Is Squarespace Basic enough for a portfolio site, or do you need Core?

Summary

Show the work without paying for unused tools

A portfolio page links to individual project pages and holds up to 60 projects. It is a Squarespace 7.1 feature. You can hide a project by returning it to Draft, but you cannot give individual projects their own password or move them between portfolio pages. The portfolio guide also says the mobile app cannot add portfolio pages or edit projects. For confidential work, plan a separate password-protected page rather than expecting Core to change these portfolio limits.

Basic and Core in the Japan storefront

Source: Squarespace Japan pricing, checked 10 October 2026. Annual totals are the displayed monthly equivalent × 12; check the tax and final charge at checkout. Basic includes the CSS editor and basic code blocks. “Embedding” is not a blanket Core requirement: the question is whether your widget needs advanced code or JavaScript. SEO tools are included on both plans.

Selling prints changes the calculation

For store sales subject to Basic’s 2% transaction fee, the annual plan gap is (¥2,080 − ¥1,180) × 12 = ¥10,800. Divide by 0.02 and the break-even sales figure is ¥540,000 a year. At that amount, Basic’s ¥14,160 subscription plus ¥10,800 fee equals Core’s ¥24,960. Above it, Core costs less on those two items. This assumes the published prices remain unchanged and compares website subscriptions and store transaction fees only; tax, domains, email and payment processing are outside the calculation.

For courses and member content, the displayed digital-product fees are 7% on Basic and 5% on Core. Do not mix those sales with print sales without separating their fees. A portfolio with no checkout has no store revenue to apply the 2% calculation to.

Email is a first-year benefit

Core may include one new Google Workspace Starter user free for a year under the offer conditions. In JPY, buying that user separately on Basic costs ¥12,600 a year. The illustrative first-year totals are therefore ¥14,160 + ¥12,600 = ¥26,760 for Basic and ¥24,960 for eligible Core, making Core ¥1,800 cheaper. Once the free year ends, email no longer cancels out the ¥10,800 website price gap. See Workspace billing for the mailbox price.

If the site only needs images, project descriptions and an inquiry form, start with Basic. Choose Core for the actual editing team, scripts, video storage or sales volume you expect. For unpublished work that must stay private, decide how to protect the pages before deciding between plans.

Sources

• https://www.squarespace.com/pricing
• https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/29215717722637
• https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015517328
• https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035611791-Portfolio-pages
• https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/206545367
• https://www.squarespace.com/solutions/creative-services
• https://www.squarespace.com/websites/ai-website-builder
• https://www.squarespace.com/marketing/seo
• https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/205812258

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