CMS comparison Squarespace vs Strapi

Squarespace vs Strapi

Squarespace is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. Strapi is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run 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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Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in
Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Squarespace on 29 Sept 2026, Strapi 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

Squarespace vs Strapi feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Squarespace Site builder	Strapi Headless
Overview
What it is	Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting.	Open-source Node.js headless CMS with a visual content-type builder, self-hosted or run on Strapi Cloud. Paid plans add governance features.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated	Strapi 5 CMS, free Community edition with paid Growth and Enterprise plans for self-hosted projects Version 5.55.1, released 24 Sept 2026
Vendor	Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.com	Strapi strapi.io
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Open source MIT
Hosting	No self-hosting Vendor cloud	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan.
Built with	Hosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plans	TypeScript, Node.js, React
Database	Managed by Squarespace	PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Basic $19, Core $29, Plus $49, Advanced $99 per month billed annually in the US. 14-day free trial.	Free to start Community free. Growth $45 per month with 3 seats, then $15 per seat. Cloud from $35 per project per month.
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 Custom post types in template.conf, only with Developer Mode on version 7.0. 2 3	Built in Content types are schema.json files in the project. 19
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Not available Fixed page and collection types. No custom fields in the editor. 2	Built in Content-type Builder works in development mode only. 16
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in Editors add and reorder sections and blocks.	Built in Components and dynamic zones. 2 16
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Plugin or add-on Weglot extension. Without it, editors duplicate pages per language. 4 5	Built in
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Built in Squarespace serves uploaded images in generated sizes.	Built in Generates small, medium and large sizes on upload. No crops on request. 15
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Limited Commerce APIs for products, orders and inventory on Core and up. No API for pages. 1 6	Built in 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Not available	Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Limited Commerce events only, through the Webhook Subscriptions API. 7	Built in 2 18
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Built in	Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Paid tier Page drafts need a Premium or Enterprise plan. Blog posts can be drafts on any plan. 8	Built in Draft & Publish. 2
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Limited Blog posts only. 9	Paid tier Growth plan, by scheduling a Release. 6
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Not available Undo and redo within an editing session only. 10	Paid tier Content History keeps 14 days on Growth, 30 to 90 days on Enterprise. 7
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in Editing happens on the rendered page.	Built in Basic preview is free. Side-by-side Live Preview needs Growth. 5
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it.	Built in	Paid tier On Growth, editors double-click content in Live Preview to edit it. 5
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Limited Enterprise Draft editor role drafts pages for an admin to publish. No custom stages. 8 11	Paid tier Review Workflows on Enterprise. 9
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Not available	Paid tier Releases on Growth and Enterprise. 6
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.	Not available Fixed contributor permission types. 11	Built in Unlimited admin roles on Community. 2 8
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Not available	Built in 8
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Paid tier Premium and Enterprise plans. OpenID Connect through Entra ID, SAML through Google. 17 18	Paid tier Enterprise, or a $150 per month add-on on Growth. 2 11
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Not available	Paid tier Enterprise plan. 10
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Limited Each site needs its own plan. Enterprise teams manage several sites from one account. 11	Not available
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Not available	Built in 20
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in Squarespace Extensions, a directory of third-party tools. 12	Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Built in Form blocks store submissions. 13	Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Built in Customer accounts on all plans. Member sites for gated content. 1 14	Built in Users & Permissions feature for end users. 17
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Built in Squarespace AI writer. Monthly AI credits vary by plan. 1 15	Paid tier AI translation and image alt text on Growth. Not yet available on Enterprise. 2 12
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Not available The official MCP server covers domain search only. It can't reach site content. 16	Built in Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13

Squarespace sources

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

Strapi sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Strapi 5 CMS, free Community edition with paid Growth and Enterprise plans for self-hosted projects.

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

Where they differ

Squarespace and Strapi get a different status on 21 of the 28 features and the same status on 7. Squarespace has 9 built in on its baseline edition, Strapi has 15. 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: Squarespace is closed source (Proprietary). Strapi is open source (MIT).
Self-hosting: Squarespace cannot be self-hosted. Strapi can be self-hosted.
Free option: Squarespace has no free option. Strapi has a free option.

Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Strapi 4

Renders the website Squarespace: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
Visual editing Squarespace: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Form builder Squarespace: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
AI writing assistant Squarespace: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.

Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Squarespace 10

Content model in code Squarespace: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
Content model in the UI Squarespace: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
Localization Squarespace: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Built in.
REST API Squarespace: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
Webhooks Squarespace: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
Drafts Squarespace: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
Custom roles Squarespace: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
Field-level permissions Squarespace: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
Extensible admin UI Squarespace: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
Official MCP server Squarespace: Not available. Strapi: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 7

GraphQL API Squarespace: Not available. Strapi: Plugin or add-on.
Scheduled publishing Squarespace: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
Version history Squarespace: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
Approval workflows Squarespace: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
Content releases Squarespace: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
Audit log Squarespace: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
Multiple sites Squarespace: Limited. Strapi: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Squarespace against other platforms

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