Framer suits designers, freelancers and startups who want a free plan to start on and a fully editable design canvas. Squarespace suits small businesses that want templates, selling and invoicing in one place, with a 14-day free trial instead of a free plan. Check Squarespace's contributor cap and store fee, and Framer's page limits, before you choose a plan.
Both builders host your site, handle SEO basics and let you publish without writing code. Where they split is the starting point. Framer hands you a design canvas and AI agents to build with. Squarespace hands you a template and a set of business tools for selling, invoicing and marketing. I've gone through both pricing pages line by line, because that's where the differences that matter for a small business sit.
Framer and Squarespace plan by plan
Framer figures below are from its pricing page on the yearly billing view, shown in US$, as of Nov 2026. Squarespace's page shows each plan's figure under Pay annually and Pay monthly toggles, so I've left its amounts out and stuck to what each plan includes.
| Framer | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Free way in | Free plan at $0 with a free Framer domain and 1 GB bandwidth | No free plan; free for 14 days, no credit card required |
| Paid plans | Basic $10 per month, Pro $30 per month, Enterprise custom | Basic, Core and higher plans; paying annually saves up to 36%, per Squarespace |
| Starting point | A fully editable design canvas, built with AI agents | Templates designed around business or personal goals |
| People who can edit | Owner included, extra editors $20 a month, viewers free | Up to 2 contributors on Basic, unlimited on Core |
| Size limits | 30 pages and 2 CMS collections on Basic; 150 pages and 10 collections on Pro | No limit on the number of products and services you can sell |
| Store fees | No store features listed on Framer's pricing page | 2% on Basic store sales, 7% on digital content and memberships |
| Domain | Own domain from Basic, with a complimentary domain on yearly | One year of free domain registration on annual plans |
| Analytics | 30 days of history on Basic, 90 on Pro | Advanced website analytics on Core |
| Custom code and workflow | Redirects, staging and branching with previews on Pro | Complete customisation with CSS and JavaScript on Core |
| AI | 500 AI credits to try on Free, monthly credits on paid plans | Built-in AI tools for generating content |
Framer: a design canvas with a free tier
Framer's home page calls it a free website builder and AI design agent, and the pricing page backs up the free part: the Free plan is $0 and includes 500 AI credits to try, a free Framer domain, 1 GB of bandwidth, design pages and an MCP server. Framer says hosting, CMS, analytics, SEO and AEO are already built in, so you can go live without a separate build process.
The paid plans scale on pages, content and traffic rather than features alone:
- Basic, for creative personal sites, is $10 per month with 30 pages, 2 CMS collections, 1,000 CMS items, 50 GB bandwidth and your own domain.
- Pro, for growing professional sites, is $30 per month with 150 pages, 10 CMS collections, 2,500 CMS items and 100 GB bandwidth, plus site redirects, a staging environment and branching with previews.
- Additional editors are $20 a month each and viewers are free; content editors who only update the CMS are $10 per editor.
- Enterprise has custom limits, security and support.
It's a builder for people who care how every pixel looks. Everything on the canvas stays editable, down to type, components, breakpoints and effects.
Squarespace: templates, selling and a trial
Squarespace's pricing page opens with websites that are free for 14 days, and its home page adds that you can start without a credit card. After the trial you're on a paid plan; there's no free tier on the page. What you get in return is a wide set of business tools around the site: online stores, invoicing, scheduling, email campaigns, memberships and donations all appear in its menus.
- Basic lets you build a custom website, sell without a cap on the number of products and services, and send invoices, which Squarespace says are included on all plans.
- Core, marked as recommended, adds unlimited contributors, advanced website analytics and complete customisation with CSS and JavaScript.
- Annual plans include one year of free domain registration on available domains, which then renews at the standard rate.
- Built-in AI tools help you generate content for your pages.
Contributors, fees and the small print
Three lines on these pricing pages change the picture for a small business. First, Squarespace Basic allows up to 2 contributors. If you have a designer, a virtual assistant and yourself all logging in, you'll need Core. Second, Squarespace Basic charges a 2% transaction fee on online products, services and donations, and a 7% fee on digital content and memberships; it says higher plans take the store fee to 0%. If you plan to sell courses or memberships, that 7% line deserves a careful read.
Third, Framer's limits are about size. Basic stops at 30 pages and 2 CMS collections, which is fine for a portfolio or a launch site but tight for a blog with several categories. A growing content site will hit Pro quickly, and each extra full editor adds $20 a month. If you're still weighing up the wider field, my guide to choosing a DIY website builder for a small business walks through the questions to ask first.
Which site builder suits which business
Framer fits designers, freelancers, startups and SaaS teams who want a striking marketing site, care about animation and layout, and are happy to manage content in a CMS. The free plan lets you build and publish on a Framer domain before you commit to anything.
Squarespace fits shop owners, coaches, restaurants, salons and service businesses who want a polished template plus selling, invoicing and scheduling under one login. If neither feels right, there's a full list of Squarespace alternatives, and my Webflow vs WordPress comparison covers two more ways to build.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
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Advice for choosing a site builder you'll keep
Pick Framer if design control matters most and you'd like a free plan to build on before you pay. Pick Squarespace if you want to sell, book and invoice from the same place your website lives, and you're happy to decide within a 14-day trial. I'd skip Squarespace Basic if more than two people will edit the site, and I'd skip Framer Basic if you're planning a content-heavy blog.
- Count the people who'll edit the site after launch.
- Count the pages and content types you'll need in your first year.
- List what you'll sell, if anything, and check the matching fee line on Squarespace's pricing page.
A website builder is a choice you'll live with for years, so it's worth thinking about who'll be editing the site long after launch day. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.
Do you make a website builder? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Does Framer have a free plan?
Yes. Framer's pricing page lists a Free plan at $0 with 500 AI credits to try, a free Framer domain and 1 GB of bandwidth, as of Nov 2026.
Does Squarespace have a free plan?
No. Squarespace offers websites free for 14 days, with no credit card required to start, and then you choose a paid plan.
How many people can edit a Squarespace site?
Squarespace's Basic plan allows up to 2 contributors. Core allows unlimited contributors.
Does Squarespace charge transaction fees?
On Basic, Squarespace lists a 2% fee on online store sales and a 7% fee on digital content and memberships. It says higher plans have 0% store transaction fees.
Can I use my own domain on Framer?
Yes, from the Basic plan, and Framer includes a complimentary custom domain on yearly billing. The Free plan uses a free Framer domain.
