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CMS comparison Squarespace vs Umbraco

Squarespace vs Umbraco

Squarespace is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. Umbraco is an open-source traditional 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 20.

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  • Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in
  • Umbraco Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Squarespace on 29 Sept 2026, Umbraco 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 Umbraco feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Squarespace Site builder
Umbraco Traditional
Overview
What it is Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting.Open-source .NET CMS that renders sites with Razor or serves content headless. Self-hosted or run on Umbraco Cloud.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release. Version 17.7.0, released 17 Sept 2026
Vendor Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.com Umbraco A/S umbraco.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source MIT
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting Vendor cloud Forms and Deploy are paid add-ons when self-hosted. Umbraco Cloud includes both.
Built with Hosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plansC#, ASP.NET Core on .NET 10, TypeScript backoffice
Database Managed by SquarespaceSQL Server, 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 Free to self-host. Umbraco Cloud Starter €45, Standard €280, Professional €730 per month. Enterprise on request.
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. 23 Plugin or add-on Umbraco Deploy saves document types as .uda files in Git. Paid on-premises, included on Umbraco Cloud. 45
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 Document types are built in the backoffice.
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 Block List and Block Grid editors. 6
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. 45 Built in Culture variants per property.
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 ImageSharp crops and resizes images from query string parameters. 9
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. 16 Built in Content Delivery API. 7
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Not available No official GraphQL. Community package Nikcio.UHeadless adds one. 20
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 8
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 Razor templates.
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
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Limited Blog posts only. 9 Built in 10
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 Built in Rollback compares and restores earlier versions. 11
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
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Built in Not available
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. 811 Plugin or add-on Umbraco Workflow add-on. Its free version is capped at five approval groups. Full use is paid. 1221
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Plugin or add-on Release Sets in a licensed Umbraco Workflow. 13
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 User groups with granular permissions.
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Limited Per-property read and write limits per user group, enforced in the UI only. 14
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. 1718 Built in OpenID Connect providers such as Entra ID, configured in code. 15
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Not available Limited Audit trail per item plus a log viewer. No installation-wide audit screen in core. 16
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 Built in Several root nodes, each with its own domains.
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Not available Built in Backoffice extensions.
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 Umbraco Marketplace.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Built in Form blocks store submissions. 13 Plugin or add-on Umbraco Forms, paid licence. Included on Umbraco Cloud. 217
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. 114 Built in Members, separate from backoffice users.
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. 115 Plugin or add-on Free Umbraco.AI packages add prompts and an editor copilot. 18
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 Umbraco CMS Developer MCP server. 19

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

Where they differ

Squarespace and Umbraco get a different status on 20 of the 28 features and the same status on 8. Squarespace has 9 built in on its baseline edition, Umbraco has 18. 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). Umbraco is open source (MIT).
Self-hosting
Squarespace cannot be self-hosted. Umbraco can be self-hosted.
Free option
Squarespace has no free option. Umbraco has a free option.

Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Umbraco 3

  • Visual editing Squarespace: Built in. Umbraco: Not available.
  • Form builder Squarespace: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Squarespace: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on Umbraco, a different answer on Squarespace 12

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

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Content model in code Squarespace: Limited. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • Approval workflows Squarespace: Limited. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • Content releases Squarespace: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • Field-level permissions Squarespace: Not available. Umbraco: Limited.
  • Audit log Squarespace: Not available. Umbraco: Limited.

More comparisons

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Umbraco against other platforms

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