Month-to-month and annual advisor website contracts differ in commitment—not merely in how often you pay. A website plan billed monthly can still require a one-year term. Before signing or renewing, identify the initial term, renewal date, non-renewal deadline, cancellation effective date, refund policy, and any payment that remains due after notice.
The number beside “per month” tells you the payment cadence. The term and termination clauses tell you how long you are committed.
This guide focuses on the contract clock. For the underlying domain, content, design, data, and platform layers, read Do You Own Your Financial Advisor Website?. For the practical transition after notice, read What Happens to Your Financial Advisor Website If You Cancel?.
Monthly billing is not always month-to-month
Three arrangements can all place a charge on your card every month:
a month-to-month subscription that renews for one month at a time;
a one-year agreement paid in 12 installments; or
a longer or custom term whose fees happen to be billed monthly.
Those structures create different exit exposure. Under a true month-to-month plan, cancellation commonly prevents the next monthly renewal. Under an annual agreement paid monthly, stopping the service may not stop the remaining payment obligation.
The plan page, order form, Terms, and service attachments should agree. If they do not, have the appropriate professional determine which document controls before you rely on a marketing label.
The three common contract models
Month-to-month
Commitment: One monthly period at a time
Payment pattern: Monthly
Renewal question: How and when do you stop the next renewal?
Early-exit question: Does service continue through the paid month, and are partial refunds excluded?
Annual, paid upfront
Commitment: Usually one year
Payment pattern: One annual charge
Renewal question: How many days before the anniversary must you decline renewal?
Early-exit question: Is any unused portion refundable, and does notice change the current term?
Annual, paid monthly
Commitment: Usually one year
Payment pattern: Monthly installments
Renewal question: Does the agreement renew for another year automatically?
Early-exit question: Do the remaining installments or another early-termination fee become due?
The table describes common structures, not a universal rule. A provider can use different terms by plan, order, partner channel, or negotiated agreement.
Read the contract clock in six lines
1. Initial term
Find the date the commitment begins and the period it covers. “One year” might run from signature, purchase, kickoff, or launch. The agreement should tell you which event starts the clock.
2. Billing cadence
Record whether fees are charged monthly, annually, or in milestones. Then confirm whether that cadence also defines the commitment. Do not infer “month-to-month” from a monthly invoice.
3. Automatic renewal
Identify whether the agreement renews automatically and for how long. A one-year initial term can renew monthly, annually, or not at all. Record the renewal date in a calendar the firm controls.
4. Non-renewal notice
Find the required lead time, delivery method, and recipient. A notice sent to a customer-success contact may not satisfy a clause that requires an in-app workflow, billing email, form, or written notice to a specified address.
5. Cancellation and early termination
Separate non-renewal at the end of a term from early termination during it. Check for remaining installments, an early-termination fee, non-refundable prepaid amounts, or immediate loss of access.
6. Effective date and surviving obligations
Determine when the website, account, support, forms, integrations, and hosting actually stop. Then identify which payment, confidentiality, data, ownership, portability, and record-delivery provisions continue after the service ends.
A cancellation request can be accepted today and still become effective at the end of the current term. “You can cancel” and “you can stop paying now” are not the same promise.
What current advisor website provider documents say
Provider documents checked July 16, 2026. This is a factual summary of current public documents—not legal advice, a plan recommendation, or a substitute for your order form. Provider terms can vary by plan and can change.
Providers were selected because their current public documents illustrate materially different term and billing structures in the advisor website market; inclusion is not a ranking, recommendation, or complete market list.
Advisor Websites
Advisor Websites’ Terms say subscription fees can be billed monthly or annually depending on the plan.
Allux
The current Allux Terms of Service state that monthly subscriptions are month-to-month and renew monthly unless canceled. Optional annual plans follow the agreed annual term.
FMG
FMG’s Terms say the Order controls the initial term; if no initial term is specified, the default is one year.
Snappy Kraken
Snappy Kraken’s Terms state a one-year initial term and annual auto-renewal, while legacy month-to-month customers renew monthly. Its pricing page labels website pricing as “Monthly Price (Annual Term).”
WealthReach
WealthReach’s Terms distinguish a month-to-month monthly plan, a one-year annual plan paid upfront, and a one-year annual plan paid in 12 monthly installments.
The visible monthly price is only one field in this comparison. The governing term, notice window, remaining-fee provision, and post-term access can matter more than a small billing discount.
When a month-to-month agreement may be worth more
Month-to-month terms can be valuable when the firm is new, the provider relationship is untested, the website is part of a larger rebrand, or the migration path is still uncertain. The flexibility reduces the future time commitment, but it does not eliminate setup fees, non-refundable payments, notice requirements, or technical switching work.
Ask what flexibility actually covers. A month-to-month hosting subscription does not necessarily make the design, source code, integrations, licensed media, or platform features portable.
When an annual agreement can make sense
An annual term can be reasonable when the provider, scope, support model, and receiving options are understood; the firm expects to use the service for the full term; and the total economic benefit justifies the commitment.
Compare the annual savings with the cost of being wrong. That cost can include remaining fees, a missed renewal window, overlapping providers during migration, rebuild work, and delayed access to materials. The right decision depends on the actual agreement and the firm’s expected operating horizon—not a universal preference for monthly or annual billing.
Contract checklist before you sign or renew
Record these answers in one firm-controlled document:
What is the exact initial term, and what event starts it?
Is the plan truly month-to-month, annual upfront, or annual paid monthly?
What is the renewal date, and how long is each renewal term?
How many days before renewal must notice arrive?
Which channel, form, email, or address makes notice effective?
What fees remain due after early termination or non-renewal?
Are setup fees, prepaid charges, or partial periods refundable?
When do the live site, account access, forms, integrations, and support end?
Which document controls if the plan page, Order Form, Terms, and service attachment differ?
What domain, content, data, records, and portability rights survive the term?
Who inside the firm owns the renewal calendar and keeps proof of notice?
If any answer is missing, ask for it in writing before the commitment begins. Preserve the signed order, current Terms, service attachments, invoices, and notice confirmation together.
How Allux structures the term
This section describes Allux specifically. It is not a claim about every advisor website provider.
The current Allux Terms of Service state that monthly subscriptions are month-to-month and renew monthly unless canceled. Cancellation is effective at the end of the current paid billing period, and subscription payments are non-refundable without partial-period prorating. Optional annual plans follow the agreed annual term.
Contract flexibility and portability are related but different. The Allux Portability Guarantee and Terms describe the customer-specific content, transferable assets, metadata, and publishing records included in the handoff, along with its conditions and exclusions. Review those documents and the selected Allux plan before relying on this summary.