Wix and Squarespace are two of the most common shortlists for an Australian small business building its first online store, but they pull in different directions. Wix is the flexible, feature-packed builder you can shape to almost any layout. Squarespace is the design-led platform that makes good taste the default. The right pick depends far more on whether you value flexibility and app choice or polished, ready-made design than on which brand you have heard of.
Pricing and total cost
Squarespace is the cheaper way in. Its entry Basic plan undercuts Wix's Core plan by a wide margin, and Squarespace stays cheaper all the way up the ladder: its top Advanced plan comes in well under Wix's Business Elite tier. For most small stores, Squarespace is the lower platform subscription. The comparison table on this page shows each plan's current price in Australian dollars.
The platform subscription is the comparable number, and the calculator above splits each provider into three lines: the platform cost, an estimated processing fee, and the total of the two. Read the processing line as an estimate, not a fixed price. Wix has its own offer, Wix Payments, with a published rate of 1.9% per transaction, and the calculator uses that and shows the full per-transaction cost. Squarespace does not publish a single native rate, so the estimate applies the same gateway-style rate as a stand-in. In practice you can also connect a third-party gateway such as Stripe or PayPal on either platform, in which case the real processing rate is set by that gateway, not by the builder. The fee you actually pay therefore depends on the gateway you choose, while the platform subscription is the part you can compare directly. On platform transaction fees, the cut charged on top of processing, Wix charges 0% on its e-commerce plans, and Squarespace charges 3% on its entry Basic plan before dropping to 0% on Core and above, so neither skims your sales once you are on the right tier.
Who each one is built for
Wix is built for the merchant who wants to customise. If you want to drop elements wherever you like and add features through apps as you grow, Wix is shaped for exactly that. It rewards a hands-on owner who enjoys building the store their way.
Squarespace is built for the brand that leads with design. If your store is an extension of a visual identity, a creative portfolio, or a product line where presentation sells, Squarespace's structured editor and polished templates do a lot of the design work for you. It trades some flexibility for a result that looks considered with far less effort.
Design and templates
This is the clearest split between the two. Wix offers around 900 templates and a free-form drag-and-drop editor, so you can position any element anywhere on the page. That freedom is its biggest strength and, for some, its biggest trap, because it is possible to over-design. Squarespace offers about 100 templates, far fewer, but they are award-winning and built on a tighter grid that keeps spacing, type and layout looking professional by default. Wix wins on sheer choice and flexibility. Squarespace wins on the quality of the result you get without much effort.
Apps and extensibility
If your store needs to do more than the core builder offers, app choice matters. Wix runs an app market of roughly 500 apps, covering bookings, reviews, loyalty, advanced shipping and much more, so most feature gaps can be filled without leaving the platform. Squarespace's extension library is far smaller, around 40, which keeps the platform simple but means you are more likely to hit a wall if you want a niche feature. For a feature-rich store, Wix's depth is a real advantage. For a straightforward shop, Squarespace's smaller set is rarely a problem.
Australian considerations
Both platforms work well for an Australian store. You can connect Stripe or PayPal on either, both of which support AUD and settle to Australian bank accounts, so you are not locked into one processor. Each builder lets you set prices in AUD, display GST-inclusive pricing and collect the details you need for tax invoices, which covers the basics of selling here. The takeaway is that your processing rate is a separate decision from your platform choice, so compare gateway rates alongside the subscription when you budget.
Pros and cons for this matchup
Wix wins on the largest template library, the deepest app market and a true drag-and-drop editor, which makes it the flexible choice for a feature-rich store. Its trade-offs are a higher entry price than Squarespace and that all that freedom can be harder to keep looking tidy.
Squarespace wins on design polish and the lower entry price, with fewer but award-winning templates and a structured editor that looks professional by default. Its trade-off is a much smaller app and template count, so heavy customisation is harder.
The verdict
For an Australian small business that wants the widest template choice and room to bolt on features through apps, and does not mind paying more to start, Wix is the pick, the more flexible builder for a store you want to shape your own way. For a design-led brand, a creative, or a portfolio with a shop attached, where polished templates matter more than raw flexibility, and a lower starting price is also welcome, Squarespace is the pick. Both drop their platform transaction fee to zero on the right plan, and both let you choose your own gateway, so neither decides it on processing. It comes down to one question: do you want maximum flexibility, or the best-looking, cheaper-to-start store with the least effort? Answer that and the choice is clear.