The renewal email usually arrives in the same week every year. Your website plan renews tomorrow, the price is higher than last time, and you wonder whether you picked the right platform. One small business owner on Reddit’s web hosting forum described exactly this moment earlier this year. They had built their site on Wix in 2019, got about 50 to 60 visits a month, and wanted to leave after a large renewal increase, with a budget of no more than $15 a month.
Choosing between WordPress, Wix and Squarespace is easy to get wrong because the first year looks cheap on all three. The real differences show up later, in renewal prices, upkeep, speed, selling online and how hard it is to leave. This guide compares the three for a small business website on exactly those points, with a short section at the end for anyone starting a blog.
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The three platforms in numbers
WordPress is still the most used platform by a wide margin. According to W3Techs, which tracks millions of websites, it runs 39.4% of all websites, compared with 4.2% for Wix and 2.4% for Squarespace, based on figures from November. Among sites that use a known content management system, WordPress has 58.1%, Wix 6.2% and Squarespace 3.6%.
Speed is less simple than many WordPress fans think. A study by PageSpeed Matters, using Google’s real visitor data from June, found that 53% of Wix sites passed Google’s Core Web Vitals on phones, compared with 38.4% of WordPress sites. The reason is how WordPress sites are built, not WordPress itself. HTTP Archive’s August data shows that WordPress sites built with its own Site Editor passed 63.7% of the time, while those built with the Elementor page builder passed 36.8%. A lean WordPress site is fast. A heavy one is not.
Prices have also moved. At the time of writing, Wix lists its Light plan at $17 a month, Core at $29 and Business at $39, all billed yearly, and Light cannot run an online shop. Squarespace lists Basic at $19 a month and Core at $29 when billed yearly, with a 2% fee on physical product sales on Basic. Self-hosted WordPress has no plan fee, but you pay for hosting, which is often around $3 a month at first and closer to $11 a month after the first contract.
How they compare for a small business
Each platform is a good choice for some businesses and a poor one for others. The table compares them on the questions that matter most once the website is live, not just on launch day. Prices are US list prices billed yearly, with a domain added after the free first year, and they can change, so check them before you buy.
| Question | WordPress (self-hosted) | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical yearly cost for a simple business site | About $145 for hosting and domain, plus any paid theme, plugins or care | About $220 on Light with a domain, or about $365 on Core if you sell online | About $250 on Basic with a domain, or about $370 on Core |
| Who handles updates, security and backups? | You, your developer or a care plan | Wix | Squarespace |
| Design freedom | Complete, any design and any feature | High within the editor, with many templates | Polished templates, less freedom to change layouts |
| Selling online | WooCommerce, flexible but needs setup | Core plan and above | All plans, with a 2% fee on Basic |
| Bookings, memberships and custom tools | Almost anything, through plugins or custom code | Good built-in apps, limited beyond them | Good built-in tools for appointments and members |
| Leaving later | Easy, move to any host and keep everything | Hard, the site cannot be exported to another platform | Hard, some content exports, the design does not |
Two rows decide most cases. The first is upkeep. Wix and Squarespace look after hosting, security and updates for you, while self-hosted WordPress needs someone to do it, which is why a cheaper WordPress site can end up costing more if you pay for help. The second is leaving. If you might outgrow your platform, WordPress is the only one of the three you can move without starting again.
Which one fits your business?
Most small businesses fall into one of a few situations. Find yours, and the choice usually becomes clear.
- Choose Wix if you want to build and edit the site yourself, need a few built-in tools such as bookings or a small shop, and prefer not to think about hosting or updates
- Choose Squarespace if the look of your site matters most, such as for photographers, studios, restaurants and design-led brands, and you are happy to stay within its templates
- Choose WordPress if you plan to grow, want your site to rank well in search over time, need custom features, or want to own your site and be free to move it
- Consider an AI-built website if you want a fast, simple site that a team builds and looks after for you, without page builders or plugins
Whatever you choose, remember that the platform alone does not bring visitors. In another Reddit thread, a Squarespace owner wanted to move to WordPress because their site got no traffic. The most useful reply pointed out that switching platforms will not fix traffic without keyword research, useful content and Google Search Console. Our guide to creating a brand website with WordPress covers that side, and our post on whether a new website is worth it helps you work out the return before you spend.
Switching platforms without losing your Google rankings
Moving from Wix or Squarespace to WordPress means rebuilding the design, because neither lets you take your design with you. Commenters on that Squarespace thread said exactly this. Your text, images and blog posts can be moved, partly with export tools and partly by hand, and your domain stays yours.
The part people forget is the web addresses. Wix and Squarespace use their own URL patterns, so many page addresses change when you move. Every old address needs a permanent redirect to its new page, or you lose the rankings those pages built up. Our guide to SEO-friendly URL structure explains how to plan this. If your site is more than a few pages, it is worth having someone handle the move.
If you are starting a blog
For bloggers, the money difference is small. Once welcome discounts end, a self-hosted WordPress blog usually costs about $75 a year less than Wix Light, as long as you handle updates yourself. The bigger question is where you want to be in two years. If you plan to earn from ads or affiliate links, or want full control over your content, start on WordPress and save yourself a move later.
Do not let the platform choice stop you, though. Experienced bloggers on Reddit often advise new creators to publish around 20 posts before worrying about design. And because AI answers in search now cover many simple questions, the blogs that keep growing share things AI cannot copy, such as their own tests, photos, results and opinions. That is true on every platform.
We build and look after sites on all of these routes. Our WordPress development team builds lean sites without page-builder bloat and moves sites from Wix and Squarespace without losing rankings, our website design service works on the platform that fits you best, and our AI website service is a simple option for small budgets. If you choose WordPress but do not want the upkeep, our care plans handle updates, backups and security every month.
Frequently asked questions
Is WordPress better than Wix for SEO?
WordPress gives you more control over every SEO detail, which matters as a site grows. Wix covers the basics well and its sites are often fast. For most small businesses, good content, a clear site structure and a fast mobile page matter more than the platform.
Which is cheaper, Wix, Squarespace or WordPress?
Self-hosted WordPress is usually cheapest in plan fees, at around $145 a year for hosting and a domain. Wix and Squarespace cost roughly $220 to $370 a year for small business plans, including a domain after the first year, but include hosting, security and updates, which WordPress owners must handle or pay for.
Can I move my Wix or Squarespace site to WordPress?
Yes, but the design has to be rebuilt, and some content must be moved by hand. Plan redirects from every old page address to its new one so you keep your Google rankings.
Is Squarespace good for a small business?
Yes, especially for businesses where visual style matters, such as studios, photographers and restaurants. It is less suited to sites that need custom features or a large amount of content.