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CMS (content management system) software · head to head

Webflow vs Squarespace

Connor Blake Written by Connor Blake · Edited by Sebastiaan Smits · Fact-checked by Mateus Rocha · Published September 30, 2026 · Updated September 30, 2026

Webflow is a visual design tool that outputs production-grade HTML and CSS with CMS collections underneath, sold as a per-site plan plus paid seats. Squarespace is a set of curated templates a non-technical owner can run alone, with a store on every plan. Teams with a designer end up on Webflow; owners working alone end up on Squarespace.

Side by side

WebflowSquarespace
What it isVisual, no-code web design with a full CMS underneathDesign-forward, template-based website and content platform
Best forDesign-led marketing teams and agenciesDesign-conscious small businesses and creatives
HeadquartersUnited StatesUnited States
Pricing modelPer site + per seat / monthPer site / month
PricingSite plans are billed per site on a published table: a free Starter on a webflow.io domain, Basic without the CMS and Premium with it; ecommerce plans and Workspace seats are priced separately.Published plans are billed per site with no permanent free tier, only a 14-day trial; every plan includes a store, with a 2% store fee on Basic that Core and higher plans remove.
Free optionFree planFree trial
List price
as listed on September 30, 2026		$15 per month per site, billed yearly (Basic site plan)€17 per month billed monthly, or €12 per month billed annually (Basic plan)
Place in our CMS (content management system) software ranking#1 of 14#11 of 14
Websitewebflow.comsquarespace.com

Both are reviewed in full in Best CMS (Content Management System) 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 Webflow if

someone on your team is comfortable in a design tool, you want layout and animation control beyond what a template permits, or you are an agency building and handing over client sites.

Webflow, #1 in the ranking · Visit Webflow →

Choose Squarespace if

you run the site yourself without design training, want the template to make the visual decisions, and would like ecommerce, email marketing and member areas from the same vendor.

Squarespace, #11 in the ranking · Visit Squarespace →

Where they differ

Design freedom versus template guardrails

Webflow gives a designer a canvas that writes real HTML and CSS, plus interactions and animations without code. Squarespace starts from curated templates, and going past what the template system allows means injecting custom code rather than editing openly. If the brief is a specific design rather than a good-looking default, Webflow is the one that can deliver it.

Edge: Webflow

Who can run it without training

Squarespace is aimed at an owner with no technical background: editing is simple and visual, and there is a mobile app for changes on the go. Webflow has a real learning curve for anyone who has not used a design tool, and a plain content editor will find some routine tasks harder there. For a one-person business, that gap decides it.

Edge: Squarespace

How the bill is put together

Webflow's Basic site plan is $15 a month billed yearly and has no CMS; Premium, at $25, adds it. Selling needs an ecommerce plan from $29 with a 2% transaction fee, and each extra full seat is $39. Squarespace Basic is €12 a month billed annually and already sells products with a 2% store fee, which Core at €18 removes. Squarespace needs fewer separate purchases.

Edge: Squarespace

What ships alongside the pages

Squarespace includes blogging, a store on every plan, email marketing tools, member areas and an analytics dashboard. Webflow's extras lean toward builders: CMS collections holding up to 20,000 items on Premium, content APIs, per-page SEO controls, and client payments on its Freelancer and Agency workspaces. Which set matters depends on whether you sell things or build sites.

Edge: even

Getting your site back out

Webflow exports clean HTML and CSS on paid Workspace plans, from $19 a month billed yearly, but CMS items and pages are left out of that export. Squarespace exports an XML file meant for WordPress that carries layout pages and one blog, and skips store, portfolio and album pages, styles and custom CSS. One keeps the design, the other some of the content.

Edge: even

Tally: Webflow 1, Squarespace 2, even 2.

When neither fits

If the same content has to feed a mobile app or other channels as well as a website, both are the wrong shape, since each is built around one hosted site. A headless CMS such as Contentful, or open-source Strapi if you want to self-host, fits that job, provided you have developers.

See Contentful and Strapi among the 14 products in Best CMS (Content Management System) Software in 2026.

Questions and answers

Is Webflow harder to learn than Squarespace?

Yes. Webflow has a real learning curve for anyone without design-tool experience, while Squarespace is aimed at a non-technical owner and keeps editing simple and visual. The trade is control: Webflow lets a designer build what a Squarespace template would only allow through custom code injection.

Does Webflow or Squarespace have a free plan?

Webflow has a free Starter site plan on a webflow.io address, limited to 2 static pages, 50 CMS items and 50 form submissions. Squarespace has no permanent free tier, only a 14-day free trial, after which its plans start with Basic at €12 a month billed annually or €17 billed monthly.

Can I move my site off Webflow or Squarespace later?

Partly, on both. Webflow's code export gives you HTML and CSS on a paid Workspace plan, but dynamic CMS content is not part of it. Squarespace's export is an XML file for WordPress covering layout pages, one blog, text and image blocks; store pages, product blocks, style settings and custom CSS stay behind.

What does a small online store cost on Webflow and Squarespace?

Webflow's ecommerce plans start with Standard at $29 a month billed yearly, covering 500 ecommerce items with a 2% transaction fee; Plus at $74 drops the fee. Squarespace sells on every plan: Basic at €12 a month billed annually carries a 2% online store fee, and Core at €18 has none.

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.