Squarespace Price Increase: Should You Actually Leave?
A client messaged me last week in a bit of a panic.
She’d just opened one of those cheerful emails that somehow manages to make bad news sound exciting. Her website was going to cost more at the next renewal.
Her message was short: “Ankush, that’s it. Where do we move?”
I could almost hear the frustration through the screen.
And honestly, she isn’t the only one asking that question. Since the Squarespace price increase started landing in people’s inboxes, I’ve had several business owners contact me with the same reaction: Should we leave Squarespace now?
I told her what I’m going to tell you. Don’t make the decision while you’re angry.
I build Squarespace websites for clients every day. I’m not here to defend a price increase nobody asked for. But I also don’t want you to spend weeks rebuilding a website only to realise the move costs more than the increase itself.
What has actually changed?
The short version is simple: Squarespace has increased its prices, and many customers are noticing it when their annual renewal arrives.
That last part is important.
A lot of people think they’re being charged more immediately, but most existing customers feel the increase when their current subscription renews. That gives you time to review your website properly instead of rushing into a migration.
When my client looked at the new annual amount, her first reaction was: “This feels like a huge jump.”
And I understand why. Seeing a yearly number written out in one payment can feel much larger than seeing a monthly fee.
The frustration is real
I’m not going to tell you that people are overreacting.
Many long-time Squarespace users genuinely feel disappointed. The most common comment I’ve heard is: “Why am I paying more for the same website?”
That’s the emotional part of this conversation, and it matters.
If your website looks the same today as it did yesterday, it’s natural to wonder what exactly you’re getting for the higher price.
I told my client something very simple: “Your frustration is valid. Let’s just make sure the solution is also valid.”
Because being upset and making a good business decision are not always the same thing.
The question that changed the conversation
I asked her one question: “If Squarespace had not increased the price, would you still want to move?”
She paused for a moment and said: “Honestly? No. The site works fine.”
That answer changed everything.
A website move should usually happen because the platform no longer fits your business, you need features it can’t provide, or managing the site has become a problem.
A price increase is a good reason to review your setup. It is not always a good reason to rebuild everything.
What leaving actually looks like
This is the part most people underestimate.
Moving a website is rarely a quick transfer.
Every page has to be recreated. Images need to be uploaded again. Forms need to be reconnected. Mobile layouts need checking. SEO settings need reviewing. And then everything needs testing.
One of my clients runs a small online store with dozens of products and a blog that has been ranking on Google for years. When she started listing everything that would need to be rebuilt, she stopped halfway through and laughed.
“I thought I was escaping a bill,” she said. “I didn’t realise I was signing up for a project.”
That sentence has stayed with me because it perfectly describes what happens when we compare subscription prices without considering the work behind a migration.
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The hidden cost I worry about most
As someone who focuses heavily on SEO, this is the part that makes me nervous.
I’ve seen businesses move platforms in a hurry and forget to redirect their old web addresses. A few weeks later, their Google traffic quietly starts dropping. The new site looks great, but search engines treat many pages as brand new.
Recovering those rankings can take months.
A careful migration can be safe. A rushed migration done out of frustration can become a much more expensive problem than the price increase itself.
That’s why I never recommend cancelling first and planning later.
What I did instead
Rather than discussing new platforms immediately, we opened her Squarespace account together.
We checked her plan, her billing cycle, and the features she was actually using. Within an hour we had removed a couple of unnecessary add-ons and simplified part of her setup.
The final cost was lower than she expected.
More importantly, she kept a website that was already working for her business.
By the end of the call she said something that surprised me: “I came into this conversation ready to leave. I’m leaving it feeling relieved.”
My honest view so far
If your website is generating enquiries, ranking on Google, and you can manage it comfortably, the Squarespace price increase is usually a reason to review your setup, not a reason to panic.
For many small business owners, the cheapest platform on paper is not the cheapest platform once you count your time, redesign work, SEO risk, and ongoing maintenance.
So before you start researching alternatives tonight, ask yourself the same question I asked my client: “Would I still want to move if the price had stayed the same?”
That answer will tell you a lot.
In the next part of this article, I’ll explain the situations where leaving Squarespace actually makes sense, compare the most realistic alternatives, and show you the simple checklist I use with clients before they decide to stay or go.
So who should actually leave Squarespace?
After writing all of that, you might think I’m saying nobody should move.
That’s not true.
I’ve helped clients move away from Squarespace when it was clearly the right decision. The key difference is that they moved because of their business needs, not because of a renewal email.
You’ve got a genuine case for leaving if:
you run a large online store and need advanced e-commerce tools,
you want complete technical control over your website,
your site is extremely simple and could be handled by a cheaper one-page platform,
or you’ve outgrown what Squarespace can realistically do.
Notice what isn’t on that list. “I’m annoyed about the price.”
Annoyance is a feeling. A migration should be a strategy.
The alternative everyone mentions first
Whenever this topic comes up, someone immediately says, “Just move to WordPress.”
WordPress can be fantastic. It powers a huge portion of the web, and for the right person it offers enormous flexibility.
But here’s the part that often gets skipped.
With WordPress, you’re usually choosing and managing your own hosting, security, backups, updates, plugins, and theme. Some people enjoy that control. Many small business owners do not.
One client told me after trying WordPress for a few weeks: “It isn’t difficult. It just feels like another thing I have to manage.”
That sentence is important.
Squarespace is not simply a website builder; it is also the hosting company, the maintenance team, the security provider, and the support desk. You only notice that bundle when you start separating the pieces.
What about Shopify or Framer?
For e-commerce businesses, I often compare Squarespace with Shopify.
If your business revolves around selling products and you need advanced inventory management, shipping workflows, discount logic, and app integrations, Shopify is usually the stronger choice. I’d rather tell a client that honestly than force Shopify-level requirements into Squarespace.
Framer is a different conversation. I love it for highly custom, design-led websites, but it is not always the easiest platform for a non-technical business owner who wants to update text, add blog posts, or manage content themselves.
That’s why I rarely recommend a platform based on price alone. I recommend it based on how you’ll feel using it six months from now.
The quick test I use with clients
When someone asks me whether they should stay or go, I ask them to answer these questions:
Is my website bringing enquiries or sales?
Can I update it myself without stress?
Am I happy with how it looks on mobile?
Do I rely on Google traffic?
Would rebuilding the site take more than a weekend?
If you answered yes to most of those, I’d usually start by improving your existing Squarespace site rather than rebuilding it elsewhere.
That doesn’t mean you stay forever. It means you avoid making a rushed decision.
What I’d do before cancelling anything
Here’s the exact order I’d follow.
First, check whether you’re on the correct plan. I’ve seen businesses paying for features they stopped using years ago.
Second, make sure you’re billed annually rather than monthly if you intend to stay.
Third, review your domain, email, and add-ons. Small recurring charges add up surprisingly quickly.
And finally, ask whether a design and SEO refresh would give you a better return than a complete migration. In many cases, a few focused improvements produce more enquiries than an entirely new website.
That’s exactly what happened with the client I mentioned at the beginning.
What happened to that client?
We didn’t move her.
Instead, we spent an afternoon tightening up her homepage, improving her calls to action, cleaning up a few SEO issues, and simplifying her plan.
A week later she emailed me again.
This time the message was much shorter: “I’m glad we didn’t panic.”
That was the whole email.
Honestly, I think that’s the feeling most business owners are looking for right now—not excitement about a new platform, just confidence that they’re making a sensible decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes, Squarespace is increasing its prices in July 2026 by up to 26% on select plans. The exact price jump depends on your specific tier and billing cycle.
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In most cases, no. Take a little time to review your current plan, billing cycle, and the features you actually use before making a decision. A rushed move can lead to extra costs, lost time, and unnecessary stress, so it’s worth calculating the full cost of switching first.
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redirected properly or the site structure changes too much, Google may treat parts of the website as new pages. A well-planned migration can usually preserve most of your rankings, but a rushed one can cause traffic and enquiry drops.
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That depends on the type of website you have. A simple one-page business website can often be built for much less, while a site with a blog, online store, bookings, or member areas may require paid hosting, themes, plugins, or ongoing maintenance. The cheapest option on paper is not always the cheapest option in practice.
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Not necessarily. If your website is already bringing enquiries, ranking on Google, and is easy for you to manage, staying on Squarespace can be the smarter business decision. The important question is whether the platform still supports your business goals, not whether another platform has a lower headline price.
My final verdict
If your website is already working for your business, the Squarespace price increase is probably a reason to pause and review your setup, not a reason to hit the eject button.
For many small businesses, the real cost of leaving is not the new subscription price. It’s the time, rebuild effort, SEO risk, and ongoing maintenance that arrives afterwards.
Could you save money by moving? Absolutely.
Will you save money once everything is counted? Much less often than people expect.
So before you spend tonight comparing website builders, ask yourself one final question:
“Am I trying to improve my business, or am I trying to stop feeling annoyed about an email?”
That answer will usually point you in the right direction.
Still unsure?
If you’ve received a renewal notice and aren’t sure whether staying on Squarespace or moving to another platform is the best decision for your business, we’d be happy to help.
We offer a free consultation call where we can review your website, discuss your goals, budget, and long-term plans, and help you choose the option that makes the most sense for your business.
Every website is different. In some cases, staying on Squarespace is the smartest choice; in others, migrating to a different platform may provide better value and flexibility.
The important thing is making a confident, informed decision based on your business needs, not reacting under pressure. Contact us or schedule a free consultation to discuss the best direction for your website.
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