If you’ve ever wondered who would win a Bluehost versus Squarespace duel, you’ve come to the correct spot. In this comparison, we will compare the cost, simplicity of use, performance, customer service, and much more between these two digital behemoths.
If, like me, you’ve been looking for a place to build your own website in the previous 15 years, you’ve probably came across Bluehost and Squarespace.
But that’s like comparing… From avocados to pizza. Both delicious, but very different.
After all, Bluehost is a hosting service that allows you to design your website with whichever CMS you like, implying limitless possibilities. Squarespace, on the other hand, is a website builder that offers the simplest approach to create the website of your dreams. No prior coding or website development expertise is required.
Regardless of how different these two are, the ultimate goal must be the same – a beautiful and profitable website.
So, in this Squarespace vs Bluehost comparison, I examined the key components of a successful website. Finally, we’ll see who is better at it, or at least who is better for you.
Bluehost vs Squarespace -- Overview
Bluehost and Squarespace are both well-known industry brands. Bluehost, on the other hand, is a hosting company, whereas Squarespace is a website builder. This comes with various methods to site development as well as considerable pricing variances.
Here’s a short rundown of the facts. It is entirely up to you whether to read the entire essay or go directly to the end. After all, it takes a long time to read 5000 words.
WINNER
Bluehost
Bluehost vs Squarespace Pricing Review
Bluehost is significantly less expensive than Squarespace by default. Bluehost’s shared hosting plans cost between $2.95 and $13.95 per month, whereas Squarespace plans cost between $14.00 and $49.00 per month.
At the same time, the price difference is pretty reasonable – Bluehost offers hosting as well as the tools to administer it yourself. Meanwhile, Squarespace is the platform on which you can easily design a website; the platform handles the rest of the technical requirements.
There aren’t many parallels between the services provided by the platforms. Both have four levels that include free domains and SSL certificates. In addition, the lowest plans allow you to host one website. The rest is unique:
- Bluehost Basic ($2.95/month) comes with 50GB of SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth. The choices for monetization are not restricted.
- Squarespace Personal ($14.00/month) includes unlimited storage and bandwidth, but no eCommerce features.
It’s also worth noting that no matter which Squarespace plan you choose, it’s only good for one website. Bluehost allows you to establish an unlimited number of sites beginning with the second (Plus) package.
Furthermore, billing choices vary. Bluehost offers the best value when you buy at least a one-year membership, but renewals are more expensive. Squarespace offers a discount on yearly memberships and has no higher renewals. Furthermore, the monthly rate is not too awful.
Taking everything into account, Bluehost is less expensive. Despite the fact that renewals brought these two closer together. At the same time, you may use Squarespace’s monthly pricing to avoid making large upfront costs. That is something Bluehost does not provide.
Is the lowest plan, however, the best value? I decided to look into additional choices to determine which of the plans offered by both suppliers is the most useful.
Bluehost Pricing Review
Bluehost’s four plans range in price from $2.95 to $13.95 per month. The monthly pricing stays the same whether you pick an annual, biennial, or three-year membership.
- Basic is recommended for personal usage, as the 1-site restriction may be too restrictive for enterprises.
- Plus is the greatest solution for everyone. Unlimited storage and bandwidth for an unlimited number of sites is a reasonable $5.45 a month, rising to a reasonable $11.99 on renewal.
- Choice Plus adds a year of daily backups and domain privacy for the same price as the Plus plan. However, the renewal fee is substantially higher, at $16.99.
- Pro, for shared hosting, is, in my opinion, pricey. A robust cloud hosting solution that is simple to use may be found for $13.95 per month.
Our Recommendation
Squarespace Pricing Review
Squarespace provides four levels that range from $14.00 to $49.00 per month with a yearly subscription. Monthly billing is also offered, bringing the price to between $19.00 and $65.00 each month.
- Personal is ideal for creating a portfolio or a website to advertise your company. Although it will not be feasible to monetize it through eCommerce.
- Business provides eCommerce capability, however there is a 3% transaction charge. So, if you sell $100 in items every month, a $23.00/mo plan becomes a $33.00/mo plan. It’s not worth it.
- Commerce Basic eliminates the 3% cost and is ideal for smaller eCommerce companies that require client accounts and statistics.
- For larger businesses, Commerce Sophisticated unlocks all of Squarespace’s capabilities, including abandoned cart recovery, advanced discounts, and APIs for third-party integrations.
Our Recommendation
Bluehost vs Squarespace Pricing Review -- Summary
Squarespace is free to test for 14 days with no credit card required. Bluehost does not provide a free trial, however you may cancel and receive a full refund within 30 days of purchase. Remember that the payment must be done using a credit card.
Bluehost is unquestionably less expensive. It is also more versatile than Squarespace. At the same time, putting a price on the platform and capabilities provided by Squarespace is challenging. Furthermore, its billing is far more appealing.
WINNER
Bluehost
Bluehost vs Squarespace -- Ease of Use
Bluehost and Squarespace are both excellent in terms of usability. Despite their differences, they both deliver a simple and straightforward user experience. Bluehost does this through the use of a bespoke dashboard, a multitude of tools, and cPanel connection. Squarespace, on the other hand, features an excellent account management interface and a simple website editor.
Setting up a website
Both providers will greet you with a fast setup process when you check in. Bluehost will setup a WordPress site for you if you desire, whereas Squarespace will establish the groundwork for your future website.
Bluehost walks you through a setup process before you even get to the dashboard or control panel. You can skip it entirely if you like. If you select to proceed, you will be greeted with a WordPress website on your account.
During this procedure, you may also select a theme and various plugins. After that, all that remains is to configure the site in the WordPress admin panel.
Squarespace has a similar setup process, but the focus here is on selecting a template.
Because Squarespace offers hundreds of layouts, it asks you questions to help you narrow down your options.
When you select a template, you are instantly transported to the website builder/editor to begin customising your website.
In any scenario, you have a basis for a website with both providers in about 5 minutes. That is the definition of usability and convenience.
Website and account management
After the website is set up, you can finally view how the internal management appears on both items. But this is when the biggest difference emerges: Bluehost finally begins to resemble a hosting platform, whilst Squarespace unveils its website builder capabilities.
Bluehost’s account and hosting control UI is simple yet effective.
Everything is tidy and simple. The side panel allows you to access the most critical information, such as all of your sites, markets, emails, and more.
My Sites will most likely be the major item you utilise. It displays a list of all of your websites and provides a distinct administration interface for each one.
Here are the options for speed, security, and basic settings like site URL and automated backups and updates.
As you can see, WordPress includes the majority of the features you’ll need to efficiently administer your website. Bluehost, on the other hand, provides cPanel integration, which lets you to handle more complex settings and other CMSs. You may get there by selecting Advanced from the left-side menu.
If you’ve ever used cPanel, you’ll see that the entire appearance has been tailored exclusively for Bluehost. However, how you utilise it and its functioning remain mostly same.
This is where you may set up free email accounts, access databases, and use the file management.
At the same time, the Bluehost backend is only for administration – things like setting up a domain, installing a CMS, getting an email account, and so forth. In terms of a website, you’ll utilise your preferred content management system, such as WordPress.
Squarespace, one of the top site building platforms, is rather different. Following the setup procedure, you are instantly transported to the website builder, where you can find all of the options for the website and its features.
On the right, you can see a live preview of the site, and on the left, you can access all of the options. It is intended for both website design and adjusting settings such as domain, SSL, SEO, and even marketing.
The menu is divided into levels, with each choice leading you further and deeper into the settings. At the same time, no page has to be reloaded because everything is integrated into the same interface.
In comparison to Bluehost, Squarespace may be even easier to use because everything is done in one spot. Everything from site design to account/hosting management.
Website builder comparison
Squarespace is the clear victor in this category, however Bluehost also features a simple website builder that is useful for rapidly building a site.
Website builders are often used by individuals who do not wish to become involved with technological details. Everything is at one spot. It saves time and nerves by leaving only the creative aspect to accomplish.
So, while WordPress is the major choice for building a website with Bluehost, it also has its own website builder. It’s also a really nice one.
Bluehost Builder does not provide a template selection. Rather, it asks you questions, lets you to select colours, fonts, and photos, and creates a one-of-a-kind layout.
This type of modification is most likely the simplest technique to get a website up and running.
However, Bluehost’s builder has a surprise.
It’s essentially a WordPress plugin, and if you’re comfortable enough to leave the simple interface, you can simply leverage the power that this CMS provides. In my perspective, it’s quite nice.
Squarespace builder is far more capable. For starters, it has hundreds of beautiful templates. And there’s no other way to describe them; it’s clear that the platform works hard to make the templates distinctive and oh-so-appealing.
In terms of creating experience, it may be both basic and complex. You may simply replace the example images and text with your own. It doesn’t get any easier than that. You may also change the layouts to make each page and design element unique.
Using the editor is simple no matter which strategy you use. You may move existing items around as well as add new design elements such as buttons, text boxes, and photos by dragging and dropping them. Squarespace includes global font and colour choices, but you can also customise them for each area individually.
What I loved about it was the design flexibility combined with certain rules. You have a lot of discretion in terms of where and how you organise your material, but Squarespace has created spaces for that content. You won’t screw up the spacing this way, and the site will seem neat and professional.
Overall, Squarespace is the more capable builder, and it’s easy to see why: it specialises in it. Bluehost Builder, on the other hand, isn’t bad; it’s absolutely viable for quick and easy site development.
Additional features
Bluehost and Squarespace both have a slew of bespoke website administration options. Bluehost is without a doubt one of the most functioning hosting companies when compared to the competition. Meanwhile, Squarespace provides more than just a website builder.
You can utilise a lot of extra features with Bluehost:
- Control WordPress plugins and updates directly from the dashboard.
- Set up and manage Google Ads with a streamlined interface.
- Register your company on Google My Business to appear in searches such as “pizza near me.”
However, one tool stands out above the rest: WordPress staging. This tool generates a duplicate of your website that only you can see. You may use it to change the design, test plugin updates, or add new features. It’s similar to a playground. With the touch of a button, you may make those modifications appear on the real live website.
Staging provides an extra degree of secrecy and protection. Furthermore, your services are never stopped, ensuring that consumers have a positive experience on your website at all times.
Squarespace, on the other hand, is no less amazing in terms of the tools available:
- Easy and automated integration with social media networks such as Instagram to list your items.
- Easy and automated integration with social media networks such as Instagram to list your items.
- SEO parameters may be changed directly from the builder interface. Third-party extensions are available to enhance the functionality of your website.
At the same time, it has one aspect that demands special attention: the mobile app.
Squarespace features a mobile app for managing your website and business on the move. On the move, you may publish content, make design changes, and update goods. Because of the platform’s complexity, there is a feature that WordPress may never have.
While you may not be able to build the entire website on your phone, having the ability to make adjustments wherever you are is quite useful.
Both products are excellent in terms of what they provide as added value, in my opinion. It is uncommon for hosting companies to assist you with marketing, and staging is almost never seen with shared hosting. Squarespace’s mobile app is undoubtedly a standout, but other features are as useful for launching a successful business.
Overall, I’m impressed with how simple and functional Bluehost and Squarespace are. Bluehost is more than just a hosting service and is ideal for novices. In the meanwhile, Squarespace is a very capable website builder that can compete with WordPress capabilities.
WINNER
Bluehost
Bluehost vs Squarespace -- Performance
Performance is critical to maintaining a pleasant user experience and search engine exposure regardless of the platform on which the site is built. I assessed their dependability, speed, and power for the Bluehost vs Squarespace comparison. It turns out that website builders are unfairly chastised for bad performance – Squarespace can easily compete with Bluehost.
Uptime and response time
I tracked the providers’ uptime and response time for two months to determine their dependability. Both had very comparable outcomes.
Bluehost was up and running 99.99 percent of the time. That’s six outages and 11 minutes of downtime. To be honest, it’s the best there is.
The reaction time is a quick average of 361ms. Bluehost didn’t do well in the first month, but things improved dramatically after that.
Squarespace is even more reliable, with only one 3-minute outage. That’s still 99.99 percent uptime – you couldn’t ask for more.
The average response time is 467 milliseconds. Squarespace, like Bluehost, had a rocky start but subsequently improved. Nonetheless, there are more (and higher) peaks in this graph.
Bluehost and Squarespace are both quite dependable. Other providers can only envy our 99.99 percent uptime.
Website speed
Next, I determined how quickly a fully-built website can load. Website builders are notorious for poor optimization, so it’ll be fascinating to see how Squarespace compares against Bluehost.
However, in order to better comprehend the data, you must first determine which metrics to examine:
- The Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) should take less than 2.5 seconds to complete. It displays the moment when the majority of the content has been loaded.
- Completely Loaded Time itself speaks for itself. It is preferable to keep it under 3 seconds.
TTFB is the time it takes the server to respond when a web page is opened. Although not required, 200ms is excellent.
Bluehost’s Largest Contentful Paint and Fully Loaded Time are both 1.8 seconds long. It is a pretty good outcome with considerable room for error.
At the same time, it took the Bluehost server a full second to respond (TTFB). This increased the page load time, which would have resulted in far better results.
Squarespace comes in second with a speedier 1.3 LCP but a longer delay to Fully Loaded Time – 2.3 seconds. Nonetheless, a pretty nice outcome.
Even better, the server was extremely quick to respond, with TTFB at only 82ms. Unfortunately, there was a 536ms blocking period, which delayed the entire page load.
Interestingly, Bluehost and Squarespace both load webpages swiftly. At the same time, both have certain flaws; Bluehost’s servers are fairly sluggish to respond, and Squarespace lacks some optimization, which causes page loading to be delayed.
Stress testing results
Stress testing was one of the tests that drew the two competitors even closer together. I examined how much and how consistently the platforms could manage traffic by sending 50 Virtual Users (bots) to the websites and reducing the number if necessary.
Bluehost dealt with 15 visitors. And don’t pass judgement just yet. 15 visits in 5 minutes might build up to 15,000 or more visitors every month. That’s a large quantity for shared hosting.
At the same time, we must examine the graph. The blue line shows server response time, while the grey line reflects the number of visits. In Bluehost’s example, the blue line closely tracks the amount of visits.
This implies that when more users are sent to the site, the response time increases. This demonstrates to me that Bluehost can comfortably manage roughly 15 visits.
Squarespace, on the other hand, dealt with ten visits. Again, over 10,000 visits on a low-cost plan is an excellent and well-anticipated outcome.
In this case, the blue line does not rise, indicating that Squarespace stays extremely quick throughout the test. Despite the fact that we have a new line – the red one – that denotes failures. Squarespace failed to deliver several requests in the second half of the test.
Again, this demonstrates that this is the most that my strategy can take.
So, in my judgement, the outcomes are pretty comparable. Both carriers can handle roughly the same amount of traffic and are experiencing minor issues.
Overall, both Bluehost and Squarespace are extremely dependable, with 99.99 percent uptime. Bluehost, on the other hand, is somewhat quicker and can manage more traffic. Nonetheless, Squarespace is a distant second.
WINNER
Bluehost
Bluehost vs Squarespace -- Website Security
As cyber threats grow in quantity and intensity, you need pay more attention to your website’s security. Fortunately, both Bluehost and Squarespace include the fundamentals, including as SSL certificates and server monitoring. At the same time, Squarespace provides more by default and charges no further fees.
Both hosts have the same features that enable protection against major security threats:
- Free SSL certificates for data encryption.
- 24/7 server monitoring.
- Possibility to set up Cloudflare for DDoS protection.
At the same time, there are some distinctions.
Bluehost charges an additional fee for enhanced security:
- Daily backups cost $2.99 per month
- Daily backups cost $2.99 per month
Squarespace includes the following functionalities by default:
- WAF is operational and managed by experts.
- Backups are done automatically on a regular basis. In the event of a critical problem, you can request that your site be restored.
So, while they are more complex functions, they are still necessary, and Squarespace’s policy is far better.
Overall, regardless of the choice you select, the most frequent security weaknesses will be addressed. Simultaneously, Squarespace provides more comprehensive security protections for free.
WINNER
Squarespace
Bluehost vs Squarespace -- Support
When it comes to customer service, the conflict between Squarespace and Bluehost is clear: the two providers took completely different methods. Bluehost provides far faster access to live chat, whereas Squarespace provides a very large knowledge base before establishing direct contact.
It is certain that you will have concerns and difficulties that require assistance when developing and maintaining your own website. That is why excellent customer service is so important in our industry.
Let’s start with Bluehost, which offers live chat and phone assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What I loved best about it was the fact that you could access a live chat with a simple click of a button. Furthermore, an agent entered the conversation within seconds, which was a pleasant surprise.
This annoyed me because my inquiry was straightforward and even included the solution. The agent may have just said yes. Meanwhile, the article to which I was pointed was a little perplexing.
So, while I did assist right away, it wasn’t a perfect experience.
Meanwhile, Squarespace offers email ticket assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT. To get to any of the alternatives, you must first answer a few questions and go over some knowledge base ideas. That, however, does not take long.
I was wondering whether yearly reductions are permanent. The agent first misunderstood and claimed that promotions are one-time events. But I asked a specific query and received a prompt response, complete with a link.
I loved how the agent addressed the questions directly and gave links to further information. That is not the case with Bluehost.
At the same time, contacting support professionals is not the only approach to seek assistance.
Bluehost and Squarespace both offer comprehensive knowledge bases. Providers are constantly upgrading them to reflect service changes, ensuring that you receive appropriate assistance.
Overall, while Squarespace live chat is not open 24 hours a day, I had a better experience with it. Bluehost’s representative didn’t really pay attention to my inquiry and simply supplied a website where it can be answered. At the same time, information bases are beneficial.
WINNER
Squarespace
Bluehost vs Squarespace - Our Recommendation
When it comes to Bluehost vs Squarespace, each offer advantages and disadvantages. Bluehost has substantially lower price alternatives and a control panel with a much greater ceiling. Squarespace is an all-in-one platform with appealing billing as well as solid security and customer support.
At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong with either of these solutions, and your decision should be purely dependent on your requirements. This is how it all comes together:
Both solutions are excellent, but I usually prefer web hosting. And, contrary to popular belief, Bluehost is less expensive, more powerful, and more flexible. Not to mention that it is simple to use and even contains a website builder if you want assistance in getting a website up and running. So this is my biggest suggestion.
Simultaneously, Squarespace is an amazing website builder. It includes everything in one spot, making website management simple; and don’t forget about those magnificent hard-to-refuse themes.
WINNER
Bluehost
Bluehost and Squarespace Alternatives
If neither Bluehost nor Squarespace appear to be the best fit for you, there are a few other providers to consider. Wix, for example, is a terrific Squarespace competitor, while Hostinger and HostGator are two of the most popular hosting services available today.
Hostinger
Hostinger is a lot cheaper than both Bluehost and HostGator. However, unlike both of them, it delivers even better performance. User experience, customer support, and all the basics are also top-quality.
The cheapest Hostinger shared hosting plan is only $2.59/month, and the resources you get are quite generous. Free SSL certificates and generous storage will be waiting for you.
HostGator
For total newbies in the field, HostGator is a wonderful choice. It not only has very low cost choices, but it is also really simple to use and design your website with.
Hatchling, Baby, and Business are the three major plans offered by HostGator. They are $2.75, $3.50, and $5.25 each month, respectively. It provides an easy-to-use cPanel control panel as well as its own website builder, making administering and creating a website from scratch straightforward.
DreamHost
DreamHost is yet another fantastic option to Namecheap and HostGator that combines abundant resources, low pricing, and high performance.
DreamHost specialises on WordPress hosting, although you may use whatever CMS you choose. While it is priced similarly to HostGator, the host offers a 100% uptime guarantee and exceptionally safe hosting options. Furthermore, you may pay monthly without incurring exorbitant fees.
Bluehost vs Squarespace FAQs
What distinguishes Bluehost from Squarespace?
Bluehost is a hosting company, whereas Squarespace is a website builder. You may use whatever programme you choose to develop your website with Bluehost.
Bluehost or Squarespace is the less expensive option.
Bluehost is significantly less expensive than Squarespace in terms of pricing. Its rates begin at $2.95 per month, compared to $14.00 per month for Squarespace. Bluehost’s renewal cost, on the other hand, gets it significantly closer to the rival. Squarespace’s cost does not change.
Bluehost or Squarespace?
Bluehost and Squarespace are both fairly simple to utilise. Bluehost has both a unique administration interface and standard cPanel integration. Squarespace, on the other hand, provides a user-friendly website builder that incorporates all options into a single interface.
