What is the difference between WooCommerce and Squarespace Commerce?

WooCommerce is best for WordPress users wanting e-commerce functionality, while Squarespace Commerce is best for Design-focused brands selling physical products, art, or creative services. WooCommerce starts at Free and Squarespace Commerce starts at $27/mo.

Is WooCommerce or Squarespace Commerce cheaper?

WooCommerce starts at Free and is free. Squarespace Commerce starts at $27/mo.

Is there a free alternative to Squarespace Commerce?

Yes, WooCommerce offers a free tier.

WooCommerce vs Squarespace Commerce

WooCommerce is open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress with extensions and payment gateways, while Squarespace Commerce is beautiful e-commerce built into Squarespace's website builder platform. The biggest difference up front: WooCommerce is free, while Squarespace Commerce starts at $27/mo. WooCommerce is built for wordpress users wanting e-commerce functionality, whereas Squarespace Commerce targets design-focused brands selling physical products, art, or creative services.

At a glance

	WooCommerce	Squarespace Commerce
Best for	WordPress users wanting e-commerce functionality	Design-focused brands selling physical products, art, or creative services
Starting price	Free	$27/mo
Free tier	✓	—
Open source	✓	—
Free tier available	✓	—
Open source	✓	—
E-commerce	—	✓
Email marketing	—	✓
Extensions	✓	—
Inventory management	—	✓
Payments	✓	—
Shipping	✓	—
Website builder	—	✓
WordPress Plugin	✓	—

WooCommerce

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes WordPress Plugin as a core feature, purpose-built for e-commerce workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in e-commerce

Try WooCommerce → Full review

Squarespace Commerce

Strengths

Best-in-class design templates for visual brands
All-in-one website + store — no separate platforms needed
Built-in email campaigns and marketing tools
No transaction fees on Business plan and above

Weaknesses

Limited advanced e-commerce features vs Shopify
Fewer third-party integrations and apps
Payment processor options are limited
Not suitable for large-scale or high-volume stores

Try Squarespace Commerce → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: WooCommerce is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Squarespace Commerce starts at $27/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: WooCommerce offers Extensions, Payments and Shipping that Squarespace Commerce lacks. Squarespace Commerce brings E-commerce, Email marketing and Inventory management that WooCommerce does not have.

Open source: WooCommerce is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Squarespace Commerce is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: WooCommerce's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes wordpress plugin as a core feature, purpose-built for e-commerce workflows. Squarespace Commerce's biggest strengths are: best-in-class design templates for visual brands. all-in-one website + store — no separate platforms needed.

Watch out for: With WooCommerce, users commonly note that may lack some advanced features. With Squarespace Commerce, the main complaint is that limited advanced e-commerce features vs shopify.

Choose WooCommerce if...

You need a tool built for wordpress users wanting e-commerce functionality
Budget is a hard constraint — WooCommerce is free, Squarespace Commerce is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Extensions and Payments
You care about includes wordpress plugin as a core feature, purpose-built for e-commerce workflows

Choose Squarespace Commerce if...

You need a tool built for design-focused brands selling physical products, art, or creative services
You specifically need E-commerce and Email marketing
You care about all-in-one website + store — no separate platforms needed