Most agencies are selling confidence. We're selling transparency. Here's the real comparison — pricing, ownership, reporting, and what actually happens when something breaks.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Your site lives on their hosting, their page builder, their CMS. Cancel and you're starting over.
You own the code, the domain, the hosting account, and all content. Always. No exceptions.
Base retainer + setup fees + "strategy" add-ons + content fees. Final cost 2–4x the quoted rate.
Flat rate. Quoted price = final price. Nothing hidden, no scope creep surprises.
Dashboard with 50 metrics you didn't ask for. Keyword volume, DA scores, impressions. No plain English explanation.
Written monthly report in plain English. Every metric explained, every change documented.
Issues identified in reports. Fixing them is extra scope, quoted separately, takes weeks.
We fix it. Monitor + Fix at $297/month covers hands-on work every month. Year 1 free with every website build.
Account manager, sometimes a project manager, occasionally a developer. Responses in 48–72 hours.
Direct contact. One business day response. You talk to the person doing the work.
Wix, Squarespace, WordPress with a $60/year theme. Works until it doesn't.
Custom Next.js — fast, SEO-first, accessible, owned by you. Built to last 5+ years.
Content brief provided. You write it or pay extra for a copywriter.
We write the copy — or work with yours. Included in the build quote.
$500–$2,500/month retainer + $1,000–$5,000 build fee. Year 1: $7,000–$35,000.
Build from $800. Year 1 Monitor + Fix free with every build. Year 2+ from $97/month.
The Math
These are real ranges based on common agency pricing and OVT flat rates. The spread on the agency side is wide because pricing varies wildly — ours doesn't.
Agency estimates based on typical mid-market agency pricing ($500–$2,000/month retainer + $1,000–$5,000 build). OVT estimates: $800–$2,200 build, Year 1 Monitor + Fix free, then $97/month Monitor from year 2. See full pricing →
The Bottom Line
Traditional agencies aren't bad businesses. They just built their model around clients who don't ask too many questions. That works fine until you realize you've spent $15,000 and your site still loads in 6 seconds and has no LocalBusiness schema.
We built OVT for people who want to understand what they're paying for. Flat prices, plain English reports, work you own permanently, and a developer you can actually reach. That's the whole pitch.
If that sounds like what you've been looking for, run a free audit and see where your site actually stands. If we can help, we'll tell you exactly how. If you don't need us, we'll tell you that too.
38 checks, plain English results, no account required. Run your audit and see exactly where your site stands before talking to anyone.