Squarespace vs Base44 vs Lovable: Which Should You Build On?
If your site needs to do things for your business (take bookings your way, quote a job, give clients a login, feed your own lead list), build it with Base44 or Lovable rather than Squarespace. Squarespace is excellent at what it was designed for: beautiful sites built from polished templates. Its AI tools help you write and design inside that template system, metered by monthly AI credits. AI-native builders work the other way around. You describe the business and the AI builds the site and the software behind it, and the result isn't capped by what a template or a built-in feature allows.
For a new business site in 2026, that's the direction we'd bet on. If all you need is a stunning portfolio or a simple brochure site, and you love Squarespace's templates, it remains a good choice, and nobody needs to rebuild a site that's working. This guide shows where each option fits and how to move if Squarespace has started holding you back.
Key takeaways
- Squarespace = design-first templates. Base44 and Lovable = describe-first software. The question is whether your site only needs to look good, or also needs to work for you.
- Our pick for a new business site: Base44, with Lovable close behind and v0 for people comfortable with code.
- Squarespace's AI is metered. On the live pricing page, AI credits range from 10 one-time credits on Basic to 120 per month on Advanced.
- Watch the transaction fees. Squarespace's Basic plan charges 2% on store sales and 7% on digital content and memberships; the fees drop on higher plans.
- Squarespace still wins for pure visual polish with almost no effort, especially for portfolios.
Squarespace vs Base44 vs Lovable at a glance
| Squarespace | Base44 | Lovable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you build | Pick a template, edit visually; AI tools for text and design | Describe it in plain language; the AI builds pages, data and logins | Describe it in plain language; the AI builds the app and code |
| Best at | Beautiful sites with minimal effort | Business sites plus the tools behind them | Business sites, apps, and Shopify-connected stores |
| Custom features | What Squarespace offers built in, plus extensions | Built to your spec | Built to your spec |
| AI | Built-in AI tools, metered in credits (10 one-time to 120/month) | The whole product | The whole product |
| Typical starting price | $19/month on annual billing ($25 monthly), Basic | $16/month on annual billing (Starter, custom domain) | $25/month (Pro, custom domain) |
Prices verified October 6, 2026 (US dollars). v0 is a third option for people comfortable with code.
Why we'd choose an AI builder over Squarespace for a new business site
Your business isn't a template. A physiotherapist needs an intake form that asks the right questions. A caterer needs a quote request that captures guests, dates and dietary needs. A tutor needs a simple area where parents see bookings. On Squarespace you're choosing from what's built in. On Base44 or Lovable you describe exactly that, and it's built.
The site and the back-office can be one system. Requests from your site can land in your own simple lead tracker, built in the same conversation. That's the idea behind our back-office guide, and it's hard to do on a template platform.
AI that isn't rationed. Squarespace's AI credits are designed for help with copy and design. On an AI-native builder, AI is how everything gets built. You still pay for usage (each platform has its own credit system), but you're using it to build the actual site, not to generate a paragraph.
It improves with the models. Every gain in AI capability flows straight into what AI-native builders can do. A template platform's core experience changes much more slowly.
Where Squarespace still wins
- Visual polish with no effort. Squarespace's templates are among the best-looking anywhere, and they're hard to make ugly.
- Portfolios and simple brochure sites. For a photographer's gallery or a one-page studio site, Squarespace does the job beautifully.
- Built-in extras in one dashboard. Email campaigns, scheduling and a store, all from the same company.
- A site you're happy with. If it brings in clients and you can update it easily, keep it.
If you're on Squarespace and thinking of moving
- List your pages and their addresses, and check which ones bring visitors in Google Search Console.
- Copy your real text and download your original images, not screenshots.
- Note what you'd add if you could: the feature you've always wanted but Squarespace couldn't do. That's usually the reason to move.
- Rebuild with the prompt below on the platform address, test it on a phone, then move your domain.
- Keep page addresses the same where possible, and submit the new sitemap in Search Console. See our SEO guide.
The move-from-Squarespace prompt
I'm moving my business website from Squarespace. Rebuild it using my real content below, keeping the clean, elegant feel of my current site. Do not invent any text, services, prices, reviews or photos.
ABOUT THE BUSINESS:
[[WHAT YOU DO, WHERE, WHO FOR]]
PAGES TO REBUILD (keep these exact page addresses):
[[e.g. /, /work, /services, /about, /contact]]
CONTENT FOR EACH PAGE:
[[PASTE THE TEXT OF EACH PAGE, LABELLED BY ADDRESS]]
DESIGN:
Generous white space, large images, refined typography. Brand colours [[COLOURS]]. Mobile-first.
WHAT I WANT THE SITE TO DO THAT MY OLD ONE COULDN'T:
[[e.g. a request form that asks the questions I always ask by email, and a private page where I see every request]]
AFTER BUILDING:
List every page with its address, set a unique title and description on each, and tell me anything you could not rebuild.A beautiful site is the start. A site that works for your business is the goal. Find your profession's playbook, copy the prompt and see your first version on a free plan, or read the full website builders vs AI builders overview. You can build this.