TL;DR: A .com domain from Squarespace lists at $22 a year on Squarespace’s own domain search (checked October 30, 2026). New registrations showed a $10 sale price, and Squarespace’s help center still says $20, so check the renewal price in your account. WHOIS privacy and SSL are included, and the domain renews automatically. You don’t have to build your website on Squarespace to keep it. When we checked 94 local business domains, 5 of the 11 registered with Squarespace already sent visitors to a site built somewhere else. If you want to use yours with WebZum, keep it where it is and connect it on Professional ($34/mo). We copy your email records over before the switch. See your new site first with a free preview.
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Disclosure: WebZum publishes this blog and makes an AI website builder. Facts about Squarespace, Google Domains, GoDaddy, Namecheap and Porkbun come from their own pages, linked inline. The 96-domain check below is our own.
Verified October 30, 2026.
How much does a Squarespace domain cost in 2026?
A .com lists at $22 a year. On October 30, 2026, Squarespace’s domain search (US, logged out) showed .com at $22 crossed out with $10 next to it, .net at $20 down to $14, and .org at $20 down to $9 (Squarespace Domains). The page doesn’t say how long the $10 lasts, so treat it as a first-year price and plan on the list price after that.
Squarespace’s own help center hasn’t caught up. Its domains FAQ still says “common TLDs like .com and .org are $20 per year” (Squarespace Help). If you’re budgeting a renewal, the price in your Squarespace account is the one that counts.
A few billing details that catch people out:
- It renews early. Squarespace charges your card 15 days before the renewal date and sends a reminder 30 days before (Squarespace Help).
- Renewals aren’t refundable. You get a full refund only if you cancel within five days of registering, and “domains set to auto-renew are non-refundable” (Squarespace Help).
- The free domain is a first-year deal on annual plans only. Squarespace gives one free domain for a year with an annual website plan. “Sites on monthly billing plans” don’t qualify, and after the first year it “renews at the standard rate for its TLD.” If you cancel the annual plan within 14 days, you get a prorated refund “minus the domain registration fee, which isn’t refundable” (Squarespace Help).
What’s included with a Squarespace domain, and what isn’t?
Privacy and SSL are included. Email is not.
Squarespace says “Domain privacy is included for free with all domains registered through Squarespace” (Squarespace Help). Privacy doesn’t hide everything, though. For .com and similar domains, Squarespace still shows the organization, state and country you entered (Squarespace Help). Its domains page also says SSL comes “from Let’s Encrypt” at no extra cost (Squarespace Domains).
Email at your domain is a separate subscription through Google Workspace. Through Squarespace, Business Starter is $8.40 per user per month, or $84 a year, and Standard is $16.80 a month or $168 a year (Squarespace Help). If you’re comparing email options, our guide to getting a business email address walks through them.
If a renewal fails, you have a window but not forever. Squarespace says the domain stays “active and past-due for 15 days” while it retries the charge, then stops working, then gets “a 30-day grace period” to reactivate. “After 30 days (45 days total after the renewal date), the domain will be released” (Squarespace Help). When it stops resolving, Squarespace notes that “your connected website, email services, and pay links stop working” (Squarespace Help).
I had Google Domains. What changed?
Your domain moved to Squarespace, and the old Google price is gone. “On September 7, 2023, Squarespace acquired all domain registrations and their associated customer accounts from Google Domains,” and it created Squarespace accounts for those Google emails (Squarespace Help). Squarespace says it honored Google’s renewal prices for at least 12 months, and “As of September 7, 2024 all migrated domains renew at our standard rates” (Squarespace).
Two Google Domains features didn’t make the trip: Dynamic DNS and ACME TLS certificates are listed as “Not supported” (Squarespace Help).
If you look your domain up in a WHOIS tool, you’ll probably see “Squarespace Domains II LLC” as the registrar. That’s the accreditation Google Domains used. In a 2023 domain dispute, Google confirmed it had agreed to sell its registrations to “the current Registrar Squarespace Domains II LLC” (WIPO case D2023-3984), and IANA’s registrar list now shows that ID under the Squarespace name (IANA).
What did we find when we checked 96 local business domains?
Owning a Squarespace domain and building on Squarespace are two separate choices, and plenty of businesses already split them.
On October 30, 2026, we looked up 96 US local service businesses we found through web search in 23 cities and trades (plumbers, salons, roofers, cleaners, bakeries and similar). For each domain we checked who it’s registered with, its nameservers, where the website is hosted, and where email goes. We picked the businesses from search results, so this is a snapshot, not a random survey, and we’re not naming anyone.
| What we found | Count |
|---|---|
| Domains with a readable registrar | 94 |
| Registered with GoDaddy | 43 of 94 (46%) |
| Registered with Squarespace | 11 of 94 (12%) |
| …on Squarespace Domains II LLC (Google Domains’ old accreditation) | 5 of 11 |
| …sending visitors to a site built somewhere else | 5 of 11 |
| …using Google Workspace for email | 9 of 11 |
| …renewing by January 14, 2027 | 2 of 11 |
| Sites built on Squarespace whose domain is at GoDaddy or another non-Squarespace registrar | 5 of 13 |
Three things stood out:
- Keeping the domain and moving the website is normal. Of the 5 Squarespace-registered domains pointing at a site built elsewhere (Wix, Webflow, WP Engine and two other hosts), 4 never moved the domain or even its nameservers. They just changed a couple of records.
- Most of these domains carry email. 9 of the 11 receive mail through Google Workspace. That’s the part to protect when you change where the website lives.
- Old Google Domains customers are still out there. 4 of the 5 domains on Google’s old accreditation were registered before September 2023, so they very likely came over from Google Domains. One more domain that still showed up in search results wasn’t registered to anyone anymore, which is the risk of letting a renewal slide.
Can I use a Squarespace domain with another website builder?
Yes. Squarespace says so itself: “You can use Squarespace, solely for hosting your domains, and the provider(s) of your choice for website or email hosting” (Squarespace). You own the domain, and Squarespace says “you can keep it as long as you’d like” (Squarespace Help).
There are two ways to do it while the domain stays registered at Squarespace:
- Point it with DNS records. You delete Squarespace’s default records and add the A and CNAME records your new host gives you. Squarespace says “It can take 24 to 48 hours” to take effect (Squarespace Help).
- Switch the nameservers. You tell Squarespace to use your new provider’s nameservers (two to 13 are allowed). Squarespace is clear about what that does: “Your domain will disconnect from your site,” and the DNS records in your Squarespace panel stop applying, so you need to “re-add custom records, like MX or DKIM” at the new provider (Squarespace Help).
That second line is the one to read twice. MX and DKIM records are what make your email work. If they aren’t recreated at the new DNS host, mail to your domain stops.
One more thing if you’re leaving Squarespace as a website builder: canceling the site doesn’t cancel the domain. Squarespace domains “won’t automatically expire when you cancel your website subscription” and keep renewing until you move, point or cancel them (Squarespace Help).
How do I connect a Squarespace domain to WebZum?
Build your site first, then connect the domain when you’re happy with it.
- Get a free preview. Tell WebZum your business name, where you work and how customers reach you. In about five minutes you’ll have a multi-page site at a webzum.com address to look over, with nothing to pay yet.
- Choose Professional ($34/mo, month to month) when you want your own domain on it. That’s the plan that connects a domain you already own.
- Switch your nameservers at Squarespace. In Squarespace, that’s under Domains, then DNS, then Domain Nameservers, where you choose to use custom nameservers and enter the four nameservers WebZum gives you. Squarespace allows two to 13, so all four fit (Squarespace Help).
Before the switch, WebZum copies your existing email records (MX, SPF, DMARC and DKIM for the mail provider we detect) and known subdomains into your new DNS, so in most cases your Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 email keeps working without you touching anything. One honest exception: some sending services, like Amazon SES or Postmark, use DKIM records with random names we can’t find on our own, so add those again if you use one. SSL and DNS for the site are set up automatically.
Your domain stays registered at Squarespace, and you keep paying Squarespace for it. If you’d rather have one bill, Professional also includes a domain WebZum registers and pays for, but most people with an existing domain should just connect it.
Should I transfer my domain away from Squarespace instead?
Usually you don’t need to. Connecting is faster and keeps the domain’s history in one place. Transfer only if you want everything with one company or you’re unhappy with Squarespace’s renewal price.
If you do, Squarespace’s steps are: turn off Domain Lock, request a transfer code, and give it to the new registrar. The code goes to the registrant email and “should be received within 24 hours.” A transfer “can take up to 15 days,” and DNSSEC has to be off first. Squarespace also warns that “Most domain hosts can’t keep your settings in place during a transfer,” so screenshot your DNS records before you start. A domain registered or transferred in the last 60 days is locked, but “you can point the domain to your new site while you wait” (Squarespace Help).
If you’re picking a new registrar, how to buy a domain name covers what the big ones charge and what to watch for at renewal.
How does a Squarespace domain compare on renewal price?
| Where the .com is registered | Yearly price for a .com after the first year |
|---|---|
| Squarespace | $22 list on its search page (help center says $20), privacy included |
| GoDaddy | $22.99 per additional year |
| Namecheap | $18.48 renewal, privacy free |
| Porkbun | $11.08 register and renew |
| WebZum Professional | Included while you’re on the plan ($34/mo, covers a domain up to $20 a year), or connect the one you have |
GoDaddy and Namecheap prices were checked on their US pages on October 28, 2026 (GoDaddy, Namecheap), and Porkbun on October 30 (Porkbun). Every registrar’s .com cost went up on November 1, 2026, when the registry fee rose to $10.97 (ICANN).
Squarespace isn’t the cheapest place to keep a domain, but it isn’t out of line either, and privacy is included. If your domain is already there and working, moving it to save a few dollars is rarely worth the hassle. What matters more is the website it points to.
FAQ
How much is a Squarespace domain?
A .com lists at $22 a year on Squarespace’s domain search (October 30, 2026), with a $10 price shown for new registrations. Squarespace’s help center still says $20 a year for .com and .org, so check your account for your renewal price. Privacy and SSL are included.
Do I own my Squarespace domain?
Yes. Squarespace says that after you register a domain, “you own it and can keep it as long as you’d like,” as long as it keeps renewing.
Can I use a Squarespace domain without a Squarespace website?
Yes. You can point it at another builder with DNS records or switch it to another provider’s nameservers. In our check, 5 of 11 Squarespace-registered business domains already did.
What happens to my domain if I cancel my Squarespace site?
Nothing right away. The domain keeps auto-renewing and stays connected to the canceled site until you point it, move it or cancel it.
Is my old Google Domains price still honored?
No. Squarespace honored Google Domains renewal prices for at least 12 months after the deal, and since September 7, 2024, migrated domains renew at Squarespace’s standard rates.
Can I connect a Squarespace domain to WebZum?
Yes, on the Professional plan ($34/mo). You switch the nameservers at Squarespace, and WebZum copies your email records over first so your email keeps working in most cases. You can see your site free before you pay.
Keep your domain and get a better website on it
The domain you’ve been paying for is yours. The question is what it opens. Tell WebZum your business name, where you work and how customers reach you, and in about five minutes you’ll see an agency-quality website built for your business. Connect your Squarespace domain only once you like it. Professional is $34 a month, month to month, with a 30-day money-back guarantee and no hidden fees.
Related reading: Squarespace pricing in 2026, Wix vs Squarespace, how to name your business and get the domain, and WebZum vs Squarespace.