Top pick: WordPress. Switching saves about $228 USD a year.
$228 USDa year
$252 CAD
Every pick below has a free version.
5 alternatives
The editor’s first choice for most people switching.
Best for a flexible site you host yourself
The software from wordpress.org is free under GPL-2.0-or-later. You pay for hosting and a domain and handle updates and backups. Not the same as WordPress.com.
Covers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.
Best for a blog or paid newsletter site
Open source under MIT and free to self-host with Node.js. Built for publishing, so it is not a general site builder. Free version: Self-hosting the open-source code is free. Ghost(Pro) managed hosting starts at US$18 a month billed yearly.
Right for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.
Best for developers building fast content sites
Open source under MIT and free. Needs coding skills and a host such as Cloudflare Pages. Replaces simple Squarespace sites, not store or editor features.
Best for developers who want a fast static site
Open source under Apache-2.0 and free. A single command-line program that needs a host such as Cloudflare Pages and comfort with the command line.
Best for free hosting of a static site you build
Covers only the hosting part. Pair it with Astro or Hugo for the site itself. Free plan limits are 500 builds a month and 20,000 files per site. Free version: Free plan has unlimited static requests and bandwidth, 500 builds a month and 100 projects per account.
Sponsor this page: $149 for 30 days. Sponsors appear above the ranking, labeled; the ranking itself is not for sale.
How each alternative covers what people use Squarespace for. Numbers link to editor notes.
| Feature | WordPress | Ghost | Astro | Hugo | Cloudflare Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design | |||||
| Templates and visual drag-and-drop editor | YesNote 1Block editor with themes and patterns; more setup than Squarespace | PartialNote 2Themes and a writing-focused editor; no drag-and-drop page builder | NoNote 3Code and components; there is no visual editor | NoNote 4Themes and Markdown; there is no visual editor | NoNote 5Hosting only; you bring the site |
| Hosting | |||||
| Managed hosting, SSL and a custom domain | PartialNote 6You buy hosting and a domain; many hosts include SSL | PartialNote 7Self-host it yourself or pay for Ghost(Pro) hosting from US$18 a month | NoNote 8Builds static files; hosting is separate | NoNote 9Builds static files; hosting is separate | YesNote 10Free plan allows 100 custom domains per project and 500 builds a month |
| Content | |||||
| Blog and content pages | Yes | Yes | YesNote 11Markdown and MDX content | Yes | No |
| Marketing | |||||
| Built-in SEO tools | PartialNote 12Titles and sitemaps are built in; advanced SEO uses plugins | PartialNote 13Meta fields and sitemaps are built in; fewer marketing tools | PartialNote 14Sitemap integration; metadata is written in code | PartialNote 15Sitemaps and RSS are built in; metadata lives in theme templates | No |
| Sales | |||||
| Online store and payments | PartialNote 16Needs the free WooCommerce plugin | NoNote 17Paid memberships only; no product store | No | No | No |
| Analysis | |||||
| Site analytics | PartialNote 18Needs a plugin or an outside analytics service | PartialNote 19Post and member stats; full traffic analytics may need extra setup | No | No | No |
| AI | |||||
| AI site builder | NoNote 20No built-in AI site builder | No | No | No | No |
| Parity score | 57% | 43% | 21% | 21% | 14% |
Not covered by any free alternative yet: Built-in SEO tools, Online store and payments, Site analytics, AI site builder. See all feature gaps
Switching saves about $228 USD / $252 CAD a year. Prices checked .
Based on Squarespace Basic, annual billing. Price source.
Last verified . Ranking: tier first, then the published score.
Something wrong or out of date? Report outdated info.
Squarespace is a product of Squarespace, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Squarespace: Web, iOS, Android.