CMS comparison Liferay DXP vs Squarespace

Liferay DXP vs Squarespace

Liferay DXP is a closed-source enterprise DXP 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 17.

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Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 26 of 28 built in
Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Liferay DXP 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

Liferay DXP vs Squarespace feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP	Squarespace Site builder
Overview
What it is	Java platform for websites, portals and commerce, with a new object-based CMS. Self-hosted or run by Liferay as PaaS or SaaS.	Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1. Version 2026.q3.5, released 25 Sept 2026	Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor	Liferay, Inc. liferay.com	Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary, under the Liferay EULA. Free Tier activation key at no cost	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Free Tier suits smaller-scale use and gets no security patches, SAML or AI Hub.	No self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with	Java, OSGi, React	Hosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plans
Database	MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, IBM Db2	Managed by Squarespace
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	Free to start Free Tier at no cost for smaller-scale use. Enterprise Subscription per server instance, price 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 Definitions export to JSON and deploy from the repo as batch client extensions. 7	Limited Custom post types in template.conf, only with Developer Mode on version 7.0. 2 3
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Built in Objects and web content structures. 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 Fragments on content pages. 11	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	Plugin or add-on Weglot extension. Without it, editors duplicate pages per language. 4 5
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Built in Adaptive Media generates set image resolutions. 8	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 Headless REST APIs. 9	Limited Commerce APIs for products, orders and inventory on Core and up. No API for pages. 1 6
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in 9	Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Built in Object actions call a webhook on add, update or delete. 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.	Built in	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 Display and expiration dates.	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	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 Inline editing in the content page editor. 11	Built in
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in Kaleo workflow, also included in the Free Tier. 3	Limited Enterprise Draft editor role drafts pages for an admin to publish. No custom stages. 8 11
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Built in Publications group changes and publish them together. 12	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 A page locks while one editor has it open. 13	Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in	Not available Fixed contributor permission types. 11
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Not available Permissions apply per object, entry or asset. 14	Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Built in SAML and OpenID Connect. The Free Tier lacks SAML. 3 15	Paid tier Premium and Enterprise plans. OpenID Connect through Entra ID, SAML through Google. 17 18
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Built in Audit framework with search and export of events. 16	Not available
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Built in	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 Client extensions. 7	Not available
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in Liferay Marketplace. 17	Built in Squarespace Extensions, a directory of third-party tools. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Built in Liferay Forms.	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	Built in Customer accounts on all plans. Member sites for gated content. 1 14
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Built in AI Hub writing tools in the new CMS. Not in the Free Tier. 4 18	Built in Squarespace AI writer. Monthly AI credits vary by plan. 1 15
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Built in Built-in MCP server released in 2026.Q3, switched on by feature flag. 19	Not available The official MCP server covers domain search only. It can't reach site content. 16

Liferay DXP sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1..

Squarespace sources

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

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

Where they differ

Liferay DXP and Squarespace get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Liferay DXP has 26 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: Liferay DXP can be self-hosted. Squarespace cannot be self-hosted.
Free option: Liferay DXP has a free option. Squarespace has no free option.

Built in on Liferay DXP, a different answer on Squarespace 17

Content model in code Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
Content model in the UI Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
Localization Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Plugin or add-on.
REST API Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
GraphQL API Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
Webhooks Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
Drafts Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Paid tier.
Scheduled publishing Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
Version history Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
Approval workflows Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
Content releases Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
Custom roles Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
Single sign-on Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Paid tier.
Audit log Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
Multiple sites Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
Extensible admin UI Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
Official MCP server Liferay DXP: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.

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