SimplePath vs Squarespace
Squarespace has been around since 2003 and sets the design benchmark for this whole category. Its templates are genuinely beautiful and sites built on it look professional almost regardless of who assembled them. That is a real strength, and it is worth being clear about what it buys you: a site that looks the part. Whether anyone finds it is a separate question, and that is where we spend our effort.
When to choose Squarespace instead
Pick Squarespace if the look of the site is the entire point, or if you are running real retail. Its templates set the standard, and its store handles shipping rules and abandoned carts out of the box, which ours does not. If you sell a defined set of things and would rather be found than admired, keep reading.
Side by side
| Feature | UsSimplePath | Website builderSquarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Building the site | ||
| How your site gets built | You describe it in chat | Templates, or Blueprint AI |
| Editing by hand, without AI credits | Click to edit, plus full HTML and CSS | The drag and drop editor is the product |
| Test changes before they go live | Preview address you promote or discard | Unpublished changes in the editor |
| What it costs | ||
| Price to start | $9.99 a month | $16 a month |
| The same bill every month | Nothing is metered | Flat |
| Free to try | 30 days of hosting at first publish | 14 day trial |
| Domain and hosting | ||
| Buy your domain in the same place | Registered in your name | Free for the first year on annual plans |
| DNS set up for you | Automatic on domains we register | Automatic, or a preset for your registrar |
| Getting found | ||
| Pages search engines can read at once | Real HTML, not a JavaScript app | Server rendered |
| Sitemap and canonical tags handled | Added for you when you publish | Automatic |
| Submitted to Google for you | Included with every paid plan | Search Console integration |
| Keyword positions tracked | Real Search Console positions, daily | Basic search analytics |
| A recurring SEO check with a score | Every day, scored out of 100 | An AI scan you run on demand |
| Google Business Profile checked | Audited weekly | Not offered |
| Readable by AI assistants | llms.txt and IndexNow, plus FAQ markup | Clean markup |
| A blog the AI writes and publishes for you | On the Grow plan, up to one a day | AI drafts it, you publish it |
| Running the business | ||
| Contact and booking forms | Emailed to you, and stored on Grow | Forms, with Acuity for booking |
| Visitor analytics | Your own Google Analytics stream | Built in dashboard |
| Member accounts and a database | On the Grow plan | Member areas on higher plans |
| Online store | Catalogue, checkout, flat rate delivery, and stock tools built on request | Full store, no transaction fee above entry |
| Email marketing to your list | Not offered | Paid add on |
Checked against Squarespace's own pricing page and documentation on 26 August 2026. Their price is the annual billing rate they advertise, which is usually cheaper than paying monthly. Features change, so check anything that would decide it for you.
Yours, rather than one of the popular ones
Squarespace starts from a curated template and walks you through five steps. That is why the results look consistently good, and it is also why two businesses in the same trade often end up looking like cousins. We generate the design from your description instead, so what you start with is specific to your business rather than the same template your competitor two towns over also liked. Squarespace often wins on polish. We win on not looking like everybody else.
A beautiful site nobody visits is an expensive business card
Squarespace produces clean, server rendered markup and includes a solid SEO panel plus a scan you can run on demand. What it does not do is keep score for you. We track your keyword positions daily against real Search Console data, grade the site out of 100 with every component broken out so you can see exactly what to fix, audit your Google Business Profile weekly, and publish an llms.txt file so AI assistants can actually read your site. Design gets someone to stay. Search is what gets them there.
The blog writes itself, which is the only kind that gets written
Both platforms have a capable blog, and Squarespace has the nicer writing experience. The difference is who does the writing. Everyone intends to post regularly. Almost nobody does, and Google notices. On the Grow plan SimplePath drafts and publishes a post to your site on a schedule, up to one a day, without you opening anything. Squarespace will help you write a post. It will not publish one while you are out on a job.
Settle it by looking at the work
Tables only get you so far. Have a concept of your site built free, with no card and no commitment, then put it next to whatever Squarespace produces for the same business. That comparison is worth more than this whole page. Plans and what each one includes are on the pricing page.
Other comparisons
- SimplePath vs Wix: The broadest website builder there is: templates, a large app market, a full online store and 24/7 support.
- SimplePath vs Lovable: Chat to a working application with authentication and a database, and the code lands in your own GitHub repository.
- See all four side by side