Thanks to no-code platforms, building a website is easier than ever, even for non–tech-savvy users. The real struggle today is choosing the right website builder, especially when comparing the top options. With both Format and Squarespace being market leaders, I decided to put together this Format vs Squarespace comparison guide.
Although Format and Squarespace exist in the same niche, they’re not the same product. Which one is right for you largely depends on what you want to achieve with your website.
That means this comparison isn’t about declaring a winner, but rather helping you decide which platform is the best fit. To do this, I’ll cover their core features, best use cases, and pricing.
Format vs Squarespace: At a Glance
| Feature | Format | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing start point | From $10/month (Basic plan) | From $16/month (Personal plan) |
| Ease of use | Very easy setup, streamlined for photographers and creatives | Intuitive, but more features = slightly higher learning curve |
| Design / Templates | Niche, photography and design-focused templates | Wide variety of modern, all-purpose templates |
| Ecommerce | Basic tools for selling prints/photos | Full ecommerce suite (products, services, subscriptions) |
| Best For | Photographers, designers, artists | Creatives, bloggers, ecommerce, business |
My Experience with Format and Squarespace
Built with FORMAT
I’m a long-term user of both platforms. My personal photography website has been hosted on Format for seven years, while my very first site was built on Squarespace. I also previously ran Them Frames on Squarespace.
I know firsthand how good each product can be, as well as the areas where both could improve to deliver the best user experience.
Format vs Squarespace: Pricing
Both platforms offer tiered pricing, staggering features across their plans. Format has the lowest entry point, making it ideal for those just starting out. Squarespace can get expensive, but its top-tier offerings are geared toward businesses and are usually worth the investment.
Pricing below reflects the monthly equivalent when you sign up for annual billing. I recommend this option since it’s more cost-effective than paying month to month.
Format Pricing & Plans
1. Basic — $10/month
- Upload up to 70 high-resolution images
- 10 website pages
- SSL security
2. Pro — $16/month
- Unlimited website pages
- 1,500 high-resolution images
- 50 client galleries
3. Pro Plus — $26/month
- Unlimited high-resolution images
- Sell up to 1,000 products
- Website Build Service
Month-to-month plans are available, but for most users the Pro plan offers plenty of functionality with room to scale.
Squarespace Pricing & Plans
1. Personal — $16/month
- Up to 1,000 pages
- 30 minutes video hosting
- SSL security
2. Core — $23/month
- 5 hours video hosting
- Developer/coding features
- 0% online store transaction fee
3. Plus — $39/month
- 50 hours video hosting
- Third-party app integrations
- Ecommerce analytics
4. Advanced — $99/month
- Unlimited video hosting
- 0% transaction fee on digital content and memberships
- 2.7% credit card processing rate
In my opinion, most creatives and photographers will be fine with the Personal plan, especially if video isn’t central to their portfolio. Unless you’re publishing a lot of video content, the cheaper plans will likely serve you well.
Format vs Squarespace: Ease of Use
Here’s how each platform compares when it comes to setup and day-to-day usability.
Format
Launching with Format is refreshingly straightforward. I built my first site in a coworking space in Mexico City and had it live the very same day. The step-by-step onboarding removes guesswork and guides you logically through setup.
What works well:
- Smooth, crash-free performance
- Flex Block makes image positioning quick and precise
- Intuitive onboarding for fast setup
What could improve:
- Blogging interface is limited (few heading options)
- Content formatting feels basic compared to competitors
Squarespace
Squarespace offers more features, so the interface is a little more complex — but not overwhelming. Once you pick a template, the menus open logically, making it easy to customize fonts, colors, and pages. Adding products to a store is seamless, and its blogging tools are the most versatile I’ve used.
What works well:
- Smooth process for building product pages
- Excellent blogging/editor tools with strong SEO support
- Professional designs without technical skills
What could improve:
- Mobile app is underpowered and feels redundant
- Slightly steeper learning curve due to its feature set
Format vs Squarespace: Design Flexibility & Templates
Both platforms provide ready-made templates to set the tone of your site while still giving you flexibility to customize.
Related: 13 Photography Portfolio Examples to Unleash Your Creativity
Format
Format has transformed its design system with Flex Block, giving creatives near-total freedom to arrange images, text, and layouts exactly as they envision. Unlike rigid template frameworks, Flex Block makes it easy to overlay visuals, experiment with asymmetry, and create storytelling pages.
Format also offers a curated range of beautiful templates designed for creative niches:
- Photography & Wedding – fullscreen galleries that keep the focus on images
- Architecture & Design – minimalist grids that highlight detail
- Fashion & Illustration – bold, editorial layouts for high-impact visuals
- Video & Art – multimedia-ready templates for mixed media portfolios
- Writing & Student Portfolios – clean, typography-led templates for text-driven work
These templates never overwhelm your portfolio — they act as a subtle frame that enhances your creative work. With customizable fonts, colors, and buttons, Format strikes a balance between freedom and refined design.
Squarespace
Squarespace has built its reputation on polished, versatile templates that work across industries. For creatives, it offers 27 photography-specific designs, including some named after world-renowned photographers like Steve McCurry and Bruce Gilden — a sign of the platform’s credibility.
These templates are:
- Modern and flexible – adapt to portfolios, blogs, or stores
- Multimedia-ready – integrate video, slideshows, and galleries
- Business-friendly – optimized for product pages, services, and digital sales
Squarespace’s block-based editor makes customization simple without coding, and responsive templates ensure your site looks great on any device. Unlike Format’s focus on creative niches, Squarespace is built to scale with your business needs.
Format vs Squarespace: Monetization
Both platforms support monetization, but with different emphases.
Format
Format’s ecommerce tools are streamlined for creatives who want to monetize without managing a full online store.
Key highlights:
- Sell prints, digital downloads, or client packages directly from your portfolio
- Integrated client proofing galleries
- Simple checkout system
Best for creatives who want to add sales as a complement to their portfolio.
Squarespace
Squarespace provides a full ecommerce suite, ideal for creatives running a professional online business.
Key highlights:
- Sell physical products, digital downloads, or subscriptions
- Inventory management and product variants
- Abandoned cart recovery and advanced discount/shipping options
- Integration with drop-shipping providers
Combined with built-in marketing tools (email, SEO, social), Squarespace is more than a portfolio — it’s a business growth platform.
SEO & Marketing Tools
You can scale your audience and business by using a range of SEO (search engine optimization) and marketing tools. FORMAT keeps this simple and useful, whereas Squarespace is more for advance users.
FORMAT
Format covers the SEO basics, enough to make your portfolio discoverable.
Strengths:
- Clean site structure, easy for search engines to crawl
- Fast-loading, image-optimized templates
- Editable titles, descriptions, and alt text
- Pop-up box for email collection
- Blogging tools
Limitations:
- Limited advanced SEO features
- No built-in marketing or email campaign tools
- Limited formatting features for blogging
Best for creatives focused on portfolio visibility and personal branding.
Squarespace
Squarespace offers one of the most complete SEO + marketing toolkits in the website builder market.
Strengths:
- Advanced SEO customization and structured data
- SEO-friendly blog editor
- Built-in email marketing with newsletter templates
- Social media integrations
- AI-guided SEO checklists
- Blogging tools
Squarespace is ideal for creatives who want to rank on Google, build an audience, and run campaigns from one platform.
Final Verdict: Format vs Squarespace
Both Format and Squarespace are excellent platforms, but they serve different needs.
- Choose Format if you’re a photographer, artist, or creative professional who wants a sleek, distraction-free portfolio. Its templates highlight your work, and its ecommerce tools are perfect for selling prints or downloads as a side revenue stream.
- Choose Squarespace if you’re a creative entrepreneur, small business, or multi-disciplinary creator who needs more than a portfolio. With advanced ecommerce, marketing tools, and SEO support, it’s built for growth.
In short: Format is best for showcasing your art. Squarespace is best for scaling your creative career into a business.
Both offer free trials, so the best next step is to test them out and see which feels right for you.
Start with Format
Start with Squarespace
More reading: Best Photography Website Builder: Tested by a Photographer
Editors note: This article contains a small handful of links which gets Them Frames a small kickback if you use them to make a purchase.
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