Yes. If you want one system to learn GoHighLevel on and run your whole business from, it’s still worth it after six years. The base plan bundles tools you’d otherwise buy separately, and you pay a flat plan fee plus usage for what you actually send, not per user or per contact. It’s weak in reporting, blogging, e-commerce, and very high-volume voice AI.
I’ve been inside GoHighLevel for about six years. People ask me whether I’d pick it again if I were starting over. Here’s my answer, and the reasoning, so you can decide whether to join, stay, or switch.
One disclosure up front: I’m a GoHighLevel affiliate. I’ll also tell you where it falls short, because a review that only praises isn’t worth your time.
Why did I move to GoHighLevel in the first place?
Before GoHighLevel, I was running my business on a pile of separate tools: ClickFunnels, Kajabi, Kartra, ActiveCampaign, Calendly, and contract software. I tried seven contract tools alone. Zapier (an automation service that passes data between apps) held it all together, and that was the painful part.
Three things kept hurting:
- Connections broke. One tool would update and quietly stop working with another.
- Downtime stacked up. One tool would be down while another was up, and I’d lose a day untangling it.
- The daily grind was huge. Getting through every tool took me 4 to 6 hours.
The money was the second problem. I was spending roughly $1,200 to $1,500 a month on all those little tools. When I first got my GoHighLevel account, I paid $97 a month for something that replaced seven of them. That cut my costs by about $1,000 right away. (Those were my numbers at the time. Check the current pricing page before you budget.)
What does the GoHighLevel base plan actually include?
This surprises people. The most basic plan already covers a long list:
- Websites, funnels, landing pages, forms, surveys, and quizzes
- Calendars and online booking, plus event booking so you can host your own workshops
- A CRM (the database of your contacts) and sales pipeline
- A unified inbox for all customer conversations
- Email marketing and text messaging
- Phone numbers, including an IVR (the “press 1 for sales” menu when someone calls)
- Automations and workflows, which are the heart of what I build for people
- A social media planner
- Reputation and review management
- Courses, memberships, and communities
Think about who that fits. A solo operator who doesn’t want 17 tools. A course creator who wants to add coaching. A coach who wants to add courses. A local business owner out on the road who wants contracts, estimates, a chat widget, and a voice receptionist in one place.
How does usage-based pricing work compared with per-user or per-contact pricing?
The base plan covers the tools. The usage charges are what you pay for actually sending emails and text messages. It’s pay as you go. It isn’t pay per user or pay per contact, which is how a lot of other platforms charge.
Per-contact pricing gets ugly fast. I have over 20,000 people on my email list. On a per-contact platform, that would cost me close to $1,000 a month for email alone. Past 10,000 contacts, many people end up paying hundreds a month for capacity they aren’t fully using.
The AI features work the same way. They’re optional, and you’re only charged when you use them. If you never build a page with the AI builder, you never pay for it.
“It’s pay as you go, not pay per user or pay per contact… you’re paying hundreds of dollars a month for things you’re possibly not even using to the max.”
If you’re a beginner or a small business just getting online, that’s a friendly model. You start small and the bill follows what you actually do. There’s also a pricing calculator that tells you which plan fits and what your possible charges could be, so nothing is a surprise. If you have questions on billing, common GoHighLevel questions are answered in the FAQ.
Which plan should you start with?
If you run one business, start on the basic plan. If you run several businesses, or you want to give clients their own accounts under your own branding (called white label), the higher agency-level plan is the one to look at. I moved to the $297 plan when I started bringing my own clients in, and I’ve always run a boutique agency, so I only had a small handful at first. Again, verify current plan prices before you commit.
Where is GoHighLevel still weak?
Look… every tool has weak spots. Here are mine, in order of how much they bother me.
Reporting
This is the weakest part of the whole system, by far. They’ve added dashboards and sales metrics, and they keep working on it. But I still use an additional tool to get the reporting I want.
Blogging
I get better results blogging on WordPress. If you have no blog yet, GoHighLevel’s blogging is a fine place to start. But if you’re a heavy blogger, or you already have SEO built up on another site, I’d stay where you are rather than move it.
E-commerce
Shopify is still king for stores. GoHighLevel integrates well with it, and they’re pushing forward here, but Shopify’s add-ons make it work better for serious selling.
High-volume voice and chat AI
For beginners, the voice receptionist and chat widgets are great. The limit shows up around 1,000 calls a day. Most of us won’t get near that. Even the busiest local shops I’ve measured get maybe 20 to 30 calls a day. If you’re at 1,000, you need a heavier system. Below that, it’s pretty darn good.
The gotcha nobody warns you about
Here’s what nobody tells you: “all-in-one” doesn’t mean best at everything. GoHighLevel is the strongest as a connected system, not as the single best tool in each category. I still run outside tools for reporting and WordPress for blogging. Pick GoHighLevel for the connected system, and plan on one or two side tools for the specific jobs above.
Why do I still trust it after six years?
Two reasons beyond the feature list.
It keeps improving. Updates land weekly and monthly. They also have an upvote board where users vote on what gets built, and I haven’t seen another CRM that listens to its community this way.
The API is open. An API is how one piece of software talks to another. GoHighLevel’s is completely open, so if I ever need another tool, connecting it is easy. That lowers the risk of joining, because you’re not locked into the walls.
What about building your own CRM? Have at it. I teach app building. But matching the security, support, and community, without doing the upkeep yourself, is a lot of work for something that already exists.
Today all four of my businesses run inside it: my coaching, my boutique agency, my staffing agency, and my education company. That’s the 3-tools-not-30 idea in practice.
How do you learn GoHighLevel without getting overwhelmed?
The tool is massive, which is exactly why people get stuck. Start with one job: a form that feeds a pipeline, or a calendar that books appointments. Then add from there.
You have options:
- Start with the free GoHighLevel and AI training on the @AutomatedMarketer YouTube channel. There are 700+ videos, so you can see things built before you try them.
- If you’d rather follow a structured path, the GoHighLevel Masterclass walks through it step by step.
- Run your own numbers through GoHighLevel’s pricing calculator so you know which plan fits and what usage charges to expect before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
Is GoHighLevel worth it for beginners?
For most beginners, yes. The base plan includes a CRM, funnels, calendars, email, texting, and automations, so you don’t need to buy them separately. Use the pricing calculator to see which plan fits and what your usage charges could be.
Is GoHighLevel priced per user or per contact?
No. The plan covers the tools, and you pay usage charges for things like emails, texts, and optional AI features. That’s different from platforms that charge per user, per contact, or per feature added.
What is GoHighLevel weakest at?
Reporting is the weakest area. Blogging, e-commerce, and very high-volume voice AI (around 1,000 calls a day) are also better handled by WordPress, Shopify, or a heavier voice system.
Should I move my blog or online store to GoHighLevel?
Usually not. If you already have SEO built up on a blog, stay put. For a serious store, Shopify works better, and GoHighLevel integrates with it.
Can GoHighLevel connect to other tools?
Yes. It has an open API, so connecting other software is straightforward, which helps if you need a specialist tool for reporting or blogging.