Webflow vs Squarespace: Which One is Better in 2025?

When it comes to building websites, Webflow and Squarespace are two popular choices. Both offer robust features but serve different needs. In this article, we'll compare their key features, pricing, limitations, and user reviews to help you make an informed decision.

Webflow: Overview and Key Features

Webflow is a versatile website builder known for its advanced design capabilities and flexibility in custom coding.

• Visual Design Tools: Webflow lets users create professional-grade websites visually. Its interface allows detailed customization of HTML, CSS, and even animations without writing code.
• Custom Interactions and Animations: A standout feature is Webflow's ability to create complex interactions and animations visually. This can elevate the look of your site beyond basic templates.
• CMS (Content Management System): Webflow's integrated CMS allows easy creation, editing, and management of dynamic content. It's especially useful for blogs, portfolios, and news sites.
• Hosting and Performance: Webflow provides secure, reliable hosting with built-in security features, SSL certificates, and excellent load speeds. It leverages AWS infrastructure for reliability.
• E-commerce Capabilities: Though initially focused on websites, Webflow has robust e-commerce functionality, suitable for small to medium-sized online stores. It supports custom checkout pages, product variants, and inventory tracking.
• SEO Optimization: Webflow includes built-in SEO controls, enabling customization of meta descriptions, titles, URLs, and structured data directly within the visual editor.
• Code Export Option: Webflow uniquely allows users to export clean, semantic HTML/CSS code, giving designers and developers additional flexibility.

Webflow's Reviews

Overall, user feedback on Webflow highlights its powerful design capabilities and flexibility, though some users find it challenging to learn and expensive.

• G2: 4.4/5

• Darya K. (Small-Business, 50 or fewer employees): 5/5 - "Webflow is my perfect tool for work. I like the fact that there are virtually no limits in Webflow. I can do anything as a designer and get a good result."
• Verified User (Mid-Market, 51-1000 employees): 4.5/5 - "Mostly very intuitive way to manage a website. No need to know HTML and like the online help."
• Regie F. (Small-Business, 50 or fewer employees): 5/5 - "Webflow enables users to build professional websites even when they do not possess programming skills through its effective platform. Easy to manage."
• Leon B. (Design Lead, Mid-Market, 51-1000 employees): 4/5 - "Great platform — enabler of productivity and design success, sometimes unreliable pricing."
• Fernando C. (Webflow Engineer, Mid-Market, 51-1000 employees): 4/5 - "A Powerful Tool for Building Modern Websites. Webflow is an excellent platform for quickly building layouts and UI without sacrificing design control."

Positive Aspects:

• High design flexibility and customization
• Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
• Comprehensive features for web design and management
• Strong support and active community
• Effective SEO tools and integrations

Common Concerns:

• Steep learning curve for beginners
• High cost and confusing pricing structure
• Some missing or underdeveloped features
• Limited support for non-enterprise customers
• Performance issues with large or complex projects

Squarespace: Overview and Key Features

Squarespace is a popular website builder known for its user-friendly interface and elegant design templates.

• 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.
• Drag-and-Drop Editor: The platform features an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, making it easy for users to add and arrange elements like text, images, and videos without any coding knowledge.
• Integrated E-commerce: Squarespace supports e-commerce functionality, including product management, inventory tracking, and custom checkout pages. It also integrates with payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe.
• SEO Tools: Squarespace includes built-in SEO tools such as customizable meta tags, clean URLs, and automatic sitemaps. These features help improve search engine rankings and drive organic traffic.
• Blogging Platform: Squarespace provides a robust blogging platform with features like post scheduling, multiple author support, and social media integration. This makes it ideal for content creators and businesses alike.
• Analytics: The platform offers built-in analytics to track website performance. Users can monitor metrics like page views, traffic sources, and visitor behavior to make informed decisions.
• Customer Support: Squarespace provides 24/7 customer support through live chat and email. The platform also has an extensive knowledge base and community forums for additional help.

Squarespace's Reviews

Overall user feedback on Squarespace highlights its ease of use and beautiful templates, but also notes some limitations in customization and support.

• G2: 4.4/5

• Jerry M. (Mid-Market, 51-1000 employees): 4.5/5 - "Creating a Beautiful and Functional Blog. Scalability and ease of growing online presence; issues with updates and new features."
• Mirjam H. (Small-Business, 50 or fewer employees): 5/5 - "Squarespace - Ultimate solution for your online business. User-friendly interface, excellent customer support, minor issues with version updates."
• Verified User (Small-Business, 50 or fewer employees): 5/5 - "Best Customer Service - Hands Down! Beautiful templates, excellent live chat support."
• Lena R. (Small-Business, 50 or fewer employees): 4.5/5 - "This non-techie built an e-commerce website in 3 days. Easy to use, great templates, issues with company font and some integrations."
• Dawid P. (Small-Business, 50 or fewer employees): 1/5 - "The site is buggy and customer support not helpful. Ease of setup, but significant issues with bugs and poor customer support."

Positive Aspects:

• Ease of use
• Beautiful and professional templates
• Intuitive design tools
• Scalability
• Good customer support, especially live chat

Common Concerns:

• Limited customization options
• Poor customer support in some cases
• Infrequent updates and new features
• Problems with domain and email services
• Some design limitations

Feature Comparison: Webflow vs. Squarespace

Similarities

Despite targeting slightly different audiences, Webflow and Squarespace share some important similarities:

• User-friendly Interfaces: Both platforms offer visual, drag-and-drop interfaces, allowing non-developers to build and manage professional-looking sites.
• Hosted Platforms: Both provide secure, managed hosting, eliminating the need for server maintenance, security, or performance optimization.
• E-commerce Functionality: Each platform supports online selling, including features for inventory management, payments, product variants, and shipping.
• SEO and Marketing Features: Both offer built-in SEO tools, customizable metadata, URL structures, and integrations with external marketing platforms to drive traffic and conversions.
• Extensibility: Webflow and Squarespace both allow additional functionality through third-party integrations and custom code.
• Customer Support: Each platform provides robust customer support, including live chat and extensive knowledge bases.

Differences

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

• Design and Customization: Webflow offers extensive design freedom, allowing users to control HTML, CSS, and JavaScript visually. Squarespace provides customizable templates but limits advanced design changes without custom code.
• Content Management: Webflow includes a robust CMS for dynamic content management, suitable for blogs and news sites. Squarespace focuses on static content with simpler content management tools.
• Code Export: Webflow allows users to export clean, semantic HTML/CSS code for use outside the platform. Squarespace does not offer a code export feature.
• Learning Resources: Webflow provides extensive educational resources through Webflow University, offering free courses on web design and development. Squarespace offers help videos, webinars, and a Help Center but lacks a dedicated educational platform.
• Advanced Interactions: Webflow supports creating complex interactions and animations visually. Squarespace offers basic animation options but lacks advanced interaction capabilities.

Pricing Comparison: Webflow vs. Squarespace

Webflow Pricing

Webflow offers a variety of pricing plans tailored to different needs, from personal websites to large-scale e-commerce platforms.

• General Site Plans:
• Starter: Free - Includes a Webflow.io domain, 2 pages, 20 CMS collections, 50 CMS items, 50 form submissions (lifetime), and 1 GB bandwidth.
• Basic: $14/month (billed yearly) - Offers a custom domain, 150 pages, unlimited form submissions, 10 GB bandwidth, and surge protection.
• CMS: $23/month (billed yearly) - Adds 20 CMS collections, 2,000 CMS items, 50 GB bandwidth, 3 legacy Editor users, and site search.
• Business: $39/month (billed yearly) - Expands to 300 pages, 40 CMS collections, up to 20,000 CMS items, 500 GB bandwidth, 10 legacy Editor users, site search, and form file upload.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing - Includes advanced collaboration, guaranteed SLA, enterprise security, customer success, and enterprise support. Contact sales for details.
• Ecommerce Site Plans:
• Standard: $29/month (billed yearly) - Features 500 ecommerce items, 2,000 CMS items, a 2% transaction fee, and all CMS plan features.
• Plus: $74/month (billed yearly) - Offers 5,000 ecommerce items, 10,000 CMS items, 0% transaction fee, $200K annual sales volume, and all Business plan features.
• Advanced: $212/month (billed yearly) - Includes 15,000 ecommerce items, 10,000 CMS items, 0% transaction fee, and all Business plan features.
• Workspace Plans:
• Starter: Free - Provides unlimited paid hosted sites, 2 webflow.io staging sites, 2 pages per staged site, 50 CMS items per staged site, 1 full seat, and 2 Agency/Freelancer guests.
• Core: $19/month (billed yearly) - Adds 10 webflow.io staging sites, 300 pages per staged site, custom code, 1 full seat, 2 Agency/Freelancer guests, and code export.
• Growth: $49/month (billed yearly) - Offers unlimited staging sites, site password protection, 301 redirects, site-specific access, site-level roles, publishing permissions, shared libraries, and all Core plan features.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing - Includes enterprise-ready scale, advanced collaboration, guaranteed SLA, enterprise security, customer success, and enterprise support. Contact sales for details.

Squarespace' Pricing

Squarespace offers a range of pricing plans designed to meet different needs, from personal websites to online stores.

• Personal: $16/month (billed annually) - Includes a free custom domain, SSL security, unlimited bandwidth and storage, and SEO features.
• Business: $23/month (billed annually) - Adds professional email from Google, premium integrations and blocks, complete customization with CSS and JavaScript, and a 3% transaction fee on sales.
• Basic Commerce: $27/month (billed annually) - Removes transaction fees, adds customer accounts, and includes powerful e-commerce analytics.
• Advanced Commerce: $49/month (billed annually) - Includes all Basic Commerce features plus advanced shipping, abandoned cart recovery, and subscriptions.

Subframe, a Better Alternative to Webflow and Squarespace

Subframe is a visual UI design tool that syncs with code in real-time. We offer a drag-and-drop editor that lets you create pixel-perfect, responsive layouts effortlessly. Our platform generates clean, production-ready React and Tailwind code, making the design-to-development process seamless and fast.

Subframe's Features

Subframe is a visual UI design tool that syncs with code in real-time, offering a seamless design-to-development process.

• 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-Powered Design: Subframe's AI capabilities adapt to your designs, providing intelligent suggestions and automating repetitive tasks to enhance productivity.

Subframe's Pricing

Subframe offers flexible pricing options to suit different needs:

• Free: $0 per user/month - Includes 1 project, up to 3 page designs, up to 3 team members, 100s of UI templates, and limited AI features.
• Pro: $29 per user/month - Includes up to 3 projects, unlimited page designs, unlimited team members, custom components, 100s of UI templates, and full AI beta access.
• Custom: "Let's talk" - Includes unlimited projects, unlimited page designs, integration of your components, dedicated Slack support, Figma plugin, and unlimited AI.

For more details, visit our pricing page. Ready to see Subframe in action? Book a demo today!

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

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

Webflow excels in offering extensive design freedom and advanced interactions, making it ideal for designers who want detailed control over HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Squarespace stands out for its user-friendly interface and beautiful templates, perfect for those who prioritize ease of use and elegant design without needing advanced customization.

Subframe seamlessly integrates design and code, providing a unique blend of visual design tools and production-ready React and Tailwind code. This makes it the best choice for those seeking both design flexibility and efficient code generation in a single platform.

If you prioritize advanced design capabilities, Webflow is a great fit; for ease of use and beautiful templates, Squarespace may be the better choice. But for those looking for a seamless design-to-development process with real-time code synchronization, Subframe stands out.

Get started on Subframe for free and see how it can streamline your workflow.