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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs Squarespace

Craft CMS vs Squarespace

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run 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 18.

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  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS 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
Craft CMS vs Squarespace feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
Squarespace Site builder
Overview
What it is Self-hosted PHP CMS with custom fields and Twig templates. Pixel & Tonic sells licences per project and runs Craft Cloud hosting.Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha. Version 5.11.3, released 18 Sept 2026 Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence. No self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigHosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plans
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLManaged by Squarespace
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Solo free for one user. Team $279, Pro $399 per project, then $99 per year for updates. 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. Built in Project config YAML records sections, entry types and fields for Git. 7 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 6 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 Matrix fields with nested entry types. 8 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 Per-site and per-language field translation on every edition. 61 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 10 Built in Squarespace serves uploaded images in generated sizes.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Element API plugin. 12 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 111 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Webhooks plugin. 13 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. Built in Twig templates. Built in
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 14 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 Post date and expiry date on entries. 15 Limited Blog posts only. 9
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Editors can view and restore revisions. 14 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 1 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. Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 14 Built in
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Plugin or add-on Workflow plugin by Verbb, $49. 16 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. Not available 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. Not available Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Pro. Team allows one user group. Solo has one user. 51 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 Per-field Current User Condition. Rules by user group need Pro. 65 Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier First-party SAML SSO on Enterprise. 13 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. Not available No core log. Craft 5 audit plugins exist but are niche. 20 Not available
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Included on every edition. 19 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 18 Not available
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Built in Squarespace Extensions, a directory of third-party tools. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Formie by Verbb, $99. Pricing page lists forms as plugin-only. 171 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. Paid tier Public registration needs Pro. 5 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. Not available No first-party AI feature. 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. Not available Third-party Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital. 19 Not available The official MCP server covers domain search only. It can't reach site content. 16

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

Where they differ

Craft CMS and Squarespace get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Craft CMS 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.

Self-hosting
Craft CMS can be self-hosted. Squarespace cannot be self-hosted.
Free option
Craft CMS has a free option. Squarespace has no free option.

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on Squarespace 9

  • Content model in code Craft CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Content model in the UI Craft CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Localization Craft CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Plugin or add-on.
  • GraphQL API Craft CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Drafts Craft CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Paid tier.
  • Scheduled publishing Craft CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Version history Craft CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Craft CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Extensible admin UI Craft CMS: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.

Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Craft CMS 4

  • Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. Squarespace: Built in.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. Squarespace: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Craft CMS: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Custom roles Craft CMS: Paid tier. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. Squarespace: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Craft CMS 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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