Wix vs Squarespace vs WordPress: which should you build on?
Three very different ways to get a small business online. Here's what each costs in Australia, what it's like to use and what happens when you want to leave.
Pick Squarespace if you want a site that looks polished with the least fiddling. Pick Wix if you want to drag things exactly where you like. Pick WordPress if you expect the site to grow, you want to own it outright or you might hand it to a designer one day. That's the short version of Wix vs Squarespace vs WordPress. The longer version depends on one thing most comparisons skip: what happens when you want to leave.
Here's how the three stack up for an Australian small business, using prices from their own pricing pages.
The quick comparison
| Platform | Starts at | Can you move it? |
|---|---|---|
| Wix | $17.77 a month billed yearly, inc GST (Light) | No. The site can't be exported to another host. |
| Squarespace | A$17 a month billed yearly, A$24 month to month (Basic) | Partly. Some pages and one blog export, in a format meant for WordPress. |
| WordPress | The software is free. You pay for hosting. | Yes. Files and database copy to any host that runs WordPress. |
Wix's price is from its plan page on 2 October 2026, when a sale was running on the higher plans. Squarespace's is from 3 October 2026. Both change with promotions, so check on the day.
Wix: the most freedom on the page
Wix lets you put almost anything almost anywhere. Grab a block, drop it where you want it, done. If you've got a clear picture of how your site should look and you enjoy getting it pixel-perfect, that freedom feels great.
It cuts both ways, though. Because nothing snaps into a tidy grid, it's easy to end up with a page that looks fine on your laptop and a little off on a phone. You'll want to check the mobile view as you go, not at the end.
The bigger catch is portability. Wix's own help centre says a Wix site can't be exported to another host. Your domain can move. The design and the pages you built stay with Wix.
On price, the Light plan was $17.77 a month and Core $29.77 a month, both billed yearly with GST included. Core is the first plan that lists ecommerce, so if you want to sell online, that's your real starting point.
Squarespace: the best-looking start
Squarespace templates are designed to look good before you touch them. The editor is more structured than Wix: you work in sections and blocks that line up, so it's harder to make a mess. For a cafe, a studio or anyone whose work is visual, it's often the fastest route to something that looks professional.
The trade-off is less control. If you want a layout the template wasn't built for, you'll hit walls sooner than you would on Wix or WordPress.
Pricing is shown in Australian dollars. Basic was A$17 a month billed yearly or A$24 month to month, with a 2% fee on online store sales. Core was A$28 billed yearly or A$39 month to month, with no store transaction fee. If you'll sell much online, that 2% on Basic adds up quickly. On $3,000 of sales a month it's $60, more than the gap between the two plans.
Leaving is easier than Wix but still messy. Squarespace's export guide says you get an XML file built for importing into WordPress. It covers layout pages and one blog. Store pages, product blocks, video blocks, custom CSS and more than one blog don't come across. In practice you keep your words and some images, then rebuild the design.
WordPress: the one you actually own
WordPress isn't a single company's product in the same way. It's free, open-source software that runs on almost any web host. That's why so many web designers build on it. You can start simple, add a shop or a booking system later and move the whole site to a different host if you're unhappy.
Watch the name, because there are two. WordPress.org is the free software you install on hosting you choose. WordPress.com is a hosted service built on that software, which works more like Wix or Squarespace. When people say "build it on WordPress", they usually mean the first.
The price of that freedom is responsibility. Someone has to choose decent hosting, keep WordPress and its plugins updated and make sure backups are actually being taken. Plugins are what make WordPress so flexible. Out-of-date plugins are also one of the usual ways sites get hacked. If nobody's doing that job, WordPress is the riskiest of the three, not the safest.
The cost is whatever you pay for hosting, plus any paid themes or plugins you choose. Our guide to what web hosting costs in Australia has real prices from hosts selling here.
Wix vs Squarespace: head to head
Close on price at the entry level. Squarespace gives you a better-looking result with less effort and A$ prices on the page. Wix gives you more freedom to break out of the template. If you'll sell online, compare the store plans rather than the cheapest ones: Squarespace Basic charges 2% on sales and Wix's cheapest ecommerce plan is Core, not Light. And whichever you pick, you're renting the design. Neither lets you pick up the finished site and take it elsewhere.
Wix vs WordPress: head to head
This is really a question about how long you plan to keep the site. Wix is quicker to get live and needs no maintenance from you. WordPress takes more setting up and needs looking after, but it grows with the business and it's yours to move. If you're testing an idea or need something online this month, Wix is hard to beat. If the website is going to be how customers find you for the next five years, WordPress usually pays for the extra setup.
Four questions that decide it
- Will you sell online? Then compare the store plans and their fees, not the cheapest plan.
- Who's going to update it? If the honest answer is nobody, a hosted builder or managed WordPress hosting beats a cheap WordPress install left alone.
- Do you want to rank for several services or suburbs? All three can do the basics for Google. WordPress gives you the most room to build out a page for each one.
- What happens in two years? If there's a real chance you'll want a designer to rebuild it, start on something they can move.
Still weighing up whether to do it yourself at all? Our comparison of website builders and web designers covers the time it really takes.
Where we fit
Our build it yourself plan is WordPress with a drag-and-drop editor, so it feels closer to Wix or Squarespace than to a blank WordPress install. It's $199 to set up, then $25 a month inc GST. A person connects your domain, sets up the SSL certificate, gives you a starting layout and tests your contact form before handing it over. Backups run every day and are kept for 30 days. Because it's WordPress, the site isn't locked to us.
Rather have it built for you? Our WordPress websites are designed for your business and sit on the same hosting. And if you already have a site on any of the three, the free website check shows how fast it loads and what Google reads from it.
Common questions
Is Wix or Squarespace better for a small business?
Squarespace usually gets a polished result faster. Wix gives more layout freedom. For a simple service business either works fine, so pick the editor you enjoy using. You'll be the one opening it every month.
Is WordPress better than Wix for SEO?
Both let you set page titles, descriptions and headings, which covers the basics. WordPress gives you more control as the site grows, like adding many service or suburb pages and fine-tuning how they link together. What ranks is still useful pages, whichever tool built them.
Can I move my Wix site to WordPress?
Not directly. Wix doesn't export sites to other hosts, so the move means rebuilding the design in WordPress and copying your words and images across. Your domain can be pointed at the new site.
Is WordPress free?
The software is. You still pay for hosting, a domain and any paid themes or plugins you choose, plus someone's time to keep it updated.
Which is cheapest in Australia?
At the entry level they're close. Wix Light and Squarespace Basic were both around $17 a month billed yearly when we checked. WordPress costs whatever your hosting does. The bigger cost difference shows up in store fees and in who does the upkeep.