A lot of people have it in their heads that Fenders are better than Squier - fair enough. Are they ten times better if the price is ten times more? No!
When I started playing the build quality of Fenders was abysmal which set my mind to thinking that people are buying Fenders because that's whats on the headstock. This has stayed with me for my whole playing "career" - I've owned a LOT of basses but only about 3 Fenders.
What you get from a Squier is a good, well put together bass with good tone.
What you don't get with a Fender is a 10x better bass, 10x better put together or 10x better tone.
For your money, the Squier is the better bass.