can set up a store with relative ease.
• Easy customization: Drag-and-drop editing and clear theme options let businesses match their store to their brand without deep technical knowledge.

Squarespace’s user experience

• Design-first interface: The dashboard emphasizes design, which makes it user-friendly for building a visually appealing website without much hassle.
• Template exploration: Users can browse and switch between templates until they find the right one.
• Visual editing: The what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) editor lets users see changes as they make them.

Learning curve

The learning curve can be a significant factor in how well you adopt a new platform. Both have their own nuances, but both are designed with the end user in mind.

Shopify’s learning curve

Shopify is built for ecommerce, and while it’s user-friendly, newcomers may need time to learn all the commerce features.

• Ecommerce specifics: Product variants, tax settings, shipping rates, and SEO settings for products can feel overwhelming at first. Once you understand them, they give you strong control over your store.
• Support resources: Shopify has tutorials, guides, and videos in its help center, a large community forum, and 24/7 support to help new users.

Squarespace’s learning curve

Squarespace began as a website builder, so its learning challenges are different, but it’s often praised for its simplicity.

• Website-building basics: People new to website creation may need time to grasp concepts like domains, SEO basics, and site structure. The interface is designed to be intuitive, even without a technical background.
• Guided assistance: Squarespace offers getting-started videos, webinars, a detailed help center, a community forum, and customer support.

Ultimately, the learning curve for either platform depends on your familiarity with online tools and your specific needs.

Growth and room to scale with Shopify and Squarespace

Growing an online business requires a platform that meets your needs today and anticipates tomorrow’s. Both platforms are capable, but they shine differently depending on your business size and international plans.

Small business vs. large enterprise

Shopify

Shopify is built around ecommerce, which makes it well suited to businesses of all sizes.

• Basic and Grow: Ideal for startups and small teams, with all the essential ecommerce features at an affordable price.
• Advanced: Built for larger businesses with more staff, more locations, and a need for more advanced reporting and live third-party shipping rates ($299/month billed annually, $399 monthly).
• Plus: Tailored for high-volume merchants and large enterprises, with advanced features, priority support, and a fully customizable checkout, so the platform grows with your business.

Squarespace

Squarespace’s roots as a website builder mean it’s geared toward simplicity and design.

• Basic and Core: Ideal for small businesses and individual creators, with the tools to get an online store running. Core adds discounts, carrier-calculated shipping, and Google Shopping integration.
• Plus and Advanced: For growing stores that want lower payment processing rates, more advanced selling features, and tools like cart reservations for limited releases.

International expansion

Shopify

Shopify is built with international expansion in mind.

• Multi-currency support: With Shopify Payments, businesses can sell in multiple currencies, so customers can shop in their preferred one.
• Localized selling: Shopify Markets, storefront translation, and local domains are included on every plan, and its app library adds more localization options.
• Challenges: While Shopify supports global operations well, merchants should watch for varying fees depending on the payment gateway used in different countries.

Squarespace

Squarespace is competent for international audiences, but its tools are more limited here.

• Multi-language support: Building a multilingual site on Squarespace has traditionally needed more manual setup than Shopify’s built-in translation tools, so check its current options if you sell in several languages.
• Currency flexibility: Squarespace supports multiple currencies, but conversion fees apply and the experience is less flexible than Shopify’s.

Support and customer service

Navigating an ecommerce platform can be daunting, especially for newcomers. A good support system, timely help, and plenty of resources make the journey smoother. Both platforms put real effort into support:

Shopify

• 24/7 support: Shopify offers round-the-clock live chat support on its standard plans, with enhanced chat on Advanced and priority support, including phone, on Plus.
• Extensive documentation: Shopify’s help center has detailed tutorials, guides, and FAQs to help users troubleshoot common issues and learn the platform.
• Community forums: The Shopify Community is an active space where merchants, developers, and experts discuss, share experiences, and offer solutions.

Squarespace

• 24/7 customer support: Squarespace offers round-the-clock support on all its plans.
• Knowledge base: Its help center is a well-organized library of articles, video tutorials, and step-by-step guides, which is especially useful for people who prefer a visual or hands-on approach.
• Community forum: The Squarespace Forum lets users ask questions, share ideas, and connect with other users. Regular webinars add deeper looks at specific features.

Both Shopify and Squarespace take customer support seriously, with a mix of direct support and self-help resources. Shopify’s higher tiers add more support options, which can matter for businesses working across time zones.

Data migration and integration

Moving to a new ecommerce platform can be a big task, especially when it involves a lot of data. A smooth migration, together with good integrations, reduces downtime and lost revenue. Here’s how the two platforms compare:

Shopify

• Data migration: Shopify offers built-in import tools and a network of partners that specialize in data transfer, and third-party apps like Cart2Cart and Excelify can help with more complex migrations.
• Integration options: Shopify’s API and App Store make it straightforward to connect third-party tools, from accounting software to CRM systems. Popular integrations include Mailchimp, HubSpot, and QuickBooks.

Squarespace

• Data migration: Squarespace supports importing content from a limited number of platforms, such as WordPress, and suits simpler migrations. Product and blog content usually moves over fairly easily, but more detailed data, like customer reviews or specific product variants, may need manual input or third-party help.
• Integration options: Squarespace offers a curated list of integrations, called extensions, in categories like shipping, inventory, and marketing. Popular options include ShipStation, Printful, and Xero.

Integrating Shopify with Linnworks

Shopify offers countless features that help businesses build and grow their online presence. But for businesses that want to simplify how they manage operations, connecting Shopify to a solution like Linnworks can make a real difference.

Here’s how Shopify and Linnworks work together.

Direct channel integration

Shopify integrates with Linnworks through a direct channel integration, built to support Shopify and kept compatible with its features and updates.

Connecting your Shopify account to Linnworks is straightforward and made possible through Shopify’s API.

Key features of the integration

Inventory management

• Inventory updates: Linnworks automatically sends stock level changes to Shopify, keeping counts accurate.
• Inventory mapping: Shopify channel listings can be linked to Linnworks inventory items for stock level and price updates.
• Price changes: Linnworks can adjust prices on Shopify listings automatically, keeping them consistent across channels or allowing channel-specific pricing.

Order processing

• Order download: Shopify orders download automatically into Linnworks, creating a centralized order management system.
• Order cancellation and refunds: Linnworks supports order cancellations and refunds directly on Shopify.
• Order dispatch: Once orders are processed, Linnworks marks them as shipped on Shopify and provides tracking numbers and shipping service details.

Simpler operations

• Listing management: Create, update, and extract listings on Shopify directly from Linnworks.
• Location mapping: Set specific locations for order downloads and inventory updates.
• Payment mapping: Link Shopify payment methods to the matching methods in Linnworks, so payments are represented consistently.

Shipping and fulfillment

• Faster shipping: Linnworks uses predefined criteria to choose the best carrier and fulfillment partner for Shopify orders.
• Shipping mapping: Rule-based assignments of shipping methods help route each order the best way.

Insights and analytics

• Monitor your Shopify sales alongside your other channels, for a combined view of your business’s performance.

Together, Shopify and Linnworks help ecommerce businesses run more efficiently, with automation that reduces manual work and errors.

You can optimize your Shopify sales while keeping your other selling channels in step. To learn more, explore Linnworks’ integrations.

Final thoughts on Shopify vs Squarespace for your ecommerce online store

Both Shopify and Squarespace offer so much for ecommerce sellers that it’s easy to feel spoiled. There’s never been an easier time to break into ecommerce, and even compete with much bigger businesses, as long as you have an excellent product and a compelling story to tell.

If you want to get a store up and running quickly, Shopify is probably your best bet. It’s built for ecommerce sellers and has a large app store for extending it. But you can’t go wrong with either. Weighing an open-source option instead? See our comparison of WooCommerce vs. Shopify.

The one thing to get on top of early is inventory management. Don’t go in without a plan for fulfilling orders. Otherwise, you’ll have a great ecommerce platform and a lot of unhappy customers.

Learn more about inventory management and how Linnworks helps ecommerce businesses grow profitably without adding headcount. Or try it first-hand with a free interactive product tour.