Craft CMS vs Squarespace

We recommend Craft CMS when a business needs a custom content system, dependable integrations, and room to grow. Squarespace is useful for a straightforward website, but it is a poor starting point for the complex publishing work we usually take on. Its lower setup effort matters only if the finished system meets the business requirements.

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Choose Craft CMS when:

Your content needs reusable relationships across several page types.
Custom integrations and editorial controls are part of the brief.
You want a partner to build and maintain a long-lived website.

Choose Squarespace when:

A relatively straightforward website meets the business need.
The available layouts and tools require few workarounds.
Keeping implementation and operating scope small is the priority.

Where each one wins

Priority points

Craft CMS

Squarespace

Craft CMS leads for this brief.

100 points allocated by business priority. Ties split the points.

We score websites built and supported by an agency, with editors working inside an approved design system. These are our recommendations for that brief, not product quality ratings.

How we score

Publishing and brand controlWinner: Craft CMS20-point priorityCraft gives a marketing team reusable pages with controls designed around its actual work.

Squarespace’s visual editor is convenient for a simple site. For a larger organization, we prefer Matrix with approved components and predictable reuse. An August 2026 designer discussion describes frustration with Fluid Engine; other participants prefer it to the old editor. These mixed experiences reinforce the need to test routine work rather than assume visual editing is easier.

Content architectureWinner: Craft CMS15-point priorityCraft is substantially better suited to a complex, interconnected content model.

Craft entries can connect people, locations, programs, services, and supporting resources. Squarespace’s collection types are useful for common site patterns, but a complex business model should not be squeezed into a template system and maintained through duplicate content. This is the central reason we would choose Craft for this brief.

Do we need Craft for a small online store?

Not necessarily. If the available Squarespace commerce features meet your requirements, a custom Commerce implementation may add unnecessary work.

Custom implementationWinner: Craft CMS15-point priorityCraft gives developers a full application foundation for custom requirements.

Squarespace offers developer tools and APIs, especially for commerce integrations. That does not give a team equivalent control over the CMS application and templates on every site version. Craft supports a tailored implementation, integration testing, and Project Config. It is the more adaptable foundation when the business requirements exceed the hosted editor.

Security and supportWinner: Squarespace15-point prioritySquarespace provides simpler platform operations for a site that fits its service.

Squarespace’s included hosting removes core platform maintenance from the owner. Craft requires an application maintenance plan, which Mostly Serious support can provide alongside hosting and updates. We still give Squarespace credit for its simpler platform responsibility. It does not compensate for missing requirements elsewhere, and integrations and account security still need an owner.

Lifetime valueWinner: Craft CMS10-point priorityCraft is the more useful investment when a basic builder cannot meet the full brief.

Compare the cost of the website the business needs, including duplicated content, workarounds, integrations, support, and potential replatforming. Squarespace pricing can make sense for a modest scope; Acuity and email products may be separate. We would not recommend a custom Craft build merely to replace a simple site that already works.

Does Squarespace include scheduling in the website price?

Acuity Scheduling has separate billing. Check the website plan and each connected product before comparing costs.

Ecosystem confidenceTie10-point priorityBoth have viable ecosystems, with different long-term dependencies.

Squarespace depends on its hosted product and supported integrations. Craft depends on a smaller specialist development and plugin community, with a published maintenance horizon. We have not established that Squarespace is in decline. Its fit for simpler projects is a scope distinction, not a judgment about whether its customers run real businesses.

AI enablementWinner: Craft CMS15-point priorityCraft’s current tools offer more control over AI development and content operations.

Squarespace AI makes site and content creation easier. For this business brief, we favor Craft CMS MCP (Pro for content writes) for schema-aware development and reviewed drafts, with AI Assistant and asset plugins for editorial tasks. These are third-party Craft tools, not a native assistant. Their operational flexibility matters more here than generating an initial page quickly.

Planning a migration

Check the available export against the actual pages, blog posts, products, images, and customer data. Rebuild unsupported layouts, forms, scheduling connections, and store behavior. If scheduling already works in Acuity, assess retaining it rather than replacing it as part of the CMS move.

Preserve useful URLs where possible. For changed paths, build and test a redirect map, transfer metadata, and monitor indexing and traffic after launch. Google's site-move guidance explains the process; search traffic can still fluctuate. Talk with us about planning a Craft project before committing.

Know what your Craft website needs next.

A Craft CMS Health Check reviews your site’s performance, accessibility, technical SEO, code, and maintenance risks. You get findings and a prioritized plan before committing to fixes.