Etsy Vs Squarespace: Which Platform To Sell On In 2024?

Intending to set up your own online shop but not sure which to choose between, Etsy Vs Squarespace?

Personally, I’ve been struggling trying to figure out which platform to use for my sister’s online shop. 

I helped her set up an Etsy planner shop but we are also testing Squarespace too! You can check out our Esty shop here 

I know Etsy has a great audience in terms of worldwide reach, but having done some research, Squarespace may be more suitable for a proper shop. 

So, if you’re like me and you can’t quite decide, I’ve taken some time to do a detailed comparison between the two and I’d love to share it with you in the hopes that I can make your decision-making process just a little easier!

Both are great platforms that have their own pros and cons. 

Deciding between Etsy and Squarespace also depends on what type of products you intend to sell in your online shop.

For example, Etsy is an online marketplace that leans towards handmade items, whereas Squarespace is a website-building site where you can also build a shop to sell your products. 

While both might seem quite different, the end goal for both platforms is the same — they allow you to develop a storefront for you to sell your products.

So, if you’re wondering is it better to sell on Etsy or on your own website, read on to find out more! 

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Etsy Vs Squarespace: Comparison At A Glance 

No time to read this whole article about whether it should be Etsy or Squarespace?

Here’s a quick comparison table for Etsy vs Squarespace:

	Etsy	Squarespace
Cost of Service	$0.20 listing fee per item (renews every 4 months or when the item sells)6.5% transaction fee	Pricing plans with e-commerce integration start from $30 to $89 a month3% transaction fee for business plan, none for commerce basic and advanced
Customization	Relatively uniform though there is room to customize the shop name, banner and description. Etsy Plus has a mixed grid option for listings	Endless customization options with free and paid templates
Accessibility	Signing up and setting up a shop is quick and fuss-free.	Anyone can start a website using the multiple ready-made templates available.
Customer Support	24/7 support available via live chat	24/7 support via email, with live chat from 4am to 8pm Eastern Time on weekdays
Additional Capabilities	Etsy forums provide support and answers for frequently asked questions	SEO, marketing tools

What Is Etsy?

Etsy is an online marketplace that connects sellers who wish to sell handmade products to a wider community of buyers. Etsy is well-known for having millions of handmade, handcrafted, or vintage products. 

The website, which has been around since 2005, is widely available worldwide and is the go-to for anyone who wants anything unique.

Getting started on Etsy is extremely quick — you just need to create an account and start your shop. 

Listing items on Etsy is also easy, though there is a small fee of $0.20 per listing on the site.

Given that Etsy has been around for nearly two decades, it has a robust community of staff, sellers, and buyers who are ready to lend support to any new buyers.

What Is Squarespace?

Squarespace, which was founded in 2003, differs fundamentally from Etsy in that it is actually a website-building site. 

It allows you to create any sort of website, including e-commerce ones, within minutes using its ready-made template. 

People don’t just use Squarespace to sell, but they can use it to create personal or company blogs and informational websites.

Even though it is quite a generic platform for website building, selling on Squarespace is fuss-free.

If you subscribe to any Squarespace pricing plan above its basic personal plan, there is a fully integrated e-commerce.

There are also no limits to the amount of listings you can put on your Squarespace site. 

Etsy Vs Squarespace: Pricing & Value

If you’re thinking of setting up a shop, one of your key concerns will likely be the pricing and value you can get when you put Etsy vs. Squarespace costs. 

Etsy is free to use from the get-go. When you want to create a shop, all you need to do is register for an account, create an account, and list your item. 

You will need to pay $0.20 per listing and transaction fees of 6.5% thereafter, but Etsy’s premise is that you pay for what you use. 

Squarespace, on the other hand, has a monthly subscription model of various tiers and capabilities, even though it has a free 14-day trial for new users.

Squarespace’s plans start from $30 a month and go up to $89 a month, though this can be cheaper by up to 31% if you opt to pay a one-time, annual price. 

If you decide to use Squarespace to sell, you’ll also need to subscribe from a business plan onwards ($45 a month) as it has e-commerce integration. 

Another fee you’ll need to take note of is a 3% transaction fee, though this is waived if you go for the higher-value plans. 

There is no limit to the number of listings you can post on Squarespace, and you need not pay more just because you have more listings. 

Overall verdict on Etsy Vs Squarespace pricing: Etsy

If you’re looking to start, which I assume you are since you are still in the deliberation phase looking for platforms, Etsy is the clear winner. 

Its low barriers to entry and low listing fee make it extremely appealing for any new seller. 

However, as you increase your number of listings, the costs could add up on Etsy.

That’s when you might wish to consider a switch to Squarespace, which essentially has a monthly fee but no individual listing fees or transaction fees (if you subscribe to its Business plans). 

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Etsy Vs Squarespace: Customization

In terms of customization, the sky’s the limit on Squarespace with its multiple free and paid templates. 

When you start on Squarespace, you start with a template. You can customize the template using the different parameters made available to you, like colors, font, and other design elements. 

If you know CSS and code, you can also use the advanced settings to modify CSS. 

For Etsy, however, you can only customize certain aspects of your shop.

You can customize your shop name, icon, banner, and order receipt banner and also decide how to arrange the items in your shop. 

If you have access to Etsy Plus, the paid option of Etsy, you can have an additional mixed grid option when it comes to featuring your shop’s items, which can feature up to five items compared to the usual four items. 

Overall verdict on Etsy Vs Squarespace customization: Squarespace

Squarespace comes up tops on this with its many customizable templates that allow you to design just how you want your shopfront to look.

It can be extremely fun as a first-time shop owner to have so much leeway in designing your space.

However, if you just want a platform to sell and aren’t too fussed about customization, then perhaps Etsy might be your choice. 

Etsy Vs Squarespace: Accessibility 

In terms of accessibility, Etsy is extremely accessible to the everyday seller — you just need less than 10 minutes to register for an account, create a shop, and start listing.

Listing each item is also very cost-friendly, starting from just $0.20 per item. 

It is also home to an extremely large seller and buyer community, so as long as you’re doing your Etsy keyword research and making your listings attractive, you can find customers without major marketing activities. 

Squarespace isn’t too bad when it comes to accessibility, given that its templates are extremely simple to implement.

If you are worried about committing to a monthly subscription model on Squarespace from the get-go, it also has a 14-day commitment-free trial period where you can try its capabilities.

You don’t need to provide any credit card details at all.

Compared to Etsy, however, Squarespace doesn’t have an inbuilt buyer-seller community, so people might not know where or how to access your store unless you have marketed it somewhere prior. 

Overall verdict on Etsy Vs Squarespace accessibility: Etsy

Etsy is accessible to sellers, as well as helping buyers reach you as a seller. It’s great if all you want to do is sell and reach as many buyers as possible. 

Etsy Vs Squarespace: Customer Support 

In terms of customer support, Etsy has 24/7 customer support, and you’re able to reach them quickly via private chat.  

Squarespace also has 24/7 customer support, but this is only via email, Twitter (or X), and Facebook Messenger. 

If you’d like to speak to someone on Squarespace’s live chat, you can only speak to them between Monday to Friday, 4am to 8pm Eastern time. 

Squarespace does not offer phone support as it believes that they are better able to provide its support services online, where it can view your website, account, and other information more effectively. 

Overall verdict on Etsy Vs Squarespace customer support: Etsy

Given that some of us might live in different time zones outside of Eastern Time (like me!) It would be helpful to have a live chat function available 24/7. 

Sometimes, you might be panicking over an error in your shop, and having limited customer service availability or only via email can make you even more nervous about your issue. 

Do You Really Have To Choose Etsy Vs Squarespace?

You do not have to choose between Etsy and Squarespace. 

It is entirely possible to be on both Etsy and Squarespace to sell your items, though there will be considerable time spent maintaining both platforms.

If you do have to choose between one to invest your time in, Etsy is a good platform to start due to its low cost to list and fuss-free registration process.

Etsy enables you to just start selling whenever.

However, if you want to eventually build a large e-commerce brand and want to invest resources towards branding and SEO, then having Squarespace or your domain would be a wiser choice. 

How Do You Use Etsy And Squarespace Together? 

It is entirely possible to use Etsy and Squarespace together. Here’s how:

• Add a store page to your Squarespace
• Open your selling panel on Squarespace, go to your ‘products’, and click on ‘import.’ 
• Click on the page that you want to import the products to, and click on ‘start import’. 
• Thereafter, go into your Etsy account and grant access to Squarespace to allow the import to take place.

Squarespace will be able to import most of your product listings up to a limit of 500 products. 

However, it will not be able to import download products or digital products. 

And yes, you can use both Etsy and Squarespace together and have two shops active at the same time. It will just take a bit more time for you to manage both! 

FAQs On Etsy Vs Squarespace

Which Is Better: Etsy Or Squarespace?

If you need a straightforward answer to which platform is better for selling, Etsy will be your best bet.

Etsy has a low barrier to entry as it is free to sign up for an account and to create a shop. Posting a single listing costs just $0.20. 

You also have access to many tutorials and support articles online. There are also many courses from established Etsy sellers that you can take to improve your Etsy sales.

However, if you’re looking to do e-commerce on a larger scale and want more avenues of customization, then in the long run, Squarespace will be better for you. 

Is It Better To Have An Etsy Or A Website?

In the long term, it would be better to have a website than just an Etsy shop.

Having your website as compared to an Etsy shop would give your brand more online presence and would also help your brand better with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 

However, if you’re just starting and want a low-risk, easy-to-use platform just to start selling, Etsy will be a good place to start.

Nothing is stopping you from creating and selling on both platforms — you can start with Etsy first and gradually build your e-commerce website over time. 

Does Squarespace Integrate With Etsy?

Yes, Squarespace can integrate with Etsy. You can import your Etsy products onto your Squarespace website to sell.

You can even import your Etsy reviews so that your Squarespace website visitors can also see that you have credibility on the Etsy platform since you may not have a review system set up on your website yet. 

Why Do People Stop Selling On Etsy?

Some people may choose to stop selling on Etsy because the competition on the platform can be incredibly stiff.

Sellers may need to resort to either reducing their prices and profit margins to get sellers or continually optimizing their listings to stay on top of the game. 

Etsy SEO keyword tools like Sales Samurai help make things a bit easier, but even so, it can be challenging to constantly need to do better than the many Etsy sellers. 

Another reason people may stop selling on Etsy is because they want to sell items on their domain and website.

When they do so, they are not subjected to the Etsy fee increases and the potential of the Etsy marketplace being shut down.

There is also a lot more room for customization if you have your website compared to Etsy.  

Is It Worth It To Sell On Squarespace?

Yes, it is worth it to sell on Squarespace. 

Its cost of $45 a month for its base commerce plan is reasonable, considering that it offers a free domain (if you purchase the yearly plan) and has e-commerce integration. 

Squarespace is also highly reliable, having been around since 2003, and is used by many people to create their websites from scratch.

With its entirely customizable capabilities, you can sell digital products on Squarespace, or any type of products you want. 

It also has 24/7 support, so you can be sure that you’ll be helped if you run into any issues while selling on Squarespace. 

If you’ve been wondering for the longest time whether you should opt for Etsy vs Squarespace, I hope this article has helped you in your decision-making process.

I personally trawled the forums looking for Etsy vs Squarespace Reddit posts when I first decided to start an Etsy printables shop. 

Not every Etsy vs Squarespace review had all the information I needed to make my decision.

So I wanted to ensure that if you’re ever in the same situation — as you are now — you have the absolute help you need. 

If you feel like there’s something I didn’t cover on this topic, feel free to let me know! 

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