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CMS comparison Squarespace vs Wagtail

Squarespace vs Wagtail

Squarespace is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. Wagtail is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 19.

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

Sources checked: Squarespace on 29 Sept 2026, Wagtail 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 Wagtail feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Squarespace Site builder
Wagtail Traditional
Overview
What it is Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting.Open-source CMS built on Django. Content types are Python models, and you host it yourself on any Python stack.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026
Vendor Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.com Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source BSD-3-Clause
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app.
Built with Hosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plansPython, Django
Database Managed by SquarespacePostgreSQL, 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 Free and open source. No licence fee.
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 Built in Page and snippet types are Django models. 2
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 Not available Developers define content types in Python only.
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 StreamField blocks. 2
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 Core i18n with simple_translation. The wagtail-localize package adds a translation workflow. 3
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 Renditions with resize, crop and format filters. 4
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 Read-only v2 API. Writable v3 API in preview since 8.0. 51
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Plugin or add-on wagtail-grapple, maintained by Torchbox. 6
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 Not available Django signals such as page_published. No webhook settings. 18
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. 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 Go-live and expiry dates. 7
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 Editors can compare and revert revisions. 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 20
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Built in Limited Preview panel beside the edit form. No click-to-edit on the page. 20
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 Built in Moderation workflows with tasks assigned to groups. 8
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 Concurrent editing notifications warn editors. No live co-editing. 12
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 Groups with page, collection and model permissions. 9
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Built in Set in code with the permission argument on panels. 10
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 Plugin or add-on django-allauth supports SAML and OpenID Connect. 19
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Not available Built in Site-wide history report of logged actions. 11
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 sites in one installation with shared users. 9
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Not available Built in Hooks, viewsets and custom panels.
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 Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Built in Form blocks store submissions. 13 Built in wagtail.contrib.forms form builder. 13
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 Limited Login for private pages is built in. Public sign-up needs a package such as django-allauth. 14
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 Wagtail AI, an officially supported package. 15
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 Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16

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

Where they differ

Squarespace and Wagtail get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Squarespace has 9 built in on its baseline edition, Wagtail 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). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
Self-hosting
Squarespace cannot be self-hosted. Wagtail can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Squarespace has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Squarespace has no free option. Wagtail has a free option.

Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Wagtail 3

  • Visual editing Squarespace: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
  • Site member accounts Squarespace: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
  • AI writing assistant Squarespace: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on Squarespace 12

  • Content model in code Squarespace: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Localization Squarespace: Plugin or add-on. Wagtail: Built in.
  • REST API Squarespace: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Drafts Squarespace: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Squarespace: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Version history Squarespace: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Squarespace: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Custom roles Squarespace: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Squarespace: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Audit log Squarespace: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Squarespace: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Extensible admin UI Squarespace: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • GraphQL API Squarespace: Not available. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Squarespace: Limited. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Squarespace: Paid tier. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server Squarespace: Not available. Wagtail: Limited.

More comparisons

Squarespace against other platforms

Wagtail against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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