Home » Website Builders » Comparisons » Hostinger vs Squarespace: Which Is Best for You? Hostinger vs Squarespace: Which Is Best for You? We may receive a commission from our partners if you click on a link and purchase a product or service on their website. Learn more Written by Emma Ryan Researched by Oliver Simpson Updated on November 18, 2025 Hostinger Premium See Pricing Starting from $12.99$1.99/mo + 3 months free Free domain for 1 year 170+ designer-made templates AI & SEO tools Hostinger Business See Pricing Starting from $18.99$2.99/mo + 3 months free Sell up to 1000 products Zero transaction fees Offer 100+ payment methods Squarespace Basic See Pricing $16 per monthSave 23% annually Free custom domain Squarespace AI tools Beautiful templates Squarespace Core See Pricing $23 per monthSave 28% annually Unlimited contributors Advanced website analytics Professional Google email Comments: 0 On this page Quick Comparison Best for Pricing: Hostinger Easiest To Use: Squarespace Best for Selling: Squarespace Best Website Features: Squarespace Best AI Tools: Hostinger Best Support: Squarespace How We Test Summary After 300 hours of testing and research, Hostinger and Squarespace sit comfortably in our top three website builders for the year. But, if we compare the builders head-to-head, which comes out on top? Squarespace is the better option overall, offering stylish designs, a beginner-friendly editor, and scalability for online stores. Quick Verdict Squarespace – Best for beginners and creatives Hostinger – Best budget builder Hostinger vs Squarespace: Key Takeaways 🔍 Hostinger’s plans are cheaper, starting at just $1.99Both builders have an AI website builderSquarespace has the best designs and templatesBoth builders provide user-friendly drag-and-drop editorsYou can sell products with any Squarespace planHostinger and Squarespace offer 24/7 support Quick Comparison: Which Is Best? In a rush? Take a look at our side-by-side table to learn the key differences between Hostinger and Squarespace: Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward Best for Beginners Best Budget Builder Squarespace Hostinger Overall Rating 4.5 Overall Rating 4.2 Today's best price $16$14.40 with code “WBE10” Today's best price 85% off in the current Sale:$12.99$1.99/month + 3 months for free Free plan or free trial 14-day free trial Free plan or free trial 7-day free trial Free custom domain Free custom domain AI website builder AI website builder Recommended for Creatives, portfolios and service-based businesses Recommended for Freelancers and budget-conscious users Start Free Trial Try Hostinger See our Squarespace Review See our Hostinger Review Is Hostinger Cheaper Than Squarespace? If you’re looking for the most cost-effective builder, Hostinger beats Squarespace when it comes to price. In fact, Hostinger is one of the cheapest website builders out there, with both of its plans costing just a few dollars per month.How Much Does Hostinger Cost?Hostinger’s pricing ranges from $1.99 to $2.99 per month (for a 48-month term)There are two premium plans to choose betweenYou’ll need the Business Website Builder plan to sell onlineHostinger has a seven-day free trial to test out the platformGet three months for free if you opt for a 48-month subscriptionHostinger has some of the cheapest website builder plans, particularly if you want to sell online. Source: Website Builder ExpertHow Much Does Squarespace Cost?Squarespace’s pricing ranges from $16 to $99 per month (billed annually)There are four premium plans to choose betweenYou can sell products and services with any Squarespace planTest out the builder yourself with its 14-day free trialGet 10% off your plan with our code “WBE10” The Winner Hostinger's plans are very cheap Both Hostinger and Squarespace are pretty affordable, but Hostinger’s plans are incredibly cheap and budget-friendly. While there’s less flexibility and scalability with Hostinger’s two plans, they’re a great option for personal sites and small businesses looking to get online without breaking the bank. Try Hostinger Which Builder Is Easier To Use? Squarespace is the easiest website builder I’ve tested, thanks to its drag-and-drop editor, stylish designs, and AI support when getting set up. However, it’s a close call between the two builders, with both providing impressive tools and editors for beginners.Setting Up Your SiteHostinger and Squarespace guide new users towards their AI website builders to help speed up the onboarding process. Hostinger uses a traditional AI prompt format, where you can describe your website or business in a few sentences and get a personalized template generated for you.With Squarespace, I could use Blueprint AI, its AI-powered guided design process. This five-step journey gives you more control over how your site looks before you get into the editor. For example, I was asked to choose what pages to include, as well as pick a font type and color scheme to match my brand. Is it worth using an AI website builder? From my testing, Hostinger’s AI builder is quicker in general, but the time you spend with Squarespace’s Blueprint AI is really up to you. You can take half an hour looking through different design options or fonts if you want to, or click through the process in less than a minute. Alternatively, I could skip the AI builder altogether and choose one of Squarespace’s stunning templates.With either platform, their AI builders are great for anyone short on time or unfamiliar with building a website. However you feel about AI, there’s no doubt that it makes getting online incredibly accessible and easy. Emma Ryan Lead Writer I enjoyed the collaborative experience provided by Squarespace's Blueprint AI. Source: Website Builder Expert Which builder has the best templates? 🎨 Both builders offer templates in addition to their AI website builders. Of the two, Squarespace’s templates are high-quality and unmatched, beating every other builder we tested in 2025 when it comes to design. You can choose from over 180 templates, covering a wide range of industries.Using the EditorBoth builders have drag-and-drop editors – the most user-friendly way to build a website from scratch. Hostinger lets you drag items anywhere, whereas Squarespace has a grid framework in place to help you snap elements and sections together.Hostinger is a better choice if you want total creative control, but I’d recommend using Squarespace if you’re a beginner. From my time with Squarespace, the editor is so intuitive and easy-to-understand, and you can take your pick from a library of stylish design elements. Just remember to save your work manually, since Squarespace doesn’t have an autosave feature.I found it easy to avoid making my pages messy thanks to Squarespace's grid. Source: Website Builder Expert The Winner Squarespace is best for beginners It’s a pretty even fight, but Squarespace’s Blueprint AI and drag-and-drop editor are better for beginners than Hostinger. Personally, I find Squarespace’s builder more enjoyable to use and the editor feels very supportive with its grid overlay. Plus, the variety of trendy and modern designs makes it easy to pull together a professional-looking website with no experience. Try Squarespace Can You Sell Products With Hostinger or Squarespace? We’ve tested the top ecommerce website builders for the year, with both Squarespace and Hostinger making our list of the top five. But, if we put them head-to-head, I’d recommend Squarespace for your online store.Squarespace lets you sell products with any of its plans, giving you room to grow and expand your business. In comparison, Hostinger has a single ecommerce plan, so there’s limited scalability.🛒 Selling With SquarespaceHere are some of the key Squarespace ecommerce features you can expect:Sell unlimited products on all plansUnlimited storage spaceAcuity Scheduling (to take bookings)Squarespace Payments (to centralize your finances and reduce processing fees)Abandoned cart recoveryShipping labelsPOS integrationCreate gift cards and discountsSet up product status labelsConnect with socials, marketplaces, and Google ShoppingYou can see a full breakdown of Squarespace’s ecommerce features in our video: Play 🛒 Selling With HostingerHostinger’s ecommerce features aren’t as expansive as Squarespace’s:Sell up to 1,000 productsSchedule and sell services onlineUnlimited storage100+ payment methodsCreate gift cards and discountsCustomize shipping optionsProduct reviewsAdd suggested products What about transaction fees? 💰 With Squarespace, the cheapest Basic plan has a transaction fee of 2%. This reduces to 0% once you upgrade to the Core, Plus, or Advanced plan. And, if you use Squarespace Payments, credit card rates start at 2.9% + $0.30 but reduce to 2.5% + $0.30, depending on your plan.Hostinger doesn’t charge any transaction fees, giving it a slight edge on Squarespace and keeping costs low. However, your chosen payment gateway could charge you per transaction. The Winner Squarespace is better for online stores Squarespace offers a great range of sales features and the scalability to support both new and growing online stores. And, its Acuity Scheduling tool is ideal for service-based businesses looking to manage and take bookings online. Try Squarespace Does Squarespace Have Better Website Features? I wouldn’t say either builder excels when it comes to website features, but Hostinger and Squarespace provide you with the basics. If you’re looking for the best suite of built-in tools, Wix is actually your best bet, but Squarespace outperforms Hostinger in our testing.➡️ See how the three compare in our Hostinger vs Wix vs Squarespace review!You can expect the following features from Hostinger and Squarespace:A free custom domain for the first yearEmail marketingSEO toolsSocial media integrationBlogging capabilitiesAnalytics to monitor performanceFree SSL certificatesI asked Hostinger Reach to help me create an email template for a summer sale. Source: Website Builder Expert 🚨 New Features 🚨 Your Squarespace Email Campaigns and Acuity Scheduling subscriptions can now be linked to help you engage with recent customers and personalize emailsAs of June 2025, Hostinger has launched its AI-powered email marketing tool, Hostinger Reach (previously, Hostinger lacked any email marketing support, so this is a great addition to the builder)What Could Be Improved?Squarespace and Hostinger both fall short when it comes to adding extra functionality to your site. Hostinger doesn’t have an app market with third-party integrations, so the built-in features are all that you get.Squarespace does have an app library, named Squarespace Extensions, but it doesn’t match the scale of the app markets you get with other major builders, including Wix or Shopify. Squarespace Extensions provides access to over 40 integrations, which isn’t many, but you can connect with popular platforms, such as ShipStation, QuickBooks, Mailchimp, and Printify. The Winner Squarespace offers more functionality A large portion of Hostinger’s built-in functionality is only available if you upgrade to the Business Website Builder plan, whereas Squarespace’s best tools are available from its cheapest plan. Squarespace also gives users and merchants the ability to add third-party software to their site. Try Squarespace Do Squarespace and Hostinger Come With AI Tools? Hostinger and Squarespace both sit in our list of the best AI website builders for 2026, offering beginner-friendly AI tools to help you design your site from scratch. However, when it comes to creating content with AI, Hostinger takes the lead.Hostinger’s AI Tools 🔍AI website builderAI image generatorAI writerAI blog generatorAI SEO toolsAI logo makerAI product generatorAI assistant, KodeeHostinger HorizonsHostinger Reach (email marketing)Squarespace’s AI Tools 🔍AI website builder (Blueprint AI)Text generationAI blog postsBrand identity supportAI SEO site descriptionsAI video descriptionsAI course descriptionsAI proposalsBusiness name generatorDomain name generatorI could get Hostinger to populate my product pages based on an image. Source: Website Builder Expert The Winner Hostinger has a growing suite of AI tools While Squarespace’s AI website builder is arguably better than Hostinger’s brief form, Hostinger’s AI tools are some of the best we’ve tested. The platform prioritizes AI support for its users above most other areas, and Hostinger has introduced multiple new features, such as Horizons and Reach, in this year alone. Try Hostinger Which Builder Has the Best Customer Support? Based on our most recent 2025 testing, Squarespace’s customer service is better than Hostinger’s. What helps give Squarespace the edge is its 24/7 email support, community forum, and the option to hire experts for help on topics such as SEO, scheduling, and online store setup.You can expect the following support channels and resources from both builders:Live chatSocial media (Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, X)Help CenterUnfortunately, Hostinger and Squarespace lack phone support, so you’ll have to communicate with the customer service teams via messages only.I could chat with Squarespace's AI live chat or request to be connected with a human team member. Source: Website Builder Expert The Winner Squarespace offers expert support Both builders provide responsive, 24/7 customer service, but Squarespace goes the extra mile by providing hands-on support from experts across a variety of topics. This is something that all of our top five website builders offer, apart from Hostinger. Try Squarespace How We Test Website Builders I’ve spent over three years building websites and reviewing platforms, like Hostinger and Squarespace. As a team, we’ve carried out 300+ hours of analysis and hands-on testing to deliver accurate recommendations.Our research process looks at key areas, such as pricing and website features. You can learn more about how we test website builders below: Read more about our testing methodology ⬇️ When testing website builders, our focus is on six core areas of investigation:Website Functionality: 30%Design Features: 25%Pricing: 15%User Experience: 15%Help and Support: 10%Reputation: 5%Each category has a unique weighting, depending on its importance to individuals and businesses looking to get online. We can then award a builder its overall rating, based on its scores across our research categories. Hostinger vs Squarespace: See Our Winner Hostinger and Squarespace are great choices for anyone looking to get online, but the right builder for you will depend on your site and business needs.Based on our testing, Squarespace is the better choice overall, offering a user-friendly editor, modern templates, and great booking tools, whereas Hostinger shines with its affordable plans and AI tools.No matter which builder you pick, I recommend checking out the free trials on offer to test out the features and editors for yourself. Written by: Emma Ryan Writer Emma is Lead Writer at Website Builder Expert, having first joined the team in 2022. She manages the website's topical content strategy to help website owners navigate the highs and lows of being online. Emma also specializes in following the development of leading website builders Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify, through hands-on testing and research. Her work and expertise have been featured in Startups.co.uk, Digiday, TechRound, Industry Today, and Digital Information World. Researched by: Oliver Simpson Senior Research Executive Oliver Simpson is a Senior Research Executive at Website Builder Expert, providing objective, in-depth research and ratings on website builders and ecommerce platforms that underpins the recommendations we make across the website. Every website builder review and recommendation you read on Website Builder Expert has been informed using Oliver’s unique research methodology. Whether running first-hand testing with writers or conducting in-depth research into audience needs, industry trends, and product features, Oliver is driven by a relentless pursuit of improvement and results. Leave a comment Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment*First name:*Email address:* Δ