Authorize.net vs. Squarespace

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Authorize.net
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Authorize.net is a payment gateway software solution offered by Visa featuring secure data processing and fraud protection.
$25
monthly gateway
Squarespace
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Squarespace is a CMS platform that allows users to create a DIY blog, eCommerce store, and/or portfolio (visual art or music). Some Squarespace website and shop templates are industry or use case-specific, such as menu builders for restaurant sites.
$16
per month billed annually
Pricing
Authorize.netSquarespace
Editions & Modules
All-in-One Option
25 & 2.9% + $0.30
monthly gateway/per transaction
Payment Gateway Only
$25
monthly gateway
Basic
$16
per month billed annually
Core
$23
per month billed annually
Basic
$25
per month
Core
$36
per month
Plus
$39
per month billed annually
Plus
$56
per month
Advanced
$99
per month billed annually
Advanced
$139
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Authorize.netSquarespace
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPersonal: $12/month (paid annually) $16/month (paid monthly) Business: $18/month (paid annually) $26/month (paid monthly) Basic Commerce: $26/month (paid annually) $35/month (paid monthly) Advanced Commerce: $40/month (paid annually) $54/month (paid monthly)
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Authorize.netSquarespace
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Authorize.netSquarespace
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Authorize.net
-
Ratings
Squarespace
6.7
61 Ratings
19% below category average
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings6.761 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Authorize.net
-
Ratings
Squarespace
6.9
53 Ratings
11% below category average
API00 Ratings7.546 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language00 Ratings6.334 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
Authorize.net
-
Ratings
Squarespace
7.7
94 Ratings
0% below category average
WYSIWYG editor00 Ratings9.281 Ratings
Code quality / cleanliness00 Ratings7.775 Ratings
Admin section00 Ratings7.593 Ratings
Page templates00 Ratings7.194 Ratings
Library of website themes00 Ratings7.491 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design00 Ratings8.290 Ratings
Publishing workflow00 Ratings7.681 Ratings
Form generator00 Ratings7.175 Ratings
Web Content Management
Comparison of Web Content Management features of Product A and Product B
Authorize.net
-
Ratings
Squarespace
6.6
84 Ratings
11% below category average
Content taxonomy00 Ratings7.472 Ratings
SEO support00 Ratings7.776 Ratings
Bulk management00 Ratings6.148 Ratings
Availability / breadth of extensions00 Ratings5.463 Ratings
Community / comment management00 Ratings6.563 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Authorize.netSquarespace
Small Businesses
Apple Pay
Apple Pay
Score 9.3 out of 10
ManageWP
ManageWP
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Apple Pay
Apple Pay
Score 9.3 out of 10
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Adyen
Adyen
Score 8.5 out of 10
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Authorize.netSquarespace
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(30 ratings)
8.5
(94 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(2 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(8 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Authorize.netSquarespace
Likelihood to Recommend
Visa
Authorize.net is reliable and I feel confident that customers' information is protected. The security protocols used by Authorize.net appear to be as good, and probably better than many credit card payment processors. However, the initial setup process was very difficult. I distinctly recall getting up and running as being very cumbersome and time-consuming. I also was disappointed with how the processing and deposit of payments were not consistent. I distinctly remember regretting the decision to go with Authorize.net. However, as mentioned before, with the time and effort required to get the account set up and running, I refused to go through the process again and try a different provider.
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Squarespace
Squarespace is one of the best solutions out there for building a website or web experience that looks good, has great functionality and is cost-effective, even for smaller businesses. Although most people in marketing will find most of the elements intuitive, if the creator is struggling with any of the functionality, there are many, many support options and other users who can offer assistance.
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Pros
Visa
  • Very smooth workflow to authorizing, capturing, voiding, and refunding charges. This can all be done via API calls, or through their online dashboard.
  • Their AVS settings for validating credit cards are substantial and have been reliable in ensuring that our customers cards are being used safely and properly.
  • Their uptime and response times are very good in general. The only issues we ever have communicating with their services is when our connection quality is compromised.
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Squarespace
  • Stupid simple to use. I know very creative people who cannot code and this is probably the easiest ever platform for them!
  • Pretty website templates and great functionality with showing off portfolios.
  • They've already figured out what are the problems that non-coding people have when creating websites and they've figured out a simple solution for all of it.
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Cons
Visa
  • The lack of data portability is a big issue for me.
  • Authorize.net uses the same $49.00 gateway setup fee to scam merchants out of money, which is no better than any of the other gateways out there.
  • Their customer service is not up to the mark. You can get stuck if you need any help from their end.
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Squarespace
  • Customizing the sites can be highly UN intuitive
  • Navigation for editing the sites can be difficult and frustrating
  • Squarespace has different versions and it's hard to know which version you're on. You can't switch after you start making a site with one version.
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Likelihood to Renew
Visa
Authorize.net has been a useful system for our Chamber. We appreciate the ease of use and access to our Main Frame. Connecting Authorize.net to our system for membership, event and other payment ease has been excellent and we have experienced no problems whatsoever.
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Squarespace
Unless our website requires significantly more functionality in the future, I can't see us terminating our contract
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Usability
Visa
No answers on this topic
Squarespace
It's simple to use for someone who is really good with computers as well as those who are not. I've been using my personal squarespace for years and have also helped clients build a starting page which they are later able to manage theirselves.
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Support Rating
Visa
I have no experience directly with the support offered by Authorize.Net.
Read full review
Squarespace
Help is available directly from the back end and uses full sentence searching to find answers to questions others may have asked before. With a ton of articles and support questions documents, it is very likely that your question has been answered. If not each page has the ability to open a direct email to support. Each case has a number and can be followed. Responses are often quick and have links and directions clearly stated
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Alternatives Considered
Visa
Authorize.net is a reliable and affordable payment processing service that offers more robust security than other services, such as Stripe or PayPal with their monthly fees at $25 dollars month lot of people may be turned off by these high prices but you get what you pay for - protection against fraud in risky transactions so I would recommend using Authorize.net if this matters to your business!
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Squarespace
Squarespace was quicker to set up and more accessible to manipulate the theme, pictures, and content. The page layouts are more versatile and fluid. With WordPress, more time-consuming efforts go into making a template work the way you want it to (because of the lack of the drag-and-drop grids that Squarespace has).
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Return on Investment
Visa
  • Lets us charge cards so we can get paid on time, every time.
  • It was very difficult to setup the DocuSign integration the first time, but after we got it setup, it's made the onboarding process very easy. That probably saves about 30 minutes every time we get a new client.
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Squarespace
  • The cost is reasonably decent. My client says they spent about $20 a month or $240 a year. I asked her if she could add Google AdSense to her blog one day, and they believe they can. They said a custom site would cost them $3000-10,000 depending on who does it. And I agreed, but I found the website they created was on the lower end of that range.
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ScreenShots