Some people automatically assume the opposite – that WordPress is cheaper than Squarespace – so, this Ask David! question is kind of refreshing. Just because WordPress is open-source does not mean it is free. Just the WordPress core is free.
Read on for the details, and here’s a chart for a sneak peak of the answer, comparing WordPress, Squarespace, and my favorite which I use for my websites too, UltimateWB.
Comparison: Website Platforms at a Glance
| Feature | UltimateWB | WordPress | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Flat Fee (One-time) | Variable (Plugins + SaaS) | Recurring (Subscription) |
| Hosting Ownership | You Choose/Own | You Choose/Own | Locked (Walled Garden) |
| Add-on Requirements | None (Built-in) | High (Plugin-dependent) | Moderate (Extensions) |
| Security Model | Secure by Design | Plugin-dependent | Platform-managed |
| Maintenance Burden | Minimal | High (Constant Updates) | Low (Handled by Platform) |
| Data Portability | Full Ownership | Full Ownership with caveats (SaaS plugins) | Limited/Restricted |
WordPress Software Costs – the Plugins, Themes, and Page Builders
In terms of cost, as in dollar amounts: It depends which premium plugins, themes, and page builders you are using for WordPress – some have recurring fees. Some WordPress page builders like Etch, can cost thousands of dollars.
Regarding plugins, if you want an e-commerce website for example, we cover how the costs can really add up, in our blog post: WooCommerce Subscriptions Cost: Avoid the $279 Add-On Trap .
Really, the costs can add up in any type WordPress website that requires plugins, as we cover in: Do you really own your WordPress website? We discuss in that blog post how not only are popular WordPress plugins subscription based, but they are also SaaS – software as a service. So now you don’t really get the software ownership that you were looking for, and you also have to pay yearly.
And then there’s the increased fees when the plugins you have been using get bought out by a large corporation. You can read more about this situation in: The 2026 Kadence WP Corporate Takeover: What Liquid Web’s Consolidation Means for Your WordPress Website and The WordPress Events Calendar Pro Price Hike – and the Alternative.
The Hidden Labor Cost of WordPress
You were probably just thinking about the cost in terms of money – the direct costs you have to pay. But when you have to do maintenance because a WordPress core update broke your website, or you have to rebuild your website because your website got hacked – that costs money. Like the saying goes, time is money. But if you aren’t a coder and don’t know what you are doing, this can actually cost you money in terms of dollars, not just time. Both for the developer services, and perhaps even for rebuilding content if you don’t have a good backup.
And no, throwing more money at WordPress security plugins won’t solve this issue for you: The Hidden Cost of WordPress Security: Why Security Plugins Aren’t the Whole Answer.
There was just an instance last month (June 2026) where millions of websites were affected and no popular WordPress security plugin could do anything about it: Over 1.6 Million WordPress Sites Hit: The OptinMonster and ShapedPlugin Supply Chain Attacks. Same with: The WordPress Backdoor Scandal: Why 30+ “Trusted” Plugins Just Turned Malicious.
Sometimes your WordPress website breaking is not due to any malicious intent – it just happens. WordPress requires constant vigilance. Every core update is a potential breaking point.
When a plugin developer abandons a project or a security vulnerability is discovered, the burden of remediation falls entirely on you. If you aren’t an experienced developer, you will need to pay someone else to handle these updates, backups, and site restorations – or you end up spending hours of your own time learning how to troubleshoot instead of running your business. This is one way “free” software can often turn out to be the most expensive website builder option. But at least you can choose your hosting.
Read: How WordPress Updates Broke This Website Design (And How UltimateWB Solved It)
How to Fix: WordPress Error Class ‘C_NextGen_Settings’ Not Found
Tired of the plugin cycle? See how UltimateWB handles this differently.
Squarespace Costs – Extensions and Premium Templates
You might think on Squarespace you have one easy cost to think about – you choose a plan and you just pay that. But, that’s not the whole story. While Squarespace bundles core features into a monthly subscription, if you need advanced functionality – like automated tax compliance, specialized shipping, or custom e-commerce workflows – you have to turn to “Squarespace Extensions.”
These are essentially third-party plugins, just called something else. While Squarespace doesn’t charge you to connect them, these third-party providers almost always require their own recurring monthly or per-use subscription fees. You end up with the same “subscription bloat” you’d find on WordPress, just managed through a different interface.
The same applies to the design side. If the built-in templates don’t cut it, you are encouraged to purchase “premium templates” from third-party designers, which can cost hundreds of dollars upfront. Just like for WordPress. So, you aren’t just paying a monthly “access fee” to Squarespace – you are often layering on additional third-party costs just to get a site that functions the way you need it to.
Squarespace keeps you locked in their ecosystem, but they make you pay extra for the privilege of expanding it.
Hosting Costs – Which website platform will cost more?
When comparing hosting, it is important to distinguish between bundled, proprietary pricing and modular, independent pricing.
Squarespace: The Bundled Subscription
With Squarespace, you don’t actually “buy” hosting in the traditional sense; you pay for a subscription that includes it. Because it is a hosted website builder platform, the cost of hosting is hidden inside your monthly or annual plan.
- The Cost: You’ll pay at least $16–$19 per month for their entry-level plans, which essentially forces you to pay for their infrastructure regardless of your actual traffic or resource usage.
- The Reality: You have zero control here. You cannot switch to a cheaper server if your site is small, and you cannot upgrade to a high-performance custom environment if your site grows, without upgrading your entire subscription tier. You are locked into their server environment, and the price is what it is.
WordPress: The Modular Investment
WordPress, by contrast, gives you the freedom to choose exactly what you pay for.
- The Cost: You can find shared hosting plans for as low as $5–$10 per month. If you need more performance, managed WordPress hosting typically runs $15–$50 per month, and high-traffic sites can scale to $50–$100+ per month.
- The Reality: You can start cheap and scale up as you grow. The “cost” here is that you have to do the research to pick a provider, but you aren’t paying for “convenience” features you don’t use.
- The Bloat Warning: Be careful – this modular flexibility is a double-edged sword. If you pack your WordPress site with bloated themes and unnecessary plugins, your site will consume significantly more CPU and RAM than a lean site. This creates a “hidden” hosting tax: you may be forced to upgrade to a more expensive, high-resource hosting tier not because you have more visitors, but because your site is bloated and inefficient. A “free” or cheap WordPress site can quickly become more expensive than a premium subscription if you don’t keep your code clean and your plugin count low
The Bottom Line on Hosting
Squarespace hosting often ends up being more expensive for small, simple sites because you’re paying a premium for their bundled ecosystem. WordPress allows you to start for a fraction of that price – often around $5/month – giving you the autonomy to pay only for the server resources you actually need.
The “Switching” Servers Cost of Squarespace (Labor Creep)
This can be a dangerous labor trap. Because Squarespace is a closed SaaS website system, your hosting is inextricably tied to your website builder.
If you decide after a year or two that you are tired of the platform’s limitations or the recurring “extension” fees, you cannot simply move your website to a cheaper or faster host. You are forced to rebuild. You have to find a new builder, migrate your data, re-create your design, and set up your content from scratch. The money you “saved” on the simplicity of the Squarespace setup is almost immediately eclipsed by the massive labor cost – and potential downtime – required to migrate your entire digital presence. And that extra labor costs also includes time to make sure you don’t lose any SEO juice you have already built up.
The Bottom Bottom Line: True Ownership is the Best Value
When you weigh Squarespace against WordPress, the question of “which is cheaper” is largely a distraction. The real choice you are making is between managed convenience (Squarespace) and technical responsibility (WordPress).
Squarespace charges you a premium for the convenience of not having to touch the “engine” of your website, but the moment you need to scale or move your data, you realize you don’t actually own the platform. Conversely, the “free” nature of WordPress is often a gateway to a maze of subscription-based plugins and recurring maintenance disasters that can cost you more in time and stress – if not direct currency – than a monthly Squarespace bill.
Good news is you don’t have to choose between a restrictive, overpriced subscription and a fragile, high-maintenance plugin stack. UltimateWB offers a third way. By using a professional, all-in-one website builder, you escape both extremes. Because it is a clean code, all-in-one system rather than a bloat-heavy plugin ecosystem, it remains fast and secure by design. With flat-fee pricing for the software and web hosting that starts at under $5/month, you get professional-grade control without the “success tax” of the major platforms. You can build any type of website, retain your ownership, and stop worrying about your software budget getting a hit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I migrate my content from Squarespace or WordPress to UltimateWB?
A: Yes. While moving from a “walled garden” like Squarespace or a bloated plugin-heavy WordPress site always requires some effort to ensure your data is clean, UltimateWB’s structure makes it much easier to import content compared to other platforms. You aren’t just moving data; you’re moving to a system where you actually own your database and aren’t tied to proprietary plugins.
Read: How to Migrate from WordPress to a Faster, Easier Platform
How to Recover from a Hacked WordPress Site: A Secure Migration to UltimateWB
Q: Does UltimateWB have “Extensions” or “Plugins” like the others?
A: No. UltimateWB is an all-in-one platform with built-in core functionality. You don’t need to install, update, or pay extra for dozens of third-party plugins to get features like e-commerce, members, forums, or blogging – they are already part of the system. That is why it’s more secure, efficient, fast, and meets performance objectives, such as low CPU and memory usage.
Q: Is WordPress really that insecure, or are those just extreme cases?
A: WordPress is a massive target. Because it relies on thousands of third-party plugins (most of which are not audited by the WordPress core team), your site’s security is only as strong as the weakest plugin you have installed. It’s not just “bad luck”; it’s a structural reality of the plugin-based ecosystem.
Read: Why do WordPress websites and blogs get hacked so much?
Q: What if I’m not a developer? Can I still use UltimateWB?
A: Absolutely. UltimateWB is designed to be beginner friendly and expert flexible. It is user-friendly without requiring you to “code” your way out of problems. You get the benefits of a professional, customizable platform without the “maintenance tax” that comes with WordPress or the “lock-in” fees that come with Squarespace.
Looking for a website builder that just works out-of-the-box? Learn more about UltimateWB! We also offer web design packages if you would like your website designed and built for you.
Got a techy/website question? Whether it’s about UltimateWB or another website builder, web hosting, or other aspects of websites, just send in your question in the “Ask David!” form. We will email you when the answer is posted on the UltimateWB “Ask David!” section.