Is Squarespace or WordPress better for a church website?

It depends on who will keep the site current. In our 2026 study of 2,000 church websites we identified 198 on Squarespace and 277 on WordPress. On freshness, Squarespace church sites came out ahead (91.4% against 73.3%). On working online giving, Squarespace church sites came out ahead (77.3% against 67.1%). This is correlation, not causation: a platform does not make a church tend its website, but churches that tend their websites cluster on certain platforms.

Which costs less for a church, Squarespace or WordPress?

Squarespace: $19–$99/month billed annually ($25–$139 month-to-month) — plus your volunteer’s hours. WordPress: Software $0 — hosting commonly ~$5–$30/month (varies by host; renewals often higher), plus themes, plugins, and your volunteer’s hours. Vendor prices change, so confirm on each vendor's own pricing page before you commit.

Does Squarespace or WordPress build the church's website for you?

Squarespace: You (or a volunteer), from a template. WordPress: You, a volunteer, or a hired developer. If nobody at the church has the hours, Church Digital designs, builds, hosts and updates the site for $120 a month flat with $0 setup.

Which is easier for a church to keep updated, Squarespace or WordPress?

We can't measure ease directly, but we can measure the result. Updated within the last year: Squarespace leads by 18.1 points. 91.4% of Squarespace church sites showed an update within the last year, against 73.3% on WordPress. Across all sites in the study the figure was 74%. Who updates it: on Squarespace, you — weekly, by name, forever; on WordPress, your team — the content and the software itself (core, theme, plugins, backups).

Which is better for online giving, Squarespace or WordPress?

Working online giving: Squarespace leads by 10.2 points. 77.3% of Squarespace church sites had a working online giving path, against 67.1% on WordPress. How giving works on Squarespace: a third-party embed you choose and configure yourself. On WordPress: a third-party plugin or embed you choose and maintain. Across all sites in the study, 67.3% had a working giving path.

What does a church website cost over three years on Squarespace or WordPress?

Squarespace: $684 to $3,564 (Basic to Advanced, $19 to $99/month on annual billing). WordPress: $180 to $1,080 (free software plus hosting you buy separately, observed around $5 to $30/month depending on the host). Three years at the monthly prices in the table above, times 36. This leaves out domains, add-ons, renewal increases and the hours someone at the church spends building and updating the site, which is the larger cost on a do-it-yourself platform.

How was the Squarespace vs WordPress data collected?

We audited 2,000 real church websites across the United States in July 2026, identified the platform each one runs on, and checked each site for a recent update, a working giving path and findable service times. No individual church is named. The full method is published at /research.

Squarespace vs WordPress for church websites

By Logan Busic, Founder, Church Digital, who ran the 2,000-church website study. Published November 10, 2026.

The short answer

In our study of 2,000 church websites, Squarespace church sites were more often current: 91.4% showed an update within the last year, against 73.3% on WordPress. Squarespace sites also more often had working online giving (77.3% against 67.1%). On entry price, WordPress starts lower (from $5 a month against $19; the cost section below says what each figure covers). Neither result proves the platform caused it, so choose on who will keep the site updated every week.

Updated within the last year: Squarespace ahead by 18.1 points (Squarespace 91.4%, WordPress 73.3%)
Working online giving: Squarespace ahead by 10.2 points (Squarespace 77.3%, WordPress 67.1%)
Service times findable: Squarespace ahead by 7.9 points (Squarespace 92.4%, WordPress 84.5%)
Three-year cost: Squarespace $684 to $3,564, WordPress $180 to $1,080

Most Squarespace vs WordPress comparisons score features. This one looks at what churches actually end up with. In our 2026 study of 2,000 church websites, we identified 198 sites built on Squarespace and 277 built on WordPress, and checked each one for the three things a first-time visitor needs.

Neither platform is ours. We build church websites for a living, so we have a stake in this market, and the numbers below are published in full so you can check them.

See what the data says

Or have it built for you

What we found on real church websites

	Squarespace	WordPress
Church sites in the study	198	277
Updated within the last year	91.4%	73.3%
Working online giving	77.3%	67.1%
Service times findable	92.4%	84.5%

Updated within the last year: Squarespace leads by 18.1 points. 91.4% of Squarespace church sites showed an update within the last year, against 73.3% on WordPress.
Working online giving: Squarespace leads by 10.2 points. 77.3% of Squarespace church sites had a working online giving path, against 67.1% on WordPress.
Service times findable: Squarespace leads by 7.9 points. 92.4% of Squarespace church sites made service times findable, against 84.5% on WordPress.

For context, across every reachable site in the study 74% showed an update within the year and 67.3% had working giving. This is correlation, not causation: a platform does not make a church tend its website, but churches that tend their websites cluster on certain platforms. Read the full study and method.

Where Squarespace and WordPress rank among church platforms

	Squarespace	WordPress	All sites
Updated within the last year	4th of 8+17.4 pts vs average	7th of 8-0.7 pts vs average	74%
Working online giving	4th of 8+10 pts vs average	5th of 8-0.2 pts vs average	67.3%
Service times findable	2nd of 8+8.6 pts vs average	7th of 8+0.7 pts vs average	83.8%

Rank among the 8 named platforms in the study (The Church Co, Subsplash, Weebly, Squarespace, Tithe.ly Sites, Wix, WordPress (self-hosted), GoDaddy Websites + Marketing). A tie shares the higher rank. See every church website builder compared.

Price and who does the work

Monthly price: Squarespace$19–$99/month billed annually ($25–$139 month-to-month) — plus your volunteer’s hours; WordPressSoftware $0 — hosting commonly ~$5–$30/month (varies by host; renewals often higher), plus themes, plugins, and your volunteer’s hours; Church Digital$120/month flat — published, whole price
Setup fee: Squarespace$0 — the setup is your time; WordPress$0 — the setup is your time, or a developer’s invoice; Church Digital$0, ever
Who builds the site: SquarespaceYou (or a volunteer), from a template; WordPressYou, a volunteer, or a hired developer; Church DigitalWe do — custom design, built for you
Who updates it: SquarespaceYou — weekly, by name, forever; WordPressYour team — the content and the software itself (core, theme, plugins, backups); Church DigitalWe do — email us the change
Contract: SquarespaceMonthly or annual plans, self-serve; WordPressNone — but hosting, domain, and renewals are yours to manage; Church DigitalNone — cancel anytime, from your account
Online giving: SquarespaceA third-party embed you choose and configure yourself; WordPressA third-party plugin or embed you choose and maintain; Church DigitalWe connect the giving platform you already use

	Squarespace	WordPress	Church Digital (done for you)
Monthly price	$19–$99/month billed annually ($25–$139 month-to-month) — plus your volunteer’s hours	Software $0 — hosting commonly ~$5–$30/month (varies by host; renewals often higher), plus themes, plugins, and your volunteer’s hours	$120/month flat — published, whole price
Setup fee	$0 — the setup is your time	$0 — the setup is your time, or a developer’s invoice	$0, ever
Who builds the site	You (or a volunteer), from a template	You, a volunteer, or a hired developer	We do — custom design, built for you
Who updates it	You — weekly, by name, forever	Your team — the content and the software itself (core, theme, plugins, backups)	We do — email us the change
Contract	Monthly or annual plans, self-serve	None — but hosting, domain, and renewals are yours to manage	None — cancel anytime, from your account
Online giving	A third-party embed you choose and configure yourself	A third-party plugin or embed you choose and maintain	We connect the giving platform you already use

Vendor details come from our full reviews of Squarespace and WordPress, which name each pricing source and the date it was checked (first verified 2026-07-16). Prices change; confirm on the vendor's own page.

What three years costs

Squarespace: $684 to $3,564; Basic to Advanced, $19 to $99/month on annual billing
WordPress: $180 to $1,080; free software plus hosting you buy separately, observed around $5 to $30/month depending on the host
Church Digital: $4,320; $120/month flat, $0 setup, built and updated for you

Three years at the monthly prices in the table above, times 36. This leaves out domains, add-ons, renewal increases and the hours someone at the church spends building and updating the site, which is the larger cost on a do-it-yourself platform.

Which one fits your church

Squarespace fits a church when

You have a named person who enjoys the tool and updates it weekly — the study says Squarespace churches like yours mostly thrive.
Design control matters to your team and they want to own it themselves.
The published $19–$29/month price is the whole budget, and your volunteer’s time isn’t part of the math.

What it does well

The templates really are that good
Their churches keep sites fresh
Transparent, published pricing

Where churches struggle with it

The weekly-update question
Church features are assembly required
Giving lags the church platforms

Our full Squarespace review for churches →

WordPress fits a church when

Someone technical on your team enjoys running it — updates, backups, and all — and a second person could take over tomorrow. One bus-factor person is how WordPress church sites end up in the stale fourth.
Your site does something custom (a school portal, a food-bank scheduler, a multilingual congregation) that builders genuinely can’t. That flexibility is what WordPress is for.
Ownership and portability matter more to your church than convenience. WordPress is the least locked-in option on the web, and that’s worth something real.

What it does well

You actually own it
It can do anything
The biggest talent pool
The software costs nothing

Where churches struggle with it

Somebody has to run the software, not just the content
The staleness numbers are the worst of the big platforms
Giving is a plugin project
Free software isn’t a free website

Our full WordPress review for churches →

If nobody has the hours for either

Website

A custom-built church website, hosted and maintained for you.

Normally $120/mo, founding rate $90/mo

$90 a month for as long as you stay (regular $120). No setup fee. Nothing to pay until your site is live.

$0 today. Checkout saves your card; the first charge is the day your site goes live, after you approve it.

Custom design for your church
Service times, sermons, giving, events
Hosting and updates included
Live on your own domain
Christmas and Easter pages, every year
Help applying for the Google Ad Grant

$0 setup · no contract · cancel anytime

First-month money-back guarantee

See all pricing

If the building or the weekly updates would land on a volunteer who does not have the hours, Church Digital is the done-for-you route: we design, build, host and update the site, and the church emails us changes.

A human replies within 1 business dayLive in 14 days

Common questions

Is Squarespace or WordPress better for a church website?: It depends on who will keep the site current. In our 2026 study of 2,000 church websites we identified 198 on Squarespace and 277 on WordPress. On freshness, Squarespace church sites came out ahead (91.4% against 73.3%). On working online giving, Squarespace church sites came out ahead (77.3% against 67.1%). This is correlation, not causation: a platform does not make a church tend its website, but churches that tend their websites cluster on certain platforms.
Which costs less for a church, Squarespace or WordPress?: Squarespace: $19–$99/month billed annually ($25–$139 month-to-month) — plus your volunteer’s hours. WordPress: Software $0 — hosting commonly ~$5–$30/month (varies by host; renewals often higher), plus themes, plugins, and your volunteer’s hours. Vendor prices change, so confirm on each vendor's own pricing page before you commit.
Does Squarespace or WordPress build the church's website for you?: Squarespace: You (or a volunteer), from a template. WordPress: You, a volunteer, or a hired developer. If nobody at the church has the hours, Church Digital designs, builds, hosts and updates the site for $120 a month flat with $0 setup.
Which is easier for a church to keep updated, Squarespace or WordPress?: We can't measure ease directly, but we can measure the result. Updated within the last year: Squarespace leads by 18.1 points. 91.4% of Squarespace church sites showed an update within the last year, against 73.3% on WordPress. Across all sites in the study the figure was 74%. Who updates it: on Squarespace, you — weekly, by name, forever; on WordPress, your team — the content and the software itself (core, theme, plugins, backups).
Which is better for online giving, Squarespace or WordPress?: Working online giving: Squarespace leads by 10.2 points. 77.3% of Squarespace church sites had a working online giving path, against 67.1% on WordPress. How giving works on Squarespace: a third-party embed you choose and configure yourself. On WordPress: a third-party plugin or embed you choose and maintain. Across all sites in the study, 67.3% had a working giving path.
What does a church website cost over three years on Squarespace or WordPress?: Squarespace: $684 to $3,564 (Basic to Advanced, $19 to $99/month on annual billing). WordPress: $180 to $1,080 (free software plus hosting you buy separately, observed around $5 to $30/month depending on the host). Three years at the monthly prices in the table above, times 36. This leaves out domains, add-ons, renewal increases and the hours someone at the church spends building and updating the site, which is the larger cost on a do-it-yourself platform.
How was the Squarespace vs WordPress data collected?: We audited 2,000 real church websites across the United States in July 2026, identified the platform each one runs on, and checked each site for a recent update, a working giving path and findable service times. No individual church is named. The full method is published at /research.

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