Quick winner breakdown
- Longest documented free trial
- Squarespace
The short version: for a store doing tens of orders a month, the real choice is between Shopify Basic and Squarespace Core, and they cost the same. What separates them is what else you want the site to do. The worked example below shows the monthly bill at two sizes, so you can see where each plan starts to cost you money. All prices are US-dollar list prices checked on 2026-10-03.
The three in one table
| Shopify | Squarespace | Wix | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A store platform first | A website builder with a full store | A website builder with a full store |
| Entry price (yearly billing) | Basic $29/mo | Basic $19/mo | Shown in your local price at checkout |
| Entry price (monthly billing) | Basic $39/mo | Basic $25/mo | Shown in your local price at checkout |
| Online card rate on entry plan | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | Set per country on Wix’s payment pages |
| Extra fee on entry plan | 2% only if you use an outside payment provider | 2% online store fee on Basic, 0% on Core and up | See Wix’s pricing for your country |
| Try before paying | 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months | 14-day free trial, no credit card | Free plan (no payments), 14-day money-back on first upgrade |
| Selling in person | Yes, 2.6% + 10¢ on Basic; POS Pro $89/mo per location | POS payments included on all plans (US and UK) | Wix Retail POS or Wix Mobile POS |
| Team access on entry plan | No staff accounts on Basic (Grow: up to 5) | Up to 2 contributors on Basic | Business Elite lists 100 site collaborators |
Worked example: what a month costs at 30 and 150 orders
These two stores are made up, but the rates are real. Both sell a $40 product and every customer pays by a standard card through the platform’s own payments. Prices use yearly billing.
Store A: a candle maker moving from Etsy, 30 orders a month ($1,200 in sales). Card fees are 2.9% of $1,200 ($34.80) plus 30¢ × 30 orders ($9.00) = $43.80.
| Plan | Plan + card fees + store fee | Month total |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | $29 + $43.80 + $0 | $72.80 |
| Squarespace Basic | $19 + $43.80 + $24.00 (2%) | $86.80 |
| Squarespace Core | $29 + $43.80 + $0 | $72.80 |
Squarespace Basic looks cheaper on the pricing page and ends up $14 a month dearer. The 2% fee beats the $10 plan saving once online sales pass $500 a month ($10 ÷ 2%). Under that, Basic wins. At 10 orders of $40 ($400), Squarespace Basic is $41.60 and Core is $43.60.
Store B: the same shop a year later, 150 orders a month ($6,000 in sales). Card fees on the entry rate are 2.9% of $6,000 ($174) plus 30¢ × 150 ($45) = $219.
| Plan (card rate) | Plan + card fees | Month total |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic (2.9% + 30¢) | $29 + $219 | $248 |
| Shopify Grow (2.7% + 30¢) | $79 + $207 | $286 |
| Squarespace Core (2.9% + 30¢) | $29 + $219 | $248 |
| Squarespace Plus (2.7% + 30¢) | $49 + $207 | $256 |
Even at $6,000 a month, the cheaper card rate on a bigger plan does not cover the higher plan price. Upgrade for features you need (staff accounts, shipping tools), not for the card rate. The card saving alone covers the upgrade only at these monthly card sales:
| Upgrade | Extra plan cost | Card saving | Pays off from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squarespace Core → Plus | $20/mo | 0.2% | about $10,000/mo |
| Squarespace Core → Advanced | $70/mo | 0.4% | about $17,500/mo |
| Shopify Basic → Grow | $50/mo | 0.2% | about $25,000/mo |
| Shopify Basic → Advanced | $270/mo | 0.4% | about $67,500/mo |
Run it with your own numbers: plan price + (your sales × card %) + (your orders × 30¢) + any store fee. The profit per order calculator does this per order, including your product and shipping costs. Remember the platform bill is only part of the cost. Apps, a domain after the first free year, and shipping come on top, which the monthly cost guide adds up.
Two details that change the math
- American Express and some business cards cost more. Shopify’s premium card rate on Basic is 3.5% + 30¢; Squarespace’s is 3.2% + 30¢ on every plan. On a $40 order that is $1.70 versus $1.58. It only matters if a large share of your buyers pay with Amex.
- Using PayPal or another processor on Shopify adds a fee. Shopify charges 2% on Basic (1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced) on top of what the outside provider charges. Shopify’s own payments avoid it. On Squarespace, you can connect Stripe or PayPal, and the online store fee follows your plan (2% on Basic, 0% above).
Shopify: for when selling is the whole business
Shopify’s plans are Basic ($29/month yearly, $39 monthly), Grow ($79/$105), Advanced ($299/$399) and Plus (from $2,300/month). Every plan includes hosting, an SSL certificate, unlimited products, abandoned checkout recovery, gift cards and automatic sales tax calculation. Fraud analysis is built in when you use Shopify Payments.
Where it pulls ahead is growth in directions other than the website: a shop counter (in-person rate 2.6% + 10¢ on Basic, with POS Pro at $89/month per location for physical storefronts), staff accounts from the Grow plan, and an app store for features the core plan lacks. The trade-off is that those apps are where the bill grows, so price each one before you install it. Our guide to cutting store app subscriptions shows how to audit them.
The start-up offer on the pricing page was 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months. On monthly billing that is $3 in plan fees for your first three months instead of $117, enough time to build, add products and place a test order. Full plan detail is in Shopify pricing explained.
Squarespace: for when the website matters as much as the store
Squarespace has four plans: Basic ($19/month yearly, $25 monthly), Core ($29/$39), Plus ($49/$65) and Advanced ($99/$139). Paying yearly saves up to 36%, and annual plans include a free domain for the first year. Every plan can sell unlimited products and services and includes abandoned cart recovery, gift cards, subscription products, Apple Pay, Klarna and Afterpay.
It suits founders whose site does more than sell: a photographer selling prints, a coach selling sessions and a course, a café with a menu and an online shop. The plan choice is mostly about fees:
| Fee | Basic | Core | Plus | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online store fee | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Courses and memberships fee | 7% | 5% | 1% | 0% |
| Standard card rate | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.7% + 30¢ | 2.5% + 30¢ |
Basic allows up to 2 contributors; higher plans allow unlimited. Shipping label printing, real-time carrier rates and automated taxes are listed as higher-plan features. See Squarespace pricing explained for the full table.
Wix: for building first and paying when you are ready to sell
Wix’s plans are Free, Light, Core, Business and Business Elite. A free site can hold products, but you need a paid plan to accept payments. Paid plans include hosting, a custom domain, 24/7 support and a 14-day money-back guarantee, and the plan cards list a free domain for the first year.
Wix prices its plans by location and shows the price for your country at checkout, so take your own figure from its plans page. For card fees, its payments page says Wix Payments charges one fixed fee for all credit cards and points to a support article for the rate in each country. Plug both into the formula above and you can compare it directly with the tables here.
Wix’s feature list for stores is broad: digital products, subscriptions, print on demand, dropshipping, abandoned cart emails, and selling on Google, eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok from one dashboard. It also connects to over 70 other payment providers depending on your country. More in Wix pricing explained.
Who should pick something else
- Fewer than about 10 orders a month and already on Etsy or Amazon. A $29 plan plus card fees is a fixed cost for very few sales. Compare with staying on a marketplace first in Etsy, Amazon or your own store.
- You already have a WordPress site. WooCommerce adds a store to it; read Shopify vs WooCommerce.
- You sell a regulated or restricted product. Check the platform’s terms and its payment provider’s rules before you build, because a payment account can be refused after launch.
- You are outside the US. Prices are set by country on all three, and Squarespace’s POS payments are listed for the US and UK only. Check the pricing page for your country.
Common mistakes when choosing
- Comparing headline prices only. Squarespace Basic’s $19 cost $14 more than Core in the 30-order example because of the 2% fee.
- Upgrading for the card rate. In every example above, the bigger plan cost more until sales reached five figures a month.
- Paying monthly for a store you will keep. Yearly billing on Shopify Basic or Squarespace Core saves $120 in the first year.
- Skipping the test order. Use the trial to build five products and buy one yourself before you commit. The launch checklist lists what to check.
How to decide in 10 minutes
- Estimate your monthly online sales and orders for the next 6 months.
- If the site is mainly a shop, start with Shopify Basic. If the site has other jobs (portfolio, blog, bookings, courses), start with Squarespace.
- On Squarespace, pick Basic if online sales stay under $500 a month, Core above that.
- Add up plan + card fees with the formula above, then add apps and shipping.
- Use the free trial to place one test order before paying for a year.
For the setup steps after you choose, follow how to open an online store. For the wider list of questions, see how to choose an online store platform.
This comparison is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
Sources (checked 2026-10-03)
- Shopify: pricing, plan prices, trial offer, card rates by plan, premium and in-person rates, third-party fees, staff accounts, POS Pro, included features
- Shopify: free trial, trial wording at sign-up
- Shopify Help Center: domains, default myshopify.com address and custom domains
- Squarespace: pricing, plan prices, store and membership fees, card rates by plan, premium card rate, POS, trial, free domain, contributors
- Wix: plans, plan names, prices by location, included features, money-back guarantee
- Wix: ecommerce website, payments need a paid plan, selling features, marketplaces, POS, payment providers
- Wix: payments, one fixed fee for all credit cards, rates by country in the support center
