Head-to-head · CMS & Website Builder
Squarespace vs Kirby CMS
Which one to pick in 2026 — comparing 🇺🇸 Squarespace with the European alternative 🇪🇺 Kirby CMS on the things that actually decide who can read your data.
🇺🇸 Squarespacevs🇪🇺 Kirby CMS
Verdict
Who has stronger privacy guarantees by law?
Kirby CMS — GDPR-native and outside the US CLOUD Act / FISA 702 reach.
Which one encrypts your data end-to-end by default?
Neither ships full E2E by default — check the table for nuance.
Which one tracks you for ads?
Squarespace relies on ad tracking. Kirby CMS doesn't.
Which one is open source?
Kirby CMS is not fully open source — check details.
Side-by-side
Squarespace vs Kirby CMS — full comparison
Criteria
🇪🇺 Kirby CMS
🇺🇸 Squarespace
Headquarters
Stuttgart, Germany
New York, NY, USA
Jurisdiction
Germany (GDPR)
USA (CLOUD Act, FISA 702)
Data location
Your server — no external dependency
Global, US-controlled (AWS)
GDPR-native
Yes
No
CLOUD Act / FISA exposed
No
Yes
Ad tracking
No
Yes
End-to-end encryption
No
No
Open source
No
No
Ownership
Bastian Allgeier (independent, private)
Squarespace Inc. (taken private 2024)
Founded
2012
2004
Make the switch
Try Kirby CMS instead of Squarespace
German flat-file CMS — no database, no tracking, built for developers who care about privacy.
Other European alternatives to Squarespace