Wix vs Squarespace for photographers: which should you choose in 2027?

Wix and Squarespace are the two best-known website builders. When you launch your photography business, or want to leave an old site behind, the choice often comes down to these two.

The good news is that there's no wrong choice between them. The real question lies elsewhere: what do you expect from your website? Showing your work, or also selling and organising your sessions? This guide helps you decide, without bias. If you'd like to widen the comparison to other platforms (WordPress, Pixieset, Format, Pixpa…), read our comparison of the best photography website builders.

1. The quick verdict

Squarespace is the best choice for a polished portfolio with no layout effort; Wix is better if you want more freedom and to take bookings directly on your website. Both are easy to use and more than enough to showcase your work.

2. Wix, through a photographer's eyes

Wix is a very complete general website builder that bets on layout freedom and a long list of built-in features. It's a bit of a Swiss army knife: you can turn it into a portfolio, a store, a booking site or a blog.

What photographers like

• A huge choice of templates, many of them designed for photography, giving you a starting point for almost any style.
• Lots of layout freedom: you move blocks, text and images pretty much wherever you want.
• Built-in booking with Wix Bookings and online payments, from the Core plan up. For a family or portrait photographer selling time slots, that's a real plus.
• An AI site generator that drafts a first version from a few questions.
• A large help centre and customer support.
• A free plan to try it out, and a free domain for the first year on annual paid plans.

Where it can get tricky

• Freedom has a downside: it's easy to end up with a cluttered or unbalanced site if you don't have a designer's eye. Set aside time to polish the mobile version.
• Switching templates once your site is published often means rebuilding it. Choose your template carefully from the start.
• The free plan shows Wix ads and a wixsite address: best avoided for a professional website.
• No proper client delivery galleries where clients select their photos.

3. Squarespace, through a photographer's eyes

Squarespace is known for its beautiful templates, particularly well suited to portfolios, with a more guided layout framework than Wix. You get less freedom, but it's harder to "break" the design.

What photographers like

• Polished, minimal templates that put images front and centre. Even without design skills, your site quickly looks professional.
• A framework that protects your design: the layout is more structured, so your site stays consistent from one page to the next.
• An AI site creation tool to get you started faster.
• A built-in store, with a 2% commission on sales on the Basic plan, then 0% on the higher plans.
• A free domain for the first year on annual plans.

Where it can get tricky

• No free plan: just a 14-day trial.
• Appointment booking goes through Acuity Scheduling, a separate paid service. It works well, but it's one more subscription.
• Less placement freedom than Wix: if you have a very precise layout in mind, you may feel boxed in.
• No client delivery galleries where clients select their photos.

4. The point-by-point comparison

Squarespace wins on looks and simplicity, Wix on freedom and booking; for everything to do with delivery and session management, they're level, which is to say, not much. Here's the detail, point by point.

Prices checked in November 2026 on the official pricing pages, as seen from Europe, and subject to change.

Design and photo display

This is the criterion that matters most to you, and it's where Squarespace stands out. Its templates are designed to let images breathe: wide margins, elegant typography, few distracting elements. Wix can produce something just as beautiful, but it's more down to you to make the right choices. If you have the eye, Wix's freedom is an asset. If you'd rather be guided, Squarespace keeps you from putting a foot wrong.

Booking and selling

Wix takes the lead if you sell time slots: booking and payment live in the same tool as your website, from Core. On Squarespace, appointment booking goes through a separate add-on (Squarespace Scheduling): check what it costs on your plan. On the store side, both can sell products.

Blogging and SEO

Both offer a blog and the essential settings (page titles and descriptions, readable addresses). For a photographer, that's almost always enough: on Google, it's mainly your local content and client reviews that make the difference. We cover all of this in our guide to SEO for photographers. If blogging is at the heart of your strategy, with dozens of posts a year, WordPress is still the most advanced tool.

5. How much each platform costs

For a professional site with your own domain and no ads, expect around €12/month on Squarespace and around €17/month on Wix, billed annually; with online booking, Wix goes up to around €30/month. Here are the main plans.

Prices checked in November 2026, subject to change. Promotional introductory prices usually go up at renewal.

Two things to keep in mind when comparing:

• The free domain is only free for the first year. After that, expect to pay around €10 to €15 a year for a .com or a national extension such as .co.uk.
• Add up your other tools. The website is only part of your bill: delivery galleries, contracts, invoicing, appointment booking (Acuity on Squarespace)… A €12 website can quickly turn into a setup costing several tens of euros a month.

For the full budget picture, agencies included, read our article on what a photography website costs.

6. Who each one is for

Squarespace suits photographers whose website is first and foremost an artistic shop window; Wix suits photographers who want a versatile site with booking, shaped with their own hands. A few typical profiles to help you see where you fit:

Squarespace is for you if…

• you're a fine art, fashion, architecture or high-end wedding photographer, and your portfolio is your best business card;
• you want an elegant result quickly, without spending hours on layout;
• you already have your tools for delivering photos and managing clients, and you're just looking for a beautiful shop window.

Wix is for you if…

• you shoot family, newborn or portrait photography, and you want clients to book a slot online;
• you like having control over every detail of your layout;
• you want to start for free to try it out, and move to a paid plan later.

7. What both lack when you sell sessions

Wix and Squarespace are general website builders: they don't handle photo delivery, contracts or the quotes specific to a photography business. That's not a flaw, it simply isn't what they do. But if you sell sessions, here's what you'll need to add alongside:

• Delivery galleries with proofing. Your client needs to be able to choose their favourite photos, mark them as favourites, download high-resolution files and sometimes order prints. A portfolio gallery isn't a delivery gallery.
• Contracts signed online. For a wedding or a corporate shoot, a contract signed before the session protects you. Neither offers this for your profession.
• Quotes and invoices. A quote the client accepts online, a deposit, then an invoice: all of that happens elsewhere.
• A client area. A single place where your client finds their booking, quote, contract and gallery.
• Entering your prices twice. Your services and prices are written on your website, then again in your invoicing or booking tool. Every time you change a price, you have to remember to update everything, or your site shows an old price.

The result: a website, a gallery tool, an e-signature tool and a spreadsheet for quotes. Each does its job well, but you're the one connecting them by hand.

8. Solutions built for photographers

If you sell sessions, there are two families of solutions: keep your Wix or Squarespace site and add a gallery tool, or switch to a tool that brings your website and business management together. There's no universal right answer, it all depends on what you already use.

Pixieset

Pixieset is built for photographers. Its delivery galleries and print store are excellent. It also offers a website builder, simpler than Wix or Squarespace, and a Suite plan that adds booking, invoices and contracts with e-signature. Prices are in dollars (from around $12/month for the website, billed annually, prices checked in November 2026). If you already use its galleries, it's often the most logical choice. To go further, read our Pixieset vs Pic-Time comparison.

Fotostudio

Fotostudio is the tool we make, so bear that in mind as you read this. It's business management software for photographers (CRM, online booking, quotes, invoices, contracts with e-signature, payments, galleries) that now includes a website builder in the subscription.

What makes it different: your website is connected to your business management. The services and pricing blocks read your catalogue, so you only enter your prices once. Every contact request creates a lead record. And booking, delivery galleries, quotes, contracts and invoices open on your website, at your address, in your design, thanks to the client area.

The limits, to be honest: the website builder is new (launched in 2026), it offers 9 starter templates, so far fewer than Wix or Squarespace, and it has no plugin marketplace. The store sells prints, albums and gift cards, not a general e-commerce catalogue. On price, expect €18/month (Launch plan, site on a subdomain) or €28/month to use your own domain (Pro plan, unlimited sessions), VAT included, billed annually, with a 2-month free trial. If you just want a shop window, Squarespace or Wix will do. If you want a website that works hand in hand with your business management, you can build your photography website with Fotostudio.

FAQ: Wix vs Squarespace for photographers

Conclusion: choose based on what your website needs to do

Between Wix and Squarespace, there's no loser. Squarespace gives you an elegant portfolio with almost no effort. Wix gives you more freedom and built-in booking. The most important thing is knowing what you expect from your website: a shop window, or the starting point for your bookings, deliveries and contracts.