// WEBSITE & CMS
Squarespace vs WordPress
Squarespace rents you a site you can never move. WordPress gives you a site you own outright — on your own hosting, with full control and no monthly platform fee.
RENTED
Squarespace
From ~$23/mo, billed forever
OWNED
WordPress
Free + your hosting
// AT A GLANCE
How they compare
Squarespace
WordPress
Pricing model
Monthly subscription
Free, open-source license
Portability
Locked to Squarespace
Move hosts anytime
Who owns the site
Squarespace platform
You, fully
Customization
Template-limited
Unlimited themes & plugins
Lock-in
Can't export the real site
Open, fully portable
* Pricing is illustrative of published list rates and scales with seats/usage; open-source figures reflect license cost only.
// THE CATCH
Where Squarespace starts to hurt
X
You rent, never own
Stop paying and the site goes dark — you can't take the real thing with you.
X
Template ceilings
Design and functionality are capped by what the platform allows.
X
Locked-in commerce
Selling means staying on their plan, on their terms, with their fees.
// THE ALTERNATIVE
WordPress does the same job — and you own it
WordPress powers a huge share of the web — unlimited design freedom, thousands of plugins, full SEO control, and complete ownership — hosted wherever you choose.
A site you own and can move anytime
Unlimited themes and plugins
Full SEO and performance control
Scales from brochure to full store
No monthly platform rent
// THE MATH
What it costs over three years
Squarespace · 3-YEAR LICENSE
$828+
Based on a Business-tier plan; commerce features and higher tiers raise the monthly rate.
WordPress · LICENSE FEES
$0
No per-seat or usage fees ever. You pay only for the hosting you already run — plus our flat build & maintenance.
// WHY BUILTSTEAD, NOT DIY
Open-source is only free if your time is.
WordPress is free — but a fast, secure, well-built site still takes setup, hardening, updates, and backups. We install it, secure it, move your data over, connect it to the rest of your tools, and keep it running — all set up in your name. You get the savings of open-source without becoming your own IT department.
01
We host it for you
Deployed on reliable infrastructure, configured, secured, and monitored — no servers for you to babysit.
02
We migrate your data
Your existing records, contacts, and history moved over cleanly, so nothing is lost in the switch.
03
We connect your stack
Wired into your other tools so data flows automatically instead of being re-entered by hand.
04
We maintain & update
Updates, backups, and security patches handled on an ongoing basis — it just keeps working.
05
Set up in your name
Everything is titled to your company on your domain. No lock-in, no markup — the keys are yours.
06
Real people to call
When something needs attention, you reach us directly — not a ticket queue in another time zone.
Ready to drop Squarespace?
Get a free audit. We'll price out your switch to WordPress, map the migration, and show you the three-year savings — no obligation.
// MORE COMPARISONS
// GROWTH
// FINANCE
// OPERATIONS