# Build Your Own Squarespace Alternative - Tool: Build Your Own SaaS Alternative - Difficulty: Advanced - Last updated: May 2026 ## TL;DR Squarespace serves ~4M paid subscriptions and was taken private by Permira for $7B in October 2024. Plans were renamed in February 2025, with Advanced at $99/mo still charging 2.5% + $0.30 transaction fees. A 42% email-marketing price hike in 2025 and annual-only pricing lock customers in. Like Wix, horizontal competition requires $10M+ capex — but a design-led vertical builder for photographers or creative agencies is viable at $500K–$2M. ## Frequently asked questions ### What changed when Permira took Squarespace private in October 2024? Squarespace was delisted from NYSE (SQSP) after Permira's $7B acquisition completed in October 2024. As a private company, Squarespace no longer has public disclosure obligations. In 2025, plans were renamed (Personal to Basic, Business to Core, etc.) and email-marketing plan pricing increased approximately 42%. Private equity acquisitions in SaaS historically precede more aggressive monetization — Squarespace customers on annual plans have limited pricing protection after their current term ends. ### How does Squarespace's template system differ from Wix? Squarespace uses a section-based model where pages are composed of full-width sections that snap to a grid. This produces more visually consistent output than Wix's freeform canvas but gives less absolute positioning control. Squarespace's templates are generally regarded as higher quality for creative industries (photography, design, food), while Wix offers more layout flexibility at the cost of more room to create inconsistent designs. ### Can I export my Squarespace site content? You can export blog posts as an XML file and download uploaded assets (images, files). The page layout, custom CSS, design configuration, and commerce data (products, orders) cannot be exported in a transferable format. Migrating away from Squarespace requires rebuilding the design on the new platform and manually importing or recreating content. ### What are the transaction fees on Squarespace plans? As of 2025: Basic and Core plans charge transaction fees when using third-party payment processors (not Squarespace Payments). Plus and Advanced plans charge 0% fees on digital products and memberships. Advanced still charges 2.5% + $0.30 processing via Squarespace Payments on physical product transactions. Only the Advanced plan ($99/mo annual) fully eliminates platform-level transaction fees. ### Is Ghost a good Squarespace replacement for a portfolio site? For content-focused portfolio sites — writers, photographers with editorial portfolios, newsletter publishers — yes. Ghost's themes (Casper, Edition, Headline, and third-party options) produce clean, professional output comparable to Squarespace with zero platform fees on memberships and newsletters. Ghost is less suited for eCommerce-heavy portfolios where physical product sales are primary. ### How does Squarespace handle email marketing? Squarespace Email Campaigns is a separate add-on product that uses the same design system as the website builder. Campaigns are designed with the same sections and blocks as site pages, ensuring brand consistency. The subscriber list is separate from the site's membership system. In 2025, email campaign pricing increased approximately 42%, making self-hosted alternatives like Listmonk or Buttondown more attractive. ### What is the minimum viable investment to compete with Squarespace in a vertical niche? A well-executed vertical niche website builder — targeting photographers, restaurants, or creative agencies — can be built for $500K–$2M with a team of 5–8 developers over 12–24 months. This budget covers a premium template system, section-based editor, eCommerce for the vertical's specific transaction types, custom domain hosting, and basic email marketing. Competing with Squarespace across all verticals would require $10M+ to reach feature parity. --- Source: https://www.rapidevelopers.com/clone/squarespace © RapidDev — https://www.rapidevelopers.com/clone/squarespace