Since you're new to online selling, you might need a platform that's affordable, easy to use, and packed with features to grow your business. How can you choose between Ecwid vs Squarespace, both promising to be user-friendly and scalable?
This guide directly compares Squarespace vs Ecwid, breaking down key aspects to help you make an informed decision:
- Pricing;
- Ease of use;
- Templates & design;
- eCommerce features;
- Apps & integration;
- SEO & marketing;
- Performance & security;
- Customer support.
Keep reading for more!
Ecwid vs Squarespace: An Overview
Before diving into the detailed comparison of Ecwid vs Squarespace, this overview section will equip you with a fundamental understanding of each platform's strengths and offerings. In this way, you can make your decisions better.
What is Ecwid?
Ecwid (which stands for “eCommerce Widget”) is a flexible eCommerce solution designed to integrate with any existing website.
The acquisition of Ecwid by Lightspeed in 2021 has marked a significant turning point for the platform, transitioning it from a simple eCommerce add-on to a more robust, comprehensive eCommerce solution. With Lightspeed's expertise in point-of-sale and eCommerce software, Ecwid has now turned into an expanded suite of advanced eCommerce features.
Currently, Ecwid is home to over 900,000 live websites, with a substantial number of users hailing from major markets such as the United States, Germany, the UK, Italy, and France. Its market presence has shown consistent growth, highlighting its effectiveness and appeal as an eCommerce platform.
Ecwid pros | Ecwid cons |
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What is Squarespace?
Squarespace is a sophisticated website builder known for its stunning design capabilities and all-in-one platform features. Unlike Ecwid, Squarespace is not just an add-on but a complete solution that allows you to build, manage, and host your website with a strong focus on design and aesthetics.
As of February 2025, Squarespace is the foundation for over 5 million active websites in many industries, including artists, photographers, restaurateurs, and retailers. It is particularly popular in markets that value design and user experience, such as the United States, Australia, Canada, and the UK.
Squarespace pros | Squarespace cons |
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Ecwid vs Squarespace: Which platform is better for you?
At a quick glance, here's our scoring for each platform, along with the business types best suited for Ecwid vs Squarespace.
- Ecwid (4/5): Best suited for small businesses that operate across multiple sales channels. It allows for seamless integration with existing websites, social media platforms, and online marketplaces.
- Squarespace (4.4/5): Ideal for creative professionals like artists, photographers, and designers. Squarespace provides visually stunning, customizable templates with integrated eCommerce capabilities.
In the following sections, we will detail each scoring category for Ecwid vs Squarespace, explaining the scores to help you align the best platform with your business objectives.
Pricing
The Verdict
In terms of pricing, Ecwid wins this comparison with Squarespace thanks to its forever-free plan and lower upfront costs. We highly recommend this platform for anyone starting out in eCommerce on a budget.
Ecwid pricing
Rating: 4.6/5
Ecwid offers four straightforward pricing plans designed to fit businesses of various sizes. Be noted that each Ecwid plan comes with product limitations. Thus, you should carefully select one that fits your plan:
- Free Plan: $0/month, sell up to 5 products.
- Venture Plan: $25/month, sell up to 100 products.
- Business Plan: $45/month, sell up to 2500 products.
- Unlimited Plan: $105/month, sell unlimited products.
Unlike many other platforms that only offer limited trials, Ecwid’s free option lets you start selling online with no financial commitment at all. This is especially helpful for startups and small businesses who have a small, curated selection. Additionally, Ecwid does not charge any transaction fees at all, helping you save even more costs.
Considering additional costs, such as essential apps averaging $50/month and standard payment gateway fees, the total annual cost of using Ecwid can vary significantly. We have done the math, and it can be up to approximately $2,388 annually for the Unlimited Plan.
Squarespace pricing
Rating: 4.3/5
Following a significant pricing revision in the summer of 2024, Squarespace's plans now start at a higher entry point than some of its competitors, including Ecwid. The updated monthly costs are:
- Basic Plan: $25/month
- Core Plan: $36/month.
- Plus Plan: $56/month.
- Advanced Plan: $139/month.
This adjustment has sparked discussions, as Squarespace was previously known for being more budget-friendly compared to other platforms. Now, the annual cost for a Squarespace site begins at $300 and escalates to $3,000 for the Advanced Plan.
Notably, Squarespace does not offer a free plan, which might deter some potential users looking for low-cost entry into online selling. However, similar to Ecwid, Squarespace also does not charge transaction fees, adding value for those who choose to subscribe. Additionally, a 14-day free trial is available, allowing users to test features before committing financially.
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Ease of Use
The VerdictIt’s a tie between Ecwid vs Squarespace regarding ease of use. No matter which platform you choose, you will be guided carefully to set up your store ready for sale.
Ecwid ease of use
Rating: 4.5/5
Starting with Ecwid is incredibly straightforward. First, you sign up by entering your name, email, and password, which directly enrolls you in the free plan. If you later find that you need more advanced features, upgrading is easy and can be done anytime through the “My Profile” section.
Ecwid helps you set up your store with a detailed guide that covers all the essentials:
- Create your website and storefront.
- Add your products or services.
- Check your regional settings.
- Decide on your delivery methods.
- Set up how you’ll get paid.
The Ecwid dashboard is particularly well-designed for beginners. It’s divided into clearly labeled sections such as Store Management, Sales Channels, and Configuration. This organization makes it easy not only to get started but also to manage your store as it grows.
As you can see, the Ecwid dashboard has the Lightspeed logo. This indicates Ecwid’s integration with the Lightspeed system, enhancing its functionality and user experience.
Squarespace ease of use
Rating: 4.5/5
The setup process with Squarespace, while just as simple, focuses more on delivering a polished and visually appealing online presence. You begin by providing an email and creating a password. After this, Squarespace’s onboarding process guides you through several important steps:
- Answer questions about the type of site you are creating, and what type of products you will be selling.
- Choose a website design template, or ask Squarespace AI to create one for you.
- Add products to sell.
- Set up shipping and taxes.
The Squarespace dashboard enhances this experience thanks to its excellent design and usability. The sidebar navigation menu is clearly labeled, making it easy to find exactly what you need quickly.
For less obvious settings, like payment and shipping options, everything is neatly organized within the settings menu, ensuring that you can manage your site efficiently even if you're new to eCommerce.
This is how a merchant recently shared about their experience with Squarespace on G2:
Squarespace is easy to use for someone who is not technical at all. The templates are awesome. It's easy to figure out things you get stuck on with all of the resources provided. It's so intuitive. I have two websites for different parts of my business one eCommerce and one ‘normal' website' and I love how easy they both are to build and maintain.
Templates & Design
The Verdict
In the comparison between Ecwid vs Squarespace for templates and design, Squarespace takes the lead. With over 200 templates and the addition of an AI-driven website builder, Squarespace offers greater variety and advanced customization options for any merchant.
Ecwid templates & design
Rating: 4.3/5
With over 70 free templates, Ecwid ensures that there's a base design to fit nearly any type of product or business. These templates are particularly beneficial for niche markets, offering a quick setup with minimal fuss.
The real power of Ecwid’s design capabilities comes from its customization features. Using a simple drag-and-drop interface, you can tailor aspects such as text, fonts, colors, and the overall design to match your brand’s aesthetic. However, it's worth noting that Ecwid's website builder is not as robust or automated as Squarespace's.
For example, Jack & Co, a snack company, leveraged Ecwid to transform its local storefront into a global online store. This showcases Ecwid's ability to help small businesses scale effectively while maintaining a user-friendly interface.
Squarespace templates & design
Rating: 4.6/5
Squarespace stands out with its extensive collection of over 200 templates, surpassing the variety offered by Ecwid. These templates are all responsive and crafted with a modern aesthetic that offers a high degree of design coherence and sophistication right from the start.
For businesses that require a more tailored online presence, Squarespace has developed the Blueprint AI website builder. You'll begin by answering a series of questions about your business goals, industry, and brand personality. Then, it will suggest a website structure, color palette, and font pairings to make sure the theme fits your needs.
Once you are done choosing a template or the AI has generated one for you, you can further personalize your site using Squarespace's intuitive drag-and-drop interface. This allows you to rearrange content sections, modify design details, and adjust layouts to perfect your website’s look and functionality.
A & Bé Bridal Shop‘s website, built on Squarespace, features an elegant and aspirational design that perfectly complements its contemporary bridal wear. The homepage employs parallax scrolling to highlight striking images of brides in curated dresses against romantic backdrops.
eCommerce Features
The Verdict
Ecwid outperforms Squarespace in providing essential eCommerce features. Squarespace, while strong in design and user experience, still lacks some of the in-depth eCommerce capabilities that Ecwid provides.
For small business owners and entrepreneurs starting online sales, you will definitely have a keen eye on the eCommerce features offered by Ecwid vs Squarespace. We have tested and compared the two platforms in the table below:
Features | Ecwid | Squarespace |
Product type supported | Physical, digital, services, subscriptions, and custom product types. | Physical, digital, services, and subscriptions. |
Product management | - Users can create multiple variations for a single product. - Bulk editing features for updating stock levels, prices, etc., across multiple products simultaneously. | - Streamlined single-page product addition enhances usability. - Limited product variations. - No bulk editing available. |
Inventory management | Offers low stock alerts, customizable out-of-stock behavior, mass update tools and many other features. | Provides real-time syncing and basic inventory management. |
Payment options | Over 70 payment methods. | Limited to PayPal, Stripe, and Square. |
POS system | Integrates with multiple systems like Lightspeed POS, Square, Clover, etc. | Mainly supports its in-house POS solution and has fewer third-party integrations. |
Tax calculation | - Offers automated tax calculations based on the customer's location. - Allows custom tax rates per product and supports various tax exemptions. | - Basic tax collection functionality. - Requires manual work to set up tax rates for different locations. - Limited flexibility in setting up complex tax rules. |
Shipping methods | Customizable shipping options and integration with major carriers. | Flexible shipping settings and label printing capabilities. |
Reports & analytics | Basic analytics on visitors, revenue, conversion rate, and orders. | Detailed analytics, including visitor behavior, abandoned carts, and traffic sources. |
Apps & Integration
The Verdict
In this round between Ecwid vs Squarespace, we go for Ecwid due to its extensive selection. Offering around 300 apps compared to Squarespace's 45 extensions, Ecwid provides a broader range of tools to enhance and expand your online store's capabilities.
Ecwid apps & integration
Rating: 4.4/5
Ecwid features a substantial marketplace with about 300 apps, covering crucial aspects of eCommerce operations, including marketing, shipping, and analytics. This range includes both free and premium apps, with the premium options generally costing between $20 and $50 per month. Although Ecwid's marketplace is not the largest, it sufficiently addresses the core needs of eCommerce businesses.
For those uncertain about which apps to choose, Ecwid simplifies the decision process with a “Featured” section that showcases top apps. Noteworthy selections include Printful for dropshipping, Zapier for workflow automation, and Mailchimp for email marketing.
Squarespace apps & integration
Rating: 4.1/5
On the other hand, Squarespace offers a more limited selection of extensions, with around 45 available. These extensions primarily support fundamental eCommerce functions such as sales and marketing, inventory management, finance, and shipping and fulfillment.
Despite its smaller library, Squarespace facilitates crucial third-party integrations that are essential for scaling and streamlining operations. These extensions include Printful, Xero, Quickbooks, ShipStation, and LitCommerce, etc.
SEO & Marketing
The Verdict
Squarespace stands out as the top choice for SEO and marketing between Ecwid vs Squarespace. It offers a well-balanced suite of built-in features that cater effectively to both needs.
Ecwid SEO & marketing
Rating: 4.1/5
There’s a fact that Ecwid utilizes AJAX technology for its stores, which can sometimes hinder how well Google and other search engines index their content. In addition, Ecwid doesn't allow manual editing of product URLs. Although it generates SEO-friendly URLs automatically, these URLs often contain a random number sequence, which is not ideal for SEO purposes.
On the plus side, Ecwid is great if you want to sell in many places at once, like your own site, social media, and other platforms. Ecwid makes it easy to handle all these from one spot. They also give you tools to get back customers who didn’t finish their purchase, automate sending emails, and connect with people on social media, helping you sell more everywhere.
For instance, take a look at how Kissed By A Bee Organics runs their business on both Facebook and website using Ecwid multichannel selling:
Squarespace SEO & marketing
Rating: 4.3/5
On Squarespace, adding a blog to your website can significantly boost customer engagement. It's simple to set up and manage your blog posts, categorize them, and even allow comments. You can enrich your posts with different types of content like text, images, videos, and audio. Or, ask AI to help you with the writing as well!
To help your blog get noticed in search engines, Squarespace offers easy-to-use SEO tools. You can customize title tags and meta descriptions, ensure your URLs are clean, and automatically generate XML sitemaps. Plus, integration with Google Search Console and Google Analytics lets you track how well your site performs and understand where your visitors are coming from.
Squarespace also includes powerful marketing tools to enhance your strategy. You can create custom email campaigns, connect with social media, and analyze your efforts to refine your approach. These tools work together to help you reach and connect with your audience more effectively.
Performance & Security
The Verdict
There's no clear winner in this category since both Ecwid vs Squarespace offer strong security features to safeguard your online presence. Each platform employs advanced technologies and standards to ensure data protection and smooth operation.
Ecwid performance & security
Rating: 4.4/5
Ecwid prioritizes performance and security to create a reliable and secure shopping experience for both merchants and customers. Here's how Ecwid protects and optimizes its platform:
- Hosted on AWS for high reliability and scalability.
- PCI DSS Level 1 certified for top-tier payment security.
- Uses Cloudfront CDN to improve global customer loading speeds.
- Secure checkout protects customer transactions and data.
- Unlimited bandwidth supports store growth without traffic caps.
Squarespace performance & security
Rating: 4.4/5
Similarly, Squarespace also incorporates advanced security measures and robust infrastructure to maintain website integrity and uptime, as follows:
- All sites have SSL certificates to secure connections.
- DDoS mitigation keeps websites accessible.
- Compliance with PCI DSS for secure payment processing.
- Geographically diverse data centers improve site reliability.
- Continuous security monitoring detects and addresses threats.
- Adherence to GDPR ensures data privacy compliance.
Customer Support
The Verdict
In comparing customer support between Ecwid vs Squarespace, Ecwid edges out the competitor. This is thanks to its structured and scalable support options across various plan levels.
Ecwid customer support
Rating: 4.5/5
For users on Ecwid's free plan, customer support is primarily self-service. You can find a range of help documentation and tutorials in their Help Center, which supports five languages. Additionally, free eCommerce courses are available through Ecwid Academy, and users can contact support via email.
As you move up to Ecwid's paid plans, the level of support increases:
- Venture Plan: Includes both email and live chat support.
- Business Plan: Adds phone support to the existing email and live chat options.
- Unlimited Plan: Provides all the aforementioned services plus priority support, ensuring quicker and more direct access to help when needed.
Here’s a customer review about Ecwid customer support on Trustpilot:
I'm actually astonished at how great the support is! I'm a developer and few times I needed help from Ecwid support team to add my custom JS and CSS files to my application. I only needed wait about 1 or 2 hours tops for things to be added, that's really fast!
Squarespace customer support
Rating: 4/5
Squarespace provides multiple channels for customer support to ensure users can find help when needed. The primary methods include a comprehensive Help Center with detailed guides and FAQs, live chat for real-time assistance during business hours, email support for more complex inquiries, and phone support for specific critical issues.
However, Squarespace's customer support has received mixed feedback from users. Some merchants report slow response times, which can be frustrating, especially during urgent situations. In such cases, they may need to hire an expert through Squarespace's platform or seek answers from other users in community forums to resolve their issues.
Ecwid vs Squarespace: FAQs
What are the downsides of Ecwid?
Ecwid's use of AJAX might affect its SEO effectiveness, as it can hinder the indexing capabilities of search engines. Additionally, its customization options are not as robust compared to larger platforms, which might limit design flexibility for more advanced needs.
How much does Ecwid take per sale?
Ecwid does not charge transaction fees on sales, meaning you keep all the profits aside from any payment processor fees, which vary by processor.
What is the disadvantage of Squarespace?
A key disadvantage of Squarespace is that it requires a steeper learning curve for customization and lacks the depth of third-party app integrations found in other platforms. As a result, this can limit functionality for complex eCommerce needs.
Is Ecwid good for beginners?
Yes, Ecwid is good for beginners. It is known for its ease of integration with existing websites and offers a user-friendly interface with straightforward tools and resources, making it a suitable choice for those new to eCommerce.
Is Squarespace good for selling online?
Yes, Squarespace is effective for selling online, especially for users focused on design and user experience. It offers beautiful templates, comprehensive marketing tools, and built-in features that support SEO and customer engagement well suited for small to medium-sized online stores.
Final Thoughts
We hope this comparison of Ecwid vs Squarespace has helped you decide on the right platform for your new online store. Both are excellent choices but cater to different needs.
Ecwid is perfect if you want to start selling quickly across various platforms like social media and marketplaces without building a website from scratch. Meanwhile, Squarespace is ideal for creating a stylish, stand-alone website with all the tools you need integrated into one platform.
For more eCommerce insights, feel free to check out our eCommerce blog collection or join the community group!
