Eight alternatives to GoHighLevel grouped by what you actually need, what HighLevel really costs once texts, email and AI are added, and how to move your contacts and automations.
GoHighLevel (the company now calls itself HighLevel) puts a CRM, funnels, websites, email, texting, calendars and workflows behind one login, and for marketing agencies that is exactly the point. For a single small business it can be a lot of system: weeks of setup, a menu for everything, and a bill that grows with every text, email and AI reply. This guide covers what HighLevel really costs, who should stay, eight alternatives grouped by need, and how to move your contacts and automations safely.
At the time of writing (October 2026), HighLevel's own pricing page lists three plans in US dollars:
Every plan includes a website and funnel builder, CRM pipelines, email and text marketing, a shared inbox, workflow automation, booking calendars, courses and communities, plus social planning, reputation management and invoicing. Agencies can white-label the desktop web app, while a white-label mobile app is an add-on at $497 a month. Every plan has a 14-day free trial.
Reviews tend to praise the same breadth that causes the problems. These complaints come up most.
Here is what usage looks like at HighLevel's published US rates. A text costs $0.00747 per 160-character segment, sent or received, plus a carrier fee of about $0.0035 to $0.005 per outgoing segment. A local number is $1.15 a month. Email is $0.675 per 1,000, and HighLevel counts incoming emails as well as outgoing ones. Texting US customers also needs A2P 10DLC registration: $22.50 once for a low-volume campaign, then $1.50 to $10.50 a month. Premium workflow actions cost $0.01 each.
So a business on Starter that sends 3,000 texts and 20,000 emails a month adds roughly $50 to $65 in usage before replies, which are billed too. With the plan, that is about $150 to $160 a month, and adding AI Employee takes it past $240. Fair value if you use the tools; expensive if you mainly needed a website and a contact list.
Stay put in these cases.
Answer these and the list below shrinks to two or three names.
New to CRMs? Our guide to a first CRM for a small business covers the basics.
HubSpot's Starter Customer Platform bundles the Starter tier of every HubSpot hub: the CRM, marketing email, forms, a drag-and-drop website builder, landing pages and payments. At the time of writing it lists at $20 a seat a month, and HubSpot was offering new customers a limited-time discount when we checked. Marketing email sends follow the number of marketing contacts you pay for. The catch is automation: HubSpot's knowledge base says workflows need a Professional subscription, while Starter gets form, email and pipeline automation only. Marketing Hub Professional starts at $890 a month with three seats.
Zoho is the opposite of a single dashboard: more than 50 business apps that share data. Zoho One, the full suite, is US$90 a user a month on flexible-user pricing billed annually, or much less if you license every employee. Zoho CRM alone is free for up to three users, then $14 a user a month for Standard on annual billing, and Zoho Sites is the website builder in the same family. The CRM is deep and cheap; the cost is the time it takes to join the apps up.
Systeme.io is the clearest answer to "what is cheaper than GoHighLevel" for coaches and creators. The free plan includes 2,000 contacts, three funnels and one course. Paid plans are $17 (Startup, 5,000 contacts), $47 (Webinar, 10,000) and $97 (Unlimited) a month, with two months free on annual billing. Email sending is unlimited, there is no transaction fee on Stripe or PayPal sales, and websites, a blog, automation rules and an affiliate programme are included. It thinks in funnels and email, not texts.
ClickFunnels is the original funnel builder, now with a CRM, email, courses and websites. Launch is $81 a month on annual billing ($97 month to month) with 10,000 contacts, two team members, three courses, 50,000 emails a month and one sales pipeline. Scale is $164 ($197 month to month) with 75,000 contacts. Its pricing page does not list texting, so check before moving SMS-heavy follow-up.
Kajabi is built for selling courses, coaching, communities and memberships, with a website, landing pages, marketing email and funnels included. It is not cheaper than HighLevel: Basic is $143 a month on annual billing ($179 month to month) with five products and 2,500 contacts, Growth is $199 and Pro is $399. Use a processor other than Kajabi Payments and Kajabi adds a 2% fee on Basic. You pay for polish.
Keap (once called Infusionsoft) is the closest match to HighLevel's automation for a single business: CRM, email and text marketing, landing pages, quotes, invoices, payments and appointment booking, joined up by automation. New customers now get one plan: $249 a month on annual billing ($2,988 a year) or $299 month to month, with two users included and extra users at $39 a month each. A paid implementation package is required and priced through sales. It suits a business built on automated follow-up with budget for setup, but it costs more than HighLevel Starter and its feature list has no full website builder.
If you run an agency, the realistic alternative is another agency platform. Vendasta now charges a $0 subscription and asks you to commit to a monthly minimum spend on its own wholesale products (reputation, social, local SEO, hosting) that you resell to clients. Starter has a $99 monthly minimum with co-branding only. Professional has a $499 minimum on a one-year contract, with full white-label and five seats, and Premium is $999. Every plan includes unlimited client accounts, a CRM and automations, and there is a 14-day free trial. It suits agencies selling packaged local marketing more than those building custom funnels for every client. Agencies that mainly sell websites can also look at WebNewBiz's white-label option below.
This is our platform, so weigh this section accordingly. WebNewBiz is not trying to be HighLevel. It suits a small business whose real need is a good website, an online store and a CRM that catches every lead, in one system. You describe your business, the AI drafts the pages, layout and copy, and you change things by chatting with the AI Copilot. The store takes cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and hosting is included.
The AI CRM starts on Growth at $79 a month. Website enquiries land in it automatically, store buyers become contacts, the AI scores each lead, deals, tasks and bookings sit together, and invoices chase themselves. The CRM also includes an AI funnel builder: describe the offer and it drafts a multi-step funnel (landing page, opt-in, thank-you page), or start from one of 26 templates, then edit each step in a drag-and-drop editor. Every opt-in lands in the CRM as a contact, and workflow automations run on triggers such as a form submission or a date. Growth includes 3,000 contacts and three team members. Pro ($149) adds email campaigns and social media posting and 10,000 contacts; Ultimate ($199) adds an AI chatbot, a phone system with its own number and unlimited contacts. Every plan is $1 for the first month, with no minimum contract, and agencies can use it white-label. Details are on the pricing page.
The honest weaknesses: it is a young platform with a much smaller ecosystem and community than HighLevel or HubSpot. Its funnels are simpler than HighLevel's, and texting runs through the phone system's own number on Ultimate rather than the high-volume SMS sequences HighLevel is built for. If your business runs on complex funnels and SMS sequences, stay on HighLevel or look at Keap. And the AI's first draft still needs your own photos, prices and facts. Our guide to a website builder with a CRM goes deeper.
Entry prices in US dollars per month at the time of writing (October 2026), on annual billing where offered. Prices change and vary by country, so check each vendor's page before you buy.
| Platform | Best for | Entry price | Automation | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoHighLevel (for reference) | Agencies; funnel and SMS-heavy businesses | $97 Starter, plus usage | Full workflow builder | Learning curve; texts, email and AI billed on top |
| HubSpot Starter Customer Platform | CRM-led service and B2B firms | $20 a seat list price | Form, email and pipeline only; workflows from Professional | Big jump to Professional ($890 a month) |
| Zoho One / Zoho CRM | A deep CRM on a small budget | CRM free for 3 users; Zoho One $90 a user | Deep, across many apps | You join the apps up yourself |
| Systeme.io | Coaches and course sellers on a budget | Free; $17 Startup | Automation rules and workflows | Funnel and email focus |
| ClickFunnels | Funnel-first sellers | $81 Launch | Funnels, email, one pipeline on Launch | Texting not listed on its pricing page |
| Kajabi | Courses, coaching, memberships | $143 Basic | Funnels and email | Costs more than HighLevel; product limits |
| Keap | Service businesses built on follow-up | $249, 2 users | Strong, email and text | Required paid implementation |
| Vendasta | Agencies reselling local marketing | $0 plus $99 monthly minimum spend | Included | Minimum spend; one-year contract from Professional |
| WebNewBiz | Website, store and CRM in one | $9 Lite ($1 first month); store from $29, CRM from $79 | AI lead scoring, AI funnel builder, enquiries into the CRM, self-chasing invoices | Young platform; simpler funnels; texting only through the phone system on Ultimate |
Contacts move easily. Automations do not, so plan a rebuild, not an import.
What is the best GoHighLevel alternative for a small business?
It depends on what you use HighLevel for. HubSpot or Zoho suit a business that mainly needs a CRM, Systeme.io suits coaches and course sellers on a budget, Keap suits service businesses built on automated follow-up, and WebNewBiz suits a business that wants its website, online store and CRM in one system.
Is there anything cheaper than GoHighLevel?
Yes. At the time of writing (October 2026), Systeme.io has a free plan and paid plans from $17 a month, Zoho CRM is free for up to three users, HubSpot's Starter Customer Platform lists at $20 a seat a month, and WebNewBiz Growth, with a website, store and AI CRM, is $79 a month. Kajabi and Keap cost more than HighLevel's $97 Starter plan.
How much does GoHighLevel really cost?
The plans are $97, $297 and $497 a month, but texts, calls, email and AI are billed on top by usage. A business sending 3,000 texts and 20,000 emails a month adds roughly $50 to $65 in usage, and the AI Employee bundle is another $97 a month per sub-account.
Can I export my contacts and workflows from GoHighLevel?
Contacts, yes: an admin can export them from Smart Lists as a CSV file, including tags and custom fields. Workflows, no: snapshots only copy them into other HighLevel sub-accounts, so you rebuild them from a written list of triggers, waits and messages.
Should an agency leave GoHighLevel?
Usually not, if it resells to clients, because snapshots and SaaS mode on Agency Pro are hard to replace. Vendasta suits agencies selling packaged local marketing, and WebNewBiz offers white-label for agencies that mainly sell websites with a CRM.
If what you really wanted from HighLevel was a good website, a store and a CRM that catches every enquiry, see what the AI Website Builder drafts for you. You can start for $1, keep HighLevel running while you compare, and only move your contacts once you are happy. If HighLevel, or one of the other tools here, turns out to suit you better, that is a perfectly good outcome too.