Wix vs. Squarespace: Billing, Export Limits and the Cost of Leaving
HRL’s view: if moving substantial editorial content to WordPress later is part of your plan, Squarespace’s documented content export gives you a clearer starting point. It still does not transfer an entire working site. A standard Wix-built site depends on Wix’s hosting, so a future move should be budgeted as a rebuild. That distinction may matter more than a small subscription-price difference.
For a small business staying on either platform, compare the actual workflow you need: enquiries, appointments, checkout, email, and the person responsible for maintaining it. We have not run hands-on design, performance, support, or migration tests for this comparison. Recommendations below are HRL analysis of the linked documentation, checked October 5, 2026.
Can you move a Wix or Squarespace website to another host?
| Question | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Move the working builder site to another host? | The standard Wix site must run on Wix infrastructure. | Content export is partial; do not treat it as a deployable copy of the site. |
| Documented editorial-content route? | Plan to recreate the site at the destination; inventory content and available business-data exports separately. | XML export supports selected content, including one blog and its posts. |
| Design preserved by the content export? | No external-hosting transfer of the working Wix site. | Style settings and custom CSS are excluded. |
| Domain separate from the website? | Wix allows a domain managed by another provider. | Plan domain and DNS changes separately from content export. |
Wix’s hosting explanation and Squarespace’s XML-export documentation establish these boundaries. Squarespace also warns that image references can remain dependent on the old site: verify destination images before canceling. Our export vs. backup guide explains how to check whether a saved file can actually restore what you need.
Compare invoices rather than monthly equivalents
A displayed monthly figure can describe a full year paid today. Record the checkout total, term length, next invoice, and cancellation conditions for the exact plan you are considering. Use the same currency, country, and service requirements on both sides.
Current price-check limitation: the Wix page retrieved for this review mixed regional tax labels, while Squarespace displayed PLN. We are not treating those amounts as US quotes or declaring a price winner. Follow the official plan links below and confirm your billing location and term before using a number.
Wix’s renewal guidance says yearly and multi-year subscriptions can be charged up to three weeks before expiry; domain and email subscriptions renew separately. Its business-email guide also treats Google Workspace as a separate purchase. Put the payment date in your calendar, alongside the service-expiry date.
| Budget item | What to record for each builder |
|---|---|
| Website subscription | Plan name, full first invoice, required term, and next renewal amount. |
| Domain and email | Offer duration, mailbox count, separate invoices, and later renewal costs. |
| Business functions | Booking, forms, apps, marketing, memberships, and the exact paid tier needed. |
| Selling | Platform fees, payment processing, and other sales-dependent charges. |
| Leaving | Replacement design, data transfer, redirects, and overlapping subscriptions. |
Squarespace’s email offer can cover one eligible new Google Workspace user for the first year on qualifying plans, then renews at the standard rate. Additional users cost extra. Compare the post-offer mailbox budget, not just the first-year benefit.
For Wix’s published annual and monthly reference rates, prepaid totals and renewal timing, use our Wix pricing and renewal guide. Your account’s quote still determines what you pay.
Check the Squarespace pricing guide for public subscription references, selling fees and invoice checks.
Selling products: fees and exports need separate checks
Squarespace distinguishes platform transaction charges from payment-processing fees; a zero platform fee does not make processing free. Check the fee schedule for your plan, country, payment method, and product type. Apply the same checklist to Wix’s selected plan and processor rather than assuming the two stores have identical charges.
Squarespace offers separate product CSV and order exports. These preserve records, not an operational store at a new host. Map the destination fields and test a sample import before planning a full move. Inventory customer accounts, subscriptions, inventory, and payment arrangements independently.
Which builder fits your next three years?
A brochure or local-service website
Build the same small trial brief in each: homepage, service page, enquiry form, and the appointment workflow if needed. Choose the lowest tier that completes that brief and has an acceptable renewal budget. A plan with more features is only useful if those features replace something you would otherwise pay for or maintain.
A content site with a planned WordPress move
Squarespace’s partial content-export route is a reason to shortlist it for this scenario, not proof of an effortless migration. List the pages, media, design, and functions that still require work. If independently changing hosts is a firm requirement from day one, also compare a self-hosted WordPress approach using our shared vs. managed WordPress guide.
A store or membership business
Run the fee calculation against expected sales and your actual product types. Then test the operational workflow. A prettier trial homepage cannot tell you whether order management, access control, or a future data move will meet your needs.
Before you buy: make sure the business controls the owner account, domain access, billing, and important third-party services. Use our website handover checklist if an agency or developer is building the site.
Rehearse the handover before choosing
Ask the person who will maintain the site to replace a service description, add a new page and update a contact destination in each shortlisted builder. Record where they needed help and which paid feature the task used. If a future move matters, inventory the content that exports and the functions that need rebuilding; price that rebuild separately from the subscription.
Sources and verification
Documentation checked October 5, 2026. This is a documented-feature comparison, not HRL hands-on testing. Exact US checkout prices and future renewal invoices are not verified in this review.
View official Wix plans · View official Squarespace plans · Squarespace plan selection. Other primary sources are linked alongside the claims they support. Provider links here are direct links; no approved affiliate tracking link has been activated. Read our affiliate disclosure.