Quick answer
- Choose Wix if you want to build for free first, need bookings for a service business or want a very flexible drag-and-drop editor.
- Choose Squarespace if you want polished design with little effort, clear UK pricing and invoicing on every plan.
- Prices checked 1 November 2026: Squarespace from £14.40 a month paid annually, including estimated VAT. Wix showed reference prices in other currencies to our UK checker, so check its plans page for your price.
Side by side
| Wix | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | Free plan with Wix branding and a Wix web address | No free plan; 14-day free trial, no card needed |
| Refunds | Full refund if you cancel within 14 days of your first Premium upgrade | Cancel any time; changes take effect at the end of the billing cycle |
| Paid plans | Light, Core, Business, Business Elite | Basic, Core, Plus, Advanced |
| UK prices | Shown in local currency on Wix's plans page; tax added at checkout | Annual: £14.40, £20.40, £34.80 and £94.80 a month including estimated VAT |
| Free domain | One-year voucher on most yearly Premium plans (new domains bought from Wix) | One year free on annual plans |
| Selling online | Payments and basic ecommerce from Core | Sell products and services on every plan |
| Transaction fee on store sales | Check Wix's plan details | 2% on Basic; 0% on Core and above |
| Bookings | Scheduling and services from Core | Sell services on every plan |
| Team access | 2 collaborators (Light), 5 (Core), 10 (Business), 100 (Business Elite) | Up to 2 contributors (Basic); unlimited on Core and above |
| Storage | 2GB (Light), 50GB (Core), 100GB (Business), unlimited (Business Elite) | Not limited on the pricing page |
Price: what you will actually pay
Squarespace shows UK prices in pounds. Paid annually, Basic is £14.40 a month, Core £20.40, Plus £34.80 and Advanced £94.80, and Squarespace labels these as including estimated VAT. That works out at £12, £17, £29 and £79 a month excluding VAT, which matters if you are VAT-registered and can reclaim it. On monthly billing, Squarespace showed £16, £24, £36 and £89 a month; its page did not say whether those monthly figures included VAT.
Wix says its prices and currency vary by location, that displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions paid in full and that tax is added at checkout based on your billing address. Our checker was shown reference prices in other currencies rather than pounds, so we have not quoted Wix prices. Open Wix's plans page from the UK and check the total at checkout, including VAT, before you pay.
| Squarespace plan | Paid annually (inc VAT) | Per year (inc VAT) | Per year (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | £14.40 a month | £172.80 | £144 |
| Core | £20.40 a month | £244.80 | £204 |
| Plus | £34.80 a month | £417.60 | £348 |
| Advanced | £94.80 a month | £1,137.60 | £948 |
Trying before you buy
This is the clearest difference. Wix lets you build a whole site for free and keep it on a Wix address for as long as you like, then upgrade when you want your own domain and no Wix branding. Squarespace has no free plan, but every site starts with a 14-day free trial that does not need a card. If you are not sure you will stick with a builder, Wix's free plan gives you longer to decide; if you just want to test the editor for a fortnight, both work.
Selling online and taking payments
Both can run a small shop. Squarespace lets you sell products and services and send invoices on every plan, with card rates starting at 2.0% + 25p on Basic and Core, 1.7% + 25p on Plus and 1.5% + 25p on Advanced. It charges a 2% transaction fee on online store sales on Basic, falling to 0% on Core and above, so anyone selling regularly should start with Core. Digital content and memberships attract separate fees: 7% on Basic, 5% on Core, 1% on Plus and none on Advanced.
Wix adds online payments and basic ecommerce from its Core plan, standard ecommerce on Business and advanced ecommerce on Business Elite. If selling products is your main job, also look at Shopify in our best website builder for small business UK comparison.
Bookings for service businesses
For trades, therapists, tutors and coaches, Wix's scheduling and services features from the Core plan are a strong reason to choose it. Squarespace can sell services on every plan, which covers simple paid sessions and deposits. If online booking is central to how you get work, try both editors and set up a sample service before you commit. See our guide to the best website builder for tradespeople for trade-specific advice.
Design and editing
Squarespace is known for polished, consistent templates that look good with little effort, which suits creative businesses, consultants and higher-end trades who sell on the quality of their work. Wix gives you more freedom to drag elements anywhere on the page and has a large template library and app market. That freedom is useful, but it also makes it easier to end up with a cluttered page, so keep layouts simple, especially on mobile. Squarespace's Core plan and above allow custom CSS and JavaScript if you need finer control.
Domains and email
Both include a free custom domain for the first year on annual plans: Squarespace on all annual plans, Wix on most yearly Premium plans through a voucher for a new domain bought from Wix. After the first year you pay the domain renewal price. Squarespace's Core plan and above mention professional email from Google Workspace; check the terms at checkout, as business email is often a separate subscription after any trial. You can also connect a domain you already own to either builder.
Moving away later
Whichever you choose, your site is built in that builder's system. Moving to another platform later usually means rebuilding the design, although you keep your domain and your words and images. That is fine for most small businesses, but if you want the freedom to move hosts at any time, WordPress on your own hosting is the alternative: see the best web hosting UK.
Which should you choose
- You want to start free and upgrade later: WixAd.
- You run a service business that takes bookings: Wix on a plan with scheduling.
- You want a polished site quickly and clear UK pricing: SquarespaceAd.
- You will sell products regularly: Squarespace Core or above, or compare Shopify.
- You want the cheapest option: neither; see Hostinger Website Builder in our website builder comparison.
How we compared
We compared plans, prices, trial and refund terms, fees and features from Wix's and Squarespace's official pricing pages on 1 November 2026. We have not built test sites for this comparison. See how we review.
Sources we checked
All checked on 1 November 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm on the provider's site before you buy.