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Shovva vs Squarespace

Squarespace alternative: Shovva vs Squarespace.

Shovva is a website builder for independent businesses that works as your link in bio, with bookings, classes, tickets, memberships and a shop on the same site. Squarespace is a design-led website builder with an online store. Here is how they compare.

Start freeSee Kiln & Colour

The short answer

A design-led builder, or a site that runs your bookings?

Shovva builds a finished website from your choices, with bookings, class timetables, ticket check-in and memberships included in every plan, plus a free plan to start. Squarespace is built for polished brand websites and online stores, with no cap on products or storage, and scheduling as a separate product.

Choose Shovva if

You take bookings, run classes or sell tickets and memberships

You want bookings included, not a separate scheduling product

You want to start on a free plan, and pay a fee only when you sell

You want a finished website built from your choices

Choose Squarespace if

You want a polished, fully custom brand site and enjoy designing it

You run a larger online store: its plans list no limit on products

You want 0% store fees from £20.40 a month, with video hosting and storage included

You want Google Workspace email free for the first year

Our honest take

Shovva is simpler and cheaper to start when bookings, tickets and members matter most.

Squarespace is the stronger pick for a showpiece brand site or a big shop.

Compare in your own currency: Squarespace sets prices by country.

Checked 27 October 2026 against Squarespace’s own pages, listed at the bottom of this page. Plans and features change, so check before you decide.

When Shovva is the better pick

Shovva is the better pick if…

Where Shovva fits better than Squarespace, checked against Squarespace’s own pages.

You take bookings

Bookings with deposits, cancellation rules, reminder emails and a diary are in every Shovva plan. On Squarespace, scheduling is Acuity, a separate product from £11 a month billed annually on its UK page.

You want to start free

Shovva Free has no monthly fee and takes 10% only when you sell, plus Stripe’s card fee. Squarespace has a 14-day free trial, then a paid plan to publish.

You sell tickets

Ticket types with their own price and limit, a QR ticket page and check-in at the door. We did not find ticket sales in Squarespace’s plan table.

You sell memberships

Shovva Premium takes 0% on memberships for £29 a month (£24.17 billed yearly). Squarespace lists a 5% membership fee on Core and 1% on Plus, with 0% on Advanced at £94.80 a month billed yearly.

You want it finished, not designed

Pick your trade, what you sell and a look, and Shovva builds the website, with one design for phone, tablet and computer and no separate mobile layout to edit.

Your link in bio is your website

Shovva’s website is your link in bio, with every offer on its own page. Squarespace’s link in bio is a separate product, Bio Sites.

Side by side

What each one gives you.

Squarespace’s column is from its own pricing page, help centre and product pages. Where we could not find something we say so, rather than saying Squarespace can’t do it.

  Squarespace Shovva
Built for Businesses and individuals who want a custom website: its plans speak to creative, professional services, beauty, fitness, events and more. Independent businesses and creators who sell more than one kind of thing.
Starting a site Start a 14-day free trial with no card, then pay to publish. Its AI builder makes a multi-page site from a description. Pick your trade, what you sell and a look. Shovva builds a finished website, and every word and photo can be changed.
Phone layout Edit the mobile layout independently in Fluid Engine, and fine-tune blocks with Mobile Overrides, added in May 2026. One design from the same choices at phone, tablet and computer sizes. There is no separate mobile version to edit.
Bookings Not in its website plans. Scheduling is Acuity, a separate product from £11 a month billed annually. Services with set hours, deposits, cancellation rules, reminders and a diary, included in every plan. Team diaries: 3 on Pro, 5 on Premium.
Events and tickets We did not find ticket sales in its plan table as of 27 October 2026. Ticket types with their own price and limit, a QR ticket page and check-in at the door.
Memberships and courses On all plans, with a fee of 7% on Basic, 5% on Core, 1% on Plus and 0% on Advanced. Monthly or yearly memberships with a members’ area on every plan. The fee follows your plan: 10%, 2% or 0%.
Shop No limit on products. Store fee: 2% on Basic, 0% on Core and above. Waitlists and payment plans on Core and above. Products with options, stock and delivery, and downloads. For a very large catalogue, a dedicated store is the better fit.
Link in bio A separate free product, Bio Sites, usable without a Squarespace subscription. The website is the link in bio, with every offer on its own address that search engines can list.
Email Email Campaigns is an add-on sold separately; newsletter blocks and a contacts panel are on all plans. Emails to your list: 1,000 a month on Pro, 10,000 on Premium. Automatic emails to customers on every plan.
Your own domain Attach a domain to any plan. Free for the first year on annual plans only, then at its standard rate. Pro (up to 3 domains) and Premium (up to 10). No free first-year domain.
Payments Squarespace Payments, Stripe or PayPal. Card rates by plan, for example 2.0% + 25p on Basic and 1.5% + 25p on Advanced in the UK. Stripe, paid into your own Stripe account. There is no PayPal.
AI AI credits: 10 one-time on Basic, then 20, 40 and 120 a month on Core, Plus and Advanced. No AI credits. The website is built from your choices.
Trying it No free plan. A 14-day free trial, no card needed. A Free plan, and a 14-day free trial of Pro for new subscribers.

Read from squarespace.com/pricing, its help centre, Scheduling and Bio Sites pages on 27 October 2026. The pricing page shows no date. “Not found” means we looked and didn’t see it.

What it costs

Plans and fees, side by side.

Squarespace sets prices by billing country. We could read its UK page in pounds, which include estimated VAT; we could not load its US, euro or Australian prices. Shovva is shown in pounds, dollars and euros, with no VAT added.

Plan Per month, billed yearly Per month, billed monthly Fee on sales Notes
Squarespace Basic £14.40 £19.20 2% store, 7% memberships 2 contributors. Includes estimated VAT.
Squarespace Core £20.40 £28.80 0% store, 5% memberships Payment plans, waitlists, free Google Workspace first year.
Squarespace Plus £34.80 £43.20 0% store, 1% memberships More video hours and AI credits.
Squarespace Advanced £94.80 £106.80 0% store, 0% memberships Highest limits.
Shovva Free £0 · $0 · €0 £0 · $0 · €0 10% No monthly fee. Takes payments, bookings and tickets.
Shovva Pro £12.50 · $17.50 · €15 £15 · $21 · €18 2% Own domain, 1,000 emails a month. 14-day free trial for new subscribers.
Shovva Premium £24.17 · $32.50 · €28.33 £29 · $39 · €34 0% Up to 3 websites, 10,000 emails a month.

Squarespace prices from squarespace.com/pricing, read 27 October 2026, as shown to a UK visitor. They say they include estimated VAT, and its German-language FAQ read differently, so check the line you see. Scheduling (Acuity) is extra: on its UK page Starter is £11, Standard £20 and Premium £37 a month billed annually. Shovva Ltd is not VAT registered and adds no VAT to plans (pricing page, 27 October 2026). Shovva prices as of 27 October 2026: yearly is 10 months’ price; see pricing for CAD, AUD and NZD.

When Squarespace is the better pick

Honestly, Squarespace is the better pick if…

We would rather you choose the right tool. These are the cases where Squarespace fits better.

You want a showpiece brand site

Squarespace is made for design-led websites, with fine control over layout on desktop and phone. Shovva builds from your choices and has no free-placement editor.

You run a large online store

Its pricing page says there is no limit to the number of products and services you can sell, with no cap on storage or bandwidth. For a large catalogue, Shovva is not the right tool.

You want 0% store fees on a steady plan

On Core, store sales carry no Squarespace fee, against 2% on Shovva Pro. At high volume that can add up.

See one example, a shop and a workshop.

Kiln & Colour is a made-up pottery studio. Its website sells ceramics and books workshops on the same link. Look around, then build one like it.

Moving across

Moving from Squarespace means a fresh start.

Shovva has no Squarespace importer, so you rebuild. It takes three steps, and your Squarespace site stays live until you swap the link.

1

Pick your trade and what you sell

Tell Shovva your kind of business and your services, tickets, memberships or products. It builds a finished website.

2

Bring your words, photos and products

Paste in your text and add your photos. Import products from Shopify, Etsy, Square or WooCommerce, or services from Fresha, Booksy and Treatwell, from their export files.

3

Swap your link or connect your domain

Put shovva.me/yourname in your bios, or connect a domain you own on Pro or Premium, then cancel Squarespace before its next billing date.

Questions

Questions people ask.

Moving from Squarespace, or choosing between the two? Here’s what to expect.

Compare Shovva

For many small businesses, yes. Squarespace is a design-led website builder with a strong online store. Shovva builds a website that works as your link in bio, from your choices, with bookings, classes, tickets, memberships and a shop built in. If your priority is a polished, fully custom brand site or a very large store, Squarespace is the stronger choice.

Not in its website plans. Squarespace offers scheduling through Acuity Scheduling, a separate product with its own plans: on its UK page, Starter is £11 a month billed annually, Standard £20 and Premium £37. On Shovva, bookings with deposits, reminders and a diary are part of every plan.

On Squarespace’s pricing page, store sales (products, services and donations) carry a 2% transaction fee on Basic and 0% on Core, Plus and Advanced. Courses, memberships and video carry 7% on Basic, 5% on Core, 1% on Plus and 0% on Advanced. Card processing fees come on top. On Shovva the fee is 10% on Free, 2% on Pro and 0% on Premium, plus Stripe’s card fee.

Squarespace has a separate free product called Bio Sites, which you can use without a Squarespace subscription. Its page lists digital products, a bookable calendar, tips and affiliate links, with Stripe or PayPal for payments. We didn’t find its transaction fees or custom domain terms on that page. Shovva’s website is the link in bio, with the same website behind it.

It is free for the first year, on annual plans only, and renews at the standard rate. Squarespace’s pricing page also says it must be registered within a year of starting the plan. Shovva doesn’t include a free first-year domain; on Pro you connect a domain you already own, or buy one.

Shovva has no Squarespace importer, so you rebuild: pick your kind of business and what you sell, and Shovva builds a finished website you can edit. Paste in your words and photos. Keep your Squarespace site live until the new one is ready, then change the link in your bio or connect your domain on Pro or Premium.