Squarespace is arguably one of the most popular website builders in the market today. The all-in-one platform boasts stunning website templates, built-in e-commerce features, and an intuitive drag-and-drop editor. In addition, Squarespace also comes with robust customer support.
Meanwhile, creative professionals including photographers and graphic designers are probably more familiar with Adobe Portfolio. Just like Squarespace, Adobe’s own website builder requires little coding or web development knowledge. It also features integrations with the company’s comprehensive suite of Creative Cloud applications.
Between the two, however, where should you build your website? In this article, we compare Squarespace and Adobe Portfolio’s features to help you choose the right website builder.
Contents
Squarespace vs Adobe Portfolio Comparison Chart
| Name | Squarespace | Adobe Portfolio |
| Â |  |  |
| Price | Check Price at Squarespace | Check Price at Adobe Portfolio |
| Standout Features | Stunning, highly-customizable templates | Creative Cloud integration |
| Hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Pages | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Domain | Supported | Supported |
| SSL Certificate | Included | Included |
| Templates | Over 60+ templates | 12 templates for a full portfolio, 6 themes for landing pages |
| Mobile Optimized Templates | Yes | Yes |
| SEO | Advanced | Standard |
| Features and Integrations | Built-in tools with third-party extensions | Adobe Creative Cloud applications |
| Customer Support | 24/7 email support and live chat, help center, community answers | Knowledge base, FAQs, email request |
Website Builder and Management
Squarespace makes it easier to build and manage a website compared to Adobe Portfolio.
Squarespace and Adobe Portfolio are largely designed with beginners in mind. Both platforms require little to zero technical experience in creating and launching a website. You can go live even without writing a single line of code.
However, Squarespace’s all-in-one-approach means you get to start your website faster compared to Adobe Portfolio. Squarespace handles all of the technical stuff including hosting, custom domain, and security. For paid subscribers, you also get immediate access to SEO features that help improve your site’s visibility.
An Adobe Portfolio plan does include content hosting and access to the Creative Cloud integrations. But you still need to manually configure your custom domain. This can prove to be cumbersome to the inexperienced, although Adobe Portfolio has sought to streamline the step through an integration with Namecheap.
Building a website also feels more intuitive when using Squarespace’s editor. The platform largely follows a section-based approach to editing a page. Content blocks are also quite easy to drag and drop, with customization tools within reach across the dashboard. Squarespace isn’t as user-friendly as Wix or Weebly. Nonetheless, it feels more systematic, especially when compared to Portfolio.
With Portfolio, you don’t have a streamlined drag-and-drop feature that aids most beginners when building a page. Navigating the dashboard also requires a bit of a learning curve, and undoing changes isn’t always simple. If you’re starting out on Portfolio, finding how the toolbars and features all work together can be confusing.
Customization and Templates
Squarespace templates are more varied compared to Adobe Portfolio.
While Adobe Portfolio’s interface can be clunky, the available templates are anything but. The platform’s themes are limited — only 12 options for a full portfolio — but they’re all well-designed and are mobile responsive. Since Portfolio focuses on creative professionals, its templates put an emphasis on visual elements. Most of the designs, for instance, include eye-catching headers and rely on minimalist photo galleries.
Squarespace, on the other hand, offers a wider selection of templates. The website builder’s catalog of themes is also neatly organized by category. While Portfolio’s themes are best for — as expected — portfolios, Squarespace’s website templates are versatile enough for almost any need. You can build online stores, photography galleries, personal blogs, and even professional online CVs.
Both website builders do come with the standard customization options for their respective templates. Content blocks, for instance, come with editable dimensions. Users can also modify page elements including margins, font type, background colors, and accent colors. Plus, both platforms allow users to switch templates without affecting existing content.
Squarespace, however, allows for deeper customizations. If you truly want to own a template, you can always dive into the platform’s built-in CSS editor.
Features
Adobe Portfolio relies largely on its Adobe application integrations. Squarespace, on the other hand, includes built-in e-commerce features.
If you’re only planning to showcase your work, then Adobe Portfolio has enough features to get you going. The platform allows its users to make as many photo galleries as possible, in almost any shape, style, or layout.
Those who already benefit from Adobe’s applications will also find its seamless integration noteworthy. So if you’re working on a project in Lightroom, you can easily export it to your Portfolio site. Looking to increase your work’s exposure? Adobe Portfolio can also be seamlessly synced with your Behance profile so it’s automatically updated with the new projects you publish.
However, if you’re planning to actually sell your work or grow your website, you’ll find Adobe Portfolio is limited. The website builder doesn’t come with integrated e-commerce features the way Squarespace does. Moreover, Portfolio’s photography-centric interface means blogging is hardly supported.
For a website you can scale, Squarespace is the better option. A business or commerce plan on the platform comes with a suite of tools you need for online selling. From inventory management and shipping calculations to abandoned cart recovery and email marketing, Squarespace offers plenty of room to support your e-commerce activities. Best of all, the website builder offers solid blogging features so you can update your website with fresh content as you please.
Plans and Pricing
Squarespace comes with four paid plans while Adobe Portfolio is offered as a service under Adobe Creative Cloud.
Squarespace currently offers four paid plans. Personal, which is the entry-level option, comes in at $16 a month. For those who need more comprehensive e-commerce features, the Basic Commerce and Advanced Commerce plans are the way to go. Both include analytics, as well as merchandising tools for online selling and, are priced at $30 and $46 per month respectively.
Squarespace’s most popular offering, however, is the Business plan that costs $26 a month. This subscription option already includes the platform’s fully-integrated e-commerce features, and the ability to sell unlimited products.
Adobe Portfolio’s pricing scheme, on the other hand, is quite different from Squarespace. Adobe’s website builder isn’t a standalone program you can subscribe to, rather a service that’s offered as part of Creative Cloud. Essentially, this means you’re paying for a Creative Cloud subscription, and not for Adobe Portfolio per se.
The Creative Cloud – Photography plan currently starts at $9.99 per month. On the other hand, a more complete plan that includes all Creative Cloud applications will set you back $52.99 a month.
Verdict
Squarespace is a more versatile website builder compared to Adobe Portfolio.
As its name suggests, Adobe Portfolio is great if you’re planning to launch a website showcasing creative work. While the website builder has limited templates to choose from, they all look professional — perfect for portfolios. Since it’s also part of Creative Cloud, you naturally get integrations with a number of Adobe applications and services. Indeed, one of the platform’s hallmark feature is syncing your work to Adobe Cloud and being integrated with the social network Behance.
But because Portfolio is largely photo-centric, you can’t really do much with it, especially if you want to grow your website. This is where an all-in-one website builder like Squarespace excels. It’s a versatile platform that allows users to build anything — a portfolio, online store, launch page, or even a blog. In addition, Squarespace comes with integrated e-commerce functionality for online selling, and a solid blogging platform for dynamic content development.
FAQs
Squarespace is a drag-and-drop website builder that comes with e-commerce, blogging, and SEO features. Adobe Portfolio, on the other hand, is a website-building service offered under Creative Cloud and is primarily designed for creating online portfolios.
Adobe Portfolio does not come with a free plan. While the service offers a free trial, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid Creative Cloud plan to publish your site.
Yes, Squarespace offers discounts on monthly fees if you opt to pay annually.
Yes, Adobe Portfolio allows users to keep a site private or to password-protect specific pages of your site.
