Scorpion alternative with published pricing: local SEO and ads from $297 a month, no 12-month contract (2026)

Ziwi publishes this page and lists its own prices first: local SEO at $297, $597 or $997 a month per location, ads management at $297, $497 or $797 a month by total ad spend, reviews and reputation at $197 a month per location, and a $0 website build with a hosting or Ziwi Care plan kept 12 months, with SEO, ads and reviews month to month. Scorpion is an agency that builds the website on its own platform and runs SEO and ads for home services, legal, medical and franchise businesses, prints no price anywhere on its site, and has no terms of service page, so the only contract language it publishes is its FAQ. This page sets what that FAQ says beside Ziwi's published prices, line by line, names where Scorpion is still the better buy, and works out what a switch costs, with Thryv covered on its own page. Every Scorpion figure is labelled with its source and the month we checked it, October 2026.

Which marketing agencies are cheaper alternatives to Scorpion or Thryv for a small local business?

The only outside figures are from a competing agency, Rebolt, which claims $1,500 to $10,000 or more a month in management fees and $5,000 to $50,000 in setup fees without documenting them, and from two client reviews on DesignRush, one paying $1,200 a month for management plus $2,600 a month in ad spend and one quoted $500 a month for hosting (checked October 2026). Because Scorpion prints no price, no published figure proves which company costs less; what this page can show is which one tells you the price, the term and the exit before you sign, and the Thryv comparison covers the other half of this question.

What does Scorpion cost, and what is the contract?

Scorpion's site prints no price, no plan names and no terms of service; its FAQ answers the pricing question with the investment you decide to make with Scorpion depends on your business goals, and its navigation offers a consultation in place of a rate card (scorpion.co, checked October 2026). The same FAQ says Scorpion typically requires a 12-month contract for its marketing technology and certain services like search engine optimization, while digital advertising services like Google Ads, LSAs and Meta are typically month to month.

Outside figures exist only from interested parties: Rebolt, a competing agency, claims $1,500 to $10,000 or more a month in management fees, $5,000 to $50,000 in setup fees and 12 to 24 month contracts from undocumented client reports, and DesignRush client reviews cite $1,200 a month for management plus $2,600 in ad spend and a $500 a month hosting quote (checked October 2026). At the one client-reported figure, $1,200 a month for management, a 12-month contract is $14,400 before ad spend and hosting, and your own quote may be higher or lower, since Scorpion prices by consultation.

• Scorpion, as published. No price, no plan names, a 12-month contract for the platform and SEO, advertising month to month, a consultation to get a number.
• Ownership, per the FAQ. You own the website after the contract, the domain, content and imagery; the CMS is Scorpion's; GA4 and Local Services Ads accounts are transferred.
• Rebolt, a competitor. $1,500 to $10,000 or more a month, $5,000 to $50,000 setup, 12 to 24 month contracts; undocumented, treat as a claim.
• DesignRush client reviews, 2025. $1,200 a month for management plus $2,600 a month in ad spend; a $500 a month hosting quote after exit.

The outside figures come from a competitor and from individual reviews, so none of them should be read as what your business would pay. Before you compare, ask Scorpion for the monthly fee by line, the setup fee, the exact term with its notice and renewal clauses, and the written ownership of the Google Ads and Meta accounts, all on one page.

What does Ziwi charge instead of Scorpion?

Ziwi does: local SEO at $297, $597 or $997 a month per location, ads management at $297, $497 or $797 a month by total ad spend, one fee for Google, Facebook and Instagram, reviews and reputation at $197 a month per location, and Ziwi Engage lead answering at $99 or $299 a month, every price printed on the site before any call. SEO, ads, reviews and Engage run month to month with no notice period, and the website is a $0 build with a hosting or Ziwi Care plan kept 12 months, otherwise $1,000 for a designed template or $2,500 custom.

The business owns the website, the domain, the Google listing and the ad accounts from day one, with hosting access through the Ziwi portal.

• Website. A $0 build with a hosting or Ziwi Care plan kept 12 months, live in 3 days from kickoff, with no page cap; otherwise $1,000 for a designed template or $2,500 custom.
• Local SEO. Essentials at $297 a month per location covers the Google Business Profile, business listings, fixes to your own pages and two new pages or posts a month; $597 steps that up to two a week; $997 adds landing pages per service and area.
• Ads management. $297 a month on ad spend up to $1,500, $497 from $1,500 to $3,500 and $797 above that, one fee for Google, Facebook and Instagram, with the spend paid to the platform from your own account.
• Reviews. $197 a month per location: the same review request to everyone you invite, replies written, the profile kept clean.
• Hosting and care. $99 a month for hosting and maintenance, or $299 a month per location for Ziwi Care with a new post every week and unlimited small edits, first month free, changes done within 24 hours.

Call tracking is included with Ziwi ads management. The SEO rungs are explained in what local SEO costs, the ads fee in Google Ads management pricing, and the website prices in what a website costs.

When is Scorpion still the better buy?

Scorpion is still the better buy for a multi-location or high-spend service business, a law firm, a large HVAC or plumbing company or a franchise, that wants one agency to run the website, the SEO, the ads and the call handling on a single platform, and can commit to a 12-month contract at a budget one client review puts at $1,200 a month for management plus $2,600 in ad spend (checked October 2026). Scorpion sells to home services, legal, medical and franchise businesses on a platform that bundles the website, tracking and reporting, and a business that wants that scale is buying something Ziwi's four-person team does not sell.

Ziwi's plans suit a single-location business that wants the price, the term and the account ownership printed before a call, a WordPress site it owns, and the freedom to stop SEO, ads or reviews at the end of any month.

• You run many locations or a large practice. Scorpion's platform and team are built for that scale; Ziwi prices per location.
• A 12-month term suits you. If a fixed program with one account team is what you want, that is how Scorpion sells.
• You want the platform. Scorpion bundles the site, tracking and reporting in its own CMS; Ziwi builds on WordPress and reports through its portal.

What does switching from Scorpion to Ziwi cost?

The main switching cost from Scorpion is the balance of the 12-month contract on the platform and SEO, which its FAQ says you fulfil before moving on, so count the months left and ask in writing what notice the agreement requires, since Scorpion does not publish it (checked October 2026). The FAQ says the domain, content and imagery are yours after the contract and that GA4 and Local Services Ads accounts are transferred, but the site runs on Scorpion's CMS, so the pages are rebuilt on your own WordPress site, and Google Ads and Meta account ownership has to be confirmed in writing.

At Ziwi the new website is a $0 build with a hosting or Ziwi Care plan kept 12 months, live in 3 days from kickoff, with no setup fee on SEO, ads, reviews or Engage, and the first month of the hosting or Ziwi Care plan is free. Local SEO from $297 and ads management from $297 a month can start the same week, month to month, so the overlap you pay for is the Scorpion months you still owe, not a second long contract.

1. 01

   Count the months left. Read the agreement for the end of the 12-month term, the renewal clause and the notice period, none of which Scorpion publishes.

2. 02

   Collect your assets. Ask for the domain transfer, the content and imagery, GA4 and Local Services Ads ownership, and written confirmation on the Google Ads and Meta accounts.

3. 03

   Rebuild before you cancel. Ziwi's WordPress site goes live in 3 days from kickoff, so the pages, tracking and listing access are ready before the Scorpion platform access ends.

4. 04

   Move the accounts into your name. Google Business Profile, Google Ads and Meta accounts are opened or transferred to your business, where they stay.

How do I compare a Scorpion quote with Ziwi's published prices?

Put a Scorpion quote and Ziwi's price list side by side on 5 lines: the monthly fee by line, the ad spend kept separate, any setup or onboarding fee, the length of the initial term and how it renews, and who owns the website, the domain and the accounts. With Scorpion, ask for the fee by line and the setup fee, which services carry the 12-month term, the notice and renewal clauses, and whether Google Ads and Meta accounts are opened in your name. Ziwi's answers to all five are printed on the pricing page, and SEO, ads, reviews and Engage stop at the end of any month you cancel, with no notice period.

• One bundled number. A single monthly price with no lines hides what each part costs and what you would keep if you left.
• Ad spend inside the fee. You cannot tell how much reached Google or Meta, so ask for the spend as its own line, paid from your own account.
• A term you only learn about in the agreement. A 6-month or 12-month initial term, or an auto-renewal, belongs on the price page, not in the fine print.
• A promised ranking or lead count. No company controls Google's results or who calls, and no Ziwi plan claims to.

Scorpion prices by consultation and typically asks for 12 months on the platform and SEO; Ziwi prints its prices and runs SEO, ads and reviews month to month on a site you own. For agencies with printed prices beside Scorpion and Thryv, read alternatives to Scorpion and Thryv; for what owning the site means, see do you own your website; and for the same side-by-side against other vendors, start at Ziwi compared with ten marketing vendors, including the WebFX alternative.