Is Cardel an alternative to Squarespace or Substack?

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

Can I use Cardel with Squarespace or Substack?

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

How much does Cardel cost compared with Squarespace and Substack?

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

How do I switch from Squarespace or Substack 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

SquarespacevsSubstack

Squarespace builds sites with commerce, scheduling, and email as add-ons. Substack is the simplest way to write a newsletter, grow it through its network, and get paid.

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How Squarespace and Substack compare

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.

Substack made paid newsletters normal. You write, it sends, and readers can subscribe or pay in one click. The network effects are real: recommendations, Notes, the app, and discovery bring new readers you did not have to find. There is no monthly fee, and for a writer who wants to write rather than run software, that is a gift.

Where they are different

Squarespace

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

Substack

Substack is a network you publish into.
Substack takes a percentage of paid subscriptions.
Substack chat and comments live in its app.

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

Choose Substack when you want to write, get paid, and be discovered with the least possible setup.

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What's on Squarespace and Substack

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

Site and brand

Workspace site
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Included
Custom domain
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Included
Theme and fonts
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Included
Brand kit
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Not included

Public content

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

Reach and quality

SEO
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Included

Audience and email

Audience
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Included
Marketing emails
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Included
Campaign workflows
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Not included

Messaging

Built-in chat
Squarespace: Not included
Substack: Included

Commerce

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

Team

Admin users
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Included
Per-admin permissions
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Included
AI Assistant
Squarespace: Included
Substack: Not included

Feature comparison for Squarespace and Substack
Feature	Squarespace	Substack
Site and brand
Workspace site	Included	Included
Custom domain	Included	Included
Theme and fonts	Included	Included
Brand kit	Included	Not included
Public content
Blog	Included	Included
Reader engagement	Included	Included
Showcase pages	Included	Not included
Shop pages	Included	Not included
Reach and quality
SEO	Included	Included
Audience and email
Audience	Included	Included
Marketing emails	Included	Included
Campaign workflows	Included	Not included
Messaging
Built-in chat	Not included	Included
Commerce
Shop payments	Included	Not included
Orders and fulfillment	Included	Not included
Scheduling and bookingsLink to external scheduling available on Starter.	Included	Not included
Team
Admin users	Included	Included
Per-admin permissions	Included	Included
AI Assistant	Included	Not included

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