Alternatives to Scorpion and Thryv for a Small Local Business (2026)
Ziwi is an alternative to Scorpion and Thryv with every price printed: ads management or local SEO from $297 a month, hosting $99, month to month, and you own the website and ad accounts (Ziwi pricing). Scorpion publishes no price. Thryv's software starts at $99 a month, and its done-for-you social ads at $500 (checked October 2026).
Ziwi publishes this page and lists itself first: ads management or local SEO from $297 a month, hosting $99 a month, every price printed, month to month, and you own the website and ad accounts. Scorpion's homepage shows no price, and Thryv prints two software plan prices but shows no price on its pricing page for the done-for-you add-ons it calls Boosts. After Ziwi come 5 agencies that print a monthly price on their own sites, ordered from the lowest price up and compared on what a small business feels first: the smallest monthly bill, the contract length, who owns the website and ad accounts, and whether the price is public. Every outside figure was checked on October 4, 2026, except the Hibu figures, checked September 29, 2026.
Which agencies are alternatives to Scorpion or Thryv for a small local business?
Ziwi, the publisher of this page, starts at $297 a month for ads management or local SEO, month to month, and 5 other agencies print a monthly price on their own sites: BrooklynAds at $99, PopScale at $129, Footbridge Media at $249, LYFE Marketing at $500 and Lotiva at $2,000 (each agency's site, checked October 2026). Three of them print a lower entry price than Ziwi, and Scorpion publishes no price, so there is no published Scorpion figure to set any of them against.
Thryv's $99 and $399 a month plans are software plans, and its done-for-you social ads are listed separately from $500 a month (thryv.com, checked October 2026).
| Agency | Lowest published monthly price | What that price covers | Contract, as published | Source, checked October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ziwi (publisher of this page, listed first) | $297 a month | Local SEO Essentials for one location, or ads management with ad spend up to $1,500 | Month to month, no notice period | Ziwi published pricing |
| BrooklynAds | $99 a month, plus $99 one-time onboarding | Google Business Profile and local SEO (Tier 1) | No long-term contracts | brooklynads.com/plans |
| PopScale | $129 a month | Google Ads setup and management with monthly reporting (Launch). Ad spend not included | No lock-in, cancel anytime | popscales.com, pricing section |
| Footbridge Media | $249 a month | Its contractor marketing program | Month to month | footbridgemedia.com |
| LYFE Marketing | $500 a month, plus a $300 account setup fee the page says you can call to waive | Image ads on social media. Ad spend listed separately | 3 months, then month to month | lyfemarketing.com, social media advertising pricing |
| Lotiva | From $2,000 a month | Google Ads, Meta Ads, SEO, email and SMS, or social media management | 3, 6 or 12 month contract | lotiva.com/pricing |
How this list was built: Ziwi publishes this page and lists itself first, even though 3 agencies on it print a lower entry price. The other 5 come from the agencies ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity named for this question in October 2026, kept only if they print a monthly price on their own site, and sorted by the lowest published monthly price for local search or ads management. Feedbird, which Perplexity also names, prints Meta Ads or Google Ads management from $499 a month per channel and social posts from $99 a month (feedbird.com/pricing, checked October 2026); it is left out of the tables because we did not record its ownership terms, and its contract terms are in our list of marketing agencies that publish their prices. We could not load Straight North's site, and Clicks Geek's site prints no plan price, so neither is listed.
What do Scorpion, Thryv and Hibu publish about price?
Scorpion's homepage shows no price, Thryv publishes two software plan prices, $99 and $399 a month, and Hibu publishes no price but says its contracts typically run 6 to 12 months (scorpion.co and thryv.com checked October 2026, hibu.com checked September 2026). The Scorpion figures you see quoted elsewhere come from other companies. The one dated source we found is an article by Gorilla Marketing, an agency that offers itself as an alternative to Scorpion, updated September 29, 2026, which gives ballpark tiers from $2,500 to $50,000 or more a month and says the final quote is custom.
- Scorpion, as published. No price, plan list or contract length on its homepage (scorpion.co, checked October 2026).
- Scorpion, as reported by a third party. $2,500 to $50,000 or more a month, which Gorilla Marketing calls ballpark figures (gorillawebtactics.com, updated September 29, 2026). This is another agency's estimate, not a Scorpion price list.
- Thryv software, as published. Starter at $99 a month and Signature at $399 a month, with a Custom plan by quote (thryv.com/pricing, checked October 2026). What each plan lists is in our Thryv pricing guide.
- Thryv done-for-you social ads, as published. Bronze at $500, Silver at $750 and Gold at $1,000 a month on a Thryv Social Ads page whose offer is dated October 2025, so confirm current rates with Thryv (thryv.com, checked October 2026).
- Hibu, as published. No price on its pricing page, 3 plan levels each with a button to request custom pricing, contract terms typically 6 to 12 months, and an implementation fee with no amount shown (hibu.com, checked September 29, 2026).
- Hibu, as listed by a third party. Capterra lists Hibu One starting at $449 a month (checked September 29, 2026). Our Hibu pricing guide keeps the two apart.
Which alternatives let you leave month to month?
Of the 6 agencies in the price table, 4 print no minimum term: Ziwi says month to month with no notice period, BrooklynAds says no long-term contracts, PopScale says cancel anytime, and Footbridge Media says month to month (each agency's site, checked October 2026). LYFE Marketing's social ads plans start with a 3-month period and then move to month to month, and Lotiva asks you to choose a 3, 6 or 12 month contract with the rate locked for the term. Thryv's pricing page states no term and Scorpion's homepage states none (checked October 2026), while Hibu's pricing page says 6 to 12 months (checked September 2026).
- Ziwi. Month to month on every plan, no annual contract, no notice period.
- BrooklynAds. No long-term contracts, with a $99 one-time onboarding fee on every tier.
- PopScale. No lock-in, cancel anytime.
- Footbridge Media. Month to month, with a 90-day money-back offer stated on its homepage.
- LYFE Marketing. An initial 3-month period, then month to month.
- Lotiva. A 3, 6 or 12 month contract, with the rate locked for the term.
- Hibu. Contract terms typically 6 to 12 months, plus an implementation fee with no amount shown.
Want every price printed before you call?
Ziwi prints every plan, from $297 a month for local SEO or ads management. Month to month, and the website and ad accounts stay in your name.
Who owns the website and ad accounts if you leave?
At Ziwi the website, domain, Google listing and ad accounts are yours from day one, and of the 5 outside agencies in the price table, 2 say on their own pages that you keep the site or accounts if you leave: Lotiva and Footbridge Media (checked October 2026). BrooklynAds, PopScale and LYFE Marketing do not address ownership on the pricing pages we read, which does not mean they keep your accounts, so ask before you sign. Our guide to whether you own your website lists the five things to check in any contract.
| Agency | What its page says about ownership | Source, checked October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Ziwi | You own the website, domain, Google listing and ad accounts | Ziwi no-contract terms |
| Lotiva | "We build in your Google Ads, Meta Business Manager, GA4, and website. If we ever part ways, you keep everything." | lotiva.com/pricing |
| Footbridge Media | If you cancel, it says it will help you take your site with you | footbridgemedia.com |
| BrooklynAds | Not addressed on the plans page. Ad spend is paid directly to Google, Meta or TikTok, not to the agency | brooklynads.com/plans |
| PopScale | Not addressed in the pricing section | popscales.com |
| LYFE Marketing | Not addressed on the social media advertising pricing page | lyfemarketing.com |
| Scorpion | Not addressed on the homepage | scorpion.co |
Is there a cheaper alternative to Scorpion or Thryv?
It depends which Thryv price you compare: Thryv's Starter software is $99 a month, the same as BrooklynAds' entry price and lower than every other agency entry price on this page, while Thryv's done-for-you social ads start at $500 a month on an offer dated October 2025, and Thryv's page does not say whether that $500 includes ad spend, so it is not a like-for-like match with Ziwi's $297 management fee, which excludes ad spend (each company's site, checked October 2026). Scorpion prints no price, so no published figure shows that any agency costs less than Scorpion, and the only dated estimate we found, from a competing agency, starts at $2,500 a month. The smallest first bill is the lowest plan plus any setup fee, before ad spend: $297 at Ziwi for one location of Local SEO Essentials or for ads management with up to $1,500 of ad spend, $198 at BrooklynAds ($99 plus $99 onboarding), $129 at PopScale, $249 at Footbridge Media, $800 at LYFE Marketing if the $300 setup fee is not waived, and $2,000 at Lotiva (each agency's site, checked October 2026). Wherever ads are involved the ad spend is extra, and at Ziwi it is paid to Google or Meta from your own account.
The term changes the total more than the monthly price does.
At LYFE Marketing the 3-month start period means at least $1,500 in fees plus the $300 setup fee unless it is waived, at Lotiva the shortest contract, 3 months at $2,000 a month, comes to $6,000, and a 12-month Hibu term at Capterra's listed $449 starting price comes to $5,388 before the implementation fee (Capterra, checked September 2026). Ziwi's plans are month to month with no notice period, and BrooklynAds, PopScale and Footbridge Media print no minimum term, so ask them whether any notice period applies (each agency's site, checked October 2026).
What does Ziwi include at each price?
Ziwi's plans start at $297 a month and every line is printed with what it includes, month to month, priced per location for search. These are the lines a small local business usually asks about first.
- Local SEO Essentials, $297 a month per location. Google Business Profile posted weekly, citations, on-page fixes with schema markup, AI search optimization, review asks, two new pages or posts a month, rank tracking and a monthly report.
- Local SEO at $597 and Local SEO Plus at $997, per location. Two new pages or posts a week, service-line pages and local link outreach, with a link and digital-PR program, landing pages per service and area, and a quarterly strategy review on Plus.
- Ads management at $297, $497 or $797 a month. One fee set by total monthly ad spend (up to $1,500, $1,500 to $3,500, or more than $3,500) for Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Local Services Ads together. Ad spend is paid to the platform from your own account.
- Reviews and social from $197 a month. Reviews and reputation at $197 a month per location, and Social Starter at $197 a month.
- A website for $0. We waive the full $2,500 custom website build fee when you keep hosting at $99 a month or Ziwi Care at $299 a month for 12 months.
- No ranking promise. Nobody can guarantee a position on Google or a mention by an AI assistant, and no Ziwi plan claims to.
How do you choose between these alternatives?
If you need one channel on a tight budget, the plans from $99 to $297 a month fit, and the questions are what the plan leaves out and who owns the accounts.
If you need several channels run together, add up the lines you need rather than comparing entry prices, and read the term before you sign.
- 01
Get the lowest monthly price in writing. Scorpion prints none, so ask for the figure and the scope on one page.
- 02
Ask how long the term is. On this page it runs from no stated minimum to 12 months.
- 03
Ask who owns the website, domain, Google listing and ad accounts. Get the answer in the contract, not on a call.
- 04
Ask where the ad spend goes. Paid from your own account, you can see every dollar the platform charged.
- 05
Ask about setup fees. On the pages we read they run from none shown to $300.
Prices change, so check each agency's page on the day you buy; every outside figure here was checked on October 4, 2026, and the Hibu figures on September 29, 2026. For three more agencies, our guides to Hibu pricing, Marketing 360 pricing and WebFX pricing set out what each one publishes, and marketing retainer packages adds Ziwi's lines up into monthly bundles.