Penpot vs Squarespace
The ultimate side-by-side head-to-head analysis for 2026.
Short answer
- Price: Penpot is cheaper — Free vs $16/user/mo.
- How to start: Penpot is free, Squarespace is from $16/user/mo.
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. We do not publish a quality score, because we do not have one we can stand behind. They cannot tell you which tool fits your workflow — the sections below are there for that. How we score tools.
Penpot
Squarespace
Category
Design
Design
Base Price
Free
$16/user/mo
Public API
Yes
Yes
Mobile app
No
Yes
Open source / self-hostable
Yes
No
SSO (SAML)
No
No
Choose Penpot if:
Teams that need design collaboration without a per-seat contract, or with data residency rules.
Choose Squarespace if:
Photographers, Artists, and Boutique Brands.
Penpot: pros & cons
- Open source with no seat licence
- Self-hostable, so files stay yours
- Uses open web standards under the hood
- Fewer plugins and integrations
- Performance lags on very large files
- Smaller community for help
Squarespace: pros & cons
- Premium Templates: The cleanest and most 'expensive-looking' designs on the web.
- Ease of Use: The new Fluid Engine makes drag-and-drop much more intuitive.
- All-in-One: Every essential tool is built-in without needing extra plugins.
- Mobile Ready: Designs look consistently flawless on mobile devices automatically.
- Flexibility Limits: Does not allow the same total freedom as Wix to place items anywhere.
- Price: Monthly fees can be higher than those of most major competitors.
- App Market: Its ecosystem for third-party apps is smaller than Shopify or WordPress.
Our verdict on Penpot
The credible open-source answer to Figma. Judge it on your file sizes before committing a team to it.
Our verdict on Squarespace
The best tool for building an elegant, minimalist, and high-end website.