Squarespace is where the internet went to look good. In 2025, it added Blueprint AI[1]: a guided site builder that turns a few questions about your brand into a multi-page website in minutes. On testing though I learnt it’s not an AI website builder in the way most people imagine: no AI chat, no prompt iteration, no code export.
So I went looking for alternatives to Squarespace AI that go further. My recommendation ranges from legacy platforms with AI like Wix, WordPress and Shopify, to a new class of AI-native UI designers like Banani.
Squarespace AI Website Builder
Tell what you want, and then sign up
From Squarespace’s Blueprint webpage viz. their AI website builder, when I clicked ‘Get Started’, it straight up asked me questions about the kind of website I wanted; not a sign up page. A happy variation from typical SaaS onboarding.
I went with the classic Squarespace website for photographers. Its questions were:
a. What’s the site about
b. What are the key objectives (get clients, sell service etc.)
c. How do you want to build it: From a template or using Blueprint AI.
I, of course, went with the latter choice to see how good of an AI website builder Squarespace has. It promises not only design but SEO-optimized copy as well.
After these questions, I was required to sign up. It was pretty smooth, and did not even require a credit card. Said first 14 days are free.
Give details and choose style of the site
From here on there were a series of screens as a carousel that showed style and content-specific options: brand personality, fonts, colors, and such.
It also asked what pages you want on the website other than the homepage. (I chose About, Services & Contact), meaning Squarespace makes multi-page sites with AI.
Review the site (but cannot share)
The website was ready in a minute or so. Pretty fast, I’d say. The output looks neat, but quite basic. I was pleased to see the desktop and mobile views are both quite elegantly (and intelligently) structured.
However, in the free account, it was only for private viewing; you cannot share the link to others for review.
Editing the site manually (not with AI chat)
Almost all elements and shared components of the webpages can be edited by point-and-click. Say, I have to change the logo across the site, I can double-click it and upload the logo.
This way I can edit website copy, images, section layout, etc. Can add or remove blocks as well. In addition, Squarespace website can be edited with popups, stylized with custom CSS, and have settings to manage access as well.
I could not find any design-to-code settings or code export feature for deeper customization. It’s imperative for a large-scale website with heavy backend.
My Test with Canva AI UI Tool >
Why Seek Squarespace Alternatives
Squarespace’s Blueprint AI is more of a polished onboarding flow than a true AI design tool. In 2026, designers and product teams have high expectations from website building AI that should bridge vibe design and vibe coding. That’s where the need to explore alternatives to Squarespace for AI product designers like myself. Squarespace's pricing doesn't help either; you can't publish without a paid plan.
So I tested dozens of Squarespace competitors by running the same prompt for a product photography website (in line with what I built on Squarespace):
“A product photographer's website called Studio Aperture. Modern color palette, and bold/minimal personality. 4 pages: Home (hero with portfolio grid), Services (4 tiers: Basic to Advanced+, with image and price), About (studio vision and image), Contact (inquiry form).”
Then further analyzing their features, limitations, USP, and pricing to compile seven alternatives to Squarespace to find the best one for different use cases.
Why Seek Miro Al Alternatives >
Banani: Best AI Website Designer
Banani is an AI-native website designer. You can describe your website idea as simple text prompt or upload reference screenshots, and it’ll generate a multi-page website UI in seconds.
Output Analysis: Banani AI followed the prompt to the T and going further with its intelligent choice of colors and typography to match the personality I wanted. I also find the copy to be more poetic and powerful.
Key features:
Gemini-powered AI generates UI screens from a text prompt
Edit any element with a follow-up AI instruction
Switch designs between mobile and desktop automatically
Export your design directly to production-ready code
Limitation: As a website UI design AI, Banani does not offer CMS, hosting, or backend of any kind.
Why choose Banani over Squarespace: Banani designs the UI you actually describe considering each element, while Squarespace seems to pick from its templates.
Pricing: Free to start with ~170 screens/month. Paid plans from $12/mo for more screens, and code exports.
Try Banani AI Website Builder free >
AI-First Website Builders
Wix vs Squarespace
Wix is one of the most popular website builders globally. (Base44, the mobile app builder is also a Wix product.). Unlike Blueprint AI, you chat with it Wix’s AI website builder, and it generates a full site in seconds. It also has a proper CMS, hosting, eCommerce, and a large app market baked in.
Output Analysis: Wix generated a single-page site, not the multi-page result the brief called for. I was actually more disappointed by the fact that their copy felt generic, the images didn't match the brand, and the layout lacked any real design personality. So, it was definitely fast, but surface-level.
Key features:
Conversational AI chat interface to brief and build your site
Shuffle layouts and swap themes after generation
Built-in hosting, CMS, SEO tools, and domain management
eCommerce, scheduling, and booking built into the platform
Limitation: With Wix AI website builder, expect a functional site, not an intentional one.
Why choose Wix over Squarespace: Wix has a larger post-generation feature kit: more AI tools in the editor, stronger app market, and a more flexible layout system.
Pricing: Free plan available with Wix branding. Paid plans from $17/mo (Light) to $29/mo (Core, needed for eCommerce), billed annually.
Top Base44 Alternatives in 2026 >
Webflow vs Squarespace
Webflow is the design-forward website builder. Its latest AI site builder generates a full editable website from a prompt, while offering a real CMS, hosting, interactions, and code export built in.
Output Analysis: Webflow's free plan caps AI generation at 2 pages, so I had to simplify the brief to Home and About. The output pages had coherent layout (dark hero, portfolio grid, about section) with images popping in the contrast. I felt the copy read generic and some text contrasted poorly against background images.
Key features:
AI assistant for copy, sections, and CMS collection items
Full visual editor with interactions, animations, and custom code
Built-in CMS, hosting, SEO, and ecommerce
Code export available on paid Workspace plans
Limitation: With Wix AI website builder, expect a functional site, not an intentional one.
Why choose Webflow over Squarespace: Webflow's AI is a starting point, but the real power is in its manual editor, which has a steep learning curve for non-designers.
Pricing: Free Starter plan available (2 pages, Webflow subdomain). Paid Site plans from $15/mo (Basic) and $25/mo (Premium) billed annually.
Website Builders with AI
WordPress vs Squarespace
WordPress.com powers over 43% of the web[2], and now it has an AI builder. Describe your site in a chat interface, and it generates a layout, copy, and color palette in minutes. On top, use 50,000+ plugins, built-in blogging, newsletters, WooCommerce, and managed hosting all in one place.
Output Analysis: WordPress generated a single-page layout despite a 4-page brief. I found the output was functional but rudimentary. And the copy was generic with no personality. Heavy manual editing required to make it production-ready.
Key features:
Conversational AI chat generates site from a text prompt
50,000+ plugins to extend any functionality post-build
Built-in blogging, newsletters, SEO, and managed hosting
WooCommerce-ready on Commerce plan for full ecommerce
Limitation: The Wordpress AI builder currently generates single-page sites only; multi-page builds still require manual setup in the editor.
Why choose Wordpress over Squarespace: WordPress websites can scale far beyond a brochure site with plugins, WooCommerce, and developer access.
Pricing: Free plan available with WordPress.com subdomain. Paid plans from $9/mo (Personal) and $18/mo (Premium), billed annually.
Shopify vs Squarespace
Shopify is the world's leading ecommerce platform, and its AI store builder is built entirely around selling. Describe your store in a short prompt, choose from style variations, and get a storefront ready for products, checkout, and payments.
Output Analysis: Shopify produced a single-page layout despite a 4-page brief. And from the steps followed from prompt-to-website (which was the most cumbersome among all in the list), its AI is clearly optimized for storefronts, not service sites. The output was quite basic, copy generic, but images looked nice to me.
Note: The prompt is capped at 100 characters which didn’t allow me to fully express the idea clearly.
Key features:
Sidekick, AI assistant for store tasks, copy, and insights
Built-in checkout, payments, inventory, and order management
Sell across social, marketplaces, and AI chat natively
8,000+ apps to extend any functionality
Limitation: Shopify's AI is built for e-commerce. Anything else, or a multi-page informational site needs heavy manual editing which is not worth it.
Why choose Shopify over Squarespace: If you're selling products at scale then Shopify's commerce infrastructure, and app ecosystem are in a different league.
Pricing: 3 days free trial (credit card required, and small payment to lockin), then $29/mo (Basic) billed monthly or $19/mo billed yearly. No permanently free plan.
Web Hosts with AI Builders
GoDaddy vs Squarespace
GoDaddy is known globally for domains and hosting, but its AI website builder, Airo, is of the strongest competitor of Squarespace AI, Blueprint. Describe your site in a conversation, optionally upload a reference image, and Airo generates a multi-page site with a full backend, hosting, and code export included.
Output Analysis: Airo produced a surprisingly good result with a proper 4-page site. It included everything from the brief and its choice of black-and-yellow color palette is quite a bold-minimal personality. Albeit a little tacky for my taste, but the images do a good job of balancing it. The copy was crisp and on-brand. However, it was the slowest among all: taking ~5 minutes for the home page, and another 5 for other pages.
Key features:
Accepts reference image uploads to guide the design
AI chat editing (Airo) plus full manual editing post-build
Built-in hosting, SSL, forms, analytics, and code export on all plans
Asks for confirmation at key stages of design for an iterative process
Limitation: Airo runs on an AI credit system so heavier builds and edits consume credits faster, and credits don't roll over between billing cycles.
Why choose GoDaddy over Squarespace: Airo by GoDaddy can not only build websites but also full-stack web apps with a design-forward output.
Pricing: Free plan available (50 AI credits/mo, 1 published site). Paid plans from ₹699/mo (Starter, ~$8) billed annually for 150 credits and code download.
Picking a Squarespace Alternative
Having tested dozens of sites like Squarespace with AI features, I can say with certainty that there's no single best alternative to Squarespace. The good thing is that before committing to any paid plan, you can use the free trials to assess. Yet, to decide which one is worth assessing, ask yourself these questions:
Are you building a portfolio or a service business website?
Choose Banani if you want AI to design the UI from scratch with real creative intent. Once the UI is locked, you can handoff to the developer.
Choose Wix or GoDaddy Airo if you need a portfolio that's live, hosted, and editable without a developer.
Do you need to sell products online?
Shopify is the only tool here built specifically for commerce with infrastructure for checkout, inventory, and payments are its core.
WordPress with WooCommerce works for content-heavy stores that also need a blog.
Are you a vibe coder (heavily dependent on AI) or a pro coder?
Webflow gives heavy AI control but has a steeper learning curve
If you have a developer on the team, Banani is the best choice to substitute Squarespace because you vibe design with AI, then hand off conveniently using MCP.
FAQs on Squarespace Alternatives
Which is better in AI website building: Wix or Squarespace?
I found both to be better in differing aspects. Wix AI website builder uses a conversational interface, with AI tools inside the editor for copy and design. However, Squarespace Blueprint AI is faster to start and easier to edit.
Who has better SEO, Wix or Squarespace?
Roughly equal for most users as both offer meta control, sitemaps, clean URLs, and SSL. Squarespace has a slight edge on structured data out of the box; Wix has more flexibility through its app market for advanced SEO plugins.
Is Elementor better than Squarespace?
For design flexibility, yes. Elementor (a WordPress page builder) gives far more layout and customization control, but requires more technical comfort. Squarespace is simpler and more self-contained.
Is there a free website builder AI alternative to Squarespace?
If you're after an AI that designs beautiful websites by conversations, Banani is the substitute to Squarespace to start for free. Its generous Free plan offers ~170 screen generations/edits per month. On the other hand, Wix, Webflow, WordPress.com, and GoDaddy Airo all have free plans that let you build and preview without a credit card.
References
[1] https://www.squarespace.com/websites/ai-website-builder
[2] https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/wordpress-statistics
