Squarespace charges 2% on Basic (0% on Core+). Square Online raised free-plan processing to 3.3% + 30¢ in Jan 2026. InMinutes: 0% platform fee, flat $99/mo.
Two popular "cheap" ways to sell online, examined fee-by-fee — including Square's January 2026 processing increase and Squarespace's Basic-plan 2% that most owners discover after launch.
Quick answer: Squarespace charges a 2% transaction fee on its Basic plan and 0% on Core, Plus, and Advanced (per support.squarespace.com); legacy Business plans pay 3%. Square Online charges no platform fee but requires Square processing — raised to 3.3% + 30¢ online on the free plan in January 2026. InMinutes charges 0% on Business ($99/mo) with Stripe's ~2.9% + $0.30. On $10,000/month: $566 on Squarespace Basic, $390 on Square Free, $449 on InMinutes.
Payment processing fee — what moves the money: Squarespace Payments 2.9% + 30¢ (Core), Square 3.3% + 30¢ online (free plan), Stripe ~2.9% + 30¢. Everyone pays this. InMinutes does not remove it and doesn't claim to.
Platform transaction fee — what the builder adds on top. Squarespace Basic adds 2%. Square adds nothing — but you can't leave its processing. InMinutes adds 0%, on your own Stripe account.
Platform | Monthly plan | Platform transaction fee | Payment processing | Total on $10,000/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Squarespace (Core) | $23 | 0% | 2.9% + 30¢ | $373 |
Squarespace (Plus) | $39 | 0% | 2.7% + 30¢ | $369 |
Square Online (Free) | $0 | 0% | 3.3% + 30¢ (Square only, since Jan 2026) | $390 |
Square Online (Plus) | $49 | 0% | 2.9% + 30¢ (Square only) | $399 |
InMinutes (Business) | $99 | 0% | Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ (your own account) | $449 |
Squarespace (Basic) | $16 | 2% | 2.9% + 30¢ | $566 |
Squarespace (legacy Business) | $23 | 3% | 2.9% + 30¢ | $673 |
Assumptions: US rates, $10,000/mo in online card sales at a $50 average order (200 orders), card-not-present, annual-billing prices where offered, July 2026 figures from squarespace.com, squareup.com, and support pages. |
Against Squarespace Basic's 2%: $16 + 2% of sales = $99 → sales = $4,150/month. Above that, InMinutes' flat $99 wins; below it, Basic is cheaper. (Squarespace's own fix is upgrading to Core at $23 — which is why the 2% mostly matters to owners who didn't know it was there.)
Against Square Online Free: there's no platform fee to cross — the cost is the processing premium. Square's 3.3% vs Stripe's 2.9% is 0.4% of revenue: 0.4% × sales = $99 → sales ≈ $24,750/month. Below roughly $25k/month, Square Free's $0 subscription is cheaper, plainly — it is the lowest-risk way to start selling online. Above it, even the processing spread alone pays for InMinutes.
Monthly sales | Square Online Free | Squarespace Basic | InMinutes | You keep with InMinutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
$2,000 | $78 | $126 | $169 | $1,831 |
$5,000 | $195 | $291 | $274 | $4,726 |
$10,000 | $390 | $566 | $449 | $9,551 |
$25,000 | $975 | $1,391 | $974 | $24,026 |
$50,000 | $1,950 | $2,766 | $1,849 | $48,151 |
All columns include processing at each platform's own rate. At low volume Square Free wins on cost — that's real, and it's the honest low end. |
What Squarespace genuinely does better: design. Its templates remain the most polished in the category, its Commerce tools are mature, and Plus/Advanced plans buy processing discounts (2.7%, then 2.5%) that InMinutes doesn't offer. What Square genuinely does better: the zero-cost start, and if you already run a Square register in a shop or café, online and in-person sales live in one system — a real operational win.
What InMinutes gives back: a store generated with the site in under 2 minutes from your real business data — inventory tracking and real-time revenue analytics included — on your own Stripe or PayPal account rather than locked-in processing. The $99 Business plan also carries what both competitors sell separately or not at all: appointment booking, the Audience CRM with email campaigns, the SEO/AEO engine (structured data, sitemaps, llms.txt), and chat-to-edit changes in plain language. Flat bill; it does not grow with your sales.
Consider InMinutes if you:
Discovered Squarespace Basic's 2% after your store started selling (above $4,150/month it's costing you more than $99)
Want your own Stripe account instead of processor lock-in
Take bookings and sell products — both are generated, not added
Are buying email marketing or SEO tools on top of either platform
Stay where you are if you:
Sell under ~$1,000/month — Square Online Free risks nothing and costs least
Run a Square POS in a physical shop — unified in-person + online inventory is worth the lock-in
Chose Squarespace for design-led brand work and already upgraded to Core (0% fee) — fees are no reason to move
Want processing below 2.9% at high volume — Squarespace Advanced's 2.5% is a real discount
Flat $99/mo. Zero platform fees. Live in 2 minutes.