Squarespace Stripe Setup: How to Connect Payments
To set up Squarespace Stripe payments, click the gear icon at the bottom of your dashboard navigation, go to Selling, then Payments. Click Connect next to Stripe and sign in to authorise it. PayPal connects the same way from the same panel.
Connecting Squarespace Stripe payments
From your Squarespace dashboard, click the gear icon at the bottom of the main navigation to open settings.
Go to Selling, then Payments. Both Stripe and PayPal are listed there.
Click Connect next to Stripe. A window opens asking you to sign in to Stripe, or create an account if you don't have one. Authorise Squarespace and the two sync automatically.
Stripe will ask for business details and bank information as part of activating the account. That's Stripe's own verification, not Squarespace's, and payouts won't start until it's complete.
Adding PayPal alongside it
Same panel, same process: click Connect next to PayPal and sign in.
Running both is usually worth it. Stripe handles card payments directly on your site, which is the smoother experience and where most checkouts happen. PayPal appeals to people who'd rather not enter card details on a site they don't know, and for some audiences that's a meaningful share of your buyers.
The trade-off is a slightly busier checkout. If you sell to businesses, Stripe alone is usually fine. If you sell to consumers, having both tends to pay for itself.
Fees and plan limits worth knowing
Two separate costs, which people confuse.
Stripe and PayPal each charge their own processing fee per transaction. That happens on any platform and there's no avoiding it.
Separately, Squarespace charges a transaction fee on its Business plan. On the Commerce plans that fee is zero. If you're selling anything at volume, the Commerce plan usually costs less overall than the Business plan plus fees, so it's worth doing the arithmetic rather than defaulting to the cheaper-looking plan.
Check current numbers on Squarespace's pricing page before deciding, since these change. I broke down the full cost picture in what a Squarespace website costs.
Testing before you launch
Don't trust that it works because it says Connected.
Run a real transaction. Buy something from your own store with a real card, at the lowest price you can set, then refund it. That confirms the whole chain: checkout, payment capture, the order confirmation email to the customer, the notification to you, and the refund flow.
Check the money appears in your Stripe dashboard and that the payout schedule is what you expect. Stripe usually holds the first payout for a few days on a new account, which surprises people on launch day.
Also test on a phone, since that's where most retail checkouts happen and where layout problems show up.
When the connection fails
The usual causes are boring. The Stripe account isn't fully verified, so it connects but can't accept live payments. Your country isn't supported by Stripe for Squarespace, which is worth checking before you build a store. Or you're on a plan that doesn't include commerce, which needs upgrading first.
If payments succeed in Stripe but orders don't appear in Squarespace, disconnect and reconnect the integration. That fixes it more often than it should.
Setting up a store properly, with the products, shipping rules and checkout flow all working together, is a bigger job than connecting the payment processor. That's what my ecommerce builds cover.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need both Stripe and PayPal on Squarespace?
No, Stripe alone handles card payments fine. Adding PayPal tends to lift conversion with consumer audiences who prefer not to enter card details directly.
What are the fees for selling on Squarespace?
Two layers: the processor's fee per transaction, plus a Squarespace transaction fee on the Business plan. Commerce plans drop the Squarespace fee to zero, which usually works out cheaper if you sell regularly.
Can I accept payments without a Commerce plan?
The Business plan supports selling but adds a transaction fee on top of processor fees. For anything beyond occasional sales, Commerce is normally the cheaper option.
Why are my Stripe payments not going through?
Most often the Stripe account isn't fully verified, since it will connect before verification is finished but won't accept live payments. Check your Stripe dashboard for outstanding requirements.
Setting up a store and want the checkout to work properly from day one? See how I build ecommerce sites, or book a free call.
I'm Dylan, the designer behind Highr Labs and a Squarespace Circle Platinum Partner. I build custom Squarespace sites for businesses in Utah and across the US. More about me, or book a free call if you want to talk through a project.
