Think it’s easy to figure out? Ka pahu kākana has 4 plans, each comes with a set of features that you may or may not require in your website.
Makemake ʻoe i kahi pūnaewele e kupanaha nei, akā, ʻaʻole lawe i ka loea loea i kāu ʻenehana e hana a hoʻokele.
A website builder sounds like the right thing for you, and of them, Squarespace is looking pretty good.
But while Squarespace emphasizes itself as an all-in-one, easy solution, are things really that simple?
Maikaʻi maikaʻi ʻoiaʻiʻo?
Don’t worry, friend. In this article, I’ll dive deep into it.
You’ll get to find out how simple the pricing is, where the hidden expenses may come from, and ultimately what Squarespace REALLY costs and what it means for you.
Maikaʻi maikaʻi?
Anu. E hoʻomaka kākou me kahi ʻike o ka hoʻolālā pākuʻi iā lākou iho:
Nā Kūʻai Kūʻai Squarespace
Squarespace has four pricing plans, or tiers. They have names, but I’ll mostly refer to them in this article as their placement on the tier list (ie., “first tier”).
The best way to explain is to just show you how Squarespace presents them:
Hoʻomaopopo, ʻaʻole kēia he papa inoa piha o nā hiʻohiʻona.
I kēia manawa, hoʻomaʻemaʻe i kekahi mea ma mua o ka holo ʻana o ke koena o ka ʻatikala:
Kūpono ia mau kumukūʻai e uku iā ʻoe i kēlā me kēia makahiki. ʻO ke kumukūʻai "mahina hoʻokahi" ʻoi hewa ka hoʻopunipuni. Inā uku ʻoe i kēlā me kēia mahina, eia nā kumukūʻai:
I kēia manawa ua ʻike ʻoe i ke kumu kūʻai kumukūʻai, ke hele nei i loko o kekahi o nā kikoʻī.
Haʻihaʻi o ke Kumukūʻai
Part 1: How much does Squarespace cost?
One of the biggest selling points for most nā mea kūkulu pūnaewele, including Squarespace, is that they provide most of what you need out of the box.
Akā ʻo ia ka mea ʻo ka kumukūʻai āu e uku ai he maʻalahi?
Ma keʻano holoʻokoʻa, ʻae.
Technically speaking, this is all that Squarespace costs alone, bare minimum:
- The cost of your chosen Squarespace package, monthly or yearly
- ʻO nā uku hoʻolimalima o 3% o nā kūʻai aku, inā ʻoe ma ka "ʻoihana" / 2 mau mākeke
- Free domains through Squarespace are only free the first year, and only for annually-paid plans. You don’t HAVE to use one from Squarespace, but many do.
- Hoʻolele ka leka uila (Gmail a me G Suite) i ka makahiki mua no ka top 3 tiers, akā hoʻomaikaʻi i ke kumu kūʻai
Akā i ka ʻōlelo maoli ʻana, aia kekahi mau uku ʻē aʻe āu e lilo ai e hoʻonui i kāu huina.
These may come from third parties, and apply to site-builders in general, not just Squarespace specifically.
It varies greatly person-to-person, but the REAL cost of running your site on Squarespace may amount to something like this:
- The cost of your Squarespace plan
- ʻO ka uku transaction (inā ʻoe ma ka lua o ka luna)
- Transaction fees for any other payment or credit card processors aside from Squarespace Commerce’s processor
- Domain name renewal IF registered through Squarespace (as noted above)
- OR the cost of a domain purchased from a registrar separately
- Hoʻouka hou ʻia nā leka uila no nā tiers kūpono, e like me ka mea i ʻōlelo ʻia, A i ʻole e kūʻai mua ʻia i ka makahiki mua
- Email marketing plans—Squarespace’s own extra feature for email marketing
- Nā kikowaena (i ʻike ʻia ʻo ka hoʻohui ʻia ʻana, nā polokalamu, a i ʻole nā plugins) mai nā ʻaoʻao ʻekolu
I’ll get more into these additional costs later, but the short version is that your Squarespace site may, at BEST, only cost your payment plan’s figures.
Akā ʻoi aku ka mea hou aʻe, e lawe mai ia i nā uku'ē aʻe ma hope o ka makahiki mua, a lilo ʻoe i kālā ʻē aʻe ma nā mea hou e hoʻoikaika ai i kāu ʻike.
Māhele 2: ʻO kahi hoʻolālā kumukūʻai kūpono loa iā ʻoe?
E hana i kēia hana i ka la mua:
Pono ʻoe i nā hiʻohiʻona ecommerce? I nā huaʻōlelo ʻē aʻe, hiki i nā mea kipa ke kūʻai aku i nā mea mai kāu pūnaewele.
Inā ʻaʻole, pono ka māka mua loa iā ʻoe.
Inā makemake ʻoe i nā hiʻohiʻona ecommerce, i mea maikaʻi kekahi o nā ʻoi hope.
Akā no ke koho ʻana i waena o ia mau tiers ʻekolu, ʻo ka mea nui ka iho ʻana i ka nui o nā hiʻohiʻona pili i makemake ʻia.
ʻO kahi laʻana, ʻoiai ka paona o ka lua he ecommerce kumu, ʻoi aku ka nui o nā mea maikaʻi maikaʻi he lei maikaʻi.
ʻO kahi laʻana, kahi papa kuhikuhi o kahi kūʻai aku i kāu e kūʻai aku iā ʻoe i ke kanaka; nā mea kūʻai aku; ʻoi aku ka maikaʻi a me nā kālepa; a palekana ka hōʻoia ma kāu waihona pūnaewele.
Maikaʻi kēlā no ke kolu ʻoihana no ka poʻe pono ʻole e hele i nā mea a pau i ko lākou mau hiʻohiʻona e like me, akā makemake lākou e lawe wale i kēlā mau hiʻohiʻona o nā ecommerce i hōʻike ʻia i luna.
Inā makemake ʻoe i ʻoi aku ma mua o ka mea a ke kolu o ka pae hāʻawi ʻana ma ke kī, akā, ʻaʻole ʻoe makemake e hoʻomaikaʻi hou i ka tiʻe (a me ka hopena hope), mai hopohopo!
Hiki iā ʻoe ke hoʻohui i nā mea i makemake ʻia e pili ana i kāu moʻokāki, ʻo ia hoʻi ma ka kahua kālepa Basic.
Akā inā makemake ʻoe i ka papa inoa piha o nā hiʻohiʻona, ʻo ia ka mea e pili ana i ka hoʻolālā kumukūʻai ma mua, hiki iā ʻoe ke ʻae i nā paʻu o ka mua.
ʻO nā mea e like me ka hoʻihoʻi ʻana i ka pahu kaʻa (ka mea e leka uila uila i nā mea kūʻai aku e haʻalele ana i kā lākou haki ʻana i ka ʻalo ma ke ʻano)
I kēia, me ka pono o ecommerce i uhi ʻia, e hoʻi hou:
Manaʻo ʻoe ʻaʻole MANU ʻoe i ka holo ʻana i kahi hale kūʻai pūnaewele, akā ke ʻimi nei ʻoe ma mua o nā mea i hāʻawi ʻia e ka maka mua.
Inā ʻoe kēlā, e manaʻo paha paha inā he kumu maikaʻi e hoʻomaikaʻi.
ʻOiai ʻo ka hapa nui o nā hiʻohiʻona maʻamau ma waena o nā tiers e pili ana i ka ʻoihana, he mea kūpono paha ka hoʻonui ʻana i ka mākona lua no kēia:
He maikaʻi kēia mau mea no ka loaʻa ʻana o kahi ʻoihana a ʻoi aku ka paʻahana, ʻoiai ʻaʻole ʻoe e hoʻolālā i ke kūʻai aku i nā mea.
No laila ʻo kēlā mau hiʻohiʻona ke kumu ia e hoʻomaikaʻi ai ke kanaka i nā tiers, ʻo ASIDE mai kalepa.
Part 3: Additional Squarespace costs
I briefly listed some of these in the section on how much Squarespace costs, but let’s talk about them in a little bit more detail.
I’ve said it before, but if you use G Suite through Squarespace (“professional email”), it costs extra.
Ma ka pōkole: inā ʻoe ma ka hoʻolālā kumukūʻai papa inoa komo nui, pono ʻoe e uku no ka ʻūlū.
Inā ʻoe ma kahi o nā kumukūʻai kiʻekiʻe, e loaʻa iā ʻoe iā G Suite i hoʻokahi makahiki, akā e uku no ia ma hope.
No laila ua kū hoʻokahi ka uku e ʻike ʻole.
Ua haʻi pū nō wau i kā lākou leka uila ʻike ʻia ma mua.
The email marketing feature is useful, especially if you like that Squarespace is an all-in-one solution.
Akā ʻoiai ke ʻāpono ʻole ia. Loaʻa i kāna hoʻolālā kumukūʻai:
No laila ke kumukūʻai nā mea āu e uku ai no ka kūʻai aku ʻana i ka leka uila leka uila i kēlā me kēia makahiki.
However, you can still use a third party email marketing software integrated with Squarespace.
Pono ʻoe e pāpālua pono i nā mea hoʻolōʻihi i loaʻa, akā ma ka liʻiliʻi Loaʻa i ka Mailchimp ma ke ʻano he hoʻopili uku.
Ma kēlā palapala, pono ʻoe e uku no ka hoʻohui ʻana / hoʻopihapiha inā makemake ʻoe e hoʻohana ia mau mea.
ʻOiai he mau mea hana mai nā ʻaoʻao'ē aʻe, aia kēlā me kēia i kā lākou papa hoʻolālā ponoʻī. Hiki manuahi kekahi, a i ʻole he manuahi freemium (he palena manuahi wale nō akā akā ʻo nā hiʻohiʻona uku nui).
He mea maʻamau no nā mea hana hale pūnaewele a me nā hale hana hale pūnaewele (e like me Wix a Shopify) e hoʻohui pū me nā polokalamu punaewele punahele kaulana.
KĀOHAO, hiki ke piʻi koke mai ka nui o nā pae pūnaewele i ka wā e hoʻohui aku ai i ka hoʻonui ʻia, no laila he mea nui e noʻonoʻo ʻia.
A hope loa, inoa inoa inoa:
If you pay for Squarespace with annual, up-front payments, then you get a free domain regardless of which tier you have.
BUT, it’s only free for the first year. After that first year, it will renew at the “regular rate”—this is about the rate you’d pay if you purchased it normally through Squarespace.
It’s also what you’ll pay if you register a domain on Squarespace while paying monthly.
Loaʻa ka helu maʻamau. Ka mea maʻamau, ma ka $ 20:
To be honest with you, this is more expensive than what most domain registrars charge.
But Squarespace is offering good domain name features, plus ease of use—so the calculation may be worth it for many of you anyway.
Anyway, those are the “hidden costs.” To be fair, Squarespace is forthcoming about them. But they are still frequently overlooked by people.
Part 4: Squarespace vs. competitors’ pricing
To compare Squarespace with competitors, let me quickly explain how these companies compete.
ʻO Squarespace kahi mea hoʻopuka pūnaewele that features ecommerce features.
Ecommerce is a very important component of Squarespace, but it’s still an all-in-one solution for website management in GENERAL.
Wix mea like loa me keia. He mea hoʻokumu pūnaewele puni honua e hōʻike ana i nā hiʻohiʻona ecommerce me ka hoʻonani, akā aia wale nō nā hopena āpau.
A laila aia Shopify. Shopify He mea kūkulu kūikawā no nā hale kūʻai pūnaewele. ʻO ia kekahi hopena a-hoʻokahi, akā no ka ecommerce.
Hoʻohui like lākou i kā lākou kālele ʻana i ka hoʻolālā, maʻalahi o ka hoʻohana ʻana, a no ka mea he nui nā pae i waho o ka pahu.
Wix'o like nā hoʻolālā kumukūʻai
ʻO ka mea nui ma waena o nā tiers ma aneʻi, ʻo ia nā pae o ka mālama, a me nā noi a me nā hiʻohiʻona ʻē aʻe.
Wix aia nō hoʻi i kekahi set o kahi tier no nā pūnaewele ecommerce:
I kēia ʻano, Wix has more complicated pricing than Squarespace.
Akā naʻe, Wix’s pricing for its four regular tiers is super similar to Squarespace’s.
The difference is that Squarespace’s last 3 tiers include the features that Wix has in its special ecommerce tiers. And, Squarespace doesn’t limit storage at any tier.
So overall, Squarespace is more generous with pairing features to price than Wix.
Hiki iā ʻoe e nānā i kēia hoʻohālikelike piha aʻu i kākau ai no lākou ma aneʻi inā makemake ʻoe e aʻo hou.
Ano, Shopify He ʻoi aku ka maʻalahi ma kona kumukūʻai ma mua o Wix, and even Squarespace, because it’s more focused:
me Shopify, ka mea o ka uku, he uku ʻoi mahina. Eia naʻe, hiki iā ʻoe ke hoʻemi i nā kumukūʻai i hōʻike ʻia ma luna e ka uku ʻana i kēlā me kēia makahiki a ma o ka uku paha no ʻelua mau makahiki (ʻo ia ka laʻa 10% a me 20%, kēlā).
Even when you compare these to Squarespace’s month-to-month payments, Squarespace is significantly cheaper.
Squarespace STARTS at $16 a month ($12 a month if paid annually), which is just over half of where Shopify hoʻomaka.
And Squarespace’s HIGHEST tier doesn’t even come close to Shopify'Kaʻi MIDDLE.
ʻAe, maikaʻi wau i Shopify:
Shopify is zeroing in on ecommerce features more than Squarespace. The basics are the same, but Shopify loaʻa i kekahi mau hiʻohiʻona:
ʻo kahi laʻana, Shopify is stronger in shipping features and extensions, and offers abandoned cart recovery for its first tier, compared to Squarespace only offering that tool for its last tier.
To sum up: if you just need the big tools of ecommerce with your all-in-one site builder, Squarespace is cheaper than Shopify.
And if you want a store with great design, Squarespace may also be better.
Inā ʻoe e hoʻāʻo e hele i nā hiʻohiʻona holoʻokoʻa e like me Shopify paha he waiwai waiwai e ae.
No ka mea, nui no Shopify and Squarespace, e nānā i kēia hoʻohālikelike hohonu hohonu.
I kēia manawa, aia nō kekahi mea hoʻokūkū ʻaʻole wau i haʻi i luna, no ka mea he holoholona ola ʻo ia: WordPress a me WooCommerce.
Basically, WordPress kahi ʻōnaehana hoʻokele waiwai, a i ʻole CMS. ʻOkoʻa ke ʻano ʻokoʻa Shopify or Wix, ma ka liʻiliʻi loa no ka hapa o ka poʻe.
ʻO WooCommerce kahi plugin ecommerce mega-kaulana no WordPress.
Ua ʻoi aku ka WordPress ma mua o ka mea hoʻokumu pūnaewele ma kekahi mau ala, akā hiʻohiʻona ʻoi aku ia i kahi o ka hoʻolālā papa hana i kūkulu ʻia, a ʻoi aku nā mea hana maʻamau i hilinaʻi ʻia i nā kumumanaʻo i hoʻohana ʻia.
Eia ka ʻōkuhi maʻalahi loa pehea e hoʻohui ai nā pūnaewele WordPress i nā kumukūʻai:
- He polokalamu manuahi a wehe ʻia ka WordPress.org. Eia nō naʻe, e hoʻohana ai, pono e uku kekahi i ka pūnaewele hoʻolaha (a ma kahi maʻamau he domain) kaawale.
- ʻO WordPress.com ka pāhana kālepa ma luna o ka hopena o luna. E maʻalahi ka hoʻohana a me ka hoʻohui ʻana i ka lawelawe. He manuahi nā waihona, akā e pono nā maka kala uku no nā hiʻohiʻona piha.
- ʻAʻole manuahi ʻo WooCommerce, akā ua uku ʻo ia i nā tiers no nā hiʻohiʻona keu.
- ʻOi aku ka mea nui o nā Plugins no ka WordPress no ka mea he kūkulu liʻiliʻi nā hiʻohiʻona. Eia kekahi, pono e kau i kahi tiarewa o WordPress.com e hoʻohana i nā plugins.
- ʻOiai he nui nā manaʻo he manuahi, ʻo ka hapa nui, he freemium, me ke kūʻai ʻia e pono ai e wehe i ka hana maʻamau.
Ke ʻike nei anei ʻoe i ka paʻakikī o nā mea āpau? ʻO ka WordPress ma ka laulā ka pili ʻana i nā māhele e neʻe aku nei, ʻoi aku me ka maʻalahi pāʻoihana maʻalahi.
So a WordPress site CAN be cheaper than Squarespace, if you go out of your way to prioritize your costs only. But WordPress sites frequently run into the hundreds or even thousands.
No laila ua ʻoi aku ka nui o nā kumukūʻai kumukūʻai, a ʻoiai WordPress ka paʻakikī.
Part 5: Squarespace FAQs
ʻO ka pane pololei ma ʻaneʻi, ʻaʻole ia he kumu nui loa iā TOO.
Registering a domain through Squarespace is fine if you don’t want too much hassle. It’s also nice to not have to pay for the first year (assuming you’re paying yearly).
Akā, e piʻi aʻe ke kumukūʻai o ke kumukūʻai hou ma luna o $ 20.
Personally, I find it more flexible to use separate registrars: it’s easier to switch the platforms I use to manage my site by simply disconnecting or reconnecting my domains.
Additionally, it’s easier to ensure your domain renews at a lower cost when using a registrar.
ʻOiai ʻaʻole paʻakikī loa ka hoʻopili ʻana i kahi pūnaewele i kekahi kahua, ʻo ia kahi hana he nui i makemake nui ʻia e makemake e pale aku, akā naʻe.
ʻO ka mea mua, ʻaʻole ia heʻoi aku kaʻoi loa. Hōʻike maʻalahi nā hoʻolālā pūnaewele ma ka mua, akā hoʻomaikaʻi pinepine i nā kumukūʻai kiʻekiʻe ma hope o hoʻokahi makahiki.
Many also have add-ons that renew at cost, like Squarespace. Plus, the low price you see is often only low if you commit to two or more years, so it’s pricey up-front and less flexible.
Secondly, ease of use costs money. If you scroll up again, you’ll find that Squarespace isn’t really pricier than its site builder rivals.
Thirdly: Squarespace’s ease of use overlaps with its focus on design. Web hosting focuses less on the design aspect of building a site and more the technical side.
Fourthly, Squarespace doesn’t limit your resources the way traditional web hosting does.
Squarespace has a 14-day free trial.
ʻO ke ʻano, INSTEAD o ka uku hoʻolimalima no kahi hoʻolālā a laila noi i kahi hoihoi i loko o kahi manawa manawa, hana ʻoe i kahi waihona no ka manuahi a hoʻomaka i ka hoʻohana ʻana i ka lawelawe.
ʻAʻole ʻoe e noi ʻia e hoʻopaʻa inoa i kāu ʻike uku, a pau ka wā o kāu hoʻokolohua manuahi a hoʻoholo ʻoe e uku no ka maikaʻi.
How good is Squarespace pricing?
E kāʻei ʻoe i kēia, palā.
Overall, Squarespace pricing is pretty good. There are a few negative points about it, however, mainly in the form of extra costs after the first year.
ʻOiai inā e hoʻohana wale i ka hoʻolālā kumukūʻai me ka ʻole o ka hoʻopi ʻana i nā kolu, a nā kikowaena a me G Suite e hana hou ma ke kumukūʻai ma hope o ka hakahaka o hoʻokahi makahiki.
Additionally, accessing a larger range of ecommerce tools involves paying extra for Squarespace’s email marketing toolset and/or paying for third party extensions.
However, when we compare Squarespace to its nā mea hoʻokūkū, we can see that it’s not so bad:
Squarespace is more generous with its storage and ecommerce tools than its primary competitors, while still retaining overall low prices.
Furthermore, paying for third party extensions on a site-builder is nothing unique to Squarespace: it’s equally common on Wix, Shopify, WordPress, a me nā mea ʻē aʻe.
So looking at things holistically, Squarespace is still offering a great deal for the price!
Akā ʻaʻole ʻoe e pono e lawe i kaʻu ʻōlelo no ia inā ʻaʻole ʻoe i manaʻoʻiʻo.
Just try out Squarespace yourself to find out—it’s free anyway!
