If you run a creative agency, this choice matters more than people admit.
Not because one platform is “better” in some universal way. That’s usually nonsense. It matters because the wrong one creates friction in the exact places your team already feels stretched: client revisions, handoff, publishing, design freedom, and those last-minute “can we just add this one thing?” requests that are never just one thing.
I’ve used both. And the reality is they solve different problems, even though they often get compared like direct substitutes.
If you want the short version: Webflow gives agencies more control and more room to build custom-looking work. Squarespace makes it easier to launch, manage, and hand over simpler sites without turning every project into a mini production.
So the real question isn’t “which platform wins?”
It’s which should you choose for the kind of agency you are, the clients you serve, and the way your team actually works.
Quick answer
For most design-led creative agencies building custom marketing sites, Webflow is the better choice.
It gives you more layout control, cleaner CMS flexibility, better animation options, and stronger potential for bespoke work without needing a full dev stack.
For agencies that mainly build simple brochure sites, portfolio sites, and small business websites that clients need to update themselves, Squarespace is often the smarter pick.
In plain English:
- Choose Webflow if your agency sells design quality, custom interactions, and a more premium build process.
- Choose Squarespace if your agency sells speed, simplicity, and low-maintenance websites for smaller clients.
That’s the quick answer. But that only helps if your projects are obvious. A lot of agencies sit in the middle, and that’s where the trade-offs matter.
What actually matters
Most comparisons get stuck listing features. That’s not very useful.
Creative agencies usually care about five things:
- How custom the site can feel
- How fast the team can build and edit
- How easy it is for clients to manage later
- How well the platform handles content-heavy growth
- How painful the project becomes when scope expands
That’s where the key differences show up.
1. Design freedom vs design safety
Webflow gives your team more freedom. A lot more.
That’s great when you want original layouts, layered sections, custom breakpoints, stronger motion, or a site that doesn’t look like it came from a polished template system.
Squarespace is more opinionated. That can be limiting, but it also prevents a lot of mess. In practice, this is why some agencies quietly prefer it for lower-budget clients: it makes it harder to accidentally overbuild.
2. Build process
Webflow feels closer to visual front-end development.
Squarespace feels closer to structured site assembly.
That difference affects who on your team thrives in each platform. Designers who understand layout systems tend to like Webflow. Generalist marketers, account managers, and clients usually find Squarespace less intimidating.
3. Client handoff
This is a big one.
A site isn’t finished when it launches. It’s finished when the client can use it without sending your agency five support emails a week.
Squarespace is usually easier for non-technical clients to manage. The editing experience is more constrained, which is exactly why many clients do better with it.
Webflow can absolutely work for handoff, but only if the CMS structure is set up well and the client is trained properly. Otherwise they can get lost fast.
4. Scalability for content and structure
If a client starts with “just a few pages” and later wants case studies, team profiles, resources, landing pages, and campaign content, Webflow usually ages better.
Squarespace can handle a lot for a simple site, but once content architecture gets more complex, its limitations become more noticeable.
5. Agency margin
This part gets ignored.
Webflow projects often justify higher fees because the output feels more custom. But they also tend to take more strategy, more QA, and more build discipline.
Squarespace projects can be more profitable if your agency has a repeatable process and serves clients who don’t need custom everything.
So if you’re deciding on the best for your agency, don’t just ask what the platform can do. Ask where your margins stay healthy.
Comparison table
| Area | Webflow | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Custom marketing sites, premium brand sites, content-driven builds | Fast brochure sites, portfolios, simple service business sites |
| Design control | Excellent | Good, but more constrained |
| Ease of use | Moderate learning curve | Easier for most teams and clients |
| Client handoff | Good if structured well | Usually easier |
| CMS flexibility | Strong | Fine for simpler needs |
| Animations/interactions | Much better | Basic |
| Template dependence | Low if you build custom | Higher |
| Speed to launch | Medium | Fast |
| Developer involvement | Optional but helpful | Rarely needed |
| Risk of overbuilding | High | Lower |
| SEO control | Strong | Good enough for most small sites |
| Maintenance | More process-heavy | Lower friction |
| Best client size | Mid-market, growth brands, design-conscious clients | Small businesses, solo brands, local service clients |
| Agency pricing potential | Higher | Lower to mid, but efficient |
| Key differences | Flexibility, customization, scalability | Simplicity, speed, easier editing |
Detailed comparison
Design flexibility
This is where Webflow pulls ahead.
If your agency’s value is tied to visual originality, Webflow gives you more room to work. You can create layouts that feel intentionally designed rather than assembled from a system that’s trying to protect the user from themselves.
You can also get much closer to the design comp without constantly fighting the platform.
That matters more than feature lists suggest. Creative agencies often win projects based on how distinct their work looks. If every build starts to feel like the platform is smoothing off the edges, that becomes a business problem, not just a design one.
Squarespace is capable of good-looking sites. Better than many people give it credit for. Some of its templates are clean, modern, and perfectly fine for brand presentation.
But the ceiling is lower.
You can make a Squarespace site polished. You can make it elegant. What’s harder is making it feel truly custom without spending extra time pushing against the platform’s rules.
Contrarian point: that lower ceiling is sometimes a benefit. Not every client needs “award-site” energy. A lot of agencies waste hours making simple sites more custom than they need to be.Ease of building
Squarespace is easier to pick up.
That doesn’t mean it’s better. It means your team can move faster if the project is straightforward and the desired outcome fits the platform’s structure.
For a small agency juggling many client sites, that simplicity is valuable. You don’t need every project to become a design systems exercise.
Webflow has a steeper learning curve, especially for people who don’t think in terms of box model, positioning, classes, and responsive behavior. Even though it’s visual, it still helps to understand how websites are actually built.
That’s why Webflow often feels amazing to one person on the team and annoying to another.
If your agency has strong designers with some technical comfort, Webflow clicks. If your team is mostly content, branding, and account management, Squarespace may be a better operational fit.
CMS and content structure
This is one of the biggest practical differences.
Webflow’s CMS is much more useful for agencies building sites with repeatable content types: case studies, team members, job listings, resource libraries, events, location pages, and so on.
You can create structured collections and design around them in a more flexible way. That makes future growth easier.
Squarespace has content tools, blogs, products, galleries, events, and portfolio features. For many small sites, that’s enough.
But once the content model gets more specific, it starts to feel less adaptable. You can still make it work, but your workaround count goes up.
And workarounds are where agency time disappears.
If your clients tend to say things like:
- “We want a resource hub later”
- “Can we turn these projects into filterable case studies?”
- “We’ll probably add landing pages for campaigns”
- “We may need team pages by department”
Webflow is usually the safer long-term choice.
Client editing and handoff
Squarespace wins this one more often than people want to admit.
Clients usually find it easier to understand. The editing environment is more guided, and there are fewer ways to break layout consistency.
That’s not sexy, but it matters. A platform can be powerful and still be wrong for a client if they’re going to struggle with everyday updates.
Webflow client handoff can be smooth, but only when you build with the client in mind. If your team structures classes badly, overloads the CMS, or creates too many hidden dependencies, handoff gets messy fast.
I’ve seen agencies sell Webflow as “easy for clients” when what they really mean is “easy for us.”
Those are not the same thing.
If the client’s marketing coordinator needs to update bios, swap testimonials, publish blog posts, and add landing pages without fear, Squarespace often feels safer.
If the client has a more capable internal marketing team, Webflow becomes much more realistic.
Performance and SEO
Webflow generally gives you more direct control over technical SEO basics and cleaner structure. That’s useful if your agency cares about metadata, schema workflows, page structure, redirects, and cleaner implementation.
Squarespace covers the basics well enough for most small business sites. And honestly, that’s enough more often than SEO purists like to admit.
A weak content strategy on Webflow won’t beat a solid site on Squarespace.
Still, if organic growth is a real channel and the client plans to expand content seriously, Webflow tends to be the stronger platform.
Not because it magically ranks better, but because it handles more complex content and customization with less friction.
Ecommerce and add-ons
For creative agencies, this is usually not the deciding factor unless you work with product-based brands.
Squarespace is surprisingly decent for lighter ecommerce needs. If a client sells a small catalog, digital products, or merch, it can be enough without much setup pain.
Webflow ecommerce exists, but it’s not the reason most agencies choose Webflow. For many stores, agencies end up looking elsewhere anyway.
So if the client’s site is mainly brand and content with a modest shop, Squarespace can actually be the more practical option.
That’s another contrarian point: not every premium-looking brand site belongs on Webflow if commerce is simple and the client wants low maintenance.
Collaboration and workflow
Webflow feels more agency-friendly when the process is structured.
You can design with more precision, create reusable systems, and maintain consistency across a larger build. It supports a more deliberate workflow.
But it also rewards discipline. Without naming conventions, CMS planning, and responsive standards, a Webflow project gets chaotic.
Squarespace is less flexible, which oddly makes collaboration easier on simpler jobs. There are fewer decisions to make, fewer places to get clever, and fewer ways for the build to drift.
That can be a huge advantage if your agency is shipping lots of smaller sites and doesn’t want every build to depend on one “Webflow person.”
Pricing and profitability
Webflow can support higher-ticket projects. Clients can see the difference when the design is strong. If your agency positions itself around premium web experiences, Webflow helps justify that offer.
But the build cost is usually higher too. More customization means more time. More responsiveness checks. More edge cases. More QA.
Squarespace projects often have lower perceived value, but they can be very profitable if your process is tight.
A $6k Squarespace site completed efficiently can be healthier than a $15k Webflow project that drags on for months because everyone keeps “refining” details.
Agencies don’t always like saying this out loud, but the platform that wins awards is not always the platform that protects margin.
Real example
Let’s make this concrete.
Imagine a 10-person creative agency.
They do branding, websites, and ongoing content support. Most of their clients are funded startups, consultants, small consumer brands, and local hospitality businesses.
They’re deciding whether to standardize on Webflow or Squarespace.
Scenario A: startup rebrand with growth plans
A B2B startup needs a new brand site. At launch, they want:
- Home
- About
- Product pages
- Team page
- Blog
- Case studies
- Landing pages for paid campaigns
- Hiring page
They also expect the site to evolve fast over the next year.
This is a Webflow project.
Why? Because the content structure matters. The startup will probably add resources, testimonials, integrations, comparison pages, and more campaign-specific pages. Their internal marketer will want flexibility. The agency will want a system that can grow without rebuilding major chunks.
Squarespace could launch this site. Sure. But six months later, the agency would likely be doing workaround after workaround.
Scenario B: boutique interior design studio
Now a small interior design studio wants a site with:
- Beautiful homepage
- Portfolio
- Services
- About
- Contact
- Journal
- Easy image updates
The founder wants to manage it personally after launch and does not want complexity.
This is a strong Squarespace candidate.
The visual quality can still be high. The client can update projects and images without much training. The site can launch faster. And the agency avoids overengineering a portfolio site that mainly needs clarity and polish.
Scenario C: agency’s own website
Funny enough, if this same creative agency is rebuilding its own site, I’d probably recommend Webflow.
Why? Because agencies sell taste. Their own site often needs to signal more than basic competence. It needs custom presentation, stronger interaction, and sharper storytelling.
That’s where Webflow tends to feel worth it.
Common mistakes
Here’s what people get wrong when comparing these platforms.
Mistake 1: Assuming Webflow is always the “pro” choice
It’s not.
Webflow is more powerful in a lot of ways, yes. But that doesn’t make it the right choice for every agency or every client.
If your clients need simple sites they can manage easily, Squarespace may be the more professional recommendation.
Sometimes the mature move is not choosing the more advanced tool.
Mistake 2: Assuming Squarespace means “basic”
Also not true.
A well-designed Squarespace site can look excellent and perform perfectly well for the right business. If the strategy is clear and the content is strong, most visitors will not care what it was built on.
Agencies can get weirdly snobby about platforms. Clients usually care about outcomes.
Mistake 3: Ignoring handoff
A lot of agencies decide based on the build experience only.
That’s shortsighted.
If your team loves Webflow but your typical client can’t comfortably update it, you’re creating future support work that may not even be profitable.
Think beyond launch.
Mistake 4: Overvaluing design freedom on small budgets
This happens all the time.
The agency wants pixel-level control. The client has a modest budget, a short timeline, and simple needs. Suddenly a straightforward site becomes a custom build with lots of revision loops.
Design freedom is great, but only if the project can support it.
Mistake 5: Standardizing too early
Some agencies try to force one platform on every project because it simplifies operations.
That makes sense internally, but it can lead to bad recommendations.
The better approach is usually this:
- one default platform
- one secondary platform
- clear rules for when each applies
For many creative agencies, that means Webflow as the premium/custom option and Squarespace as the fast/simple option.
Who should choose what
Here’s the clearest version.
Choose Webflow if your agency is:
- Design-led and sells custom visual work
- Building marketing sites with unique layouts
- Working with startups or growth-stage brands
- Creating CMS-heavy sites with structured content
- Comfortable with a slightly more technical workflow
- Charging premium fees for website projects
- Willing to invest in process and QA
Webflow is best for agencies that want more control and can actually use it well.
Choose Squarespace if your agency is:
- Building smaller brochure or portfolio sites
- Serving local businesses, personal brands, or boutique firms
- Prioritizing speed and simplicity
- Handing sites off to non-technical clients
- Looking for lower-maintenance builds
- Running a productized web offer with repeatable scope
- Trying to keep revision cycles tighter
Squarespace is best for agencies that value efficiency, cleaner handoff, and fewer moving parts.
If you’re stuck in the middle
If your agency does a mix of projects, don’t force a single answer.
Use Webflow for:
- flagship brand sites
- startup websites
- content-rich marketing builds
- sites where custom presentation matters
Use Squarespace for:
- founder portfolios
- service business sites
- hospitality brochure sites
- low-complexity brand refreshes
- clients who need easy self-management
That split is more realistic than pretending one platform covers every use case equally well.
Final opinion
So, Webflow vs Squarespace for creative agencies: which should you choose?
My honest take: Webflow is the stronger platform for most serious creative agencies.
It gives you more room to make the work feel distinct. It handles growth better. It supports more sophisticated content structures. And if your agency’s reputation depends partly on design quality, Webflow helps you deliver something that feels less templated and more intentional.
But—and this matters—Squarespace is often the better business decision for simpler client work.
That’s the part people skip.
If a client needs a clean site, a fast launch, and an easy editing experience, Squarespace can be the smarter recommendation. Not the compromise. The smarter choice.
So the key differences are not about who has more features. They’re about where each platform creates leverage.
My stance:
- If your agency wants a default platform for premium custom work, choose Webflow.
- If your agency mainly ships straightforward websites with easy handoff, choose Squarespace.
- If you can support both, that’s probably the most practical setup.
If I had to pick just one for a typical creative agency today, I’d pick Webflow.
But I’d still happily use Squarespace for the right client, and honestly, more agencies should.
FAQ
Is Webflow better than Squarespace for agencies?
For many creative agencies, yes—especially if you build custom marketing sites and want more design control. But for simpler projects, Squarespace can be the better operational choice.
Which is easier for clients to edit after launch?
Usually Squarespace.
Its editing experience is more straightforward, and clients are less likely to break layout consistency. Webflow can work well too, but only with a clean setup and proper training.
Which platform is best for custom design?
Webflow.
That’s one of the biggest key differences. If your agency wants more original layouts, stronger interactions, and less template feel, Webflow is the stronger option.
Is Squarespace too limited for a creative agency?
Not necessarily.
It’s limited compared with Webflow, yes. But if your agency mostly builds portfolios, brochure sites, or small business websites, those limits may not matter much. In practice, they can even help keep projects focused.
Which should you choose if your agency serves small businesses?
Probably Squarespace.
If your clients want affordable, easy-to-manage websites and don’t need complex content structures, Squarespace is often the best for that model. If those small businesses are design-heavy brands with bigger ambitions, Webflow may still make sense.