Shopify vs Squarespace: Which Is Better for Your Online Store?
Shopify vs Squarespace: Which Is Better for Your Online Store? If selling is the main aim, a shop platform usually serves you better than a website builder. We recommend Shopify: its pricing page lists four plans, card fees and surcharges for third-party payment providers fall with every step, and besides the online store you can sell in person and in AI chats. Squarespace scores with templates, a 14-day trial without a card and a free domain for a year on the annual plan. Prices change, status October 2026.
Shopify with us, Squarespace not
Shopify has a page with us: Shopify at daily cashback. It shows the current rate along with the conditions, for example whether a promotion applies to new customers only. We do not carry Squarespace, so a subscription there earns no cashback through us. That says nothing about quality; it only means we have nothing to offer for it.
Available here with cashback
How to sign up with tracking
Reach the Shopify site through our shop page and create your account there, not from an older tab or a bookmark. Leave outside voucher sites closed during that session, and pause the ad blocker briefly. In your account the purchase first appears as open, and it becomes payable only once Shopify has confirmed it. Whether the trial phase already counts or only the first payment is set by the offer in force, so read it before you start.
Plans and trial
Shopify offers Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus. On the pricing page it advertises 3 days free and then 3 months at a very low monthly price, which it states in the local currency. Paying yearly gives a lower monthly price than paying monthly. According to Shopify no setup fees apply, and you can cancel at any time. The higher the plan, the more staff accounts: Grow names up to 5, Advanced up to 15. An add-on for retail sales (POS Pro) comes on top.
Squarespace separates Basic, Core, Plus and Advanced. Every website starts with a 14-day trial and no credit card. Paying annually saves up to 36% against monthly payment, according to the vendor, and brings a free custom domain for one year, which renews at the normal rate afterwards. The Basic plan provides for up to 2 contributors.
Fees when you take payments
With Shopify Payments the pricing page names card fees from 1.6% plus a small fixed amount on the Basic plan, falling step by step to 1.3% on Plus. If you use another payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, an extra surcharge between 2% and 0.2% applies depending on the plan, on every sale that runs through it. The money you save on fees therefore grows with your sales.
Squarespace charges a transaction fee of 2% on online sales in the Basic plan, while from the Core plan upwards the fee on online sales is 0%. Cards run through Squarespace Payments at rates from 2.0% plus a small fixed amount on the lower plans, falling to 1.7% and 1.5% on Plus and Advanced. Courses and memberships follow their own scale, under which the Basic plan carries a transaction fee of 7% that is lower on the higher plans.
How to run the numbers
Work out three items: the plan per month, the fees on your expected monthly turnover, and extra costs for apps or a domain. Estimate two scenarios, a quiet year and a good one. With small sales the plan price weighs more, with growing sales the fee scale does. The trials of both vendors are good for setting up a sample product before you pay.
Side by side
| Point | Shopify | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Cashback via daily cashback | own page in our shop list | not listed |
| Plans | Basic, Grow, Advanced, Plus | Basic, Core, Plus, Advanced |
| Trial | 3 days free, then reduced months | 14 days without a card |
| Card fees | fall with the plan | fall from Plus |
| Third-party surcharge | on every plan, graded by step | Basic plan only on online sales |
| Domain | own domain usable | one year free on the annual plan |
| Sales channels | online, in person, AI chats | online store, services, digital products |
Who suits what
Traders with a growing range: Shopify lets you sell unlimited products and grades its fees by plan. Work it out with your expected turnover.
Creatives and service providers: Squarespace shows many templates for portfolios, bookings and courses, with the store as one feature among several.
Anyone who wants cashback: Only Shopify brings a reward through us. Decide by what your store needs, though, not by that.
Our recommendation
Start at Shopify through the shop page if selling is the centre of your plan. Choose Squarespace if the website is the centre and the store stays small. More comparisons: Shopify vs Wix and Shopify vs WooCommerce.
Available here with cashback