home | pricing | how it works | for photographers | layouts | compare | faq | about
Plainfolio vs Squarespace for photographers
Squarespace is a full website builder with polished templates, online stores, and scheduling, for people who want a professional site with lots of features and are happy to design it. Plainfolio is the opposite: a free, plain photo portfolio with nothing to design. If you mainly want your photos online in a clean grid, Plainfolio is faster and cheaper. If you need a store, bookings, or a custom domain, Squarespace does far more.
| Plainfolio | Squarespace |
| Price | Free, or $1.99 a month for Pro | $19 to $99 a month billed yearly ($25 to $139 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Yes, free forever: 50 MB (about 30 to 35 photos), 3 categories | No free plan. 14 day free trial |
| Setup | About two minutes: email, site name, upload | Pick a template, then customize pages and sections |
| Templates | None. 7 plain layouts free, more with Pro, plus your own colors, font, and bio | Many designer templates, highly customizable |
| Photo grid | Automatic justified grid that fits every photo's shape, no cropping | Depends on the template and gallery block you choose |
| Style | Deliberately old school, like a 2005 website | Modern, polished |
| Your own domain | Yes, by forwarding your domain to yourname.plainfolio.site (the address bar then shows the plainfolio address) | Yes. Free for the first year on yearly plans |
| Online store | No | Yes |
Choose plainfolio if
- You want it free, or close to it
- You just want your photos online in a clean grid without designing anything
- You like the plain, fast, 2005 look
Choose Squarespace if
- You want your own domain to stay in the address bar
- You need an online store, bookings, or a blog
- You want to design every page yourself
Make your free plainfolio site :: other comparisons
Squarespace prices and features checked on their website in September 2026. Squarespace is a trademark of its owner and is named here only to identify it.
|