Guide
Hosted vs self-hosted
Before you choose between Squarespace and Webflow, or between Kirby and Craft, there is a bigger question underneath: do you want to rent a website platform or own the software that runs it? Here is how to decide, from someone with an obvious stake in the answer.
Our bias, stated up front. We make Total CMS, which is self-hosted software. So we have a horse in this race and you should read accordingly. What follows tries to earn your trust by being specific about where renting genuinely wins — and it wins more often than a page like this usually admits.
The distinction is simpler than the jargon suggests. A hosted platform — Squarespace, Webflow, Wix, Shopify — sells you a subscription. They run the servers, handle updates and security, and you build inside their system. Self-hosted software — Total CMS, WordPress, Kirby, Craft, Grav, Statamic — is something you install on hosting you choose. You own the files; you are also responsible for them.
One thing to clear up immediately, because it confuses almost everyone: WordPress is both. WordPress.com is a hosted platform. WordPress.org is the free software you install yourself. They share a name and are different products with different tradeoffs.
And a myth worth killing: self-hosted does not mean running a server. Managed hosting exists, costs a few dollars a month, and handles the operating system, backups and SSL for you. The difference is not sysadmin work — it is who holds the keys.
The options
2 to consider
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Hosted platforms
You rent a complete system. Squarespace, Webflow, Wix, Shopify.
Strengths
- Nothing to maintain, ever. No PHP upgrades, no plugin conflicts, no security patching, no backup strategy. For most people this removes an entire category of work and worry.
- One bill covers everything — software, hosting, SSL, CDN, and usually a domain.
- A staffed support desk. Squarespace answers 24/7 on every plan. No self-hosted software can match a company whose job is to pick up the phone.
- Design without a designer. Professionally art-directed templates that look genuinely good with no skill required.
- Live this week. The time from signing up to a public site is measured in hours.
- Commerce that works out of the box, including payments, tax and subscriptions.
Tradeoffs
- You are renting. Stop paying and the site comes down — Squarespace shows a "Website expired" page; Webflow removes your custom domains and unpublishes the site.
- Leaving is partial. Squarespace's export gives you one blog, layout pages and text and image blocks — style settings and Custom CSS are explicitly excluded. Webflow's code export needs a paid Workspace plan on top of hosting, omits CMS content, forms, memberships and search, and cannot be re-imported.
- No server-side code. Squarespace states plainly that PHP, Ruby and SQL are unsupported; Webflow deprecated its automation and membership products in 2024.
- Your content model is theirs. Pages, posts and products — anything else is a workaround.
- The vendor's direction is not yours. Webflow's own pricing ladder went from $12/$16/$36 in 2021 to $15/$25/$2,500 in May 2026 as it moved upmarket.
- Cost never stops, and rises with traffic and features.
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Self-hosted software
You own the software and choose the hosting. Total CMS, WordPress, Kirby, Craft, Grav, Statamic.
Strengths
- You own it. The files are yours, on hosting you choose, and the site keeps running whether or not you keep paying anyone.
- Leaving is possible, because there is nothing to leave — content and templates are files you already hold.
- Server-side code, so custom logic, integrations, scheduled work and logged-in areas are all available.
- Your own content model. Define the content types your project actually needs.
- Design is portable. Templates are code you keep and can move.
- Cheaper over years, especially across several sites — though see the honest caveat below.
- Free options are genuinely good. WordPress and Grav cost nothing and are not compromises.
Tradeoffs
- Someone maintains it. Updates, backups and security are now a responsibility — yours, your developer's, or your host's.
- You choose and manage hosting, which is one more decision and one more bill.
- Support is usually not a phone number. Commercial options include it; free ones give you a forum.
- Design is on you. Nothing here matches the out-of-the-box visual polish of a hosted platform's template library.
- Setup takes longer than an afternoon.
- Most have no e-commerce worth the name except WordPress with WooCommerce.
How to choose
Start with the honest cost comparison, including the part usually left out. Over five years, a Squarespace site runs roughly $1,140 to $5,940. A self-hosted site is a one-off licence — nothing for WordPress or Grav, up to about $400 for a commercial one — plus hosting, so call it $300 to $1,600. Self-hosting looks dramatically cheaper.
That comparison is only honest if you do not count your own time. The hosted price includes updates, backups, security, uptime and a support desk. If you would otherwise pay someone to handle those, or if an evening spent on a broken update has real value to you, the gap narrows fast and can reverse. Self-hosting is cheaper in money and more expensive in attention.
Then ask the question that actually decides it: what happens on the day you want to leave? If the answer matters to you — because the site is your business, because a client's brand lives on it, or because you have been burned before — own the software. If you would genuinely never move, renting is fine and the ownership argument is abstract.
Rent if
- You do not have a developer and do not want one
- Your content is pages, posts and products
- You want it live this week and looking professional
- You want someone to call when something breaks
- You are selling online and want commerce that just works
- Not thinking about infrastructure is worth real money to you
Own if
- The design and content have to be portable
- You need server-side logic, integrations or logged-in areas
- Your content does not fit someone else's model
- You run several sites, where per-site subscriptions compound
- The site needs to outlive any one vendor's strategy
- You want content in version control alongside your code
- You have compliance or data-residency requirements
A middle path worth knowing about. Managed hosting for self-hosted software gets you much of the maintenance relief without the lock-in — the host handles the server, backups and SSL, while the software and content stay yours. Several CMSs also offer first-party hosting, which bundles the convenience of renting with software you could still take elsewhere.
If you have decided to own, our best flat-file CMS roundup compares the specific options.
FAQ
Common questions
Is WordPress hosted or self-hosted?
Both, which is the single most common source of confusion in this decision. WordPress.com is a hosted platform run by Automattic with subscription plans. WordPress.org is free open-source software you install on your own hosting. When people say "WordPress is free" they mean the .org version; when they say "WordPress costs $25 a month" they mean .com. They share a name and a codebase but are different products to buy.
Is self-hosting hard?
Less than people expect, and it does not mean running a server. Managed hosting costs a few dollars a month and handles the operating system, SSL and backups. What you do take on is keeping the software updated and knowing who to call when something breaks. If you are comfortable installing software and following instructions, it is very manageable. If that sentence made you uneasy, rent.
Which is actually cheaper?
Self-hosting, in money, usually by a lot — roughly $300 to $1,600 over five years against $1,140 to $5,940 for a hosted plan, and the gap widens across multiple sites. But that ignores your time. The subscription buys updates, backups, security and support, and if you would pay someone else for those the comparison narrows or reverses. Count the hours honestly before treating it as a saving.
Can I move off a hosted platform later?
Partly, and the details matter more than the yes. Squarespace exports one blog, layout pages, and text and image blocks — style settings and Custom CSS are explicitly excluded, as are store, portfolio and index pages. Webflow's code export requires a paid Workspace plan in addition to hosting, gives you a static shell without CMS content, forms, memberships or search, and cannot be re-imported. Both let you take your writing. Neither lets you take your working site.
Which is more secure?
Hosted platforms, for most people, and it would be dishonest to claim otherwise. They patch continuously and you cannot misconfigure what you cannot touch. Self-hosted software is as secure as its maintenance — kept current it is fine, neglected it is a liability. The nuance is surface area: a self-hosted site with few moving parts can be simpler to secure than one running a dozen third-party plugins.
Do I need a developer to self-host?
To build something custom, yes, or the willingness to learn. To run it afterwards, usually not — a managed host plus a CMS with a good admin is something a non-technical owner can operate day to day. The realistic split is that a developer sets it up and an owner runs it, which is exactly how most agency and freelance work is structured.
Head-to-head comparisons
- Total CMS vs Kirby Kirby is one of the best flat-file CMSs there is, and if its philosophy suits you it is a great choice. The question was never whether Kirby is good — it is whether plain PHP templates and a per-site licence match the way you build. Total CMS answers that differently.
- Total CMS vs Statamic Statamic is excellent, and if your team already lives in Laravel it is probably the natural pick. The real question is whether you want a CMS with a framework attached — because that is the trade, and it cuts both ways.
- Total CMS vs Grav Grav is free, fast, MIT licensed and genuinely well built. If budget decides this, go and use it — you will not be cutting corners. What is left to compare is not capability but how much you want to assemble yourself.
- Total CMS vs WordPress WordPress runs 41% of the web and it earned that. This is not a page about WordPress being bad — its core is well built and its ecosystem is unmatched. It is about what you sign up to maintain, and whether that trade suits the site you are building.
- Total CMS vs Craft CMS Craft is a genuinely good CMS with a free tier we cannot match. It is also the closest thing to Total CMS on this site — same language, same templating, same kind of structured content modelling. Which leaves one real question: should your content live in a database?
- Total CMS vs Webflow Webflow's designer is the best visual building tool there is, and nothing here replaces it. But two questions are worth asking before you commit a client's site to it: what can you actually take with you, and who is Webflow building for now?
- Total CMS vs Squarespace Squarespace is very good at what it does, and for a lot of people reading this it is the right answer. This page is not an argument that you should leave it. It is about what happens if you ever want to.
Details verified on . Software and pricing change — check each product's own site for their current details.
Sources
Platform specifics verified from primary sources on 27 July 2026:
- Squarespace — exporting your site and adding custom code
- Webflow — exporting site code and their May 2026 pricing changes
- WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
- Pricing for individual products is compared on our flat-file CMS roundup and the head-to-head pages below
All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. We make Total CMS, which is self-hosted software — our bias is stated at the top of this page. If anything here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will correct it.