Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

Join us
Contact us

What we build

Who it's for

How we engage

Case studies

Industries

Partnerships

About

Writing

Tools

For startups Join us
Contact us
CMS comparison Contentstack vs Squarespace

Contentstack vs Squarespace

Contentstack 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 22.

Book a call
  • Contentstack Headless · Closed source · 17 of 28 built in
  • Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Contentstack 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
Contentstack vs Squarespace feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Contentstack Headless
Squarespace Site builder
Overview
What it is Hosted headless CMS run by Contentstack, sold alongside its AI agent and customer data products. It delivers content 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. Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Contentstack contentstack.com Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Closed source Proprietary
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud No self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, CLI and SDKsHosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plans
Database Managed by ContentstackManaged by Squarespace
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free plan. Growth $299 per month, extra users $25 per user 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 Contentstack CLI. No declarative schema files. 2 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 Modular Blocks fields, plus the Visual Editor for page layout. 12 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 Entry-level localization in over 200 languages. 15 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 Image Delivery API resizes, crops and converts by URL parameter. 3 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 5 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 4 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 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 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. Built in 6 Limited Blog posts only. 9
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in 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 12 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 Visual Editor on every plan. 112 Built in
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Paid tier Custom workflows on Growth and Enterprise. 17 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. Built in Releases deploy grouped entries and assets to an environment. 6 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. Limited Field-level locks and presence. Rolling out in phases with Drafts and Auto Save. 8 Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier 2 custom roles on Growth, 500 on Enterprise. None on Free. 1 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 rules inside custom roles, from Growth. 19 Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Limited SAML 2.0 documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Eligible tiers are not public. Confirm access in the contract. 10 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. Limited Stack and organization logs documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Confirm access and retention in the contract. 11 Not available
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Separate stacks in one organization. Scaling stacks is a Growth and Enterprise option. 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 Developer Hub apps in field, sidebar and dashboard UI locations. 13 Not available
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Contentstack Marketplace. 13 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 Assistant app with Contentstack-managed or your own model keys. 113 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 Official server run locally with npx @contentstack/mcp. 14 Not available The official MCP server covers domain search only. It can't reach site content. 16

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

Where they differ

Contentstack and Squarespace get a different status on 22 of the 28 features and the same status on 6. Contentstack has 17 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
Contentstack has a free option. Squarespace has no free option.

Built in on Contentstack, a different answer on Squarespace 12

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

Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Contentstack 4

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

Built in on neither, with different answers 6

  • Approval workflows Contentstack: Paid tier. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Real-time co-editing Contentstack: Limited. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Custom roles Contentstack: Paid tier. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Contentstack: Paid tier. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Contentstack: Limited. Squarespace: Paid tier.
  • Audit log Contentstack: Limited. Squarespace: Not available.

More comparisons

Contentstack against other platforms

Squarespace against other platforms

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

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead