Straight answer
Do I own my website if I pay monthly?
Quick answer
With most pay-monthly website services you own your domain and the content you supplied, but not the built website: it stays with the provider and comes down when you stop paying. A few providers offer a buy-out or hand the site over after a set number of payments; most bundled marketing platforms keep everything for the length of a 6 to 12 month contract. The safe habit is to register your domain in your own name, keep copies of everything you send, and read the cancellation clause before you sign.
The honest answer is “it depends on the contract”, so here are the contracts.
What you almost always own
- Your domain, if you registered it. If the provider registered it for you, ask now whose name is on it.
- Your content: the words, photos, logo and business information you provided. Horizon’s terms say this outright; most providers’ do too.
- Your leads: form submissions and calls are yours.
What you usually do not own
- The built site. The design, code and hosting are the provider’s product. A subscription is the right to use it while you pay. When you stop, the site comes down.
Twelve providers’ exit terms, side by side
| Provider | Monthly | Contract | Cancellation | What you own |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon Digital Co. | $99 | 12 months on the $99 and annual plans; none on the $169 plan | Takes effect immediately; the site goes offline right away | You own your domain and the text, images and logo you supply. Horizon does not export or transfer the site or its content, so keep your own copies. |
| Zero Degree Media | $97 | None; monthly plans cancel anytime | Cancel anytime | Full Build customers own the design outright; subscription terms not stated on the page |
| ProCrewSites | $299 | Month to month, 30 days notice | 30 days notice; hosting disconnects, domain stays yours | You keep full ownership of your domain; design and code remain theirs |
| Roofr Sites | $99 | None; cancel anytime | Cancel anytime | You own your domain |
| Worldwide Web Designs | $99 | None stated | 30-day guarantee | Your content is yours; site code and hosting stay with the subscription |
| 99websites.shop | $99 | 12 payments to own | Not stated | Owned after 12 payments |
| GetAWebsite | Not published | Not stated | Not stated | Buyout option offered |
| LeadChime | $99 | None | Cancel anytime | Not stated on the page |
| YourSites | $199 | None stated | 10-day money-back guarantee | Not stated on the page |
| Scorpion | Not published | 12-month terms for marketing technology and SEO | Not stated | You own domain and content after the contract ends |
| Townsquare Interactive * | Not published | Multi-month lock-in reported | Billing after cancellation is a recurring complaint | Ownership disputes reported |
| Thryv | $399 | 6-month minimums reported by customers | Customers report there is no way to cancel online | Not stated |
Prices read from each provider's public page on the date shown in the Pricing Index. An asterisk marks a price the vendor does not publish, taken from reviews or press instead. Tell us about an error at support@horizondigitalco.com and we will fix it.
Three patterns show up across the 40 providers we track:
- Subscription, no transfer (Horizon, most $99-tier providers): you own domain and content; the site comes down on cancellation. Simple and strict.
- Subscription with an exit (Zero Degree Media’s buy-out, 99websites’ ownership after 12 payments, GetAWebsite’s buy-out option): you can convert to owning it, for a price or after a period.
- Platform contract (Scorpion, Thryv, Hibu, Townsquare): ownership arrives, if at all, after the contract ends, and customers report charges that outlive the cancellation. Townsquare customers report a $129 a month hosting charge that continues after cancelling.
Horizon’s answer
You own your domain and everything you gave us. We do not export or transfer the site or its content, so keep your own copies. When you cancel, the site goes offline immediately, and your domain is untouched. That is stricter than pattern 2 and clearer than pattern 3, and it is written down in Ownership and cancellation, in plain English.
Four things to do before you sign with anyone
- Register the domain yourself, in your own name, and keep the login.
- Keep a folder with every piece of content you send: text, photos, logo.
- Find the cancellation clause and read what happens on day one after cancelling.
- Ask whether anything keeps billing after you cancel. Get the answer in writing.