WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace is usually the first real decision a small business makes about its website, and it’s harder to undo than it looks. All three can give you a good site. They differ in who owns what, who does the upkeep, and how easily you can grow or leave later. We build on WordPress and Shopify, not Wix or Squarespace, so we’ll be upfront about that bias and show where each platform genuinely wins, including where ours isn’t the answer.
The short answer
In the WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace choice, the quick verdict is: Squarespace for a polished, simple site you’ll run yourself; Wix for the most drag-and-drop freedom with the least setup; and WordPress when you want full ownership, room to grow and the widest choice of developers. WordPress software is free and open source, but you pay for hosting, a domain and upkeep. Wix and Squarespace bundle hosting, security and updates into one plan, which is simpler but ties your site to their platform: Wix says a Wix site has to run on its own servers, and Squarespace can only export some of your content. WordPress runs about 40% of all websites, according to W3Techs. We build on WordPress and Shopify, so weigh our view accordingly, but our honest advice is to choose based on who will edit the site and how much it needs to grow.
What each platform is
WordPress
WordPress is open source software, licensed under the GPL, which means you’re free to run it, change it and move it wherever you like. You install it on hosting you choose, then add a theme for the design and plugins for features. It powers 40.2% of all websites according to W3Techs, far more than any other platform, so developers, plugins and answers are easy to find.
One thing trips people up: WordPress.com is a hosted service run by a company, while the software from WordPress.org is what you install on your own hosting. When agencies talk about “a WordPress site”, they almost always mean the second.
Wix
Wix is a website builder: you sign up, pick a template and drag things where you want them. Hosting, security and updates are handled for you. The trade-off is that your site lives on Wix. Its own help centre explains that a Wix site can’t be exported to another host, because it relies on Wix’s servers to run. The content is yours, but the site itself stays on Wix.
Squarespace
Squarespace is also a hosted builder, best known for polished, design-led templates. It’s more structured than Wix, which makes it harder to break a layout and easier to keep things looking tidy. If you ever leave, Squarespace’s help centre says you can export some content to a file that WordPress can import, but not everything comes across.
WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace, head to head
| What matters | WordPress | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who hosts it | Any host you choose | Wix only | Squarespace only |
| How you pay | Hosting, domain and upkeep; the software is free | A monthly or yearly plan | A monthly or yearly plan |
| Editing | Block editor, or a visual builder such as Elementor | Free-form drag and drop | Structured sections, harder to break |
| Design freedom | Unlimited, with a developer | High, within the builder | Good, within its templates |
| Online store | WooCommerce, or Shopify alongside it | Built in, on store plans | Built in, on commerce plans |
| Upkeep | You or your developer update it | Handled by Wix | Handled by Squarespace |
| Moving later | Move it to any host | Rebuild the site elsewhere | Some content exports |
What each one really costs
On price, WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace looks very different on paper, but each fee pays for different things.
- WordPress: the software is free. You pay for a domain, hosting (check the renewal price, not the first-year offer), any premium theme or plugins, and someone’s time to keep it updated and backed up.
- Wix and Squarespace: you pay one plan fee that covers hosting, security and updates. Business features, such as an online store, sit on higher plans than the entry price, and prices vary by region, so check the plan page from Australia.
Over a few years, a builder is often cheaper in cash if you do the work yourself, and WordPress is often better value once the site has to grow. Our guide to what a website costs in Australia breaks down the yearly costs in detail.
Can each one rank on Google?
Yes. Google ranks pages, not platforms, and all three can produce fast pages with proper titles, descriptions, headings and a sitemap. The real WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace difference for SEO is control. On WordPress, an SEO plugin such as Rank Math, which we use on our own site, gives fine control over every page’s titles, schema and redirects. Wix and Squarespace have built-in SEO settings that cover the basics well. For most small businesses, the content and speed of the pages matter far more than the platform underneath.
Where each one wins
Each side of WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace has a clear best fit:
- Squarespace: a portfolio, a small studio or a service business with a handful of pages, where you want it to look polished and you’ll update it yourself.
- Wix: a simple site you want to build quickly and change freely, with no one else involved.
- WordPress: a business that plans to add services, locations and articles over time, cares about SEO, and wants to own the site outright and choose its own developer.
- An online store: Shopify or WooCommerce usually suit a serious store better than a builder’s add-on. See our ecommerce websites page for how we choose between them.
Five questions to settle WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace
If you’re still torn, your answers to these usually make the choice for you:
- Who will edit the site each week? If it’s you, with no developer, a builder keeps things simple. If a team or an agency will, WordPress gives them more room.
- Who will handle updates and security? Builders do it for you. On WordPress, someone has to update it and keep backups, so decide who before launch.
- How big will the site get? Five pages that rarely change suit any of the three. Dozens of service, location and article pages favour WordPress.
- Will you sell online? For a few products, a builder’s store is fine. For a serious catalogue, look at Shopify or WooCommerce.
- How much does leaving later matter? If you might switch providers in a few years, a platform you can move without rebuilding saves real money.
Our bias, stated plainly
We build on custom-coded WordPress, WordPress with Elementor, Shopify and WooCommerce. We don’t build on Wix or Squarespace, so we’re not neutral on WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace. What we can say from our own projects is that the right build depends on who edits the site. QLD Car Inspection is built in Elementor because their team publishes and edits pages themselves, while CarAssure is a hand-coded WordPress theme that stays lean and consistent. If your site is small and you’ll run it yourself, a builder may genuinely suit you better, and that’s a fine choice.
Frequently asked questions
Is WordPress really free?
The software is free and open source. Running a WordPress site isn’t: you pay for a domain, hosting, any premium plugins, and the time to keep it updated.
Can I move my Wix site to WordPress?
Not directly. Wix says its sites can’t be exported to another host, so moving means rebuilding the design on WordPress and copying the content across. Your domain can be transferred.
Is Squarespace or Wix better for a small business?
Squarespace suits businesses that want a polished look with less room to go wrong. Wix suits people who want more freedom to place things exactly where they like. Both handle hosting and updates for you.
Which platform is best for SEO?
All three can rank, so SEO alone rarely settles WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace. WordPress offers the most control through plugins, which matters more as a site grows. For a small site, good content and fast pages count for more than the platform.
Which is easiest to update myself?
Squarespace and Wix are designed for owners to edit without help. WordPress is easy to edit once it’s set up well, especially with a visual builder like Elementor, but updates and security are your responsibility.
What’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
WordPress.org is where you get the free software to install on hosting you choose. WordPress.com is a hosted service that runs WordPress for you, closer to a builder, with plans that decide what you can install.
Final thoughts
There’s no single winner in WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace. Choose Squarespace or Wix if the site is simple and you’ll run it yourself, and WordPress if it needs to grow, rank and stay yours wherever you host it. If you’re leaning towards WordPress or an online store, see how we approach web design or tell us what you’re building. We’ll tell you honestly which platform we’d pick for it.
Platform features and plans change often. Details in this guide were checked on 30 September 2026; check each provider’s own pages before you choose.
