Hosting is included in every Squarespace plan, so there is no separate hosting bill. A domain is free for the first year on a yearly plan, then renews at Squarespace's standard price: £8 a year for a .co.uk and £16 for a .com when I checked. Email is extra. Google Workspace Business Starter costs £5.90 per user a month bought from Google, or £70.80 a year through Squarespace, where it is free for the first year on Core and above. All before VAT, prices checked October 2026.
Is hosting included in a Squarespace plan?
Yes. Squarespace's pricing page says every plan includes its managed cloud hosting, with unlimited bandwidth and a free SSL certificate. There is no separate hosting bill: the hosting price is the plan price.
What you do pay for on top is the domain, from the second year, and email. Plan prices are covered in how much a Squarespace website costs in the UK.
Do you still get a free domain with Squarespace?
Yes, on a yearly plan. Squarespace gives one free custom domain for the first year to a site on annual billing (Free Squarespace domain offer). The conditions are worth knowing before you choose a name:
- Monthly plans do not qualify.
- You have up to a year after starting the yearly plan to claim it, and there is one free domain per site.
- It covers domains in Squarespace's cheapest price tier, which it says includes .com. A more expensive ending gets no partial discount.
- If you cancel the yearly plan during the free year, Squarespace charges you for the domain.
- After the first year, the domain renews at the standard price for its ending.
Squarespace does not list which endings sit in the cheapest tier, so check that the free year shows at checkout before you settle on a .co.uk.
How much does a Squarespace domain cost per year?
| Ending | Price for a year |
|---|---|
| .co.uk | £8 |
| .uk | £8 |
| .org.uk | £16 |
| .com | £16 (shown at £8 for the first year on the day I checked) |
| .net | £16 |
| .org | £16 |
Source: Squarespace domain search, in pounds. Squarespace says the price on its domain list is what you pay for each extra year of registration (List of top-level domains). It also says it charges VAT on domain purchases and renewals for UK customers, and the search page does not say whether its prices include it, so check the total at checkout.
Squarespace includes domain privacy free with every domain registered through it.
Can you use a domain you bought somewhere else?
Yes, in one of two ways (Transferring vs. connecting domains):
- Connect it. The domain stays with your current provider, you keep paying them to renew it, and its DNS settings stay there too. Nothing about your email has to move.
- Transfer it. Squarespace becomes the provider, and you manage the domain and its DNS from your Squarespace account. If your site is on a yearly plan, Squarespace may add a balance adjustment for the free first year, which comes off future invoices rather than as a refund.
I recommend connecting first and transferring later, if at all. It keeps the launch simple, and the domain stays with the provider that already runs your email.
Should you buy Google Workspace through Squarespace or from Google?
Squarespace sells Google Workspace inside your account, and you can also buy it from Google and connect it yourself. The Starter plan is the one most small businesses need.
| Through Squarespace | Direct from Google | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid monthly | £7 a month | £5.90 a month |
| Paid yearly | £70.80 a year | Google says a one-year commitment saves 16% |
| Free first year | Yes, for one new user, if you sign up within your site's first year on Core, Plus or Advanced | No, a 14-day trial |
| Changing plan later | You cannot change billing cycle or move down a plan after signing up | Managed in Google's own admin console |
Sources: Squarespace Google Workspace pricing, Squarespace's free Google Workspace offer and Google Workspace pricing. Google's prices are per user per month and exclude tax.
If your site is on Core or above, I recommend taking the free year through Squarespace and choosing yearly billing at the start, because you cannot switch later. On Basic, or if you want the freedom to change plans, buy it from Google. Squarespace notes that an existing Google Workspace account cannot be moved into Squarespace, so decide before you set it up.
The first year is cheap. The second year is the one to budget for.
Is there a cheaper email option on Squarespace?
Yes. Squarespace also sells Essential Email by Titan, at £2 a month, billed monthly only (Essential Email pricing). It gives 10 GB of storage per account, against 30 GB or more on Google Workspace, and up to 10 aliases (Choose an email provider).
It only works with a domain registered through Squarespace, using Squarespace's nameservers. A connected domain from another provider does not qualify. It suits a one-person business that wants a professional address and not much else. If you already live in Gmail, Calendar and Drive, Google Workspace is the better fit.
What do a domain and email cost in year one and year two?
Here are four common set-ups for one person, before VAT. Each includes the website plan, because the free domain depends on it.
| Set-up | Year one | Year two |
|---|---|---|
| Basic paid yearly, .co.uk, Google Workspace from Google paid monthly | £214.80 | £222.80 |
| Basic paid yearly, .co.uk, Essential Email | £168 | £176 |
| Core paid yearly, .com, Google Workspace through Squarespace paid yearly | £204 | £290.80 |
| Basic paid monthly, .co.uk, Google Workspace from Google paid monthly | £270.80 | £270.80 |
The yearly rows assume the domain qualifies for the free first year. The plan figures are Squarespace's prices before VAT: £144 a year for Basic paid yearly, £192 for Basic paid monthly, £204 for Core paid yearly. If you are not VAT registered, add 20% to the Squarespace and Google charges.
The Core row shows why the second year needs a line in the budget. The domain and email are free in year one, and add £86.80 in year two.
Questions people also ask
How much is a Squarespace domain per year?
It depends on the ending. When I checked in October 2026, Squarespace's domain search listed .co.uk and .uk at £8, and .com, .net, .org and .org.uk at £16. The first year is free on a yearly website plan if the domain qualifies.
Is Squarespace hosting free?
Hosting is included in every plan rather than sold separately. Squarespace's pricing page says all plans include its managed cloud hosting, with unlimited bandwidth and a free SSL certificate.
Do I need Google Workspace to have email on my domain?
No. Squarespace sells two options, Google Workspace and Essential Email by Titan, and you can also connect a domain bought elsewhere and keep the email you already have with that provider.
Does a domain bought elsewhere get the free year?
If you transfer it to Squarespace and your site is on a yearly plan, Squarespace may add a balance adjustment for the free year, which reduces future invoices. If you only connect it, you keep paying your current provider.
Sophie is an independent designer based in the UK and the founder of S Evans Design, working across brand, web and product for founders and brand teams. Her career work includes projects for Arsenal, DreamWorks, BBC, Sky, Channel 4, Barclays and the NHS, and she is a Squarespace Circle Gold partner. More about Sophie.
