How much is Squarespace per month in 2026?

In the US, after the mid-2026 increase, Squarespace costs around $19 (Basic), $29 (Core), $49 (Plus) and $99 (Advanced) per month on annual billing, and around $25, $39, $65 and $139 on monthly billing.

Does Squarespace include online booking?

Squarespace's booking tool is Acuity Scheduling. In 2026 Squarespace lists Scheduling as part of the Plus plan; on other plans it is a separate subscription starting around $16 per month on annual billing.

Does Squarespace charge transaction fees?

On the Basic plan there is a 2% fee on physical products and services. Core and higher plans remove that fee, but payment processing of around 2.9% plus $0.30 per card transaction still applies.

Can I move my Squarespace site to another host?

Not as a working site. You can export basic pages and one blog to a WordPress-format file and products to CSV, but the design, product pages and booking setup must be rebuilt.

Is Squarespace better than Wix for a photographer?

For most photographers Squarespace's templates and galleries look more polished out of the box, which is why it is popular for portfolios. Both lock you into their platform.

Is Squarespace good for a contractor or plumber?

Usually not the best fit. Contractors need quote forms, many service-area pages and lead tracking, which a custom site handles more naturally.

Why did my Squarespace bill go up?

Squarespace raised US prices on Basic, Core and Plus in mid-2026 by roughly 19% to 26% on annual billing, and promotional first-year prices renew at the regular rate.

Costs & Comparisons

Squarespace vs a Custom Website in 2026: Design, Online Booking, Selling and the Real 3-Year Cost for Salons, Photographers, Restaurants and Contractors

By ITCM Team · Updated November 2026

Squarespace is the better choice for a design-led brand that wants a beautiful site fast and is happy inside its templates, booking and store rules. A custom website wins when booking, payments and lead follow-up need to work your way, or when you want to own the result. As of mid-2026, US Squarespace plans cost around $19 to $99 per month billed annually, after increases of up to 26%, and serious booking needs either the Plus plan or an Acuity Scheduling subscription from around $16 per month. Here is how the costs and limits play out by business type.

Key takeaways

Squarespace US prices after the 2026 increase, billed annually: Basic around $19/month, Core $29, Plus $49, Advanced $99. Monthly billing runs around $25, $39, $65 and $139.
Basic charges a 2% transaction fee on physical products and services; Core and higher drop that fee, but card processing of around 2.9% + $0.30 still applies.
Booking is not free: Acuity Scheduling costs around $16, $27 or $49 per month on annual billing, depending on how many staff calendars you need.
Squarespace templates are its biggest strength for photographers, florists, boutique salons and restaurants with a strong visual identity.
Export is partial: you get a WordPress-format file with basic pages and one blog, not your design, store pages or booking setup.
For contractors and multi-staff service businesses, a custom site often costs about the same over 3 years and fits the workflow better.

Squarespace pricing in 2026: what changed

Squarespace moved to four plans (Basic, Core, Plus, Advanced) in 2025 and raised US prices again in mid-2026. Three of the four plans went up by roughly 19% to 26% on annual billing, while Advanced stayed flat. Existing customers were told by email, and many only noticed at renewal.

Prices can differ outside the US, and Squarespace runs frequent promo codes, so treat these as list prices as of 2026. To compare them with a custom build for your own numbers, use our website cost calculator.

Squarespace plan	Annual billing (per month)	Monthly billing	Fee on physical goods and services	Best fit
Basic	around $19	around $25	2%	Portfolio or brochure site with occasional sales
Core	around $29	around $39	0%	Small shop or service business selling online
Plus	around $49	around $65	0%	Businesses wanting Squarespace's own scheduling and automations
Advanced	around $99	around $139	0%	Larger stores needing abandoned cart, advanced shipping, API

How much does online booking cost on Squarespace?

Booking is where many salons, spas, tutors and photographers get surprised. Squarespace's booking engine is Acuity Scheduling, which it owns. In the 2026 plan lineup, Squarespace describes Scheduling as part of Plus, while on other plans it is billed as its own subscription. Standalone Acuity prices as of late 2026 look like this:

SMS reminders, classes, packages and waitlists start on Standard, not Starter.
Deposits and prepayment go through Stripe, Square or PayPal, each with its own processing fee.
Booking data lives in Acuity, so you manage two dashboards: Squarespace for the site, Acuity for appointments.
Read our online booking system guide to compare booking options before you commit.

Acuity plan	Annual billing	Monthly billing	Bookable calendars	Typical user
Starter	around $16/month	around $20/month	1	Solo photographer, coach, therapist
Standard	around $27/month	around $34/month	up to 6	Salon with 2 to 6 chairs, small clinic
Premium	around $49/month	around $61/month	up to 36	Multi-location studio or spa

Squarespace commerce fees: what you actually pay to sell

Squarespace's fee structure rewards upgrading. On Basic, a 2% transaction fee applies to physical products, services and donations, and digital products carry a higher fee on the lower plans. On Core and above, the 2% fee on goods and services goes away. Either way, the payment processor charges around 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment in the US.

A quick example: a florist selling $20,000 a year online on Basic pays around $400 a year in Squarespace transaction fees on top of processing. At that volume, Core costs about $120 a year more than Basic and saves the $400, so it is the cheaper plan. A custom site with Stripe pays processing only, but it has its own build and hosting costs, so the decision depends on your sales volume.

Templates vs custom design: where Squarespace really shines

Squarespace's templates are the best-looking of the mainstream builders, with strong typography, full-width imagery and galleries that suit wedding photographers, interior designers, boutique salons and chef-led restaurants. If your brand sells on looks and your pages are mostly images, menus and an about story, Squarespace can deliver an elegant result in a weekend.

The trade-off is that you design inside a grid someone else controls. Custom booking flows, service-area pages for each town, quote calculators, before-and-after sliders or a client portal are hard or impossible without workarounds and code injection, which needs the Core plan or higher. A custom build starts from your brand and your workflow instead of a template. For service businesses that rely on visuals, our guide to a before-and-after gallery shows what converts.

Can you export a Squarespace site?

Partly. Squarespace offers an export to a WordPress-format XML file, and migration guides consistently report what comes out and what does not.

Exported: basic pages, one blog with its posts, and some gallery content.
Not exported: your template design, styles and custom CSS, product pages, most audio and video blocks, and member areas.
Store products can be downloaded separately as a CSV file.
Appointments and client history stay in Acuity and need their own export.
Your domain can be transferred, but the working site cannot be moved to another host.

Is Squarespace good for SEO?

For a small brand, yes, mostly. You get editable titles and descriptions, clean URLs you can set yourself, automatic sitemaps, SSL and mobile-friendly templates. A photographer or restaurant competing on brand name and a strong Google Business Profile can do well.

Limits appear with large image-heavy pages, which can be slow on mobile, and with structured local SEO such as dozens of service-area pages or detailed schema per location. You can check your current site speed and setup with our free website health check.

Squarespace or custom: which is better for your type of business?

Business	Squarespace fits when	Custom fits when	Our usual verdict
Photographer	Portfolio first, 1 calendar, few bookings per week	You sell packages, contracts and client galleries in one flow	Squarespace often wins
Hair or nail salon	1 to 2 chairs, simple services	3+ staff, deposits, no-show rules, reminders, loyalty	Custom often wins over 3 years
Restaurant	Menu, photos, hours, link to an ordering partner	Own ordering, catering quotes, multiple locations	Squarespace fine for most single sites
Contractor (roofer, plumber, HVAC)	Rarely	Quote forms, service-area pages, lead tracking, call buttons	Custom usually wins
Boutique shop	Under a few hundred products, simple shipping	Wholesale pricing, custom checkout, integrations	Squarespace Core is a strong start

Squarespace vs custom website: 3-year cost comparison

Estimates for three common setups as of 2026, each with Google Workspace email for one user and a domain renewed in years 2 and 3. Card processing fees apply to all options and are left out.

Setup (3 years)	Subscriptions	Email and domain	Approximate 3-year total
Solo photographer: Basic + Acuity Starter	around $684 + $576	around $240 to $310	around $1,500 to $1,570, plus 2% on online sales
Salon, 4 staff: Core + Acuity Standard	around $1,044 + $972	around $240 to $310	around $2,250 to $2,350
Salon, 4 staff: Plus with Squarespace Scheduling	around $1,764	around $240 to $310	around $2,000 to $2,100
Typical custom build with booking	around $1,500 to $5,000 once + $150 to $600 hosting	around $240 to $310	around $1,900 to $5,900, and you own it

When Squarespace is the better choice

Your brand sells on visuals and a template already looks 90% right.
You are a solo operator with one calendar and modest booking volume.
You want to launch this month and edit everything yourself.
You sell a small catalogue of physical products and Core covers it.
You are fine renting the platform and accept price changes as part of the deal.

How ITCM builds a design-led custom site with booking

ITCM builds your website and an installable app (PWA) first, free, and shows you three finished designs, so a design-led brand can judge the look before paying anything. If you are happy, you pay $150 one-time; if not, you pay nothing. The $150 includes the website, the installable app, 24/7 online booking, lead management, an admin panel to edit your own content, and the three designs. Anything else gets a fixed quote before work starts, and an optional care plan starts from $100 per month.

Because booking is built into the site rather than added as a separate subscription, a salon or studio can run appointments and leads in one place. See how it works on our web development page.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Squarespace per month in 2026?: In the US, after the mid-2026 increase, Squarespace costs around $19 (Basic), $29 (Core), $49 (Plus) and $99 (Advanced) per month on annual billing, and around $25, $39, $65 and $139 on monthly billing.
Does Squarespace include online booking?: Squarespace's booking tool is Acuity Scheduling. In 2026 Squarespace lists Scheduling as part of the Plus plan; on other plans it is a separate subscription starting around $16 per month on annual billing.
Does Squarespace charge transaction fees?: On the Basic plan there is a 2% fee on physical products and services. Core and higher plans remove that fee, but payment processing of around 2.9% plus $0.30 per card transaction still applies.
Can I move my Squarespace site to another host?: Not as a working site. You can export basic pages and one blog to a WordPress-format file and products to CSV, but the design, product pages and booking setup must be rebuilt.
Is Squarespace better than Wix for a photographer?: For most photographers Squarespace's templates and galleries look more polished out of the box, which is why it is popular for portfolios. Both lock you into their platform.
Is Squarespace good for a contractor or plumber?: Usually not the best fit. Contractors need quote forms, many service-area pages and lead tracking, which a custom site handles more naturally.
Why did my Squarespace bill go up?: Squarespace raised US prices on Basic, Core and Plus in mid-2026 by roughly 19% to 26% on annual billing, and promotional first-year prices renew at the regular rate.

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