I’ve had the Showit vs. Squarespace conversation at least a hundred times. Someone DMs me, emails me, or corners me after a speaking gig with some version of the same question: should I go with Squarespace, or is it worth investing in Showit with a Tonic template?
Every single time, I want to give them a real answer. Not a sales pitch. Not a “well, it depends” shrug. A real, here’s-what-I’ve-actually-seen-after-a-decade answer.
So here it is, as honestly as I can lay it out, from someone who has used both, watched thousands of students choose between them, and has strong opinions but genuine respect for why Squarespace works for some people.
If you’re sitting in that “I just need to pick one and go” headspace right now, this post is for you.
This post contains affiliate links. If you sign up for a paid tool through my link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend platforms I personally have used and genuinely believe in.
The Quick Answer (If You Just Need to Pick One)
Squarespace is better for beginners who want everything in one place. Showit with a Tonic Site Shop template is better for creatives who need design control and SEO power. Let’s break them down briefly.
Squarespace is an all-in-one website builder with built-in blogging, e-commerce, and templates starting under $20/month. It’s streamlined and keeps everything under one roof.
Tonic Site Shop sells premium website templates built for the Showit platform. Templates are a one-time investment typically in the $1,000 to $1,500+ range, with Showit hosting running roughly $19 to $34/month depending on your plan. You get full drag-and-drop design control, a separately designed mobile site, and WordPress powering your blog.
Both can build you a beautiful website. The difference is how much creative control you want, how much strategy you need baked in from the start, and what kind of business you’re building.
My Honest Experience Going From Squarespace to Showit
Before I found Tonic, I was a photographer who’d been blogging on WordPress and decided to build my first real website on Squarespace. I was the one behind the screen, late at night after editing sessions, trying to make my little corner of the internet look like I knew what I was doing. And Squarespace was fine at first. Clean. Simple. I picked a template, dropped in my photos, and called it done.
But here’s what I remember most about that season: I was constantly googling things. “How to move a text block in Squarespace.” “Why won’t Squarespace save my changes.” That last one still makes my eye twitch. I’d work on a section, think it was saved, come back and it was gone. I launched my very first course on Squarespace and let’s just say it was the last thing I ever launched on that platform.
My work was good enough that clients still booked me. But my business started growing beyond what that template could hold. I wanted my about page to feel different from every other photographer’s about page. I wanted my mobile site to be its own experience, not a shrunken-down version of my desktop. And Squarespace just couldn’t get me there.
That’s when someone mentioned Showit. And that’s when I found Jen Olmstead and Tonic. I’d actually met Jen at a conference before any of this, one of those instant friendships that fast-tracked over a gin and tonic and a charcuterie board while we hid from the crowds in a quiet hotel room. She went from friend to my web designer, and now, a decade later, I’ve watched her company serve over 7,500 businesses. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I didn’t start as a Tonic loyalist. I started as someone who outgrew Squarespace and needed more. Not everyone will.
Where Showit Leaves Squarespace Behind
Squarespace gives you a template with guardrails. You can change fonts, colors, images, and text. You can rearrange some sections within the rules the template sets. If you know CSS, you can push things further. But the fundamental structure is locked in. Think of it like rearranging furniture in an apartment where you can’t knock down walls.
Tonic on Showit gives you a blank canvas with a brilliant starting point. You can literally drag any element anywhere on the page. Move a photo left. Stack two text blocks. Create a layout that didn’t exist in the original template. And the big one that catches people off guard: Showit lets you design your mobile site independently from your desktop site. You’re not just hoping your desktop design “shrinks down” nicely on a phone. You’re actually designing both experiences.
For my friend who teaches cooking classes, that mobile design was the reason she chose Tonic. Most of her potential students find her on their phones while scrolling at night. She needed that mobile experience to feel just as intentional as her desktop site. Squarespace couldn’t give her that level of control.
If design customization matters to your business, this is where Tonic pulls ahead and it’s not close.
What You’ll Actually Pay for Showit vs Squarespace
This is the part where Squarespace looks really attractive on paper. And honestly? It should. The pricing model is fundamentally different.
Squarespace runs on a monthly subscription. Their plans range from roughly $16 to $40/month for most creative businesses (they have higher tiers for advanced e-commerce, but most of us don’t need those). That monthly fee covers your hosting, your template, SSL, and usually a free domain for the first year. Everything lives under one roof, one bill. It’s clean and predictable, and you can check their current pricing at squarespace.com since plans and features shift.
Tonic is a different kind of investment. You’re buying a premium template as a one-time purchase, typically in the $1,000 to $1,500+ range depending on the collection and any add-on pages you choose. Payment plans are available, so you don’t have to pay it all upfront. On top of that, you need a Showit subscription for hosting and the website builder, which runs roughly $19 to $34/month depending on your plan. And you’ll grab your own domain separately through a registrar like GoDaddy or Hover for around $12 to $20 a year. (Pricing on all of these also can shift, so always double-check current rates before you commit.)
So yes, the upfront cost is higher with Tonic. I’m not going to sugarcoat that. But here’s the way I think about it, and it’s the same thing I tell my students: you’re comparing a monthly subscription to a strategic investment. That Tonic template was designed by the same woman who charges five figures for custom sites. You’re getting that strategic thinking, those conversion-focused page layouts, those 30+ pages, for a fraction of what custom work costs. And once you own the template, you own it. The ongoing monthly cost for Showit hosting ends up being comparable to what you’d pay Squarespace anyway.
If you decide to go with Tonic, my code JENNASENTME takes 15% off any template.
If you’re in the very early stages of your business and every dollar matters, Squarespace at under $20/month is a perfectly reasonable starting point. There’s no shame in that. I started there. The important thing is that your website exists and that you’re showing up.
Why the Blogging and SEO Gap is Bigger Than You’d Expect
Squarespace has a built-in blog. It works. You can write posts, add images, tweak your meta descriptions, and publish. For a lot of people, that’s plenty. The SEO tools are basic but functional, covering page titles, meta descriptions, and alt text.
Showit (where Tonic templates live) integrates with WordPress for blogging. And if you know anything about the blogging world, you know WordPress is the backbone of it. Plugins like Yoast or RankMath give you serious SEO control: schema markup, keyword analysis, readability scoring, XML sitemaps, redirect management. The ecosystem is massive.
The tradeoff is that WordPress adds a layer of complexity. You’re managing updates, plugins, and occasionally troubleshooting things that break. Squarespace handles all of that behind the scenes because it controls the whole stack.
For me, the WordPress integration was a major reason I chose Showit. If you want to understand why I’m so sold on the platform, it really comes down to this: design flexibility plus SEO horsepower. That combination is hard to find anywhere else.
If blogging is going to be a core part of your growth strategy (and for most creative businesses, it should be), the Showit-WordPress combo gives you tools that Squarespace simply doesn’t match.
Be Honest With Yourself About the Learning Curve
Squarespace is easier to start. The interface is clean. The templates are polished. You pick one, fill in your content, and you have a website. If you’ve ever used a Google Doc, you can figure out Squarespace.
Showit has a learning curve. The drag-and-drop freedom that makes it powerful also means there’s more to learn. You can accidentally move something off-screen or create spacing issues that look fine on desktop but weird on mobile. Tonic’s templates minimize this because the layouts are already built beautifully, but you still need to learn how the builder works.
That said, once you get comfortable (and most students tell me it takes a weekend or two), Showit feels incredibly intuitive. Tonic includes copywriting prompts inside the templates so you’re not staring at a blank page wondering what to write. And their support team is known for being responsive and patient with beginners.
If you’re someone who gets overwhelmed by technology and just wants the simplest path to a live website, Squarespace will get you there faster. If you’re willing to invest a little time upfront for a lot more control long-term, Showit with a Tonic template pays that time back quickly.
Not sure if your current site is actually working for you? Take the free 5-Minute Website Conversion Audit and see your site through your customer’s eyes so you know exactly what to fix before (or after) you make the platform switch.
The One Category Where Squarespace Genuinely Wins
Squarespace has built-in e-commerce across all its plans now. Product pages, checkout, inventory management, shipping calculations, discount codes, subscription products. It’s all there, and it works without any third-party tools.
Showit doesn’t have native e-commerce. If you want to sell products from a Tonic site, you’re integrating with something else: Shopify Lite buttons, ThriveCart, WooCommerce through WordPress, or linking out to a separate platform. Tonic does offer a Shop Page add-on for Shopify integration, and it works well for smaller shops. But if you’re running a full product catalog with hundreds of SKUs, inventory tracking, and complex shipping rules, Squarespace (or standalone Shopify) is better set up for that.
For service-based businesses, coaches, photographers, consultants, and creatives who sell their time and expertise rather than physical products? This difference barely matters. Your Tonic site handles inquiry forms, booking links, and service pages beautifully. The e-commerce gap only really shows up when products are your primary business model.
Showit vs Squarespace: What Most Comparison Posts Leave Out
A few things I’ve noticed over the years that never seem to make it into comparison posts.
Template uniqueness. Squarespace has millions of users and a much smaller template library. Walk through any industry and you’ll see the same handful of Squarespace layouts everywhere. With Tonic, the customer base is smaller and the customization is deeper. Two people using the same Tonic template can end up with completely different-looking sites. That brand differentiation matters when you’re competing for attention.
Long-term flexibility. Squarespace controls the whole experience. When they change how something works, you adapt. When they discontinue a template version, you migrate. With Showit, your site design lives in your account and you have full control over it. You’re not waiting for a platform to roll out the feature you need.
The strategy layer. This is the piece that’s hard to put a price on. Squarespace templates are designed to look good. Tonic templates are designed to convert. Every scroll pattern, every CTA placement, every page flow was built by someone who does $15,000 custom strategy work. That difference shows up in your inquiry numbers.
So Which One Do You Actually Choose?
After watching thousands of creative business owners make this decision, here’s the honest breakdown.
Choose Squarespace if:
You’re just getting started and need a website live fast with minimal investment. You want everything in one place: blog, store, analytics, hosting, domain. You don’t need deep design customization and prefer working within clean guardrails. Your primary business is selling physical or digital products and you need strong built-in e-commerce. You want the simplest possible experience with the lowest learning curve.
Choose Tonic on Showit if:
You care deeply about design and want pixel-level control over how your site looks on every device. Your website is the primary way clients find you and you need it to convert, not just exist. You’re a service provider, photographer, coach, consultant, or creative who sells expertise. You want the SEO horsepower of WordPress underneath your site. You’re willing to invest more upfront for a site that feels custom-built. You want to update and evolve your site yourself without depending on a developer.
And if you’re somewhere in the middle? Both of these platforms can build you a beautiful site. Squarespace will get you there faster and cheaper. Tonic will give you more control and strategy. Neither choice is wrong. The only wrong move is staying stuck in the comparison phase so long that your dream clients never find you because your website still doesn’t exist.
So pick the one that feels right in your gut, give yourself a deadline (I’m serious, put it in your calendar), and go. You can always evolve later. Some of my students started on Squarespace and moved to Tonic when their business outgrew it. That’s a perfectly valid path. I took that path myself.
If you do decide Tonic is the move, you can browse my favorite templates or read my full Tonic Site Shop review for a deeper dive.
Frequently Asked Questions About Showit vs. Squarespace
Is Showit better than Squarespace for photographers and creatives?
Is Showit better than Squarespace for photographers and creatives? For photographers and creative service providers, Showit with a Tonic template is the stronger choice when design control and SEO matter. Squarespace wins on simplicity and built-in e-commerce. If your site needs to actively book clients, not just exist, Showit is worth the investment.
How much does Showit cost compared to Squarespace?
Squarespace runs under $20/month for most creative businesses. Showit hosting is roughly $19 to $34/month, comparable to Squarespace. The difference is the Tonic template, a one-time investment in the $1,000 to $1,500+ range with payment plans available. Use code JENNASENTME to save 15%.
Can I blog on Showit? How does WordPress work with Showit?
Yes. Showit integrates with WordPress specifically for blogging. You design your blog pages in Showit’s drag-and-drop builder, but you write and publish posts through a simplified WordPress editor. This gives you access to WordPress SEO plugins like Yoast and RankMath while keeping your blog visually consistent with the rest of your site. Squarespace has a built-in blog that’s simpler to manage but offers fewer SEO tools.
Is Showit or Squarespace better for SEO?
For businesses that rely on organic search traffic and blogging, Showit’s WordPress integration gives you significantly more SEO control. You get access to plugins for schema markup, keyword optimization, XML sitemaps, and detailed analytics that Squarespace doesn’t match. Squarespace covers the basics well (page titles, meta descriptions, alt text), and for a simple business site without a blog-heavy strategy, that can be enough. But if SEO is a core part of how you grow, the Showit-WordPress combination is hard to beat.
Can I switch from Squarespace to Showit?
Yes, though it’s a rebuild rather than an automatic migration. You’ll set up your new site on Showit using your Tonic template, then move your content (text, images, blog posts) over manually. Showit’s team can help migrate your blog posts, and Tonic’s support team is available for questions. Many of my students treat the switch as a chance to refresh their copy and branding. Keep your Squarespace site live until the new one is ready to launch.
Does Showit have e-commerce?
Not natively. If you want to sell products from a Showit site, you’ll integrate with a third-party tool like Shopify Lite, WooCommerce through WordPress, or ThriveCart. Tonic offers a Shop Page add-on for Shopify integration that works well for smaller shops. Squarespace has built-in e-commerce on every plan, so if selling physical or digital products is your primary business model, Squarespace is the more streamlined option for that.
Is Squarespace good enough for a creative business?
For many creative businesses, Squarespace builds a clean, professional website that gets the job done. Where it falls short for some creatives is in design flexibility (you’re working within template guardrails), mobile design (no independent mobile layout), and the kind of strategic page architecture that a Tonic template provides. Whether Squarespace is “enough” depends on how much you need your website to actively book clients versus simply exist as a digital business card.
Can I use Tonic templates on Squarespace or Wix?
No. Tonic templates are built exclusively for the Showit platform and cannot be loaded into Squarespace, Wix, WordPress.org, or any other builder. You need an active Showit subscription to use a Tonic template.
How long does it take to build a website on Showit vs. Squarespace?
A basic Squarespace site can go live in a few hours. A Showit site with a Tonic template typically takes a weekend to a few weeks, depending on how ready your photos and copy are. Tonic templates come with 30+ pre-designed pages and copywriting prompts that speed things up considerably. The extra setup time upfront pays off in a site that’s built around strategy, not just aesthetics.
The Website You’ve Been Picturing Is Closer Than It Feels
You’ve been tabs-deep in this comparison for a reason. The research isn’t actually about the platforms. It’s about wanting to finally have a website that looks like what you’ve been building, one that works as hard as you do and doesn’t make you feel like you’re fighting the tool every time you sit down to update it.
That’s the version waiting for you on the other side of the decision.
If Tonic is the direction you’re heading, you can browse the full template shop and use my code JENNASENTME to save 15% at checkout. And if you’re still on the fence, drop your questions in the comments. I read them all and I’ve probably heard yours before.
The website you’ve been picturing? It’s closer than it feels right now. Go build it!
