Canva vs Squarespace: Which One is Better in 2025?

When choosing a platform for design and website creation, Canva and Squarespace are two leading options. Both offer unique features and cater to different needs. In this article, we'll compare their key features, pricing, limitations, and user reviews to help you make an informed decision.

Canva: Overview and Key Features

Canva is a popular design tool known for its user-friendly interface and extensive feature set, catering to both beginners and professionals.

• Drag-and-Drop Interface: Canva's intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows users to easily create designs without any prior design experience. This feature simplifies the process of adding and arranging elements on the canvas.
• Extensive Template Library: Canva offers a vast library of templates for various design needs, including social media posts, presentations, and marketing materials. Users can customize these templates to fit their specific requirements.
• Stock Photos and Graphics: Canva provides access to millions of stock photos, illustrations, and icons. This feature helps users enhance their designs with high-quality visual elements without needing external resources.
• Collaboration Tools: Canva includes collaboration features that allow multiple users to work on the same design project simultaneously. This is particularly useful for teams and organizations.
• Brand Kit: Canva's Brand Kit feature lets users store and manage brand assets such as logos, fonts, and color palettes. This ensures consistency across all design projects.
• Customizable Charts and Graphs: Canva offers tools for creating customizable charts and graphs. Users can input their data and choose from various chart types to visually represent information.
• Print Services: Canva provides print services for designs, allowing users to order printed materials directly from the platform. This includes options for business cards, flyers, and posters.
• Mobile App: Canva's mobile app enables users to create and edit designs on the go. The app offers nearly all the features available on the desktop version, ensuring flexibility and convenience.

Canva's Reviews

Overall, user feedback on Canva highlights its user-friendly interface and extensive template library, though some users note limitations in advanced features and customization options.

1. G2: 4.7/5

• "Canva is a good tool for non-professional editors. Easier to use than other professional platforms, but lacks some important editing features like box shadows." - Hasan T., 3/5
• "Most recommended. Best app for designing everything from posters to wedding invitations. Easy to use with a vast array of templates." - Anuja S., 5/5
• "Flexible, helpful, quick fix for creatives. Allows creating designs without depending on the design team, especially useful for short timelines." - Arjun H., 5/5
• "Using Canva is typically a smooth and intuitive experience. Accessible for everyone with a drag-and-drop interface and a variety of templates. Some advanced features are locked behind a paid subscription." - Rafeh S., 5/5
• "My go-to app for graphic design. Simple and easy-to-use with thousands of customizable templates. Integrates well with social media." - Nihal S., 5/5

Positive Aspects:

• Ease of use
• Extensive library of templates and design elements
• Drag-and-drop interface
• Accessibility for non-professional designers
• Integration with third-party apps

Common Concerns:

• Limited advanced features
• Reliance on an internet connection
• Premium assets locked behind a paid subscription
• Occasional issues with text formatting and export quality

Squarespace: Overview and Key Features

Squarespace is a comprehensive website builder known for its sleek design templates and robust feature set.

• Design Templates: Squarespace offers a wide range of professionally designed templates. These templates are fully customizable, allowing users to adjust fonts, colors, and layouts to match their brand identity.
• SEO Tools: Squarespace includes built-in SEO features such as customizable meta tags, clean URLs, and automatic sitemaps. These tools help improve search engine rankings and drive organic traffic to your site.
• Integrated E-commerce: Squarespace supports e-commerce functionality, including product management, inventory tracking, and secure checkout. Users can also offer discounts, manage shipping options, and integrate with payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe.
• Blogging Platform: Squarespace provides a robust blogging platform with features like post scheduling, multiple author support, and AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) integration. This makes it easy to manage and publish content regularly.
• Analytics: Squarespace offers built-in analytics tools that track website performance, visitor behavior, and sales data. Users can access detailed reports and insights to make informed decisions about their site.
• Custom Plugins: Squarespace supports custom plugins to extend functionality. Examples include social media integrations, email marketing tools, and advanced form builders, enhancing the site's capabilities.
• 24/7 Customer Support: Squarespace provides round-the-clock customer support through live chat and email. Users can also access a comprehensive knowledge base and community forums for additional help.

Squarespace's Reviews

Overall user feedback on Squarespace highlights its ease of use and professional templates, though some users note limitations in customization and occasional technical issues.

1. G2: 4.4/5

• "Creating a beautiful and functional blog is easy with Squarespace, but it occasionally lacks updates and new features." - Jerry M., 4.5/5
• "Squarespace is the ultimate solution for your online business with a user-friendly interface and excellent customer support, though switching from Squarespace 7.0 to 7.1 can be frustrating." - Mirjam H., 5/5
• "Best customer service hands down! Beautiful templates and excellent live chat support." - Verified User, 5/5
• "Squarespace is a great option for nonprofits, reasonably priced and easy to learn, but some design integration requires CSS knowledge." - Michael K., 4.5/5
• "The site is buggy and customer support is not helpful. Issues with domain and email management." - Dawid P., 1/5

Positive Aspects:

• Ease of use and intuitive design
• Beautiful and professional templates
• Good customer support
• Scalability and flexibility
• Integrated e-commerce and marketing tools

Common Concerns:

• Limited customization options
• Occasional bugs and technical issues
• Poor customer support in some cases
• Issues with domain and email management
• Limited advanced features for developers

Feature Comparison: Canva vs. Squarespace

Similarities

Despite targeting different user bases, Canva and Squarespace share several important features:

• Customizable Templates: Both platforms offer a wide range of templates that users can customize to fit their brand identity.
• Drag-and-Drop Interface: Canva and Squarespace provide intuitive drag-and-drop tools, making it easy for users to design without technical skills.
• SEO Tools: Each platform includes built-in SEO features to help improve search engine rankings and drive organic traffic.
• Hosting Services: Both offer secure hosting solutions, ensuring users don't need to manage server maintenance or security.
• Analytics: Canva and Squarespace provide analytics tools to track website performance and visitor behavior.
• Third-Party Integrations: Both platforms support integrations with various third-party tools to extend functionality.

Differences

Critical differences between Canva and Squarespace will likely influence your choice.

• Primary Focus:
  • Canva: Primarily a design tool with a website builder feature for creating simple, visually appealing websites.
  • Squarespace: An all-in-one platform focused on comprehensive website building, hosting, and management.
• E-commerce Capabilities:
  • Squarespace: Offers robust e-commerce tools, including product management, payment processing, and shipping options.
  • Canva: Lacks dedicated e-commerce features, focusing more on design and content creation.
• Customization and Design Flexibility:
  • Squarespace: Allows extensive customization with options for custom CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.
  • Canva: Provides customization through drag-and-drop tools and templates but lacks advanced coding options.
• Marketing Tools:
  • Squarespace: Includes built-in marketing tools for SEO, social media, and email campaigns.
  • Canva: Focuses on design elements and does not offer integrated marketing tools.
• Customer Support:
  • Squarespace: Provides 24/7 customer support through live chat and email.
  • Canva: Offers support but lacks the round-the-clock availability of Squarespace.

Pricing Comparison: Canva vs. Squarespace

Canva Pricing

Canva offers a range of pricing plans to cater to different user needs, from individuals to large enterprises.

• Canva Free: $0 per year for one person
  • Easy drag-and-drop editor
  • 1M+ professionally-designed templates
  • 1000+ design types (social posts and more)
  • 3M+ stock photos and graphics
  • AI-generated writing and designs
  • Design printing and delivery
  • 5GB of cloud storage
• Canva Pro: $120 per year for one person
  • Everything in Free, plus:
  • Unlimited premium templates
  • 100M+ photos, videos, graphics, audio
  • 1000 Brand Kits to manage your brand
  • Quickly resize and translate designs
  • Remove backgrounds in a click
  • Boost creativity with 20+ AI tools
  • Plan and schedule social content
  • 1TB of cloud storage
  • Online customer support
• Canva Teams: $100 per year per person (minimum 3 people, $300/year)
  • Everything in Pro, plus:
  • Scale your brand and centralize assets
  • Ensure brand consistency with approvals
  • Edit, comment, and collaborate in real time
  • Generate on-brand copy with AI
  • Team reports and insights
  • Pay as you grow
  • 1TB of cloud storage
  • Online customer support
  • AI Admin Controls
  • ISO 27001 certification and SOC 2 Type II compliance
• Canva Enterprise: Custom pricing (Contact Sales)
  • Everything in Teams, plus:
  • Centrally manage multiple teams and brands
  • Set individual or group design approvals
  • Manage access to the Canva content and template library
  • IP indemnity content control
  • SSO
  • Automate license provisioning with SCIM
  • Custom apps and integrations
  • Priority customer support
  • Design support from Enterprise Studio creative team
  • Dedicated customer success manager

Key Differences in Cost Structure:

• Canva Free: No cost, basic features suitable for individual use.
• Canva Pro: $120/year for one person, includes premium content and advanced tools.
• Canva Teams: $100/year per person with a minimum of 3 people ($300/year), includes all Pro features plus team collaboration tools and advanced brand management.
• Canva Enterprise: Custom pricing, includes all Teams features plus advanced security, administration, and custom integrations for large organizations.

Squarespace' Pricing

Squarespace offers a variety of pricing plans to accommodate different needs, from personal websites to advanced e-commerce solutions.

• Personal: $16/month (billed annually)
  • Free custom domain
  • SSL security
  • Unlimited bandwidth and storage
  • SEO features
• Business: $23/month (billed annually)
  • Everything in Personal, plus:
  • Professional email from Google
  • Premium integrations and blocks
  • Advanced website analytics
  • 3% transaction fee on sales
• Basic Commerce: $27/month (billed annually)
  • Everything in Business, plus:
  • No transaction fees
  • Point of sale
  • Customer accounts
  • Powerful e-commerce analytics
• Advanced Commerce: $49/month (billed annually)
  • Everything in Basic Commerce, plus:
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Advanced shipping
  • Advanced discounts
  • Sell subscriptions
• Enterprise: Custom pricing
  • Contact Squarespace support for details

Subframe, a Better Alternative to Canva and Squarespace

Subframe is a UI design tool that makes it easy to create and sync designs with code. We offer a drag-and-drop editor that uses real components, ensuring your designs are both pixel-perfect and responsive. With Subframe, you can instantly turn your designs into clean, production-ready React and Tailwind code, speeding up your workflow and eliminating the need for handoffs.

Subframe's Features

Subframe is a UI design tool that makes it easy to create and sync designs with code.

• Component-Based Design: Subframe helps create user interfaces with real, reusable components instead of static mockups. The visual editor includes a responsive drag-and-drop canvas for building precise, production-ready layouts.
• Pre-Built UI Templates: Subframe offers a library of customizable templates inspired by established design patterns. Each template is built with reusable components to help speed up the design process.
• Code Export: Subframe generates clean, production-quality React and Tailwind code. Designs can be copied directly into a codebase, reducing time spent on handoff and manual CSS adjustments.
• Free to Get Started: Subframe offers free access to its visual design tools with no credit card required.
• AI-Assisted Design: Subframe's AI capabilities help in designing faster and better by learning user preferences, ensuring efficient and high-quality output.

Subframe's Pricing

Subframe pricing is designed to cater to different user needs:

• Free: $0 per user/month
  • 1 project
  • Up to 3 page designs
  • Up to 3 team members
  • 100s of UI templates
  • Limited AI features
• Pro: $29 per user/month
  • Up to 3 projects
  • Unlimited page designs
  • Unlimited team members
  • Custom components
  • 100s of UI templates
  • Full AI beta access
• Custom: Contact for pricing
  • Unlimited projects
  • Unlimited page designs
  • Integrate your components
  • Dedicated Slack support
  • Figma plugin
  • Unlimited AI

For more details, visit our Subframe Pricing page. Book a demo with us to see how Subframe can transform your design workflow.

Subframe's Reviews

Users have shared positive feedback about Subframe, noting its user-friendly interface, time-saving tools, and the quality of the UI designs it produces. The platform has earned a 5/5 rating on Product Hunt. Customers especially value the visual editor, drag-and-drop functionality, and AI features that help refine designs based on user input.

• "Without Subframe, the frontend build of this tool would've taken a lot longer and a lot more financial resources." - Erin Kim
• "Subframe helped us make a super clean UI for our console without designers." - Carl Peterson
• "Huge shoutout to Subframe guys! Super easy to create UI, and the support is great. Highly recommend!" - Amartya Jha

Canva, Squarespace or Subframe? Which is The Best Tool For You

Canva excels in providing an easy-to-use design tool with a vast array of templates, making it ideal for those who need quick, visually appealing designs without coding. Squarespace stands out for its comprehensive website building and e-commerce capabilities, perfect for businesses looking to establish a robust online presence with integrated marketing tools.

Subframe offers a unique blend of design and code integration, making it the optimal choice for those who need both design flexibility and efficient code generation. It allows you to create pixel-perfect designs and instantly turn them into production-ready React and Tailwind code, streamlining your workflow and eliminating the need for handoffs.

If you prioritize quick and easy design, Canva is a great fit; for comprehensive website building and e-commerce, Squarespace may be the better choice. But for those looking for seamless integration of design and code, Subframe stands out. Get started on Subframe for free to see how it can transform your design workflow.