GoDaddy vs Squarespace: In Need Of Speed Or Design?

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4.7

out of 5

4.2

out of 5

GoDaddy and Squarespace are both popular builders, but they cater to different audiences.

GoDaddy scores 4.1 out of 5 in our recent website builder research, and it’s a great choice for small businesses who want to get online quickly and hassle-free. Squarespace, on the other hand, scores an impressive 4.7 out of 5 overall and targets creatives with its gorgeous templates and great value.

So, which builder works best for your needs?

Best value for money

4.7

out of 5
Top Choice
Ease Of Use

4.4 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

4.6 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

4.7 out of 5 stars

Features

4.6 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

4.8 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4.5 out of 5 stars

Fastest way to build a website

4.2

out of 5
Ease Of Use

4.1 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

4.1 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

4.1 out of 5 stars

Features

3.1 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

4.3 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4.6 out of 5 stars

GoDaddy is better for you if you want to build a website quickly...

With GoDaddy’s ADI setup, it’s really easy to create a site fast. However, this will mean sacrificing sleek design elements and creative control. But, if time is of the essence and you want to keep costs at a minimum, GoDaddy could be for you.

Squarespace is better for you if you want to build a stylish site...

Squarespace is ideal for creatives and anyone that doesn’t mind spending a bit of time designing a website. Not only are Squarespace’s plans great value for money but its aesthetically-pleasing templates and modern designs can’t be beaten.

It’s our job to test and research products thoroughly and share accurate and fair recommendations with our readers. But how do we compare two builders, such as GoDaddy and Squarespace? Read more about our research process below:

Choosing a website builder depends on your needs. Are you looking for something affordable or are good design templates the key selling point? Luckily for you, we’ve tested over 50 of the top website builders to help bring you informed recommendations.

We specifically look at these performance areas:

  • Ease of use
  • Website features
  • Value for money
  • Design functionalities
  • Help and support
  • Customer score

Within each category, we break them down further to analyze factors such as marketing, the number of templates, and SEO, for example. We then combine these individual scores to create a category score. Finally, we take these six scores to create an overall score (out of five) for each website builder.

If you want to know more about our website builder research process, you can check out our detailed page.

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GoDaddy vs Squarespace: Quick Comparison

If you’re looking for a quick roundup of both platforms – here’s a side-by-side comparison table to help you decide whether GoDaddy or Squarespace is perfect for you.

Squarespace GoDaddy
Ease of Use
Winner: Squarespace
Squarespace’s drag-and-drop editor is incredibly user-friendly and its professionally-built designs make it easy to build a stunning website. GoDaddy is ideal if you want to build a site quickly, and its ADI can help you get started.
Design Flexibility
Winner: Squarespace
Squarespace’s high-quality designs and templates are the best of the best. Its templates are modern, trendy, and aesthetically pleasing. GoDaddy offers decent templates but they’re nothing special in comparison to other builders.
Features
Winner: Squarespace
Squarespace offers tons of built-in features, including scheduling tools and blogging functionalities. Plus, you can access third-party apps via Squarespace Extensions. GoDaddy’s plans come with all of the basic features you’d expect, but it doesn’t have its own app market.
SEO
Winner: Squarespace
You’ll have access to lots of SEO features, including keyword support and the ability to edit meta tags. Squarespace also allows users to submit a sitemap. GoDaddy’s plans come with plenty of SEO features, but it’s let down by its inability to submit a sitemap.
Help and Support
Winner: Squarespace
You can contact Squarespace via email 24/7, social media channels, and weekly live chat support. It doesn’t offer phone support but Squarespace’s Help Center is incredibly thorough and detailed. GoDaddy offers 24/7 phone and live chat support, and it has recently introduced email support too. However, its Help Center is outdated and messy.
Value for Money
Winner: Squarespace
Squarespace is the best value for money out of all of the builders we tested. You get a great service for the price you pay! GoDaddy’s plans are pretty affordable and it offers a free plan as well.
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GoDaddy vs Squarespace: Pros & Cons

Pros & Cons GoDaddy Squarespace
Pros ✔️ Build a site with ADI, providing a speedy solution to website creation
✔️ You can switch themes at any point – your existing elements and content will automatically reformat
✔️ Start with its free plan and stay on it for as long as you’d like
✔️ Jam-packed with high-quality features to help bring your website to life
✔️ Breathtaking templates and designs that can’t be beat
✔️ Best value for money website builder
✔️ Ideal for creatives and visually-heavy sites
Cons ❌ Features can feel basic and limited – nothing really stands out
❌ Restrictions on creative freedom
❌ Not suitable for complex websites
❌ Plans are fairly expensive to get started with
❌ Doesn’t include an artificial design option
❌ No 24/7 live chat support
❌ There’s no autosave when editing

Ease of Use

squarespace logo
The Winner

Squarespace is easier to use...

Scoring 4.4 out of 5 in our ease of use testing, Squarespace just beats GoDaddy. Squarespace’s impressive editor is incredibly user-friendly and full of beautiful, professionally-designed templates and elements to use on your website.
Visit Squarespace

We look at website builders all day, every day – after all, we’re experts! So, when testing builders on their ease of use, we recruited everyday people to build a website with each platform and share how they found the process.

Ultimately, Squarespace came out on top with an ease of use score of 4.4 out of 5 – an increase of 11% since last year’s research, which results in the builder being one of the best in this category. Squarespace’s editor is easy to get to grips with, and there are tons of built-in features to rely on. Plus, over 90% of people that tested the builder would recommend it to others! You can’t beat that praise.

GoDaddy, on the other hand, scores 4.1 out of 5 for ease of use. It’s the perfect builder if you’re short on time and want to get your website set up quickly, especially because of its ADI editor. However, some users found its simplicity to be frustrating and it can be confusing to wrap your head around the features and terminology used by GoDaddy.

That being said, GoDaddy was the only builder in our recent round of testing to see any improvement in its site speed performance, so that’s a real bonus.

One user said this of GoDaddy:

“If you want simple and fast, GoDaddy can give you that.”

Users rated Squarespace as one of the easiest builders to use.

Design Flexibility

squarespace logo
The Winner

Squarespace has the best designs...

Squarespace is well known for its aesthetic and modern templates, and it’s the best option for design out of all of the builders we’ve tested – not just GoDaddy. With a score of 4.7 out of 5 for design in our 2023 research, Squarespace once again steals the show when it comes to this category.
Visit Squarespace

Design comes down to two things: appearance and control. Ultimately, you want your website to look good and be able to put your own stamp on it. To do that, you need your builder to provide you with a decent level of customization.

Both of these builders are strong options, but Squarespace is the best for design, scoring 4.7 out of 5. It’s an ideal choice for anyone that values the aesthetics and visuals of a website, and there’s a reason that a ton of major brands use it!

Not only are Squarespace’s templates designed by professionals, they’re also really flexible when it comes to editing. But if you feel overwhelmed by your creative choices, Squarespace’s “Design Hero” will help you keep your site on track, picking out the perfect attributes to complement your brand.

And, since last year, we’ve seen even more improvements to Squarespace’s design functions, introducing new permanent features across all templates – including the ability to add videos to pages and forms.

In comparison, GoDaddy scores 4.1 out of 5 for its design flexibility – a drop of 6% since 2022. Unfortunately, GoDaddy doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking to make it stand out against competitors like Squarespace. Its simple editor is beginner-friendly, sure, but its restrictive block elements can really limit your creative control.

As one user said when testing:

“Squarespace gives a better feel that the world is your oyster – especially with templates. On GoDaddy it feels like you don’t have as much room to explore.”

GoDaddy’s superpower, however, is its ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) which can help design and build a website for you. By asking you a series of questions about the purpose and needs of your site, GoDaddy’s ADI can create an original design based on your answers. Pretty neat!

Selection of Squarespace website templates with a list of categories above to help filter it down
Squarespace's themes are modern, stylish, and trendy.

Squarespace is the best for design, offering professionally-designed templates.

Features and Tools

squarespace logo
The Winner

Squarespace has better features...

It’s another win for Squarespace. Its plans come with plenty of impressive features, including marketing tools, ecommerce support, and newly-added scheduling capabilities. And if that’s not enough, you can add third-party apps, such as Printful or Quickbooks, via Squarespace Extensions.
Visit Squarespace

It’s always good to look at what features a builder has. After all, this determines what you can or can’t do on the platform.

Once again, Squarespace is our winner, scoring a mighty 4.6 out of 5 for its website features – a 4% increase since last year’s research and the second-highest features score of any website builder we tested.

This improvement is largely down to the enhanced internal features and external add-ons offered by Squarespace plans and the Squarespace Extensions store, including online bookings and scheduling tools.

It makes sense that Squarespace would offer such impressive features to match its high-quality designs and templates, and we were particularly in awe of its marketing features which saw a score increase of 25% since last year to reach a perfect 5 out of 5 rating.

GoDaddy, in contrast, saw a 7% drop in score since 2022 and now scores 3.1 out of 5 for its website features. To put it simply, GoDaddy covers the basic features but doesn’t go the extra mile, and without its own app market, you’ll feel restricted as you look to grow or expand your site.

However, the simplicity of GoDaddy is what makes it possible to build a website so quickly. If you’re happy with the essentials, there’s no need to cast GoDaddy aside just yet.

Ecommerce

Now, when it comes to selling online, there are a few key features that both platforms offer:

  • SSL security – Protecting customer payments and transactions securely
  • Payment processors – PayPal, Stripe, and Square are supported
  • Abandoned cart recovery – Send customers an email that reminds them to check out if they’ve left your site without paying
  • Custom codes – Ability to create promotion and discount codes for customers
  • Social media integration – Ability to sync your store with Instagram
  • Product choice – Both builders allow you to sell physical and digital products
  • Customer testimonials – A new addition from GoDaddy, meaning both builders now let you showcase positive reviews and feedback

What about selling offline?

Squarespace offers a Square integration, meaning you can sell products offline, take card payments, and keep everything synced with your online inventory. All you need is the Squarespace Commerce app, and a Square card reader ($49). This isn’t something that GoDaddy currently offers, so it’s a huge plus for Squarespace.

Squarespace is one of our most recommended builders for online stores.

Blogging

GoDaddy offers limited blogging tools – you can schedule posts, monitor your blog’s SEO, share via social media, and create writer profiles, but that’s about it.

As a blogger, you’ll want features that not only support you in your work but also let your content stand out. Some added functionalities to consider would include enabling comments and displaying blog categories.

With Squarespace, you can do all that and more. You can archive old posts, social bookmark, and add a search feature so people can find what they’re looking for quickly. This is why Squarespace scores 5 out of 5 for blogging, in comparison to GoDaddy’s 2 out of 5.

Email Marketing

Again, Squarespace just beats out GoDaddy in this area, scoring 5 out of 5 for its email marketing services. GoDaddy, on the other hand, scores 4 out of 5. Both allow you to get your own custom email addresses and run email marketing campaigns through internal features.

You can pick from a handful of email templates, then add your own content and fire them out to readers. Alternatively, Squarespace lets you integrate with third-party apps like Mailchimp.

Social Media Integration

GoDaddy and Squarespace are about the same when it comes to social media integrations – both platforms let you link your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

GoDaddy takes it a step further and offers a live feed section, a post creator, and an option to share your YouTube livestream on your website! And an app called Unfold is available through Squarespace, helping website owners create stylized social posts that match their brand image.

Squarespace has an impressive range of blogging features.

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SEO

squarespace logo
The Winner

Squarespace is better for SEO...

We’re awarding Squarespace with the win, but it’s a close race. Your level of control is the same across both website builders, but Squarespace allows users to easily submit a sitemap to Google.
Visit Squarespace

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of helping your website rank highly on the likes of Google. The higher your website ranks in search results, the more likely people will see – and visit – your site.

There are loads of ways to improve your site’s SEO, and website builders do a great job in providing certain tools to help.

GoDaddy and Squarespace are almost identical in terms of their SEO support. You can:

  • Edit meta titles & descriptions – The text that appears in a Google search result
  • Change URL slugs – The text between the forward slashes, ‘/’, after your domain
  • Add alt text to images – Accurately describe your images so Google and anyone visually-impaired can understand what they display
  • Receive keyword support – So you know which words or phrases to include in your copy
  • Use mobile-responsive themes – Your site will automatically adjust to different screen sizes, which is something search engines look out for

Though it’s a close race, Squarespace just pips GoDaddy through its site mapping functionality and automatic updates.

Squarespace provides advanced SEO tools, including sitemaps.

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Help and Support

squarespace logo
The Winner

Squarespace is better for help and support...

Squarespace is one of the best website builders for help and support and has been for quite some time. Customers can reach out to the builder via 24/7 email, social media channels, and weekly live chat support, or check out a helpful guide in Squarespace’s Help Center.
Visit Squarespace

The level of help you receive is vital to the success of your website. Alongside the quality of support, it’s important to have access to help in a variety of ways.

Squarespace is a top-tier builder for help and support, scoring 4.8 out of 5 in our recent research. With Squarespace, you get 24/7 email support and a live chat option from Monday to Friday, 4am to 8pm ET. And while the builder doesn’t currently offer a phone service, you can reach out for assistance via its Twitter and Facebook accounts 24/7.

With GoDaddy, its score hasn’t changed since last year’s rating of 3.8 out of 5. It offers 24/7 phone and live chat support to customers and has recently introduced email support.

The real deciding factor in this category is the help center. A help center is a built-in resource where you can find handy guides on how to do certain things or answers to a question you might have. We found GoDaddy’s Help Center to be cluttered and not all pages are up-to-date.

Squarespace’s Help Center, on the other hand, is clean and easy to navigate. In fact, its help center scores 5 out of 5 in our research, whereas GoDaddy’s help center only scores 2 out of 5!

Squarespace's Help Center featuring a search bar and suggested reading categories to help users navigate
Squarespace's Help Center is organized clearly to help users find the right information.

Our research awarded Squarespace first place for its help and support.

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Pricing and Value for Money

squarespace logo
The Winner

Squarespace is the best value for money...

Out of all of the website builders we tested in 2023, Squarespace is the best value for money, scoring 4.6 out of 5. While its plans aren’t cheaper than GoDaddy, you get more for your dollar with Squarespace and we think it’s worth spending that extra buck!
Visit Squarespace

If you’re not a tech expert, knowing what website builder is good value for money can be hard. Luckily, we’re here to help and we’ve taken a good look at all of GoDaddy and Squarespace’s pricing plans to see who offers the best deal.

In our recent research, we noted that every website builder has increased their prices since 2022. For example, Squarespace’s starting plan rose by a mammoth 33%, from $12 to $16 per month.

That being said, Squarespace wins in this category – out of all of the builders we tested, Squarespace is the only one that increased its value rating, coming out as the best value for money with a score of 4.6 out of 5. Not only does it offer feature-rich plans and high-quality designs, but Squarespace also improved its features to match the new, higher price point.

It offers four paid plans, ranging from $16 to $49 per month (billed annually), and if you just want to test it out, there’s a 14-day free trial to get you started.

The two cheaper plans are ideal for individuals or businesses that don’t need to sell online, whereas the two most expensive plans give users ecommerce functionality.

Squarespace's four website builder plans and pricing information, with a list of features under each plan
Squarespace offers four pricing plans, each intended for a different need.

In comparison, GoDaddy scores 4.1 out of 5 in our value for money research – a 5% drop since last year’s score as a result of the industry-wide price increases. It also offers four paid plans, ranging from $9.99-$29.99 per month (billed annually), with the two highest plans targeting ecommerce sites.

While these plans are more affordable than Squarespace’s, you’d still get more bang for your buck with Squarespace. However, what does set GoDaddy apart from Squarespace is its free plan which you can stay on as long as you’d like.

GoDaddy's four website builder plans in a row with pricing and feature information
GoDaddy's plans are very affordable but you get more bang for your buck with Squarespace.

Squarespace is the best value for money, with plans starting at $16 per month.

Save 10% On Any Squarespace Plan!

We have an exclusive offer code that will save you 10% on your first purchase with Squarespace. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Copy the code below and go to Squarespace
  2. Create a Squarespace account
  3. Choose a paid subscription and enter the code at checkout

Check out our Squarespace offer code to find out more about the savings you can make.

Click to copy code
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GoDaddy vs Squarespace: Summary

We’ve thoroughly compared both GoDaddy and Squarespace and there’s one clear winner: Squarespace.

With its stunning designs and powerful built-in features, Squarespace is a tough one to beat. It scores 4.7 out of 5 in our overall research, and despite industry-wide price increases, Squarespace’s plans remain the best value for money across the market.

Of course, GoDaddy is still a great choice, receiving an overall score of 4.1 out of 5 in our research. It doesn’t have the frills or flair of Squarespace, but if you only need the basics and want to get your site up and running quickly, GoDaddy’s perfect.

To put it simply, it’s a close race between the two builders, but Squarespace’s performance across our research categories secures its higher position. The decision really comes down to what you want and need for your future website.

Squarespace beats out GoDaddy in all areas, including design and price.

GoDaddy vs Squarespace: FAQs

Not only is Squarespace better value for money than GoDaddy, but it offers high-quality features and unbeatable designs to match the price. Its editor is very easy to use, and if you do need a helping hand, you can check out Squarespace’s excellent Help Center or contact the customer team 24/7 via email and social media, or through its weekly live chat channel.
Both GoDaddy and Squarespace are very strong website builders, but there are a few key differences between the two. To put it simply, Squarespace is ideal for creatives and visually-heavy websites, whereas GoDaddy sticks to the basics and helps you get your site built quickly.

To dig a little deeper, Squarespace uses a drag-and-drop style editor but GoDaddy has an ADI builder. GoDaddy also offers a free plan while Squarespace has a limited 14-day free trial. Another key difference comes down to features – Squarespace has very impressive built-in features and access to third-party apps via Squarespace Extensions. GoDaddy, on the other hand, lacks its own app market and its features can be limiting.

GoDaddy has cheaper plans, with its paid plans starting at $9.99 per month, billed annually. Squarespace’s plans start at $16 per month. Despite being more expensive, we’d argue that Squarespace’s plans are the best value for money since you get access to so many great built-in features and stunning templates.
There are plenty of other website builders out there, but two which stand out are Wix and Shopify. Wix is a website builder that offers both ADI and a drag-and-drop editor. Shopify, on the other hand, is great for growing an online store. To read more about these builders, check out our Wix review and our Shopify review.
It’s not just the price that puts people off developers – it’s the ongoing maintenance. The world of web design is changing all the time, and websites become outdated quickly. It’s easier to be on a platform that reinvents itself and updates features for you to use as times change, rather than having to contact your developer every year or two to make changes.
If the sole purpose of your website is ecommerce, you’ll want a more powerful solution. GoDaddy and Squarespace are fine for selling the odd product here and there, but online store builders like Shopify and BigCommerce help merchants take their stores to the next level. You can read our Shopify review and BigCommerce review.

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Written by:
emma ryan author bio
I’m a Senior Writer at Website Builder Expert, which means I’m part of a great team that produces and updates content for the website. I specialize in writing highly-researched and accessible guides, comparisons, and reviews that provide readers with everything they need to know about getting started and growing online. I’ve also written about small businesses for Startups.co.uk, video optimization for Industry Today, and HTML for Digital Information World. While working for Website Builder Expert, I’ve gained expertise in website builders, ecommerce platforms, and hosting providers through hands-on testing and research analysis. I’ve also attended expos to further my industry knowledge – all of this helps me pitch fresh article ideas for the website. Additionally, I manage our website’s comments which allows me to have a good understanding of what you, our readers, care about.
Researched by:
natasha_willett
I love to understand human behavior and the cognitive biases that drive us to do what we do. For over nine years I have worked as a mixed method researcher – research using a mix of numerical data and personal experiences – across a range of sectors, from insurance and policy development to finally arriving at Website Builder Expert five years ago. Fascinated by consumer decision-making, I meticulously built our leading ranking methodology to explore where providers like Wix sit within a competitive industry and what value they truly bring to our audience.
As a member of the Market Research Society, I’m an advocate for high ethical, commercial, and methodological best practices. All of this combines to give you the most ethical recommendations based on real data.

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