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BigCommerce vs. Squarespace: At a Glance

How BigCommerce and Squarespace Stack Up

While BigCommerce and Squarespace have a lot in common, there are also a number of noteworthy differences between the two tools. The table below will show you how they compare.

Pricing

BigCommerce has three plans ranging from $29 per month to $299 per month when billed annually. There’s also an enterprise plan that requires a custom quote and can be tailored to meet your unique needs.

Squarespace plans will run you between $16 per month to $52 per month when billed annually. BigCommerce has a 15-day free trial, and the Squarespace free trial is 14 days. While Squarespace initially seems cheaper, its $16 per month Personal plan is more geared towards website creation. You can sell content and memberships, but to get real e-commerce features, you’ll want to pick the Commerce Basic or Commerce Advanced plans for $28 and $52 per month, respectively.

Ease of Use

Since BigCommerce is packed with countless features, it can take some time and effort to learn how to use it, especially if you’ve never used an e-commerce platform before. Meanwhile, Squarespace has a reputation as an intuitive, beginner-friendly tool that anyone can use.

Design Templates

If you opt for BigCommerce, you’ll have access to hundreds of templates geared toward various industries, such as fashion, health, beauty, electronics and more. The downside is that most of these templates cost extra and can be difficult to customize. Squarespace offers a variety of free, modern, easily customizable templates thanks to its drag-and-drop interface.

SEO Tools

BigCommerce SEO features include meta descriptions, customizable URLs for all pages and integration with Google Analytics. For more advanced functionality, you can also use the SEOSpace SEO plugin.

When it comes to SEO, Squarespace keeps things basic with meta titles and descriptions, sitemaps, secure sockets layer (SSL), mobile optimization and integration with Google Search Console. There’s also a best practices checklist to help you get started.

E-Commerce Features

BigCommerce goes the extra mile with its powerful e-commerce tools, such as real-time shopping quotes, Google customer reviews, abandoned care recovery, product ratings and reviews and multicurrency selling. Squarespace e-commerce features are basic as the platform is designed to be a general website builder, instead of a comprehensive e-commerce software.

Payment Options

BigCommerce accepts more than 65 payment gateways. Squarespace, however, only accepts payments via Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay and Afterpay. In addition, BigCommerce is compatible with more currencies.

Customer Support

With BigCommerce, you can expect 24/7 support via phone, email or live chat. Squarespace support is offered through email and chat but there’s no phone support. Fortunately, the Squarespace Help Center, which features guides, videos, webinars and a community forum, may help you out.