BigCommerce vs Squarespace Comparison 2026
BigCommerce is a hosted storefront starting at $29 a month for up to $30,000 in yearly sales, with no cut taken from any sale beyond the payment provider's own rate. Squarespace starts cheaper, at $19 a month for its Basic plan, but adds a 2 percent fee on store sales and 7 percent on digital content and memberships, both of which drop to 0 and 5 percent only on the $29 Core plan. The sticker price is not the real comparison. BigCommerce never takes a percentage, and Squarespace keeps 5 percent of membership revenue even on its pricier plan.
A hosted store priced against how much you sell
Templates that look designed out of the box
At a glance
- Squarespace starts cheaper, at $19.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
BigCommerce | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $29 | From $19 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Not stated | Annual only |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Yes |
BigCommerce
A hosted store priced against how much you sell
BigCommerce is a hosted storefront whose tiers are drawn around sales volume rather than around features, so the question at signup is what a shop turns over rather than which capabilities it needs. Crossing a tier's ceiling moves the account up on its own, which is worth knowing before the first busy quarter. The platform adds no transaction fee of its own on top of the payment provider's. Anybody below the first threshold is paying for headroom they will not use for a while.
Our note
The automatic upgrade is the thing to plan for, because a good quarter moves you a tier without anybody approving it and the jump from $29 to $79 arrives at $30,000 of sales. Compare with Shopify on the card rate rather than the subscription, since that is where the two platforms actually differ.
Only on this side
- Covers monetization & payments
Squarespace
Templates that look designed out of the box
Why people weigh these two
- Squarespace instead of BigCommerce
- Designed-looking templates with a store attached from $19; site-first commerce where BigCommerce is a storefront priced against turnover.
- BigCommerce instead of Squarespace
- BigCommerce prices its plans against how much you actually sell, starting at $29 with no free tier, worth checking against Squarespace's transaction fees once volume is real.
Which one should you pick
Choose BigCommerce if memberships or digital content are a real part of the business, not a sideline. Core is $29 a month for up to $30,000 in yearly sales, and nothing is taken from a sale beyond the payment provider's ordinary rate. It is wrong for someone who just wants a good-looking site with a shop attached and no interest in the storefront's mechanics.
Choose Squarespace for a site that has to look considered with minimal ongoing effort. Basic is $19 a month but keeps 2 percent of store sales and 7 percent of digital content and memberships; Core at $29 drops those to 0 and 5 percent. Even Core still keeps a slice. It is wrong for a membership business at any real volume, since BigCommerce keeps none of that revenue at the same $29 price.
Common questions
- Is Squarespace cheaper than BigCommerce?
- Its Basic plan is, at $19 a month against BigCommerce's $29 Core. But Basic also keeps 2 percent of store sales and 7 percent of digital content and memberships, fees BigCommerce does not charge at all, so the cheaper sticker price can cost more once real sales start.
- Does BigCommerce take a percentage of sales like Squarespace does?
- No. BigCommerce adds no transaction fee of its own on top of whatever the payment provider charges. Squarespace keeps 2 percent of store sales and 7 percent of digital content and memberships on Basic, falling to 0 and 5 percent only on the $29 Core plan.
- Which is better for selling memberships?
- BigCommerce, on the numbers. Squarespace keeps 7 percent of membership revenue on Basic and still 5 percent on Core at $29 a month, while BigCommerce's Core plan at the same $29 takes no cut at all.
- Which is easier to run without technical help?
- Squarespace. Its templates are built to survive a non-designer adding content, and the editor stops changes that would break the design. BigCommerce is a full storefront platform built around sales volume, which asks more of whoever runs it.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.