GoDaddy vs Squarespace: Which Site Builder Is the Best?

Want a quick roundup of both platforms? We’ve listed the key differences below:

Though our research shows that both website builders score highly for their value for money, each platform has something different to offer users.

If you’re a small business working with a limited budget, GoDaddy’s website builder is the best value for money. GoDaddy offers a free plan so you can test the waters before dipping into any recurring payments, and its paid plans start from as little as $10.99 per month (billed annually).

However, GoDaddy’s pricing did go up in early 2024, with its Basic plan previously costing $9.99 per month (billed annually). Additionally, the plan’s features haven’t changed much since the price change, so you would effectively be paying more for the same number of features.

Below is a summary of GoDaddy’s key plans:

Alternatively, Squarespace’s pricing plans range from $16 to $52 per month, when billed annually, and are better for users in need of advanced, professional features (but keep in mind that Squarespace doesn’t offer a free plan like GoDaddy).

As an example, Squarespace’s Business plan is only $23 per month when paid annually and includes the Digital Products Add On. This feature lets users create and sell digital content like video courses or community pages, an effective way for creatives or business owners to share their expertise in a given topic.

The rest of Squarespace’s plans are outlined below:

For 10% off your Squarespace plan, don’t forget to use the promo code WBE10 at checkout.

If the quality of features is your top priority, Squarespace offers an extensive range of features from even its lowest price point. This includes its extensions, AI tools, website metrics, video hosting, and other features helping you make the most out of your website.

The Winner

GoDaddy’s price plans are the cheapest

To help you save money, GoDaddy’s main plans are the most affordable and a great starting point for any new business. It’ll provide you with all of the essential features you need to get started with your website on a budget.

Let’s face it, looks do matter when creating a professional website. If you want to design a website that’ll turn heads, Squarespace is undoubtedly the best choice. Though GoDaddy does offer hundreds of designs that are pleasing to the eye, Squarespace’s stylish templates and endless customization options are tough to beat.

Once you’ve chosen a design, you can customize your Squarespace template to your heart’s content. Be prepared to drag and drop different content sections, customize your own color palettes, and look through Google and Typekit fonts until you have your desired look. Thanks to this design-centric approach, Squarespace meshes well with the needs of creatives aiming to showcase their talents online.

But if you’re stuck for time, GoDaddy’s useful AI tool will help you create your website in only a few steps. All you have to do is answer a few questions about the contents of your website, then watch your template appear in under 30 seconds. This is the quickest way to design an appealing website tailored to your needs.

However, do keep in mind that AI-created templates can make your website look more generic. If you need elevated designs, pick Squarespace instead.

The Winner

Squarespace’s professional designs are most attractive for users

To ensure your business makes a great first impression, we recommend Squarespace’s beautiful templates. Its designs are modern, professional, and completely customizable.

Aptly named Fluid Engine because of its adaptability, Squarespace’s famed editor is a few steps above GoDaddy’s offering. You won’t need to worry about having any design or coding experience, because its drag-and-drop editor is a tool that anyone can use.

When dragging elements like photos, videos, or submission forms onto your webpage, you’ll be greeted by a handy grid overlay. This feature helps you organize your elements across the website, leaving you with attractive and professional looking pages to scroll through. There’s also no room for error since the grid will keep everything in place while you move each element around.

Still not convinced? Based on our user-centric testing, individuals had an easier time using Squarespace’s editor over GoDaddy’s. When tasked with creating a website using each platform, users were more likely to make mistakes with GoDaddy’s editor.

To keep your website user friendly, you’ll also need to take your mobile users into account. Squarespace’s Fluid Engine offers an easy way to optimize your website for mobile, allowing you to edit your mobile formatting independently from your desktop layout. GoDaddy’s mobile layouts can’t be changed via the editor, so opt for Squarespace if you need more creative control over this aspect of your website.

The Winner

Squarespace’s editor offers users a seamless experience

That’s right, Squarespace’s editor takes the edge over GoDaddy because of its intuitive drag-and-drop interface. It’s easy to drag elements onto the page and rearrange different blocks, leaving you with full creative control over your website.

Though both Squarespace and GoDaddy offer useful features like analytics tracking and marketing tools, Squarespace has the upper hand due to the depth and breadth of its offerings. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the different features in more detail and see exactly what they offer.

Third Party Apps

The biggest difference between GoDaddy and Squarespace is that only Squarespace has an app market. With this useful feature, you’re able to enhance your website through third-party extensions covering ecommerce, marketing, social media, SEO, and even chatbots.

Here’s a few examples of Squarespace plugins that you might find useful:

• Weglot Translate. Used to translate websites into multiple languages.
• Easyship. Allows users to save up to 91% on shipping costs in over 550 courier services.
• Mailchimp. Helps you drive traffic to your webpage through personalized email marketing tools.
• TinyIMG. An extension speeding up your site through image optimization.
• Printify. A useful way for creative businesses to make, sell, and ship their products globally.

The downside of these extensions is that they typically aren’t free to use, but many do provide free plans, trial periods, monthly and per-use fees that can accommodate a variety of budgets. Some of these plans are worth looking into if there’s certain tasks you want to streamline.

Online Scheduling Tool

Squarespace’s Scheduling Tool from Acuity allows you to manage appointments via your website. A stress-free way for small businesses owners and creatives to take the strain out of planning meetings, you can use the tool to set up different appointments, showcase availability, and also accept payments from clients.

Listed below are other interesting features from Squarespace’s scheduling tool:

• Calendar coordination syncing external calendars you already use.
• Prompt payments before or after appointments.
• Invoicing.
• Video conferencing through Zoom and JoinMe.
• Automated appointment reminders.
• Analytical tools.

Just like Squarespace’s third-party extensions, this handy scheduling tool comes at a price. Once the 14-day free trial has ended, pricing starts from $16 per month when paying annually. If arranging meetings with potential clients will be a necessity for you, then you may want to consider investing in this feature.

GoDaddy has a free Online Appointment section you can add to your website, but it doesn’t have as many features as Squarespace. You can only add one appointments section to your entire website, while you can’t automate appointment reminders either. Despite these limitations, it’s still a sound option for straightforward appointment scheduling, calendar syncing, and payments – it’ll get the job done!

The Winner

Squarespace’s key features and tools are more powerful than GoDaddy’s

With its third-party extensions and powerful, online scheduling tool, Squarespace’s features come out on top. While GoDaddy’s features cover the essentials, and at a cheaper price, Squarespace’s tools will allow you to scale over time.

Once you’ve decided on the design and main features of your website, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to grow your online presence. After all, who’s going to enjoy your creative portfolio or online brand if no one is able to find it?

This is why it’s so important to pick a website builder that comes with marketing tools assisting you with email marketing campaigns, social media, blogging, and SEO. Let’s see what Squarespace and GoDaddy have to offer.

Email Marketing

Squarespace offers sophisticated email marketing templates for campaigns. In fact, they look just as professional as their website designs, meaning you’ll be able to grow your presence through its eye-catching emails your readers will be drawn to.

You can pick from a series of designs and use Squarespace’s straightforward editing tool to make them your own, or even transfer design elements from your pre-existing website. Additionally, you can schedule your emails and see what they look like on both mobile and desktop to make sure they’re formatted well.

More suitable for users with limited knowledge or experience, GoDaddy will clearly guide you through each stage of the email marketing process, from creating your designs to sending them to your email list.

However, we still recommend Squarespace over GoDaddy for their email marketing features. This comes down to its stylish templates that can be edited to reflect your own brand, alongside its optimized designs for desktop and mobile.

Social Media Integration

Every small business dreams of creating a viral post. But how do Squarespace and GoDaddy’s social media features weigh up? Well, pretty evenly based on our user experience research. Both offering social media integration, each platform allows you to connect your website to your external accounts, create stylish posts for your feeds, and track your performance all in one place.

Before moving on, we can’t ignore GoDaddy’s Marketing Planner. This handy tool is a convenient way to find inspiration for your next social media post and keep track of upcoming content. Not only does it offer a list of over 200 events that could lead to great content ideas, but it also allows you to generate and schedule your latest posts.

Blogging

One of the best ways to grow your presence online is through blogging. By creating well-written posts that showcase your knowledge, you can start cementing your place as an authority in your respective niche. If you’re a small business or creative looking to share your findings with a wider audience, we recommend Squarespace over GoDaddy.

It goes without saying that Squarespace will provide you with a stylish blog that’ll wow your readers. Alongside that, you’ll even be able to track how your posts are doing through detailed analytics. This means you can make sure that your content is gaining traffic online.

If you need to build a blog fast, GoDaddy is your friend. However, here’s a few pointers you’ll need to keep in mind. GoDaddy still hasn’t made room for additional features like search for easy site navigation, commenting for further engagement with readers, or writer bios to bring a more personable side to your website. You’ll get all of these blog features with Squarespace.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Every great website needs strong SEO if you want your pages to show up on Google and Bing. As far as both Squarespace and GoDaddy are concerned, both website builders’ SEO features will provide you with everything you need to appear in search results.

Both make it easy for you to add SEO to your website to improve website visibility. This includes the ability to add meta titles, meta descriptions, custom URLs, alternative text, and other essentials that’ll improve your visibility.

However, Squarespace’s app market also features extensions specifically for SEO, giving it the slight edge over GoDaddy. This key feature will enable you to add third-party plugins to your website like SEOspace, another way to give your search engine rankings an extra boost.

The Winner

Squarespace’s marketing tools are more advanced

Although both platforms cover areas like content creation and email marketing, Squarespace has much more to offer its users. This is apparent with its third-party extensions allowing users to add plugins that support their marketing efforts.

There’s no shame in asking for help when you need it. If you’re new to website builders, you’ll be happy to hear that GoDaddy offers a global phone call service alongside 24/7 live chat support. In our user experience tests, the live chat option generated speedy responses in under 10 seconds. So, if you’re ever in need, you can rest easy knowing that GoDaddy’s prompt customer service can lend a helping hand.

Besides its speedy customer service, GoDaddy also offers useful resources. This includes its Help Center that is packed with tutorials, guides, and interactive courses on every topic under the sun, from online marketing to website security. Of course, you can also head to its Community Forums where you’ll find guidance from fellow website creators.

Just be aware that GoDaddy doesn’t offer email support, but Squarespace does. It’s something to keep in mind if that’s your preferred form of communication.

The Winner

GoDaddy is great at providing customers with 24/7 help and support

Its prompt customer service and additional learning resources make it easy to create your own page with GoDaddy. If you’re new to website building, you’ll have support at each stage.

Before you let your polished professional website go live, you’ll need to make sure your data is safe and sound – especially if you’re considering selling a few products or services down the line. But which website builder will give you the highest level of security? Well, according to our user experience research, GoDaddy and Squarespace’s offerings are neck and neck, with both platforms scoring 4 out of 5 for security.

As you can see, both Squarespace and GoDaddy offer all of the standard security features you’ll need to keep your website safe. These are the key features that we found during our user experience testing:

• In-built SSL certificates to make sure your website runs on HTTPS (that will keep sensitive information like credit card details secure).
• 2-step verification to make it more difficult for hackers to steal your information.
• PCI compliance so both platforms store credit card information in a secure environment.
• Customer log in areas that create a secure zone for any website members.

The downside to Squarespace and GoDaddy, however, is that neither of them offer in-built fraud protection for online transactions.

Squarespace relies on payment processing platforms (like Square and Stripe) to pick up on any fraudulent activity, while GoDaddy leaves it to the good faith of its users to report fraud and trigger an investigation. Be sure to take both of these methods into account if you’re thinking of selling products or services on one of these platforms.

The Winner

It’s a draw between Squarespace and GoDaddy’s security features

Since both website builders provide users with key security features, like SSL Certificates and 2-step verification, we can’t pick out a clear winner. However, there could definitely be improvements in how both platforms keep track of fraudulent activity.

No website builder is one size fits all. Whether you pick GoDaddy or Squarespace as your desired platform, you’ll need to take certain factors into account before making your choice.

Will I be able to create a professional design for my business?

• Strong choice of templates
• Easy-to-use editor
• Customization
• Images & video integration
• Avoid outdated designs that don’t suit modern audiences

Will it help me grow my website over time?

• Social media integration
• SEO tools
• Email campaign set up
• Blogging
• Avoid limited marketing tools that won’t help you scale over time

Will it fit into my budget?

• Variety of price plans
• A good amount of features per plan
• Affordable website add-ons
• Number of free features
• Avoid paying extra if you’re mainly receiving features you won’t use

Still on the fence about GoDaddy or Squarespace? If you’re wondering which website builder to choose, you need to consider which website builder aligns with your personal needs. Below, we’ve recommended the best platforms based on unique user requirements.

• If you live and breathe design, try Squarespace…

Whether you’re into photography or illustration, you’re probably aware of how important beautiful aesthetics are. If that’s the case, look no further than Squarespace, which is renowned for its professional templates (also created by designers). Pick this builder for total creative control over an eye-catching website that reflects your unique style.

• If time is of the essence, try GoDaddy

Short on time? GoDaddy is your best bet. With its AI website generator, you’re able to generate a professional page in under 30 seconds. Just fill in what you need in your new website, and GoDaddy does all of the hard work for you. It’s ideal for small business owners who already have a lot on their plate.

• If you want to grow your online presence, try Squarespace

You’ll need a professional website to build your presence online. That’s where Squarespace comes in. With their range of professional templates and a number of marketing features designed to help expand your brand’s awareness and reach, this website builder will help you make a name for yourself.

• If you’re new to website builders, try GoDaddy 

Making your very own website may seem like a daunting process, but it doesn’t need to be. Consider GoDaddy for its help and support. Its 24/7 customer service is there to help you solve any issues. It was even ranked the most user-friendly platform by participants during testing!

To maintain the accuracy of this comparison, we put GoDaddy and Squarespace to the test through our rigorous website builder research that includes hands-on experience.

When comparing both website builders, we examined key criteria – such as value for money, design functionalities, and ease of use – to decide which platform performed the best in each area. This all led to the final results you can see on this page. It’s all carried out to make sure you pick the right website builder fit for your unique needs.

After comparing both website builders, our top choice is Squarespace. Its eye-catching templates and flexible editor combined with its marketing features and bustling app market, makes it a suitable website builder for small businesses and creatives alike. This conclusion is also backed up by our research. Squarespace scores 4.8 out of 5 overall in comparison to GoDaddy’s 4.4 out of 5.

But depending on your unique needs, here’s a quick summary of what GoDaddy and Squarespace can offer you based on everything we’ve looked at.

• Squarespace is the best for designing a modern website, an easy way for creatives or small businesses to reflect their identity through editor tools and customizable, high-quality templates. Also, since it has more advanced features overall, it’s a suitable platform to switch to if you want more creative control of your website.
• GoDaddy is ideal for quick and easy website creation. Users on a tight schedule or budget can create a website that suits them thanks to GoDaddy’s generated templates, free plan, and more affordable prices. There’s also strong customer support for new users.

If you still need more information, read through our in-depth Squarespace review or GoDaddy review to learn even more.