Squarespace Just Raised Prices Up to 26% (And Here's the Math)

Squarespace Raised Prices Last Week

<cite index="18-2,18-3">Squarespace just pushed through price increases in July 2026, raising the Core plan from $36 to $39 per month (8% increase) and the Plus plan from $56 to $65 per month (16% increase)</cite>. <cite index="23-3">The increases range from 19% to 26% across popular tiers</cite>, and if you're coming up on renewal, you're about to feel it.

The company hasn't published a public memo about the changes. <cite index="18-5">Instead, they're communicating directly with customers via email</cite>, which means a lot of small business owners won't know until they see the charge.

If you're on an annual plan, you're locked in until renewal. If you're on monthly billing, the new rates hit immediately. And if you're thinking about starting a Squarespace site this month, you're paying the new price from day one.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

What the Real Cost Looks Like Now

<cite index="16-1,16-4">Squarespace's plans on annual billing are now $16 per month for Basic, $23 for Core, $39 for Plus, and $99 for Advanced</cite>. But the headline price is only part of the story.

<cite index="17-6,17-7">The Basic plan charges 2% per sale, while Core, Plus, and Advanced have 0% Squarespace transaction fees</cite>. <cite index="20-17,20-18">For an online store generating $5,000 per month in sales, Squarespace's Basic plan would cost an additional $100 to $150 per month in transaction fees alone</cite>.

So a $16 per month plan becomes $116 to $166 per month if you're actually selling anything. That's not a budget-friendly website anymore. That's $1,992 per year in hidden fees on top of your $192 annual subscription.

And here's the thing: you don't own any of it. You're renting the platform, renting the design system, and paying a percentage of every sale for the privilege. The moment you stop paying, your site goes dark.

What Happens When You Stop Paying

When your Squarespace subscription lapses, your site disappears. Your domain stops resolving, your pages go offline, and your contact forms stop working. If a customer tries to find you, they get nothing.

You can export your content, but you can't export the design, the layout, the forms, or the integrations. You're starting over. And if you've built your business on that platform for three years, that's three years of SEO, three years of inbound links, and three years of customer trust that vanish the moment you miss a payment.

That's the difference between renting and owning. A custom website lives on hosting you control. The code is yours. The design is yours. If you want to move hosts, you move it. If you want to pause and go dark for six months, you can. Nobody flips a switch and erases your business from the internet.

Why This Keeps Happening

Platform companies raise prices because they can. <cite index="19-1,19-2">Squarespace's 2025 plan overhaul left most users paying more at renewal, driven by plan restructuring and the end of legacy pricing</cite>. Once you've built your site on their system, migrating off is hard enough that most people just pay.

It's the same reason gym memberships auto-renew and software moves to subscriptions. The friction of leaving is higher than the pain of paying.

But for a small business, that's a bad trade. Your website is not a nice-to-have. It's your storefront. And when someone else controls the storefront, they control your business.

What a Custom Site Costs (and What You Actually Get)

Most of the small business sites we build at Maus & Co. run between $999 and $3,000. You pay a deposit, we build it, and when it's done, you own it. No monthly platform fee. No transaction fees. No surprise price hikes in July.

You'll still pay for hosting (usually $10 to $30 per month depending on your needs) and a domain ($15 per year), but those are costs you'd pay on Squarespace anyway. The difference is the code is yours, the design is yours, and nobody can take it away or raise the rent.

For a business doing $5,000 per month in sales, a custom site pays for itself in the first year just by eliminating transaction fees. And it keeps paying for itself every year after that.

If you've been sitting on a Squarespace site and this price hike is the push you needed, we can help you migrate. Free quote at mausandco.com/start if you want to see what a real build would cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Squarespace cost now in 2026?

<cite index="16-1,16-4">Squarespace's annual billing plans are $16/month for Basic, $23 for Core, $39 for Plus, and $99 for Advanced</cite>. Monthly billing costs significantly more.

Does Squarespace charge transaction fees?

<cite index="17-6,17-7">Yes, the Basic plan charges 2% per sale. Core, Plus, and Advanced plans have 0% Squarespace transaction fees</cite>, but payment processor fees still apply.

Can I export my Squarespace site if I leave?

You can export content (blog posts, pages), but you cannot export the design, layout, forms, or functionality. You're essentially starting over.

What happens to my Squarespace site if I stop paying?

Your site goes offline immediately. Your domain stops working, pages disappear, and forms stop receiving submissions. Everything is gone until you pay again.