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Website builder software · head to head

Framer vs Squarespace

Sebastiaan Smits Editor Sebastiaan Smits · Published September 30, 2026 · Updated October 20, 2026

Both appeal to people who care how a site looks, but they assume different users. Framer hands you a design-tool canvas with no-code animations, scroll effects and an AI design agent, and expects some design sense. Squarespace hands you a finished template, a store on every plan and member areas. Startups and designers choose Framer; creatives and small businesses without design skills choose Squarespace.

Side by side

FramerSquarespace
What it isDesign-tool-grade website builder with built-in motion and AI generationDesign-forward templates for creatives and small businesses
Best forStartups, designers and brands wanting motion-rich, custom-feeling sitesDesign-conscious small businesses and creative professionals
HeadquartersNetherlandsUnited States
Pricing modelPer site / monthPer site / month
PricingA free plan includes a Framer subdomain, 500 AI credits and 1GB bandwidth and is pitched for non-commercial use; paid site plans are Basic at $10 and Pro at $30 a month billed yearly, adding custom domains and higher usage limits.Published plans are billed per site with no permanent free tier, only a 14-day trial; all plans can sell, with a 2% store fee on Basic that Core and above remove.
Free optionFree planFree trial
List price
as listed on September 30, 2026		$10 per month on yearly billing (Basic plan)€17 per month billed monthly, or €12 per month billed annually (Basic plan)
Place in our website builder software ranking#4 of 12#7 of 12
Websiteframer.comsquarespace.com

Both are reviewed in full in Best Website Builder Software in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.

Which one to choose

Choose Framer if

someone on the team is comfortable in design tools, you want motion and interactions that do not look like a template, and the site is mainly marketing pages, a portfolio or a company blog.

Framer, #4 in the ranking · Visit Framer →

Choose Squarespace if

you have no design background, want a site that looks good from the template onward, and need to sell products, services or memberships from the same subscription.

Squarespace, #7 in the ranking · Visit Squarespace →

Where they differ

How far the design can be pushed

Framer's canvas works like a design tool: animations, scroll effects, hover and click interactions, custom cursors and SVG animation are set up without code, and its AI agent can build sticky navbars or animated menus from a description. Squarespace's templates look good immediately, but custom CSS and JavaScript only arrive on the Core plan. For a brand that wants a custom-feeling site, Framer gives more room.

Edge: Framer

The person doing the building

Squarespace suits an owner with no design training: pick a curated template, fill it in, and the result looks professional. Framer rewards design sensibility, and in the site's view its advanced interactions carry a learning curve for anyone new to design tools. Its AI agent produces a first draft quickly, but design choices still follow. For a non-designer working alone, Squarespace is kinder.

Edge: Squarespace

Selling from the site

Squarespace lets every plan sell products, services, digital content and memberships, with a 2% store fee on Basic that Core and above remove, and separate fees on digital content and memberships from 7% on Basic down to 0% on Advanced. Framer presents itself for portfolios, startup sites, landing pages and company blogs, with CMS collections, A/B testing and localization rather than a store. If the site has to take money, Squarespace carries more.

Edge: Squarespace

Trying it before paying

Framer has a free plan with a Framer domain, 30 pages, 1 GB of bandwidth and 500 AI credits to try, which Framer describes as meant for non-commercial use. Squarespace has no free plan; every site starts with a 14-day trial that needs no credit card, and trial sites cannot export content. For testing ideas over weeks rather than days, Framer is more generous.

Edge: Framer

How the bill grows

Framer lists Basic at $10 and Pro at $30 a month on yearly billing; Basic charges $20 a month per extra editor, Pro includes unlimited editors, and localization ($20 per locale) and A/B testing are add-ons. Squarespace shows Basic at €12 a month billed annually, with 2 contributors, and Core at €18 with unlimited contributors. Which grows faster depends on editors versus selling.

Edge: even

Tally: Framer 2, Squarespace 2, even 1.

When neither fits

Neither is right when the site is fundamentally a store with a real catalog, or when an agency must manage many client sites. Shopify is built around inventory, shipping and payments, and Duda provides the white-label and bulk-editing tools that one-site builders do not.

See Shopify and Duda among the 12 products in Best Website Builder Software in 2026.

Questions and answers

Is Framer harder to learn than Squarespace?

For someone without design-tool experience, yes. Framer's canvas and advanced interactions take time, while Squarespace is built around choosing a template and editing it. A team with a designer will find Framer faster for custom work, because animations and interactions are set up visually rather than in code.

Does Framer or Squarespace have a free plan?

Framer does: a free plan on a Framer domain with 30 pages, 1 GB of bandwidth and 500 AI credits, aimed at non-commercial use. Squarespace states it has no free plan; each site gets a 14-day trial without a credit card, then needs a paid plan from Basic upward.

Which is better for selling online, Framer or Squarespace?

Squarespace, for a small shop. All plans can sell, the 2% store fee on Basic drops to 0% from Core, and memberships and digital content are built in with their own fees. Framer aims at portfolios, startup sites and blogs. For a large catalog, a commerce-first platform beats both.

What happens if I want to leave Squarespace?

Its only export is a WordPress-format XML file with layout and gallery pages, one blog with its posts, and text and image blocks. Store pages, product, audio and video blocks, drafts, style settings and custom CSS stay behind, and a trial site cannot export at all. Keep your own copies of content and product data.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on September 30, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.