Squarespace vs Hiring a Melbourne Web Developer: The Real Cost

Prices checked October 2026. Squarespace changes its prices from time to time, so check its pricing page before you buy.

Squarespace vs a web developer: which is cheaper? On paper, Squarespace wins. Its plans start at A$17 a month, while a professionally built website in Melbourne usually costs a few thousand dollars up front. But the real cost depends on add-ons, your own time, and what happens when your business outgrows the template.

I’m Jay, a freelance web developer based in Melbourne. I build websites from scratch, and I also help people who started on builders like Squarespace. In this guide, I’ll compare the real costs of both, month by month and over three years, so you can choose with your eyes open.

How much does Squarespace cost per month in Australia?#

Squarespace has four plans. Here’s what each costs per month in Australian dollars, before 10% GST:

Plan	Paid yearly	Paid monthly	Fee on online sales
Basic	A$17	A$24	2%
Core	A$28	A$39	0%
Plus	A$49	A$69	0%
Advanced	A$109	A$149	0%

That’s not the whole bill, though. These extras often get added on:

• Domain name: free for the first year on yearly plans. After that, a .com.au costs about A$27 a year.
• Business email: Google Workspace costs about A$118.80 per mailbox a year if you pay yearly, or A$11.80 a month if you pay monthly. Core and higher plans include one mailbox free for the first year; Basic doesn’t.
• Card fees: if you sell online, Stripe charges about 1.65% + A$0.30 on domestic cards, on top of any Squarespace fee.
• Bookings: Squarespace’s Acuity Scheduling starts at about A$20 a month on a yearly plan.
• Email newsletters: Email Campaigns start at about A$11 a month.

So, for a typical small business on the Core plan, with a domain and one email address, the real cost looks like this:

• Year 1: about A$370 including GST, or roughly A$31 a month (domain and email free).
• Year 2 onwards: about A$530 a year including GST, or roughly A$44 a month.

These totals include 10% GST and assume you pay for everything yearly. Add bookings or newsletters, and that monthly figure climbs quickly.

How much does a Melbourne web developer cost?#

Website design prices in Melbourne vary a lot, but published Australian price guides put them in these ranges:

• A small business website (5 to 10 pages): about $2,000 to $6,000 from a freelancer.
• Freelancer hourly rates: about $80 to $150 an hour, compared with $100 to $250 for agencies.
• Larger or custom-designed sites: $6,000 and up.

For a fuller breakdown, see my guide to website costs in Melbourne.

How much does a website cost per month?#

Once it’s built, a website still costs money to run. For a site built by a developer on WordPress, you’ll usually pay for:

• Hosting: about $15 to $150 a month, depending on how fast and well-managed you want it.
• Domain name: about $15 to $30 a year for a .com.au.
• A care plan (optional): about $50 to $300 a month for updates, backups and small changes.

All up, most small business websites cost $75 to $400 a month to run, according to the Australian price guide What’s The Damage?. A Squarespace site usually costs less than that, because hosting and updates are included in the plan.

The real cost over three years#

Here’s an example comparison over three years. Your own quotes will differ, but it shows where the money goes:

Option	Upfront	Running cost	3-year total (example)
Squarespace Core, built yourself	Your time	About A$31–A$44 a month	About A$1,430
WordPress site built by a freelancer	About $3,000	About $38 a month (hosting, domain and email)	About $4,370
WordPress site with a monthly care plan	About $3,000	About $118 a month	About $7,250

The example assumes a $3,000 build, hosting at $25 a month, a domain at $25 a year, one Google Workspace email address at about A$131 a year, and a care plan at $80 a month. Squarespace figures include GST, plus a domain and one email address from year 2. If you compare quotes from developers, ask whether they include GST. The first WordPress example sits below the usual $75 to $400 range because it has no care plan.

Squarespace is clearly cheaper in cash. However, the table doesn’t count your time to build and update the site, or what it costs if you need to move off Squarespace later.

Squarespace vs WordPress vs a custom build#

Price isn’t the only difference. Here’s how the three most common options compare:

	Squarespace (built yourself)	WordPress website design (by a Melbourne developer)	Custom build
Upfront cost	Your time	About $2,000–$6,000	$6,000 and up
Monthly cost	About A$31–A$44 on Core	About $38–$400, depending on hosting and care	Similar to WordPress, or more
Who builds it	You, using templates	A developer, then you edit the content	A developer
Design freedom	Limited to what the templates allow	High	Complete
Speed and SEO	Good basics, limited fine-tuning	Strong, if built well	Strongest, if built well
Moving later	Hard: your design stays on Squarespace	Easy: you own the files	Easy: you own the code
Best for	Simple sites, tight budgets, starting out	Most small businesses that want to grow	Web apps, bookings, unusual features

In short, Squarespace trades flexibility for convenience. WordPress website design in Melbourne usually gives you more control and room to grow, and a custom build is for when your website needs to do something a template can’t.

Cheap website design in Melbourne: when it’s a false saving#

There’s nothing wrong with a small budget. Affordable website design in Melbourne is possible, whether that’s Squarespace, a starter package from a freelancer, or a simple WordPress site. However, “cheap” becomes expensive when:

• You don’t own it. The domain, hosting or site is registered in someone else’s name, so leaving means starting again.
• It’s slow or hard for Google to read. A pretty site that nobody finds isn’t saving you money.
• The fees are hidden. A low build price, then high monthly charges you can’t easily leave.
• Nobody looks after it. No updates, backups or support, so small problems become big ones.
• You outgrow it within a year. If you’ll need bookings, a shop or more pages soon, a rebuild later often costs more than building it properly now.

Before you choose the lowest quote, ask what’s included, who owns what, and what it costs each month after launch.

Which option is right for you?#

Choose Squarespace if:

• you need a simple site of a few pages, quickly
• your budget is under about $1,000 for the first year
• you’re happy to build and update it yourself, and you enjoy doing it

Hire a web developer if:

• your website needs to bring in enquiries or sales, not just exist
• you want it fast, found on Google and built around your business, not a template
• you’d rather spend your time running your business than learning a website builder
• you expect to add bookings, a shop or more pages later

There’s also a middle path: start on Squarespace now, and move to a custom site once the business has grown. If you do, plan the move carefully so you don’t lose your Google rankings. My guide to redesigning a website without losing your rankings explains how.

Get a fixed quote#

If you’re weighing up Squarespace against hiring a developer, I’m happy to give you an honest answer, even if that answer is “Squarespace is fine for now”.

Message me on Fiverr with what your website needs to do, and I’ll reply with a fixed price and a delivery date before any work starts. Messages, orders and payments are all handled securely on Fiverr.

I’m a freelance web developer in Melbourne, and I build WordPress and custom websites for businesses across Australia and around the world.

Common questions#

How much does Squarespace really cost per month in Australia?#

The plans start at A$17 a month paid yearly, before GST. With a domain and one business email address, a typical small business on the Core plan pays about A$31 a month in the first year and about A$44 a month after that, including GST.

What is a reasonable price to pay for a website?#

For a small business website built by a freelancer, about $2,000 to $6,000 is a common range in Australia, plus roughly $40 to $400 a month to run it, depending on your hosting and whether you have a care plan. Larger sites, online stores and web apps cost more.

What’s the average cost of a 5-page website in Melbourne?#

A 5-page business website from a Melbourne freelancer usually costs about $2,000 to $6,000, depending on the design, content and features. Agencies typically charge more.

Is Squarespace good for SEO?#

It covers the basics well, such as page titles, descriptions and mobile-friendly templates. However, you have less control over speed and technical details than with a well-built WordPress or custom site.

Can I move from Squarespace to WordPress later?#

Yes, but your design won’t come with you, so it’s usually a rebuild. Plan the move so your page addresses redirect to the new site and you keep your Google rankings.

Sources#

• Squarespace pricing in Australia, plan by plan, bdog, prices read from Squarespace’s Australian pricing pages on 12 October 2026
• Web design cost in Australia, What’s The Damage?, verified October 2026
• How much does a website cost in Australia? (Pricing guide 2026), WP Creative, updated August 2026