Squarespace is the better pick for an all-in-one, low-maintenance website. WordPress is the better pick when you need maximum flexibility and full control.
Upkeep: Squarespace handles hosting, security, and updates for you, and offers support from their customer care team. With WordPress, you choose your own hosting and keep your theme and plugins updated yourself, or pay someone to.
Cost: The WordPress software is free, but hosting, premium themes, plugins, developer time, and security tools add up. Squarespace is one subscription, plus any add-ons you choose.
Flexibility: WordPress offers thousands of plugins and complex content structures. Squarespace works within its own design system, with complete code customization with CSS and Javascript available on Core and above.
Editing: Squarespace has a drag-and-drop editor built in. WordPress can offer a similar experience through page builders such as Divi and Elementor, which add visual drag-and-drop editing. Each is another tool to install and keep updated alongside your theme and plugins.
Ongoing website management plans are common among WordPress designers, because WordPress sites need regular theme, plugin, and security updates. August Cura Studio takes a different approach, focused on helping customers feel confident editing and managing their own websites. With an August Cura Studio template, there's no theme or plugin to keep updated. Ownership of the site moves to you shortly after you accept the Squarespace template invite, and from there you can make changes yourself without a designer, a developer, or a maintenance plan.
