Member Sites & Course Sections
If you want to sell products or services on your Squarespace site, first you’ll need to choose the way your customers/clients can pay you. For this to happen, your site needs something called a payment processor to handle the transaction and trigger next steps after someone purchases from you.
Understanding Payment Processors:
A payment processor is what lets your customers to pay for your products or services on your website. You’ve used one before any time you’ve checked out online, paid with PayPal, or tapped your card on a Square or Stripe reader!
Behind the scenes, it securely processes the payment and sends a confirmation back to your website so that it can trigger the next step for your customer, like granting access to a course or membership, sending a digital download, or placing a product order. Without a payment processor connected, your site can display prices and checkout pages, but your customers won’t be able to complete a purchase.
Types of Payment Processors:
There are several different payment processors you can use with Squarespace, each designed for different types of businesses and offers. In the next section, we’ll walk through the most common options so you can choose the one that feels like the best fit for how you want to sell.
Choosing the Right Payment Option for Your Business:
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to collecting payments. The best option depends on what you’re selling, how complex your offers are, and how much you want to have to manually manage behind the scenes.
We’ll cover the most popular options and discuss their pros and cons, as well as the fees you can expect with each of the following platform:
Squarespace Payments
Stripe
Square
Pay-Pal
Shopify Add-on
Thrivecart
*Important Note: None of the tools mentioned here are affiliate links, and I don’t get paid for recommending one option over another. As a Squarespace Circle member, I do automatically receive a small percentage from Squarespace Payments through their partner program, but there’s absolutely NO requirement to use that option. My goal is only to help you understand what’s available so you can choose the payment setup that feels best for you and your business.
Squarespace Payments (Built-In):
Squarespace Payments is the native payment solution built directly into Squarespace. Everything is managed in one place, which can help reduce overwhelm if you’re just starting out and want to be able to manage everything in one place.
Pros:Everything lives inside your Squarespace dashboard.
Clean, seamless checkout experience.
Supports major credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and buy-now-pay-later options (where available).
Easy to set up and manage refunds or payouts.
No extra platforms to learn or maintain.
Cons:Not available point of sale transactions or Acuity Scheduling.
Fewer advanced checkout customizations.
Not available in every country (check if your country is supported HERE.)
Less flexible for complex sales funnels, upsells, or course-style offers.
Best for: Service providers, small shops, and digital product sellers who want a simple, polished setup with minimal tech and DO NOT need to process payments through Acuity Scheduling or in person.
Breakdown of Fees:
Monthly / Setup fees: None, Squarepace payments is included your website hosting plan.
Transaction fees:Domestic cards: Typically 2.9% + $0.30 (on most plans)*
International cards: Typically +1.5% on top of the above.
Wallet/BNPL options: Klarna/Afterpay often around 5.45–6% + $0.30.
Other potential costs:Optional Instant Payouts have an additional 1.5% fee of payout amount (e.g., US minimum $0.50 etc.).
Your Squarespace plan itself may carry transaction fees in addition to payment processing fees on lower tiers (for example, 3% on legacy Business plans).
*On higher tiers (Plus/Advanced), rates may be slightly lower (e.g., 2.7–2.5% + $0.30).
Setting Up Squarespace Payments:
Stripe:
Stripe is one of the most widely used payment processors and integrates directly with Squarespace.
Pros:Trusted, reliable, and widely supported.
Accepts major credit and debit cards.
Works well alongside PayPal or Squarespace Payments.
Good support for subscriptions and recurring payments.
Cons:Requires a separate Stripe account and dashboard.
Slightly more setup and admin than Squarespace Payments.
Checkout experience isn’t quite as “all-in-one”.
Best for: Businesses that want flexibility and don’t mind managing an additional platform.
Breakdown of Fees:
Monthly / Setup fees:None: Stripe uses a pay-as-you-go model with no fixed monthly cost.
Transaction fees:Online credit/debit cards: ~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
Additional charges may apply for international cards or cross-border transactions.
Other potential costs:Dispute or chargeback handling may incur a charge (often around ~$15).
Optional services (like Stripe Billing for subscriptions or advanced tools) may cost extra.
Notes: Stripe is frequently used as the underlying processor for Squarespace Payments, but when connected directly you manage your own Stripe account and fees.
Connect Stripe to Your Squarespace Site:
Square:
Square is a popular choice for small business owners who sell in person but is currently ONLY available to use with Squarespace if you’re a US based business.
Pros:Great for in-person payments (tap, swipe, insert) with simple card readers and POS tools.
Cons:Square can only be used for in-person payments via Squarespace point of sale. It can't be used for checkout on a computer.
Square can only be used to process payments in the United States
Best For: Product-based businesses, studios, or service providers who sell in person and want a simple way to accept card payments.
Breakdown of Fees:
Monthly / Setup fees:None: you only pay for transaction fees.
Transaction fees:Credit Card (in person): ~2.5%
Debit card (in person): ~0.75% + $0.07
Manually Keyed in Payments: ~3.3% + $0.15
Notes: Square shines in physical, face-to-face sales situations. If your business is primarily digital (courses, memberships, or online-only products), Square usually works best alongside another processor rather than as your main checkout solution.
Get Started with Square:
PayPal:
PayPal gives customers the option to pay using their PayPal balance or saved payment methods.
Pros:Familiar and trusted by many buyers
Allows customers to pay without entering card details
Easy to add alongside other payment options
Cons:Requires a PayPal account on your end
Some customers strongly prefer it, others strongly avoid it
Disputes and holds can feel stressful to manage
Best for: Businesses with an international audience or customers who specifically ask for PayPal.
Breakdown of Fees:
Monthly / Setup fees:None required for basic business use.
Transaction fees:Typical online fees around 2.99% + $0.49, though this can vary slightly by region and PayPal product. Shopify
Other fees:Fees may apply for international payments, disputes, or transferring funds out of PayPal.
Connect PayPal to Your Squarespace Site:
Shopify Buy Button:
The Shopify Buy Button lets you embed Shopify’s checkout into a Squarespace site.
Pros:Powerful ecommerce and checkout features.
Reliable inventory and payment handling.
Lets you keep Squarespace for design while using Shopify for sales.
Online and POS integration.
Cons:Simple coding is required.
Adds another platform and monthly cost.
Styling can feel less native to Squarespace.
More complex setup than native tools.
Best for: Product-based businesses that need stronger ecommerce features but prefer Squarespace’s design flexibility.
Breakdown of Fees:
Monthly / Setup fees:A Shopify plan is required to use Buy Buttons. The higher your plan the lower your transaction fees will be.
Shopify has a Lite option that costs around $7/mo.
Transaction fees:Basic Plan: 2.9% + 30¢ (online), 2.6% + 10¢ (in-person).
Shopify Plan: 2.7% + 30¢ (online), 2.5% + 10¢ (in-person).
Advanced Plan: 2.5% + 30¢ (online), 2.4% + 10¢ (in-person).
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Other fees:Any apps or add-ons you install for advanced features.
Notes: This gives you Shopify’s cart/checkout experience embedded in Squarespace, but it means managing another platform and fee structure.
Connect Shopify to Your Squarespace Site:
ThriveCart:
ThriveCart is a standalone checkout platform often used for digital products, courses, and funnels.
Pros:Highly customizable checkout pages.
Supports upsells, order bumps, subscriptions, and payment plans.
Great for course creators and digital offers.
Strong focus on conversion optimization.
Cons:Not native to Squarespace.
Requires linking out to an external checkout.
Clunky interface.
Customer support slow to respond.
Can feel overwhelming if you’re selling something simple.
Best for: Educators, coaches, and creators selling courses, programs, or layered digital offers.
Breakdown of Fees:
Monthly / Setup fees:Standard Version: One-time lifetime payment of $495 (no monthly fee).
Pro Version: $790 the first year and $290 every year after.
Transaction fees:ThriveCart itself does not take a cut of your sales.
You still pay your payment processor’s fees (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) on each sale.
Other costs:Optional upgrades or add-ons (e.g., advanced reporting or subscription features).
Notes: Because there’s no ongoing fee (Standard Version), ThriveCart can be cost-effective long term.