Wix vs Squarespace vs Just Owning Your Website (2026)

Squarespace looks better out of the box, and Wix gives you more control over the layout. In the UK they cost about the same, £9 to £25 a month for Wix and £12 to £29 a month for Squarespace on annual billing, checked on 26 September 2026. Both are fine for SEO and speed. Neither lets you own your site, so if you stop paying, it goes.

The third option is a site you own outright, paid for once. Mine is £300 for four pages with the words written for you. I sell that option and not the builders, so weigh what I say with that in mind. I'll also say when a builder is the better choice.

How do Wix and Squarespace compare?

Speed figures come from the HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals Technology Report, which measures real visitors' experience across millions of sites.

Is Squarespace or Wix easier to design with?

Squarespace. Its templates are well designed and it's hard to make one look bad. Wix lets you drag anything anywhere, which is great if you like fiddling and risky if you don't. If you're nervous about design, pick Squarespace. If you want control, pick Wix.

Which is cheaper?

Wix, slightly, at the bottom end. The real cost is similar once you add what a business usually needs:

• a plan without the builder's branding,
• a domain after the free first year,
• email at your own domain, from £5.90 a user a month on Google Workspace plus VAT,
• an app or two for bookings or forms.

Both cost more on monthly billing, and selling online means a higher plan. Squarespace's cheapest plan also takes a 2% fee on online store sales.

Is Wix or Squarespace better for SEO?

Neither has a real edge for a small business. The old "Wix can't rank" line is out of date. Both handle page titles, descriptions and mobile layouts, and both pass Google's speed checks more often than WordPress does.

What decides whether a local business shows up is mostly what the pages say (your service and your town, in plain words) and a complete Google Business Profile. A builder doesn't write those for you.

Do I own a Wix or Squarespace site?

No. You're renting it. Wix's help centre says a Wix site can't be hosted anywhere else. You can take your domain and copy your words out, but if you leave, you rebuild. More on that in signs you've outgrown Wix.

When is a builder the right choice?

• You enjoy building and tweaking it yourself and have the evenings.
• You're testing whether the business will work and want to spend as little as possible.
• The site is a placeholder for now.

In those cases, a builder is a sensible choice. So is a £99 template you own, if you're happy to spend an afternoon setting it up.

What if I want to sell online?

Both do online shops, on higher plans. For a handful of orders a week that works. Once you need complex shipping rules, lots of product options or integrations, many sellers move to Shopify or WooCommerce. If selling is the main point of the site, it's worth talking that through before you pick. Shops are quoted at a fixed price after a free chat.

What does owning your website get you?

• You pay once. My website is £300 for up to four pages, or £750 with an editing area. After that it's the domain, and hosting for a simple site is free in your own account.
• Someone else does the work. I write the words from a conversation with you and set up your Google Business Profile.
• It's yours. Domain, hosting and files in your name. You can leave me whenever you like and take it with you.

The catch is that you pay up front, and changes go through me unless you have the editing area (or my £20 a month help). Whether that's worth it is a sum, not a principle, and I've done the payback maths.

Which should I pick?

• Building it yourself, want it to look good fast: Squarespace.
• Building it yourself, want control: Wix.
• Want it done for you, and owned: a site from a freelancer who writes the words. Mine is £300, or £450 with a logo if you're starting out.

If you're moving from a builder, the steps are in how to leave Wix without losing everything, and there's more on my Wix alternative and Squarespace alternative pages. Still not sure? Describe your situation and I'll give you a straight answer, including "stay on Squarespace" if that's the right one.