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WordPress vs Shopify vs Squarespace: How to Pick in 2026
- Authors
- Name
- Calvin L. Harris
“Should I use WordPress, Shopify or Squarespace?” is one of the first questions small-business owners ask when they plan a website. It's also usually the wrong place to start.
Picking a platform first and working out what the site has to do later is how businesses end up paying for a store they don't need, or rebuilding a year in, when they realize their simple site can't do the one thing they now need. The better starting point is the job your website has to do. Once that's clear, the choice between WordPress, Shopify and Squarespace mostly makes itself.
I build client sites on all three. Here's how I decide which one a business should use.
The short answer
- Selling products online is the main job? Shopify.
- Content, search traffic or custom features matter most? WordPress.
- You want a simple, good-looking site you can update yourself, with almost no upkeep? Squarespace.
That's the rule of thumb. The rest of this post is about the details that decide close calls, because most businesses sit somewhere between two of those answers.
WordPress vs Shopify vs Squarespace at a glance
| WordPress | Shopify | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Content, SEO, custom features | Online stores | Simple sites you run yourself |
| Starting price | Software is free; hosting from about $5–$25/mo | $29/mo (Basic, billed yearly) | $19/mo (Basic, billed yearly) |
| Fees on sales | Card processing only (via WooCommerce and your payment provider) | Card processing, plus 1–2% more if you don't use Shopify Payments | 2% on the Basic plan, 0% from Core ($29/mo) up |
| Who maintains it | You or your developer: updates, backups, security | Shopify | Squarespace |
| Flexibility | Almost unlimited | High for stores, limited for everything else | Limited to what Squarespace offers |
| Watch out for | Plugin upkeep and security | App costs adding up | Outgrowing it |
Prices are from each platform's pricing page as of September 2026, and they change often, so check before you commit.
Shopify: when selling is the business
If your website's main job is selling physical or digital products, start with Shopify. Inventory, checkout, shipping, taxes and payments all work out of the box, and Shopify handles the hosting, security and updates. You spend your time on products and customers, not servers.
The plans are straightforward: Basic is $29 a month, Grow is $79 and Advanced is $299 when billed yearly. Online card payments through Shopify Payments start at 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic. If you use a different payment provider, Shopify adds its own fee on top: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow.
The cost people miss is apps. Shopify does the store part well, but reviews, email marketing, subscriptions and translations usually come from add-on apps, each with its own monthly fee. One cost breakdown found that a small store running a handful of common apps can easily add $100–$200 a month on top of the plan. Before you sign up, list the features you need and price the apps for them.
Where Shopify is weaker: content. It has a blog, but it's basic compared with WordPress. If most of your customers will find you by searching for answers rather than products, that matters.
WordPress: when content and flexibility matter
WordPress runs about 40% of all websites, and there's a reason: you can build nearly anything with it. Service businesses that win work through search, sites with a lot of content, membership areas, booking systems, custom integrations, and even stores (through WooCommerce) all fit.
The WordPress software itself is free. You pay for hosting, typically $5–$25 a month for shared hosting or $30–$100 for managed hosting that takes care of backups and speed for you, plus a premium theme or a few plugins if you need them. If you'd rather not deal with hosting at all, WordPress.com offers hosted plans too.
The trade-off is upkeep, and it's a real one. WordPress sites are built from plugins, and plugins need updating. Security firm Patchstack counted 11,334 new vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025, up 42% from the year before. 91% were in plugins and only 6 were in WordPress itself. WordPress isn't unsafe, but a site nobody maintains becomes unsafe. Budget for updates and backups, whether that's your own time, a managed host or a care plan with your developer.
Where WordPress is weaker: it asks the most of you. More freedom means more decisions and more to look after.
Squarespace: when you want simple and good-looking
Squarespace is the easiest of the three to run yourself. The templates look good, editing is drag-and-drop, and hosting, security and updates are all handled for you. For a portfolio, a restaurant, a consultant or a local service business that mostly needs to look professional and be easy to find, it's often all you need.
Plans run from $19 to $99 a month billed yearly. One detail to watch: the Basic plan takes 2% of online store sales. The Core plan at $29 a month removes that fee, so it pays for itself once you sell more than about $500 a month.
Where Squarespace is weaker: growth. You're limited to the features Squarespace offers and a much smaller set of add-ons. If you later need a custom booking flow, a members area built your way or deeper SEO control, you may end up rebuilding on another platform.
Four questions to ask before you choose
1. Will you sell online, and how much? A few products or service deposits can live on any of the three. If selling is the business, Shopify, or WordPress with WooCommerce if you also need heavy content, is the safer bet.
2. Who will update the site every week? If it's you and you don't enjoy tech, lean toward Squarespace or Shopify. If you have a developer or a care plan, WordPress opens up.
3. Do you need anything custom? Integrations with your other software, unusual booking or pricing rules, member areas: the more of these you list, the more WordPress makes sense.
4. What will it cost over three years, not just the first month? Squarespace Core billed yearly is $29 × 36 = $1,044 over three years, before your domain. Shopify Basic is the same $1,044 before apps and payment fees. WordPress hosting can cost less, but add the theme, plugins and the time or money for upkeep. Compare the whole picture, not the headline price.
What I'd pick for a few common businesses
- A photographer, designer or consultant whose site is mainly a portfolio and a contact form: Squarespace. It looks polished on day one and there's almost nothing to maintain.
- A clothing or product brand selling dozens of items with shipping and inventory: Shopify. Checkout and order management are what you're paying for, and they're very good.
- A law firm, clinic or contractor that wins work when people search for answers (“how much does a kitchen remodel cost in Queens”): WordPress. A steady stream of useful articles and service pages is how these businesses get found, and WordPress is built for that.
- A bakery or restaurant that takes a few pickup orders: often Squarespace, or Shopify if online orders become a big share of sales. Some use a separate online-ordering service and keep the website simple.
When the answer is “a mix”
Some businesses need two things at once, like a strong store and a serious content strategy. Sometimes the right answer is Shopify for the store with a WordPress blog alongside it, or WordPress with WooCommerce for everything. It's more work to set up, so it's only worth it when content really drives your sales.
Not sure which fits your business?
Every recommendation above has exceptions, and the right choice depends on your products, your team and where you want to be in three years. If you'd like a straight answer for your situation, tell me about your business and I'll tell you which platform I'd build it on, and why.
Sources
- Shopify, Pricing, accessed September 28, 2026.
- Squarespace, Pricing, accessed September 28, 2026.
- W3Techs, Usage statistics of content management systems, September 27, 2026.
- Patchstack, State of WordPress Security in 2026.
- Startup Launch Page, WooCommerce Pricing 2026, May 25, 2026.
- Checkout Page, WooCommerce vs Shopify: 2026 pricing, fees, and setup, June 28, 2026.
