Why the terms matter more than the price
A $99 tool with a 12 month term costs $1,188 whether it works or not. A $299 tool you can cancel in month two costs $598. When we checked vendor pricing pages, most did not state their terms at all: 17 of 156 say there is no contract or that billing is month to month, 5 state an upfront fee, and 3 state a minimum term or cancellation fee. Silence is not the same as freedom, so ask.
1. Who owns the ad account
If a vendor runs Google Ads, Meta ads or Local Services Ads for you, find out whose account the ads run in. When the account belongs to the vendor, you can lose your campaign history, conversion data and audiences when you leave, and start again from zero.
Ask for the ads to run in an account your business owns, with the vendor added as a manager. Get the same in writing for Google Analytics, Google Business Profile, call tracking numbers and your domain. Scorpion, for example, states in its FAQ that it transfers ownership of key accounts such as GA4 and Local Services Ads back to clients who leave, and that clients keep their domains and content. That is the kind of answer to look for.
2. Minimum terms
Some providers require a year. Scorpion's FAQ says it typically requires a 12 month contract for its marketing technology and some services such as SEO, while digital advertising is typically month to month. Marqii bills its review and listings plans per location on an annual contract. Tecobi prices its small dealership plan at $1,995 a month with no term, or $1,496 a month on a 12 month term.
A term can be a fair trade for a lower price, as Tecobi's shows. The question is whether you have tested the product before you commit. Ask for the month-to-month price, compare it with the term price, and decide with the difference in front of you.
3. Setup, licensing and network fees
- System DynamixPRO charges $399 a month plus a $1,000 licensing and customization fee.
- Tecobi charges a $1,995 setup fee month to month, falling to $499 on a 12 month term.
- Podium applies a $500 network fee per location for Podium Phones, and US locations carry a $5 a month messaging fee.
- HiJiffy charges setup fees per five properties: €99, €399 or €599 depending on the tier.
A setup fee is not a red flag by itself when real work is done, such as building a website. It is a red flag when it is not mentioned until the contract, or when it does not come back if the service fails in the first month.
4. Cancellation fees
Aftershoot charges a $30 cancellation fee if its Complete bundle is cancelled within six months. The amount is small and it is stated on the pricing page, which is how it should be done. Larger fees, often a share of the remaining term, tend to appear only in the contract. Ask for the cancellation clause before you sign, and read it.
5. Introductory prices
Mailchimp shows its Essentials, Standard and Premium prices as introductory for 12 months, after which the standard rate applies. Sintra.ai's pricing page is almost always running a sale, so the price a prospect sees differs from the standard rates in its help center. Ask what you will pay in month 13, and put that number in your budget.
6. Credits that expire
When a plan meters work in credits, check whether unused credits roll over. Sintra.ai's 250 monthly credits do not. Dripify's data credits are valid for 30 days. Emelyn's 1,500 monthly credits do roll over. Expiring credits mean a quiet month is paid for and lost.
7. Commission on clients they send you
Marketplace platforms often charge a share of the first booking from a client they introduce. Booksy Biz takes 30% on clients acquired through its marketplace boost, and Fresha takes a 20% one-time commission on new marketplace clients on its free tier. Ask how a client is marked as theirs, and whether a returning client you already knew can be counted.
8. Your website and content
If the vendor built your website, ask what you get when you leave. Some give you the domain, the content and the static files but not the platform the site runs on, so you need someone to rebuild it. Ask the same of blog posts and social content the vendor wrote: can you export them, and are you free to keep using them?
9. Renewal and notice
An annual plan that renews on its own is a minimum term you agree to again every year, often without noticing. Ask whether the plan renews automatically, how much notice you must give to stop it, and whether the renewal price is the same as the first year. Namecheap Relate, for example, states that its bundles renew at the same price, which is the answer you want to see in writing.
Put the renewal date in your calendar a month before it falls. That is when you are best placed to ask for a better rate or a shorter term.
What good terms look like
Several vendors put their terms on the pricing page. Roomvu states no contracts, no join or setup fees and a 7 day money-back guarantee. Keeping Current Matters states monthly plans cancel any time with no contract. Rosie is month to month with no contract. Write.Homes offers a 14 day trial and no contract. MoFlo's pricing page states month-to-month plans with no long-term contract and no setup fees.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Is there a minimum term, and what is the month-to-month price without it?
- Is there a setup, licensing, onboarding or network fee, and is it refundable?
- What does cancelling cost, and how much notice is required?
- Is the price introductory, and what is it after the first term?
- Whose name is on the ad accounts, analytics, Business Profile, tracking numbers and domain?
- Can I export my content, contacts and reports when I leave?
- Do unused credits roll over?
- Do you take a commission on any client, and how is that client identified?
For the prices that sit beside these terms, see the marketing software pricing report and how marketing software bills. Ranked tools are in the best AI marketing tools list, and side-by-sides such as MoFlo vs System DynamixPRO and MoFlo vs Roomvu set terms out plan by plan. Everything else is on the comparisons page.
