Squarespace’s cheapest plan can sell products. It also charges a Squarespace-specific transaction fee on every sale that the two plans above it do not.
That single fact changes which plan is actually cheapest depending on how much you sell, and Squarespace’s own pricing page does not do the math for you.
This breaks down exactly what each tier costs, what selling features are gated where, and the revenue point at which the more expensive plan becomes the cheaper one.
Key Takeaways
- Squarespace runs three current tiers on annual billing: Basic at $12/month, Core at $17/month, and Advanced at $25/month. All three can sell products, the difference is what selling actually costs you on each one.
- Basic carries a Squarespace-side transaction fee on top of standard payment processing. Core and Advanced remove that fee on physical product sales, standard payment processor fees still apply on every plan regardless of tier.
- Digital product sales carry their own, separate fee structure that also improves at higher tiers, worth checking specifically if download or course sales are a meaningful part of your revenue.
- The plan names changed recently: what used to be Personal, Business, Commerce Basic, and Commerce Advanced is now Basic, Core, and Advanced, with some sources still referencing an intermediate Plus tier that may vary by region or account. Confirm your exact plan lineup directly on Squarespace’s pricing page before committing.
- Standard payment processing (Squarespace Payments, built on Stripe) runs approximately 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction on every plan, separate from and in addition to any Squarespace-side fee.
- The real crossover point where upgrading from Basic to Core pays for itself is a specific revenue calculation, not a guess, covered below.
What Each Plan Actually Costs
| Basic | Core | Advanced | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (annual billing) | $12/month | $17/month | $25/month |
| Can sell products | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Squarespace transaction fee (physical products) | Yes, charged on top of processing | Removed | Removed |
| Digital product fee | Higher tier rate | Reduced | Lowest tier rate |
| Customer accounts | Not included | Included | Included |
Every plan can technically sell something from day one. The real decision is not whether you can sell on Basic, it is whether Basic’s transaction fee costs more than the $5 to $13 a month you would save by staying on it.
The Transaction Fee Trap on Basic
This is the detail Squarespace’s own pricing page does not calculate for you. Basic includes commerce functionality, but every sale on Basic carries a Squarespace-side transaction fee in addition to standard payment processing.
Upgrading to Core removes that Squarespace-specific fee on physical product sales completely, standard payment processor fees (Squarespace Payments, running roughly 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction) still apply on every tier, that part never goes away.
Finding Your Break-Even Point
The math is simple once you have your numbers: compare the $5 a month difference between Basic and Core against what the Squarespace-side fee actually costs you at your real sales volume.
A store doing a few hundred dollars a month in sales may find the fee costs less than the plan upgrade. A store doing meaningful volume almost always crosses into Core being the cheaper real option once the fee is factored in, not just the sticker price.
Run this calculation before choosing a plan:
- Estimate your realistic monthly sales volume
- Check Squarespace’s current published transaction fee rate for your plan directly on their pricing page, since exact rates have shifted with recent plan changes and vary by source
- Multiply your volume by that rate to get your monthly fee cost on Basic
- Compare that number against the $5/month price difference to Core
If your calculated fee cost exceeds $5 a month, Core is already the cheaper plan in practice, regardless of the lower sticker price on Basic.
What Selling Features Are Actually Gated by Plan
Beyond the transaction fee, several features that matter for a real store are not available on every tier.
Available starting on Basic:
- Product listings and a functional checkout
- Standard payment processing through Squarespace Payments or Stripe
Added at Core:
- Removal of the Squarespace-side transaction fee on physical products
- Customer accounts, letting returning shoppers skip re-entering shipping and payment details
- Improved analytics and marketing tool access
Added at Advanced:
- The lowest available rate on digital product fees
- The most advanced shipping and merchandising tools in Squarespace’s current lineup
- Priority access to newer commerce features as Squarespace rolls them out
For a store selling primarily digital products, courses, downloads, or memberships, the fee structure on those specific sales types improves at each tier separately from the physical product fee.
If digital revenue is a meaningful part of your business, run the same break-even math above using the digital-specific rate rather than the physical product rate.
Real Cost at Three Revenue Levels
Using Core as the realistic baseline for any store doing regular sales volume, since Basic’s transaction fee typically erases its lower sticker price quickly.
| Monthly Revenue | Plan | Subscription | Processing (Squarespace Payments, ~2.9% + $0.30) | Approximate Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | Core | $17 | ~$32 | ~$49/month |
| $5,000 | Core | $17 | ~$157 | ~$174/month |
| $15,000 | Advanced | $25 | ~$465 | ~$490/month |
Standard payment processing is the dominant cost at every revenue level once you are past Basic’s transaction fee trap, not the plan subscription itself.
This is consistent with how most hosted platforms price out at real volume, the plan fee is the smallest line item once a store is actually selling.
How This Compares to Shopify and Wix
Shopify’s entry plan runs higher than Squarespace’s Core plan on sticker price, but includes commerce features like abandoned cart recovery natively that Squarespace gates to Core and above.
Wix similarly ties several commerce features to specific plan tiers, and running the same break-even math against Wix’s fee structure is worth doing before assuming any one platform is cheaper without checking your actual sales volume against each one’s specific fee mechanics.
This same fee-versus-price trade-off shows up across platform comparisons generally, worth checking against the cost to start an online store breakdown, or the BigCommerce vs Shopify comparison if a third platform is on your shortlist.
Do not assume any single platform’s sticker price tells the full story. The pattern across all three platforms: sticker price alone rarely tells you the real cost. Transaction fees, gated features, and processing rates matter more than the plan price once you are selling at any real volume.
Which Plan to Actually Choose
Choose Basic if: you are testing a product idea with very low expected volume and want the lowest possible upfront commitment while validating demand.
Choose Core if: you expect any regular sales volume. The transaction fee removal on physical products typically pays for the $5/month difference within the first few sales of most months.
Choose Advanced if: digital products, courses, or downloads make up a meaningful share of your revenue, since the digital fee reduction at this tier compounds quickly on higher-priced digital goods.
FAQ’s
Does Squarespace charge transaction fees?
Yes, on the Basic plan specifically, on top of standard payment processing. Core and Advanced remove the Squarespace-side fee on physical product sales. Standard payment processor fees, roughly 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, apply on every plan regardless of tier.
What is the cheapest Squarespace plan for selling products?
Basic, at $12/month on annual billing, is the cheapest plan that includes commerce functionality. It is not necessarily the cheapest in practice, its transaction fee often costs more than the $5/month price difference to Core once you have any real sales volume.
How much does Squarespace Core cost per month?
$17/month on annual billing. Core removes the Squarespace-side transaction fee on physical product sales and adds customer accounts, improving both cost and functionality over Basic for any store with regular sales.
Is Squarespace cheaper than Shopify for eCommerce?
At the entry tier, yes, on sticker price. Shopify’s entry plan costs more but includes features like abandoned cart recovery natively that Squarespace gates behind its Core plan. Run your specific sales volume through both platforms’ fee structures before assuming either is cheaper.
Do digital products have different fees on Squarespace?
Yes. Digital product sales, downloads, courses, and memberships, carry their own fee structure separate from physical product fees, and that rate also improves at higher plan tiers. Confirm the current digital product rate directly on Squarespace’s pricing page before choosing a plan based on digital sales volume.
What plan should I choose to sell online with Squarespace?
Core, for most stores with any regular sales volume, since removing the Squarespace-side transaction fee typically pays for the plan’s higher price within the first several sales of a normal month. Advanced is worth the additional cost specifically for stores where digital products make up a meaningful share of revenue.