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CMS comparison Contentful vs Squarespace

Contentful vs Squarespace

Contentful is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Squarespace is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 21.

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  • Contentful Headless · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentful on 29 Sept 2026, Squarespace on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.

WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.

Feature comparison

Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available
Contentful vs Squarespace feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Contentful Headless
Squarespace Site builder
Overview
What it is Hosted headless CMS run by Contentful. Contentful stores content in its cloud and delivers it over REST and GraphQL APIs.Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Contentful Platform SaaS, Free, Lite and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Salesforce (acquired Contentful in September 2026) contentful.com Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Closed source Proprietary
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Runs only in Contentful's cloud. The local MCP server and SDKs are open source. No self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, SDKs for JavaScript and other languagesHosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plans
Database Managed by ContentfulManaged by Squarespace
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free plan. Lite $300 per month. Extra Lite Space $850 per month. Enterprise on request. No free option Basic $19, Core $29, Plus $49, Advanced $99 per month billed annually in the US. 14-day free trial.
Content modelling
Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited. Limited Migration scripts run by the Contentful CLI change the model. No declarative schema files. 3 Limited Custom post types in template.conf, only with Developer Mode on version 7.0. 23
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 1 Not available Fixed page and collection types. No custom fields in the editor. 2
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Reorderable reference fields to typed entries. Studio page building is Enterprise. 1 Built in Editors add and reorder sections and blocks.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in 2 locales on Free, 3 on Lite, custom on Enterprise. 1 Plugin or add-on Weglot extension. Without it, editors duplicate pages per language. 45
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Images API resizes, crops and converts by URL parameter. 4 Built in Squarespace serves uploaded images in generated sizes.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in 1 Limited Commerce APIs for products, orders and inventory on Core and up. No API for pages. 16
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 5 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 1 Limited Commerce events only, through the Webhook Subscriptions API. 7
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Not available Built in
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 1 Paid tier Page drafts need a Premium or Enterprise plan. Blog posts can be drafts on any plan. 8
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Lite and Enterprise. 1 Limited Blog posts only. 9
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in 1 Not available Undo and redo within an editing session only. 10
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 6 Built in Editing happens on the rendered page.
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Built in Live preview inspector mode opens the field next to the page. Needs the live preview SDK. 6 Built in
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Paid tier Not on the Starter Space. Up to 5 on a Lite Space at $850 a month, custom on Enterprise. 1 Limited Enterprise Draft editor role drafts pages for an admin to publish. No custom stages. 811
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Plugin or add-on Launch is available on Lite and Enterprise plan families, but requires Contentful admin support to purchase and install. 78 Not available
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live. Paid tier Live collaboration on Lite and Enterprise, with per-field presence avatars. 113 Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Premium plans, sold as Enterprise. Free has 2 fixed roles, Lite 3. 19 Not available Fixed contributor permission types. 11
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Paid tier Field and locale rules in custom roles. Premium plans only, sold as Enterprise. 10 Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier SAML 2.0 SSO on Premium plans, sold as Enterprise. 11 Paid tier Premium and Enterprise plans. OpenID Connect through Entra ID, SAML through Google. 1718
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Paid tier Audit logs on selected Enterprise plans, by sales agreement. 12 Not available
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Paid tier One Starter Space on Free and Lite, plus one paid Lite Space. Multiple spaces on Enterprise. 1 Limited Each site needs its own plan. Enterprise teams manage several sites from one account. 11
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in App Framework for custom field, sidebar, entry and page apps. 14 Not available
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Contentful Marketplace. 15 Built in Squarespace Extensions, a directory of third-party tools. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Built in Form blocks store submissions. 13
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Built in Customer accounts on all plans. Member sites for gated content. 114
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Plugin or add-on Official AI Content Generator app with your own OpenAI key. AI Actions need Enterprise. 115 Built in Squarespace AI writer. Monthly AI credits vary by plan. 115
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Built in Hosted beta server at mcp.contentful.com and an open-source local server. 16 Not available The official MCP server covers domain search only. It can't reach site content. 16

Contentful sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Contentful Platform SaaS, Free, Lite and Enterprise plans.

  1. Contentful pricing
  2. Salesforce signs definitive agreement to acquire Contentful
  3. contentful-migration on GitHub
  4. Contentful docs: Images
  5. Contentful docs: GraphQL Content API
  6. Contentful docs: Live preview
  7. Contentful Marketplace: Launch
  8. Contentful Help Center: Launch
  9. Contentful Help Center: Create a custom role
  10. Contentful Help Center: Content permissions
  11. Contentful Help Center: Single sign-on (SSO)
  12. Contentful docs: Set up audit logs
  13. Contentful Help Center: The entry editor
  14. Contentful docs: Create a custom app
  15. Contentful Marketplace: AI Content Generator
  16. Contentful docs: MCP server
  17. MarketScreener (S&P Capital IQ): Salesforce completed the acquisition of Contentful on September 1, 2026

Squarespace sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Squarespace website plans on version 7.1.

  1. Squarespace pricing
  2. Squarespace Developer Platform: Custom Post Types
  3. Squarespace Developer Platform FAQ
  4. Manually creating a multilingual site
  5. Creating a multilingual site with Weglot
  6. Squarespace Commerce APIs overview
  7. Squarespace webhooks overview
  8. Drafting pages (Premium and Enterprise)
  9. Scheduling blog posts
  10. Using undo and redo in Squarespace
  11. Contributor roles and permissions
  12. Squarespace Extensions
  13. Form blocks
  14. Member Sites
  15. Using Squarespace AI
  16. Overview of the Squarespace MCP server
  17. Logging in with single sign-on through Microsoft Entra ID (Premium & Enterprise)
  18. Logging in with single sign-on through Google (Premium & Enterprise)

Considering more platforms? Compare Contentful and Squarespace with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Contentful and Squarespace get a different status on 21 of the 28 features and the same status on 7. Contentful has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Squarespace has 9. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Free option
Contentful has a free option. Squarespace has no free option.

Built in on Contentful, a different answer on Squarespace 9

  • Content model in the UI Contentful: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Localization Contentful: Built in. Squarespace: Plugin or add-on.
  • REST API Contentful: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • GraphQL API Contentful: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Webhooks Contentful: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Drafts Contentful: Built in. Squarespace: Paid tier.
  • Version history Contentful: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Extensible admin UI Contentful: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Official MCP server Contentful: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.

Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Contentful 4

  • Renders the website Contentful: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
  • Form builder Contentful: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Contentful: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Contentful: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 8

  • Scheduled publishing Contentful: Paid tier. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Contentful: Paid tier. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Content releases Contentful: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Real-time co-editing Contentful: Paid tier. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Custom roles Contentful: Paid tier. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Contentful: Paid tier. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Audit log Contentful: Paid tier. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Contentful: Paid tier. Squarespace: Limited.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Contentful vs Payload.

Contentful against other platforms

Squarespace against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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