# Leaving Squarespace? Keep the easy client edits.

> CMS Brew is not a website builder. It is the piece that makes leaving one possible: move a client site to your own code, and the client keeps making their own small edits, in a chat instead of a page editor.

## Short answer

Stay on Squarespace if you do not build sites in code, or if the site leans on Squarespace Commerce, scheduling, or member areas. Move to your own code with CMS Brew if you build and manage client sites and the per-site subscription stopped making sense: a static site hosts on a free tier, CMS Brew is $39 per month for 5 sites, and your clients still edit their own content, now with guardrails.

## Why designers are leaving Squarespace in 2026

In July 2026 Squarespace began notifying customers of another price increase, up to 26% at renewal on annual billing: Basic moved from $16 to $19 a month, Core from $23 to $29, Plus from $39 to $49. It lands on top of the 2025 plan restructure that already replaced the old tiers with pricier ones, and a recurring complaint in the reaction threads is paying more for bundled AI features nobody asked for.

If you manage several client sites, the increase multiplies: every site is its own subscription, renewing every year. But the thing actually keeping those sites on Squarespace is rarely the builder. It is that the client can edit their own content without calling you. That is the exact gap CMS Brew closes for sites you build in code.

- **The per-site math stopped working:** Five client sites on Core annual billing is now $145 a month, forever. The same five sites as static builds host free on Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare, and CMS Brew covers 5 sites for $39 a month total.
- **Paying more for features nobody uses:** The price rises fund an all-in-one platform: AI tools, email campaigns, commerce, scheduling. A brochure client site uses almost none of it. A code site carries exactly what the client needs and nothing that bills for itself.
- **The real lock-in is client editing:** The move to code keeps getting postponed for one reason: the client would lose the ability to change their own text and images. In CMS Brew they type the change in a chat, watch a live preview, and anything risky routes to you for approval.

## CMS Brew vs Squarespace, side by side

| | CMS Brew | Squarespace |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What the client sees | A chat. They describe the change in plain words and watch a live preview. | The full Squarespace editor: drag-and-drop power, including the power to drag the wrong thing. |
| What you build with | Your own code: Astro, Next.js, SvelteKit, Hugo, any stack that builds from Git. | Squarespace templates and blocks, inside Squarespace. |
| Who owns the site | You. It is a Git repository you can host anywhere and take anywhere. | Exports are partial: mostly page and post text, not the design. Leaving means rebuilding. |
| Cost per site | $39/mo covers 5 sites, +$10 each after. Static hosting has free tiers. | $19 to $99 a month per site on annual billing, after the 2026 increase. |
| Guardrails | Per-field guard levels: Open, Warn, Review, Locked. Code is never editable. | Contributor roles exist, but an editor works in the same editor you design with. |
| Out-of-scope requests | Refused in the editor and escalated to you with the client's original words. | Not a concept. The request reaches you as an email or a phone call. |
| Publishing | One commit to your repository, one-click revert. | Edits go live immediately, with no review step between the client and the live site. |
| Price | $39/mo for 5 sites, unlimited editors, 7-day free trial. | Basic $19, Core $29, Plus $49, Advanced $99 per month on annual billing. |

## Where the other option wins

Where Squarespace wins: it is the whole package. Hosting, domain, SSL, commerce, scheduling, email campaigns, one bill, and not a line of code anywhere. CMS Brew is the opposite trade: it is only the editing layer, and it assumes you build the site yourself. If you do not work in code, Squarespace is still the right tool and CMS Brew is not its alternative.

- You do not build sites in code and have no interest in starting.
- The site depends on Squarespace Commerce, Acuity scheduling, or member areas; replacing those is a project of its own.
- Your client redesigns whole pages themselves, not just the content on them. A builder is the right tool for that.
- It is one site, and the new price is still worth the zero maintenance to you.

## How to move a client site off Squarespace

1. **Rebuild the site in code** Squarespace's export does not carry the design, so this is a rebuild, not a migration: pick your stack, Astro and Next.js are the common choices, and rebuild the pages. This is the honest cost of leaving. Budget it once; it does not recur.
2. **Host it free, point the domain** Push the repository to GitHub or GitLab and connect it to Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare Pages. A brochure site fits comfortably in their free tiers. Point the client's domain at the new host and keep the domain registration wherever it lives today.
3. **Connect the repository to CMS Brew** CMS Brew maps the editable content automatically. There is no schema or config file to write. Review the mapped fields and set a guard level per category: Open publishes freely, Warn asks the client to confirm, Review holds the change for you.
4. **Invite the client** They sign in with Google or an emailed 6-digit code, no new password. Small edits like new copy, photos, and phone numbers they do themselves in chat. Anything structural comes back to you for approval, which on Squarespace was never guaranteed.

## FAQ

### How much did Squarespace prices go up in 2026?

Up to 26% on annual billing, applied at renewal: Basic went from $16 to $19 a month, Core from $23 to $29, Plus from $39 to $49, and Advanced stayed at $99. Monthly billing rose less: Core from $36 to $39 and Plus from $56 to $65. Notification emails started going out in July 2026, so most customers first see the new price on their next renewal.

### Can I export my Squarespace site instead of rebuilding it?

Only partially. Squarespace's export covers mostly page and blog text in a WordPress-compatible format; templates, styles, and most block types do not come with it. Moving to code means rebuilding the design, which is why the honest comparison is a one-time rebuild cost against a per-site subscription that just went up again.

### My clients edit their own sites today. Do they lose that?

No, and for a rare editor it gets easier. Instead of finding the right page and block in a builder they use twice a year, they type what they want changed into a chat and watch a live preview. Text, images, and other content you leave open publish on their own; anything risky waits for your approval.

### What does running the site cost after Squarespace?

Static hosting for a brochure site is free-tier on Netlify, Vercel, and Cloudflare. The domain costs what it costs today, registration simply moves or stays put. CMS Brew is $39 per month for 5 connected sites with unlimited editors, so the marginal cost per additional client site trends toward zero instead of $19 to $99 each.

### Is CMS Brew a website builder like Squarespace?

No. CMS Brew does not design, build, or host sites. It connects to the Git repository of a site you built and gives your client a safe, chat-based way to edit its content. If you want a no-code tool that replaces Squarespace wholesale, that is a different product category.

### Which frameworks does CMS Brew work with?

Next.js, Vue, SvelteKit, Astro, Nuxt, Remix, Gatsby, and Hugo, with previews on Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare. Every publish is a normal commit, so any host that rebuilds from Git works.

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