Marketing agency contracts and ownership, compared

How this table was put together

Every cell comes from the agency's own site: a pricing page, an FAQ, a trade page or the client terms in its footer, read on October 30 and 31, 2026 (LocaliQ's and Townsquare's terms again on November 3), and the sources at the bottom link each one. Where the terms number their sections, the cell gives the number, so you can find the clause yourself. Where a site says nothing about a topic, the cell says so, because silence is information: an agency that publishes a forty-item services menu and no word about what happens when you leave has made a choice. Quotes are the agency's claims, not verified results. Pages change, so check the live page before you rely on a cell. The same questions for 50 vendors beyond agencies, from field software to lead marketplaces, are in our open vendor terms dataset, and what clients say after signing is in our agency review records.

The agencies were chosen because they appear in searches an owner would run ("roofing marketing agency", "HVAC website design company", "contractor marketing company"), because another agency's roundup named them, or because they sell bundled websites and listings to local trades nationwide (Hibu, LocaliQ, Marketing 360, Thryv, Townsquare Interactive). Several of them are good at what they do. Hook publishes a price for every service. Footbridge puts price, terms and a refund guarantee on one page. Scorpion's FAQ answers "what happens to my website if I leave" in plain words, even though the answer favors Scorpion. Hibu, Marketing 360, Thryv, Townsquare and WebFX publish full client terms, which most agencies never do. The table exists so you can compare the parts that decide how a relationship ends, before it starts.

Which agencies have the strictest exit terms?

The harshest terms in this set are the ones in writing, which is also why they are the easiest to check. Six companies publish client agreements, and each one answers at least part of the exit question.

• LocaliQ. The US terms price an early exit at half of what is left. LocaliQ's own example in those terms: a 12-cycle search campaign at $2,000 a cycle, cancelled after nine cycles, carries a $3,000 fee, and LocaliQ holds the cancellation until the fee is paid (§4.c). Its website terms license the site instead of selling it, and the license becomes perpetual only once the site is paid in full (§9). The Dash app is the exception; it can be cancelled from its settings page. See our LocaliQ alternative page for the rest.
• Marketing 360. Its Terms of Service say Websites 360 sites "may not be migrated to another website hosting platform under any circumstance" (§1.ad), that ad accounts are not handed over at the end of the term (§1.a), and that the Local Services Ads account belongs to Marketing 360 (§1.l). The help center adds that account data is deleted on cancellation unless you pay $12 a year to archive it. More on the Marketing 360 alternative page.
• Townsquare Interactive. The terms bar an exit before the initial term ends (§4.2), take cancellations by phone only, during weekday hours, by 6 p.m. Eastern the day before the next bill (§4.2), and say that after cancelling you "will no longer have access to or ownership rights in the Website" (§4.4(i)). The Townsquare alternative page walks through each clause.
• Hibu. The legal page says the domain Hibu provides "will be registered to us" (Smart Sites §8(b)), the call tracking number "will not be transferred to you" (Social §7(a)), and cancellation is by phone (General Terms §21(a)). It also lists early termination fees by product. Our Hibu alternative page covers who Hibu suits.
• Thryv. Annual terms renew for another year unless you send notice through a web form at least 30 days ahead (§4, §5, §22). The texting number "will be disconnected or may be reassigned to another business" (§12), and the website design stays Thryv's. More on the Thryv alternative page.
• WebFX. Marketing work can be cancelled only after an initial six-month term (§8). The hosting terms give WebFX a "possessory lien" on your domain and files while fees are unpaid, and remove the files seven days after cancellation.

None of this is hidden, and a written clause beats silence. LeadHub, Contractor Gorilla, Contractor Marketing Pros and RYNO publish no contract length or exit terms on the pages we read, which means the rules exist only in the agreement you are asked to sign. Ask for that agreement before the design call.

How to read a marketing agency contract

Read it in this order: the term, the money, the exit.

The term. Find the initial length and what happens when it ends. Scorpion's FAQ says the company "typically requires a 12-month contract" for its marketing technology and services like SEO, with ads "typically month-to-month". Hibu's pricing page says "Contract terms typically range from 6 to 12 months", and its Hibu One terms set a six-month minimum. Contractor Growth Network's pricing page puts its SEO packages at "Commitment: 12 months, then month-to-month." Hook's home page FAQ asks "Why is there a yearly commitment to work with Hook?" and answers that marketing "is a marathon, not a sprint". Thrive's HVAC offer page asks for "an initial 90-day sprint", then month to month. The contract you sign adds the details: whether the term renews on its own, how many days of notice end it, and what you owe if you leave early.

The money. Separate three kinds of charge: one-time work, monthly service, and pass-through costs like ad spend. A payment plan can look like a monthly fee. Hook's pricing page lists a Standard Website at "$1,000 /mo" and, under it, "$12K Total - Split into 12 Months", so the website is a $12,000 project paid over a year. Contractor Growth Network spreads its websites, which start at $15,000, over the first six months. Hibu's terms set a $299 implementation fee that its pricing page mentions without the amount. Footbridge sells Google Ads management at $149 for the first month, then $249, with ad spend paid to Google on top. Add every line up for twelve months before you compare two proposals.

The exit. This is the part owners skip, and the part that matters most. Look for a sentence that says what you receive, in what form, and what stops working. Footbridge's FAQ is the clearest example among the agencies without formal terms: "your content and your domain are always yours", it provides "all of your site files", and the review system, dashboard, web forms, CMS and hosting "will no longer function without an active subscription". Scorpion's is the other clear one: you receive "static files, design assets, and content" and "You'll need to work with another vendor to rebuild your website". If the contract says nothing about the exit, ask for a clause, and read our list of contract red flags for the wording that should slow you down.

How do you cancel a marketing agency contract?

The method matters as much as the date. In this table, cancelling means a phone call during set hours at Townsquare (weekdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern) and Hibu (weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central), at least 30 days' written notice by mail or email at Marketing 360, the website contact form at least 30 days before the next period at Thryv, and written notice 15 days before the end of the month at WebFX, where a late notice pushes the end date out another month. At LocaliQ you call 1-877-222-9395 or tell your rep, and once the initial term is over the cancellation takes effect one more full cycle later. Townsquare's terms say an email does not count as a cancellation notice (§8.5). Most of the agencies without formal terms describe no process at all.

Three habits protect you whatever the method. Put the notice deadline on the calendar with a reminder a month ahead, since an annual renewal you miss by a day can cost a year. Use the method the contract names, and keep a written record too: the date, the person you spoke to and any reference number, plus an email that confirms the call. And ask for the exit deliverables in the same message as the notice, because several of these terms tie your data to a request made "at the time of termination" (Townsquare §4.4) or delete it soon after (WebFX hosting, Marketing 360). Our guide on what to do before you cancel a marketing agency covers the order, from exporting data to moving the domain, and the agency exit checklist puts it on one printable page. For the two that require a phone call, we wrote step-by-step guides: how to cancel Hibu and how to cancel Townsquare Interactive.

The three questions to ask before you sign

1. "If I stop paying next month, what do I have?" The good answer is a list: the domain in a registrar account you log into, site files you can host anywhere, forms that still send, your phone number, your Google Business Profile with you as primary owner, your analytics and ad accounts, and your customer data in a format you can open. The weak answer is "you own your content", which usually means text and photos, or "static files", which means pages with no working forms. Ask them to write the answer into the agreement.
2. "What is the term, how do I cancel, and what ends it?" Get the initial term, the renewal rule, the notice period and the cancellation method as four separate answers. "Month-to-month after the first year" is a different deal from "renews for another year unless you send the web form 30 days before". Footbridge, Lemonade Stand, Plumbing Webmasters, Thrive and Blue Corona say on their sites that they need no long-term contract; Scorpion, Hibu, Hook, Contractor Growth Network and WebFX describe terms of six to twelve months. Either can be a fair deal. What matters is knowing which one you are signing.
3. "What is the total for the first year, including fees, software and ad budgets?" Ask for one number and the lines behind it. Published starting prices (Hook, WebFX, Contractor Growth Network, Contractor Marketing Pros, Footbridge, Thryv) make this easier. "Request custom pricing" (Hibu) or "depends on your business goals" (Scorpion) means the number exists only in a proposal, so get the proposal before you give anyone a card number. Our longer list of questions covers what a good and a bad answer sound like for each.

What does "you own your site" actually mean?

Ownership language in this table means at least four different things.

Hook's pricing page says "You own your website 100%" and, about advertising, "you own your account". Blue Corona says you own "100% of everything we create", and RYNO's website page says "you can take your website with you". Those read as full ownership, though Hook's Standard Website is built on "Hook code base" on Hook's hosting, and none of the three pages spells out what format you would receive on the way out.

Scorpion's FAQ says you own your website "after the length of your contract with Scorpion is complete." Then read the next sentences: you won't own "the underlying system", and on leaving you receive "static files, design assets, and content" and need another vendor to rebuild. That is ownership of the design and the words, with the working site staying behind. Footbridge is similar: its content and domain promise is real, and it hands over "all of your site files", but its forms, content system, dashboard, review tools and hosting stop without an active subscription.

Then there are licenses. Marketing 360 keeps the copyright in non-custom designs and gives a revocable license after full payment (§6.c). Thryv's website terms say the design is its "sole and exclusive property" and release your URL only "if it was your domain originally". Townsquare's terms end your "ownership rights in the Website" at cancellation (§4.4(i)). LocaliQ's website terms give a revocable license while you pay in installments and a perpetual, non-transferable one only after full payment, with the design staying LocaliQ's (§9, §10). Under those terms you own your words and photos; the site itself was never yours.

Phone numbers and data are the parts most pages skip. Hibu's tracking number stays with Hibu, Thryv's texting number can go to another business, and Marketing 360 lets you keep a tracking number only for a monthly fee. If that number is on your truck, the truck now advertises a number you rent. On data, Hibu says it is not responsible for storing it after cancellation, Thryv may keep it up to 13 months or delete it at once, and Marketing 360 deletes it unless you pay to archive. Our guide to what happens to your website when you cancel goes deeper on the site itself.

So the test is simple. A working site needs five things in your name: the domain (in a registrar account you log into), the hosting account, the source files (whatever builds the pages, not a screenshot of them), forms wired to an inbox or CRM you control, and the admin role on your Business Profile, analytics and Search Console. Add the phone number your customers dial. If any of these lives in the agency's account or on the agency's platform, that part is rented, whatever the sales page says. Our pricing page lists what a client owns at the end of our work for the same reason: an ownership promise is only useful when it is specific. For the difference between files you can host anywhere and a site that runs on one platform only, see website builder vs custom website.

What to do if you're mid-contract now

Most owners read a page like this after signing. If that is you, do these in order. None of this is legal advice; if real money is at stake, have a lawyer read the agreement.

1. Find the end date, the notice period and the cancellation method, and put all three on the calendar, with a reminder 30 days before the notice deadline. Auto-renewal clauses do their damage in the one week you forget.
2. Ask, in writing, for the exit deliverables now, while you are still a paying client: who is the registrant on the domain, where the site is hosted, what files you will receive and in what format, whether the tracking number transfers, and which accounts will be handed over. Scorpion's FAQ says GA4, Local Services Ads and social media accounts are transferred when a client leaves; ask your agency the same question about every account it runs for you.
3. Get your name on the accounts that can be shared today. Your Google Business Profile should list you as primary owner with the agency as a manager. Add yourself to Search Console, Analytics and any ad account. If the domain is registered to the agency, ask for a transfer, or at least for your company to be listed as the registrant.
4. Copy everything you can. Page text, photos, reviews, call recordings, lead lists, monthly reports. If the agency's dashboard is the only place your lead history lives, export it every month from now on.
5. Plan the overlap. Build the replacement before the contract ends, so the new site, forms and tracking go live the day the old ones go dark. An instant website checkup will tell you what the current site does well, so you keep that and fix the rest.
6. Ask about an early exit only after the first five. Some agencies release a client who asks politely with a plan in hand; the contract tells you what they can insist on, and at LocaliQ, Marketing 360 and Townsquare the terms say plainly what leaving early costs.

Where we fit

Our row in the table is short on purpose. We charge for work, not for a plan name, so there is no price list and no term; hosting, phone numbers, email sending and ongoing work are each a monthly line you can stop. Everything is set up in your company's name from the first day, so leaving us is a password change rather than a rebuild. We do not promise rankings, lead counts or a return, because no one honestly can. If that is the deal you want, start with the instant website checkup or read how we work. If you want a promise of results, read the guarantee column again: the few guarantees in it are narrow, and the clearest remedy (Footbridge's 90-day refund) is a refund window, not a promise of jobs.

Frequently asked questions