Keystone vs Squarespace
Keystone is an open-source headless CMS that you host yourself. 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 20.
- Keystone Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
- Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Keystone 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
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| What it is | Open-source Node.js headless CMS from Thinkmill that generates a GraphQL API and an admin UI from a TypeScript schema. | Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package Version 8.1.0, released 31 Aug 2026 | Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Thinkmill keystonejs.com | Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.com |
| Licence | Open source MIT | Closed source Proprietary |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. Thinkmill offers enterprise support. | No self-hosting Vendor cloud |
| Built with | TypeScript, Node.js, GraphQL, Prisma, Next.js for the admin UI | Hosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plans |
| Database | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite | Managed by Squarespace |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free and open source. Enterprise support from Thinkmill 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 Lists and fields are TypeScript config. 4 | 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. | Not available | 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 Component blocks inside the document field. 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. | Not available No locale support documented. Model translations yourself. 12 | 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. | Not available Image field stores originals. The Cloudinary field hands resizing to Cloudinary. 711 | Built in Squarespace serves uploaded images in generated sizes. |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Not available GraphQL only. Custom REST routes through extendExpressApp. 4 | 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 | Not available |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Not available No webhook settings. Call URLs from hooks in code. 10 | 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. | Not available | 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. | Not available | Limited Blog posts only. 9 |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Not available | 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. | Not available | 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. | Not available | Built in |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Not available | 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. | Limited Roles are access-control functions written in code. No role editor in the admin. 5 | Not available Fixed contributor permission types. 11 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Built in Field-level access control. 5 | Not available |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Not available The auth package covers password login. SSO means custom session code. 6 | 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 | Not available |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available | 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 Custom admin pages, navigation and field views. 9 | Not available |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Not available | 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. | Built in createAuth works on any list, including site users. 6 | 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 | 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 | Not available The official MCP server covers domain search only. It can't reach site content. 16 |
Keystone sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package.
- @keystone-6/core on the npm registry
- Keystone releases on GitHub
- Keystone homepage
- Keystone docs: System configuration
- Keystone docs: Access control
- Keystone docs: Authentication
- Keystone docs: Image field
- Keystone docs: Document field demo
- Keystone docs: Custom admin UI pages
- Keystone docs: Hooks guide
- Keystone docs: Cloudinary image field
- Keystone documentation index (llms.txt)
Squarespace sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Squarespace website plans on version 7.1.
- Squarespace pricing
- Squarespace Developer Platform: Custom Post Types
- Squarespace Developer Platform FAQ
- Manually creating a multilingual site
- Creating a multilingual site with Weglot
- Squarespace Commerce APIs overview
- Squarespace webhooks overview
- Drafting pages (Premium and Enterprise)
- Scheduling blog posts
- Using undo and redo in Squarespace
- Contributor roles and permissions
- Squarespace Extensions
- Form blocks
- Member Sites
- Using Squarespace AI
- Overview of the Squarespace MCP server
- Logging in with single sign-on through Microsoft Entra ID (Premium & Enterprise)
- Logging in with single sign-on through Google (Premium & Enterprise)
Considering more platforms? Compare Keystone and Squarespace with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Keystone and Squarespace get a different status on 20 of the 28 features and the same status on 8. Keystone has 6 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.
- Licence
- Keystone is open source (MIT). Squarespace is closed source (Proprietary).
- Self-hosting
- Keystone can be self-hosted. Squarespace cannot be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Keystone has no vendor-run cloud. Squarespace has a vendor-run cloud.
- Free option
- Keystone has a free option. Squarespace has no free option.
Built in on Keystone, a different answer on Squarespace 4
- Content model in code Keystone: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
- GraphQL API Keystone: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
- Field-level permissions Keystone: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
- Extensible admin UI Keystone: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Keystone 7
- Image transformations Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
- Renders the website Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
- Preview Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
- Visual editing Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
- Plugin marketplace Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
- Form builder Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
- AI writing assistant Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 9
- Localization Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Plugin or add-on.
- REST API Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
- Webhooks Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
- Drafts Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Paid tier.
- Scheduled publishing Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
- Approval workflows Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
- Custom roles Keystone: Limited. Squarespace: Not available.
- Single sign-on Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Paid tier.
- Multiple sites Keystone: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
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Squarespace against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Squarespace
- Contentful vs Squarespace
- Contentstack vs Squarespace
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Squarespace
- Craft CMS vs Squarespace
- DatoCMS vs Squarespace
- Decap CMS vs Squarespace
- Directus vs Squarespace
- Drupal vs Squarespace
- EmDash vs Squarespace
- FirstSpirit vs Squarespace
- Framer vs Squarespace
- Ghost vs Squarespace
- HubSpot CMS vs Squarespace
- Hygraph vs Squarespace
- Instatic vs Squarespace
- Joomla vs Squarespace
- Kirby vs Squarespace
- Liferay DXP vs Squarespace
- Optimizely CMS vs Squarespace
- Squarespace vs Payload
- Prismic vs Squarespace
- Progress Sitefinity vs Squarespace
- Sanity vs Squarespace
- Sitecore vs Squarespace
- Squarespace vs Statamic
- Squarespace vs Storyblok
- Squarespace vs Strapi
- Squarespace vs TYPO3
- Squarespace vs Umbraco
- Squarespace vs Wagtail
- Squarespace vs Webflow
- Squarespace vs Wix
- Squarespace vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Squarespace
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