Is Cardel an alternative to BookBub or Squarespace?

Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace BookBub or Squarespace when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where BookBub and Squarespace are marked.

Can I use Cardel with BookBub or Squarespace?

Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep BookBub or Squarespace for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.

How much does Cardel cost compared with BookBub and Squarespace?

You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. BookBub and Squarespace set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.

How do I switch from BookBub or Squarespace to Cardel?

Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.

Compare

BookBubvsSquarespace

BookBub Author Websites builds a book-first site and simple newsletter for authors. Squarespace builds sites with commerce, scheduling, and email as add-ons.

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How BookBub and Squarespace compare

BookBub Author Websites is made for writers who would rather be writing. Import an ebook from Amazon or BookBub and its cover, description, and retailer links fill in, and each book gets its own page that you update in one place. Templates are designed around genres, the Author Bio, Blog, and Contact pages are ready on day one, and a built-in newsletter pulls your book details into every email. Pro adds series pages, a press kit and events, and reader magnets that trade a free download for a signup, and the Free plan has no time limit.

Squarespace makes sites that look finished. Award-winning templates, a fluid editor, commerce, scheduling through Acuity, email campaigns, and member areas mean a designer or small business can build almost anything in one account. It is polished, dependable, and deservedly popular with people who care how things look.

Where they are different

BookBub

BookBub's book pages send readers to Amazon, Apple Books, and other retailers, with no checkout on the site.
BookBub's newsletter sends 1,000 emails a month on Free and 10,000 on Pro, from a no-reply address on your domain on Pro, and replies go to your personal email.
BookBub's blog has an RSS feed but no comments, and its only automation is a welcome email.
BookBub's Events page lists your appearances.

Squarespace

Squarespace sells pieces separately: commerce tiers, scheduling seats, email campaign plans.
Squarespace email is outbound.
Squarespace has comments on the blog.

Choose BookBub when your books sell through retailers, you want a polished author site in an afternoon, and a simple monthly newsletter is all the email you need.

Choose Squarespace when design flexibility and a huge template library matter most and you are happy adding modules as you grow.

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What's on BookBub and Squarespace

A check means that capability is available. BookBub and Squarespace are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.

Site and brand

Workspace site
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included
Custom domain
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included
Editor Mode
BookBub: Not included
Squarespace: Included
Theme and fonts
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included
Brand kit
BookBub: Not included
Squarespace: Included

Public content

Blog
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included
Reader engagement
BookBub: Not included
Squarespace: Included
Showcase pages
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included
Shop pages
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included

Reach and quality

SEO
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included

Audience and email

Audience
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included
Email templates and From addresses
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included
Marketing emails
BookBub: Included
Squarespace: Included
Campaign workflows
BookBub: Not included
Squarespace: Included

Commerce

Shop payments
BookBub: Not included
Squarespace: Included
Scheduling and bookingsLink to external scheduling available on Starter.
BookBub: Not included
Squarespace: Included

Team

AI Assistant
BookBub: Not included
Squarespace: Included

Feature comparison for BookBub and Squarespace
Feature	BookBub	Squarespace
Site and brand
Workspace site	Included	Included
Custom domain	Included	Included
Editor Mode	Not included	Included
Theme and fonts	Included	Included
Brand kit	Not included	Included
Public content
Blog	Included	Included
Reader engagement	Not included	Included
Showcase pages	Included	Included
Shop pages	Included	Included
Reach and quality
SEO	Included	Included
Audience and email
Audience	Included	Included
Email templates and From addresses	Included	Included
Marketing emails	Included	Included
Campaign workflows	Not included	Included
Commerce
Shop payments	Not included	Included
Scheduling and bookingsLink to external scheduling available on Starter.	Not included	Included
Team
AI Assistant	Not included	Included

* Note: This table does not capture every feature of BookBub or Squarespace, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but BookBub or Squarespace may add or remove features that are not shown here.