GoHighLevel vs HubSpot: Which One Fits Your Business?

GoHighLevel · Comparison

HubSpot is free to start and great for growing sales teams. GoHighLevel is a flat monthly price built for agencies and local businesses. Here is how to choose.

Here is my verdict up front. Pick HubSpot if you want a free CRM to start, or you run an in-house sales and marketing team that will grow into its bigger plans. Pick GoHighLevel if you are an agency or a local business that wants texting, booking, funnels, and automation in one flat monthly price, with unlimited contacts.

I use HighLevel in my own business, and this blog runs on its website and blog tools. I am also a HighLevel affiliate, so if you sign up through my links I earn a commission. To keep this fair, every price below comes from each company's own pricing page, checked October 19, 2026, and I show where HubSpot is the better pick.

The quick comparison

Sources: gohighlevel.com/pricing and hubspot.com/pricing pages, checked October 19, 2026.

GoHighLevel pricing

• Starter, $97 a month: up to 3 sub-accounts, all core features.
• Unlimited, $297 a month: unlimited sub-accounts and API access.
• Agency Pro, $497 a month: adds SaaS Mode and rebilling with your own markup.

Every plan includes unlimited contacts and users. On top of the plan, you pay for usage. The pricing guide lists email at $0.675 per 1,000, phone and text rates that match Twilio's, and optional AI plans at $50 or $97 a month per sub-account. My GoHighLevel pricing guide breaks it all down.

HubSpot pricing

• Free: $0 for up to 2 users, no credit card. HubSpot says its free CRM has no expiration date.
• Starter: the page showed $7 a month per seat, with $20 crossed out, on the view I checked. The price you pay depends on the billing period you pick, so check the toggle on the page.
• Marketing Hub Professional: starts at $800 a month with 3 core seats (shown as annual commit, with $890 crossed out). Extra core seats start at $45 a month. A one-time onboarding fee of $3,000 is required.
• Sales Hub Professional: starts at $90 a month per seat ($100 crossed out), plus a required one-time onboarding fee of $1,500.
• Enterprise: Marketing Hub starts at $3,600 a month with 5 core seats, plus a $7,000 one-time onboarding fee.

HubSpot's Marketing Hub also limits marketing contacts by plan: 1,000 on Starter, 2,000 on Professional, and 10,000 on Enterprise.

What it really costs: a simple example

Say you are a small team of three that wants marketing automation.

• GoHighLevel: $97 a month on Starter, for unlimited users and contacts, plus usage for texts and emails. Automation is included in the core features.
• HubSpot: you could start free or on Starter. If you need Marketing Hub Professional, the page lists $800 a month with 3 seats, plus a $3,000 one-time onboarding fee.

This is not a perfect apples to apples match, since the tools include different features. But it shows the pattern. HubSpot can start cheaper, then jumps when you move up a tier. GoHighLevel starts higher than free, then stays flat while usage fees grow with activity.

Features that matter most

Texting and calls. GoHighLevel has built-in phone and texting through LC Phone, billed by usage. To text US customers from a local number, you need A2P 10DLC registration, which its help center explains. This makes it a strong pick for local businesses that live on their phones.

Booking, funnels, and websites. GoHighLevel lists booking calendars, a funnel and website builder, courses, and communities on every plan. This very blog runs on it.

AI. Both have AI. GoHighLevel lists Voice AI to answer calls and Conversation AI for chats and texts. HubSpot's pricing pages list Agent Hub and an Agent Builder, with HubSpot Credits included on paid plans, like 500 credits on Starter.

Agency tools. This is GoHighLevel's home turf. Sub-accounts let you run many client businesses from one login, and you can brand it as your own with your logo and login address. On the $497 plan, SaaS Mode even lets you sell it as your own software.

Where HubSpot is the better pick

• You want to start for free. The free plan is real and does not expire.
• You have a growing in-house sales team. HubSpot describes Sales Hub Professional as software to automate and scale your sales processes.
• You want a big, well known ecosystem. HubSpot is widely used, which helps with hiring and integrations.

Where GoHighLevel is the better pick

• You run an agency. Sub-accounts, rebilling, and white label are built in. My guide to GoHighLevel white label explains how that works.
• You have a big contact list. Unlimited contacts on every plan means your bill does not jump as your list grows.
• You are a local business that texts and books. Phone, texting, calendars, and reviews are in one place.
• You want to sell AI services. Voice AI makes it easy to build an AI receptionist for clients.

Comparing other tools too? Read my take on HighLevel vs ClickFunnels for affiliates.

Switching from HubSpot to GoHighLevel

If you already use HubSpot and want to move, start with your contacts. HubSpot's help center explains how to export your records, like contacts and deals. It recommends CSV files for big exports, since CSV has no column limit. Then bring that file into GoHighLevel with my guide to importing contacts from a CSV.

Move one piece at a time. Contacts first, then your forms and booking pages, then your automations. Keep HubSpot running until the new setup works.

How to decide in one afternoon

1. Count your users and contacts. Many of either? That points to GoHighLevel's flat price.
2. List what you need most. Sales team tools point to HubSpot. Texting, booking, and client accounts point to GoHighLevel.
3. Price the next tier, not just the first one. Include HubSpot's onboarding fees and GoHighLevel's usage fees.
4. Try both. Start HubSpot's free plan and a GoHighLevel trial at the same time. Build the same simple thing in each.

Want the full picture first? Read my honest GoHighLevel review. If you try GoHighLevel, my GoHighLevel tutorial for beginners will save you time in week one.