You’ve probably heard about Squarespace and how easy it is to create a beautiful website with its simple drag-and-drop tools. However, as you start building your own Squarespace site, one big question likely pops into your head:

Is Squarespace free?

The short answer is no; Squarespace isn’t free.

In this article, we’ll review the details of Squarespace’s pricing plans and the free trial so you know exactly what to expect. We’ll also share some tips for how to get the most out of your free Squarespace trial, how to extend Squarespace free trial and choose the right free plan amount for your needs. Let’s dive in!

Is Squarespace Free? (The Short Answer)

So, you’re interested in Squarespace but wondering if it’s free?

The short answer is no, Squarespace isn’t free.

However, the platform offers an extendable 14-day free trial to test the platform, and its paid plans are quite affordable.

The Free Trial

When you first sign up for a new trial site on Squarespace, you’ll get access to all their features and templates for 14 days. This is a great chance to build your site, see if you like the platform, and determine which plan is right for you. Once you’re satisfied with the platform features, you can then upgrade to a paid site plan and publish your Squarespace website to the web.

Paid Subscription Plans

After your trial, you must choose from one of Squarespace’s paid plans, starting at $16 monthly.

The platform’s plans include the following:

Personal: For developing your site; starts at $16/month.
Business: For small businesses; starts at $23/month.
Commerce: For selling products; starts at $27/month.
Advanced Commerce: For more extensive product inventories; starts at $49/month.

While each plan’s features increase with price, even their most advanced plan is affordable compared to other website builders like Shopify. And in this pros and cons article, we look at how Squarespace compares with other website builders in pricing, SEO, etc.

The bottom line is while Squarespace isn’t free, its platform is very budget-friendly. With an extendable free trial and plans starting at just $16/month, Squarespace offers an easy and affordable way to create a beautiful website.

Squarespace Free Trial: How Long Does It Last?

Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial, albeit with certain limitations, like not getting indexed by search engines. Free trials give you two weeks to build an essential website, try different designs, and see if Squarespace is the right platform for you.

Once your trial is over, you’ll need to choose from one of their four other paid service plans, which range from $16 to $49 per month when paid annually.

If two weeks isn’t enough, you can easily extend your Squarespace trial for another seven days (more on this later).

Extending your trial is a great way to keep building and customizing your site until you can commit to a paid Squarespace plan. And when you do decide to upgrade, all the content and customizations you created will seamlessly transfer to your paid Squarespace account.

So, while Squarespace trial subscriptions aren’t free forever, their generous trial period gives you plenty of time to take it for a spin and determine if it’s the ideal platform to establish your brand or business.

Why not get started with a Squarespace template? You can always change templates if you’re not satisfied with one. In addition, you can always customize it, from changing the Squarespace site title to optimizing the content.

You’ve got nothing to lose and an excellent website to gain!

Just remember to grab this powerful Squarespace SEO plugin to boost your website’s performance in search engines’ results.

How to Extend Your Squarespace Free Trial: 3 Methods

Once your 14-day free Squarespace trial expires, you can extend it before committing to a paid plan.

Here are some tips to extend your Squarespace free trial:

Ask for an extension from Squarespace.
Create a new site.
Use a promo code.

1. Ask for an extension.

Following the expiration of your Squarespace trial, you’ll receive an email from Squarespace notifying you of the new development. Once you receive an email with the heading: “Need more time to build your site?” scroll through it, and you’ll see an option to “Extend your trial by seven days.”

Selecting the extension option will take you to a page informing you that you’ve successfully extended your Squarespace free trial. You can now access your account dashboard to continue building your site from where you left off.

Remember that your new trial extension will expire in seven days, and you can’t extend it after this period.

2. Create a new site.

Suppose you only use Squarespace temporarily to tweak around with different designs or are curiously browsing. In that case, you can create a new site to continue using Squarespace for free.

On your admin dashboard, click “CREATE WEBSITE” to add a new site.

Follow the prompts to finish setting up your new site. Once done, you can enjoy using it for free for another 14 days.

And if your free trial has elapsed, but you still want to continue working on the same trial website, you can simply duplicate it for a new 14-day trial period. To do this, log in to your account, navigate to the website on your dashboard, and click on the “ellipsis icon.” Next, select “Duplicate.”

3. Use a promo code.

Squarespace often offers promotional codes that can help you get the paid plan for a lesser fee or for free for a limited period. Search the online store for “Squarespace promo code,” and you’ll find codes to enter at checkout to enjoy some savings.

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While Squarespace’s free trial is limited to just two weeks, with a little effort, you can easily extend it by another seven days. Their goal is to give you enough time to experience the platform before becoming a paying customer, so take advantage of any opportunity to lengthen your free trial period. The more time you have, the better you can determine if Squarespace meets your needs before making a financial commitment.

If you’re still unsure of the pros and cons of Squarespace, or whether Squarespace is good for SEO, then feel free to join our free Squarespace SEO community and ask whether the platform is right for you.

What’s Included in Squarespace Pricing Plans?

Squarespace offers four main pricing plans: Personal, Business, Basic Commerce, and Advanced Commerce. Here’s a quick overview of what each plan includes:

The Personal plan costs $16 monthly and is ideal for an essential website. You get unlimited pages, galleries, blogs, and 24/7 support.

The Business plan is $23 monthly and adds e-commerce functionality, email campaigns, and commerce analytics. This plan suits small businesses looking to sell products or services online.

The Basic Commerce plan starts at $27 per month and provides advanced e-commerce features like abandoned cart recovery, gift cards, and shipper integrations with carriers like USPS or UPS. This plan is aimed at established e-commerce stores.

The Advanced Commerce plan is $49 monthly and Squarespace’s most robust option. It includes all the features of the Commerce plan plus enterprise-level features such as customer accounts, bulk content editing, and API access. This plan is tailored for large businesses and corporations.

In summary, while Squarespace isn’t accessible after the free trial, they offer affordable plans for websites of all sizes. The 14-day free trial lets you explore the platform and determine which plan best fits your needs. And if you start with a lower-tier plan but eventually need to upgrade, Squarespace makes it easy to switch to a higher plan at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions About Squarespace Pricing

Can I create a website on Squarespace for free?

Yes, you can create a website for free on Squarespace, albeit for a limited period of 14 days. You can then upgrade to the paid plans once you’re comfortable with the website-building platform. While the platform’s plans start at $16 per month, Squarespace frequently runs promotions offering 20–30% off your first year. Squarespace’s cheapest plan allows you to connect a custom domain and offers SSL security and several free templates.

How much does it cost to do Squarespace?

Squarespace subscription includes different pricing plans depending on your needs.

Here’s a brief overview of the cost of using Squarespace:

Personal Plan: This plan costs $16 monthly when billed annually. It includes essential features for a basic website.
Business Plan: The Business plan costs $23 per month when billed annually. It offers additional features like advanced analytics, e-commerce functionality, and professional email from Google.
Basic Commerce Plan: The Basic Commerce plan is $27 monthly when billed annually. It includes all the premium features of the Business plan, plus the ability to sell products online.
Advanced Commerce Plan: The Advanced Commerce plan is $49 monthly when billed annually. It provides advanced e-commerce features like abandoned cart recovery, gift cards, and advanced shipping options.

These are the starting prices for each plan, but you still need to pay for a Squarespace domain name. Squarespace offers a free domain name for the first year of your registration when you pay annually, but you must renew it at the regular price after the first year. Domain names typically cost $20–70 yearly on Squarespace, depending on your chosen extension and registrar. And if you’re wondering if you can connect your GoDaddy domain to Squarespace, it’s very much possible.

Conclusion

So, is Squarespace free?

No, it isn’t, and this guide has outlined the ins and outs of Squarespace pricing.

While the Squarespace basic plans are affordable and can get you started, you’ll likely want to upgrade to a higher-paid plan to access more advanced features for your business or creative project. And if you’re still on the fence, you can give Squarespace a spin with their generous free trial.

See if the sleek Squarespace templates and user-friendly interface are the right fit for your needs. At the very least, you’ll have a polished placeholder website to show off your work. And who knows, you may find that Squarespace offers the perfect balance of simplicity and customization for your online presence — the only way to know for sure is to dive in and start your free trial today.

Lastly, you can make your own Squarespace website even more fantastic when you follow the best SEO practices for each page. You can also request a free website SEO audit on your Squarespace site from us, the Squarespace SEO specialists.

Is Squarespace Free? Simple Squarespace Pricing Guide 2024