How Much Does Squarespace Charge Per Transaction

Transaction Fees by Plan

Here's what Squarespace charges on each plan for physical product and service sales:

• Personal ($16/month annual): No e-commerce - can't process sales
• Business ($23/month annual): 3% Squarespace transaction fee per sale
• Basic Commerce ($28/month annual): 0% Squarespace transaction fee
• Advanced Commerce ($52/month annual): 0% Squarespace transaction fee

The 3% fee on the Business plan is the only Squarespace-specific charge. Commerce plans eliminate it entirely.

Payment Processing Fees (All Plans)

On top of any Squarespace transaction fee, every sale gets charged a payment processing fee by your payment provider. This isn't Squarespace's fee - it goes to Stripe, PayPal, or Square:

• Stripe: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (US domestic cards)
• PayPal: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
• International cards: Add ~1% on top of standard rates
• American Express: Same rate through Stripe, potentially higher through other processors

You'd pay these processing fees on any website platform - Shopify, Wix, WordPress, or anywhere else that accepts credit cards.

What You Actually Keep from Each Sale

Here's what happens to a $100 sale on each plan after all fees:

• Business plan: $100 - $3.00 (3% Squarespace) - $3.20 (2.9% + $0.30 processing) = $93.80
• Basic Commerce: $100 - $0 (0% Squarespace) - $3.20 (processing) = $96.80
• Advanced Commerce: $100 - $0 (0% Squarespace) - $3.20 (processing) = $96.80

At higher volumes, the difference adds up fast:

• $500/month in sales on Business: You lose $15/month to the 3% fee
• $1,000/month on Business: You lose $30/month
• $5,000/month on Business: You lose $150/month - that's $1,800/year

When Upgrading Plans Saves You Money

Basic Commerce costs $5/month more than the Business plan on annual billing. Since the Business plan charges 3% on every sale:

• Breakeven point: ~$167/month in sales. At that revenue, the 3% fee ($5.01) equals the cost of upgrading.
• Above $167/month, every dollar in additional sales saves you 3% by being on Commerce.

If you're doing any meaningful sales volume, the Business plan is almost always the wrong choice for e-commerce. Go straight to Basic Commerce.

Digital Product Fees

Selling courses, memberships, or digital downloads? Squarespace charges an additional percentage on these sales beyond the standard processing fee:

• Basic plan: 9% on digital products
• Core plan: 7%
• Plus plan: 3%
• Advanced plan: 0%

On a $200 online course sold on the Basic plan: $18 (9% Squarespace) + $6.10 (processing) = $24.10 in fees. That's over 12% of the sale price. If you sell digital products regularly, the Advanced plan's 0% rate pays for itself quickly.

Buy Now Pay Later Fees

Enabling Klarna or Afterpay on your store lets customers pay in installments, but the merchant fees are steep:

• Afterpay: 6% + $0.30 per transaction
• Klarna: 5.45-5.99% + $0.30 per transaction

These replace the standard Stripe/PayPal processing fee for those specific transactions - they don't stack. But 6% is roughly double what standard processing costs. Only enable BNPL if the conversion lift justifies the extra cost.

How Squarespace Compares to Other Platforms

Here's how Squarespace's per-transaction fees stack up against the competition:

• Shopify: 0.5-2% transaction fee unless using Shopify Payments (then 0%). Processing: 2.4-2.9% + $0.30. Fees decrease on higher plans.
• Wix: 0% transaction fee on all plans. Processing: 2.9% + $0.30 through Wix Payments.
• WordPress/WooCommerce: 0% platform fee. Processing depends on your gateway (typically 2.9% + $0.30).
• Squarespace Commerce: 0% transaction fee. Processing: 2.9% + $0.30.

On a Commerce plan, Squarespace's fees are identical to Wix and WooCommerce. The Business plan's 3% is the outlier - and the easiest fee to eliminate by upgrading.

How to Reduce Your Per-Transaction Costs

Upgrade to a Commerce Plan

The single biggest savings. Moving from Business to Basic Commerce eliminates the 3% fee for just $5/month more. If you sell anything above ~$167/month, you save money on day one.

Choose the Right Payment Processor

Stripe and PayPal charge similar domestic rates (2.9% + $0.30). But if you have high volume, Stripe offers custom pricing for businesses processing over $100k/year. Compare both for international transactions where rates differ.

Factor Fees into Your Pricing

Don't let fees eat your margins by surprise. On a $50 product using Basic Commerce + Stripe, you keep about $47.25. Build that into your pricing from the start.

Be Selective with BNPL

Only enable Afterpay or Klarna if you've tested that it increases your conversion rate enough to offset the higher fees. For low-ticket items under $50, the math rarely works out.

Watch Digital Product Fees

If digital sales make up a large portion of your revenue, calculate whether upgrading to a higher plan tier saves you more in reduced digital product fees than it costs in subscription price.

Bottom Line

Squarespace charges 3% per transaction on the Business plan and 0% on Commerce plans. Every plan charges payment processing fees of 2.9% + $0.30 through Stripe or PayPal. Digital products carry additional 3-9% fees on lower plans. The smartest way to reduce your per-transaction costs is to skip the Business plan entirely and start on Basic Commerce if you're selling anything.

For a full breakdown of all Squarespace plans and pricing, check our pricing guide.