HubSpot and GoHighLevel are two of the CRMs small businesses ask us about most, and they solve different problems. HubSpot is a tidy CRM with a real free plan. GoHighLevel is an all-in-one follow-up system with texting, funnels and booking built in. We compared them head to head on price, features, ease of use and support, using official pages in October 2026.
Pick HubSpot if you mainly need a clean CRM and pipeline that is easy to learn, with a free plan for up to 2 users. Pick GoHighLevel, from $97 a month plus usage, if fast follow-up by text, booking and funnels in one place matter more. HubSpot is the better CRM; HighLevel is the better follow-up machine.
Who this is for: Coaches, consultants and small service businesses choosing between HubSpot and GoHighLevel as their CRM.
Choose HubSpot if you mainly need a clear CRM: one place for every lead, a pipeline your team can follow, tidy reporting and email that works out of the box. It has a genuine free plan for up to 2 users, it is easier to learn, and you can add pieces as you grow. It suits consultants, B2B service firms and any business where sales happen on calls over weeks.
Choose GoHighLevel (also called HighLevel or GHL) if your leads need a fast reply by text, and you want funnels, booking, SMS, reviews and follow-up in one bill. Plans start at $97 a month with unlimited contacts and users, plus usage fees for messages. It suits coaches and local service businesses whose leads go cold within the hour.
In short: HubSpot is the better CRM, HighLevel is the better all-in-one follow-up machine. Decide which of those two jobs is costing you clients right now.
The two are priced in very different ways. HubSpot charges per seat and per contact tier, while HighLevel charges a flat plan fee and then bills usage. We checked both official pricing pages at the time of writing (October 2026), in US dollars.
HubSpot's free CRM covers up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts, with 2,000 marketing email sends a month (with HubSpot branding), up to 30 landing pages, live chat and 1 meetings link. Starter is listed at $20 a seat a month. HubSpot was running a limited-time discount of up to 65% for new Starter customers when we checked, so check current pricing before you budget.
Marketing Hub Starter includes 1,000 marketing contacts, removes HubSpot branding and lets you send up to five times your contact tier each month. The jump to Professional is steep: Marketing Hub Professional is $800 a month on a yearly plan, or $890 billed monthly, with 3 seats and 2,000 marketing contacts, plus a required one-time onboarding fee of $3,000.
HighLevel has three main plans, each with a 14-day free trial. Starter is $97 a month ($970 a year) with up to 3 sub-accounts. Unlimited is $297 a month ($2,970 a year) with unlimited sub-accounts. Agency Pro is $497 a month ($4,970 a year) and adds reselling features for agencies. Every plan includes unlimited contacts and users.
On top of the plan, HighLevel bills usage for phone numbers, calls, SMS, email and some AI features. For example, its help centre lists LC Email at $0.675 per 1,000 emails, and SMS is charged per message segment plus carrier fees. There is no free plan, and billing starts automatically when the trial ends unless you cancel.
HighLevel includes a website and funnel builder on every plan, with forms, surveys, order forms and upsells, so you can run a coaching funnel without a second tool. HubSpot has landing pages and a website builder too (up to 30 of each on Free and Starter), but it is built for lead capture rather than sales funnels with checkouts and upsells. If funnels are your main job, HubSpot usually needs help from another tool.
HubSpot's email is easy to use, with good templates and clear reports, and it is strong when your follow-up is mostly email. HighLevel does email and two-way SMS from one inbox, which matters if your leads answer texts faster than emails. With HubSpot, texting a lead usually means adding another tool; with HighLevel, it is built in and billed by use.
HighLevel's workflows are its biggest strength. A new lead can get a text in seconds, an email a few minutes later, a reminder before their call and a nudge if they do not show, all from one workflow. Our guide to an automated lead follow-up system shows that sequence step by step.
HubSpot's automation is more limited on the cheaper plans. Starter allows up to 10 automated actions in an email automation, and Sales Hub Starter allows up to 50 workflows with restricted triggers and actions. Full multi-step workflows sit on Professional, which is where the cost climbs.
This is where HubSpot leads. Its contact records, deal pipelines, activity history and reports are clean and easy to trust. Starter allows up to 15 pipelines per account, and Sales Hub Starter adds sequences, calling minutes and meeting links. HighLevel has a working CRM with pipelines and opportunities on every plan, but it is busier to look at and reporting takes more setup.
If you are not sure how much CRM you really need, our plain guide to a CRM for coaches and consultants helps you decide.
HubSpot is the easier of the two. The screens are tidy, the free plan lets you learn without pressure, and HubSpot Academy has free courses on almost every feature. Most small teams can set up contacts, a pipeline and a simple email in a day or two.
HighLevel does far more, and that makes it harder to learn. It was built for agencies managing many clients, so the menus are crowded and a proper setup takes weeks, not days: phone numbers, text message registration, calendars, workflows, pipelines and pages. Many coaches use HighLevel through an agency that sets it up for them, which is worth knowing before you buy it yourself.
HighLevel lists 24/7 support on its pricing page, along with a large help centre and community. HubSpot's free users get the community, HubSpot Academy and the knowledge base. Marketing Hub Starter adds email support, and Professional adds email and phone support.
In practice, HubSpot's training is easier to follow on your own, while HighLevel's round-the-clock support helps when something breaks late at night.
This table uses each vendor's own pricing pages at the time of writing (October 2026). Usage fees and discounts change often, so check current pricing before you commit.
| What you need | HubSpot | GoHighLevel |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free, Starter listed at $20 a seat a month | $97 a month, plus usage |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan for up to 2 users | 14-day free trial |
| Contacts | 1,000 on Free and Starter, more costs extra | Unlimited on every plan |
| Users | 2 on Free, then per seat | Unlimited on every plan |
| CRM and pipeline | Strong; up to 15 pipelines on Starter | Yes, with pipelines and opportunities |
| Funnels and checkout | Landing pages and website, no funnel focus | Full funnel and website builder |
| 2,000 sends free; 5x your contact tier on Starter | Yes, billed by use | |
| Two-way SMS | Not built in on the cheaper plans | Yes, billed by use |
| Workflows | Limited on Starter, full on Professional | Full workflows on every plan |
| Booking | Meetings links | Booking calendars |
| Ease of use | Easier to learn | Steeper, weeks to set up well |
| Support | Community on Free, email on Starter | 24/7 support listed |
If you want to see a wider field, our comparison of the best lead follow-up software puts both next to Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign and others.
Here is how we would choose for four kinds of business we see often. Treat these as a starting point and test against your own numbers.
You have a few leads a week from social media and you book discovery calls. Pick HubSpot's free CRM, paired with a simple booking link. It costs nothing, keeps every lead in one place, and you can add paid features only when you need them. HighLevel at $97 a month plus usage is more than you need yet.
Leads come in from forms and ads, and speed of reply decides who books. Pick GoHighLevel. Instant texts, reminders, two-way SMS and booking in one workflow are exactly what this model needs, and unlimited contacts mean a big ad month does not raise your plan fee.
Deals take weeks, several people touch each one, and the boss wants a clear forecast. Pick HubSpot. Its pipeline, deal history and reports are easier for a team to keep tidy, and sequences on Sales Hub Starter cover the follow-up emails.
Think a clinic, a gym or a trades firm, with leads by phone, form and walk-in, and reviews that matter. Pick GoHighLevel. Two-way texting, booking calendars and reputation management in one place fit this model well, especially if an agency handles the setup.
If neither fits, our guide to GoHighLevel alternatives covers eight more options.
A CRM only stores and sends what you give it. Neither HubSpot nor HighLevel will write follow-up messages people reply to, decide how fast your team calls a new lead, or make your offer clearer. A lead who waits a day for a reply is usually just as lost in an $800 CRM as in a spreadsheet.
Neither will keep itself clean either. Pipelines fill with stale deals, tags pile up, and automations break quietly when a form changes. Someone has to own the system, check it every week and fix what slips. Most small businesses that feel let down by their CRM never finished setting it up.
So before you pay for either, write down your follow-up as it should work: what a new lead gets in the first five minutes, the first day and the first week, and who is responsible for each step. Then pick the tool that makes that easiest. If you would rather hand the build over, a done-for-you studio fits when you know follow-up is losing you clients but do not have the hours to set it up and keep it running. We find the leak first and build the fix on the tool that suits you. Start with a free marketing audit.
It depends on the job. GoHighLevel is better for fast follow-up by text, booking, funnels and reviews in one place. HubSpot is better as a CRM: it is easier to learn, its pipeline and reports are cleaner, and it has a free plan. Choose by the step that loses you the most clients.
At the time of writing (October 2026), HubSpot lists Starter at $20 a seat a month, and it was running a limited-time discount for new Starter customers. Marketing Hub Starter includes 1,000 marketing contacts. Prices and offers change often, so check current pricing on HubSpot's site.
It is worth it if you will use the texting, booking and follow-up workflows, and you have the time or help to set them up. If you only need a funnel and email, a simpler tool does the job for less. Remember the $97 starting price does not include usage fees for SMS, calls and email.
For most solo coaches, a free or low-cost CRM like HubSpot's free plan is enough to start. Once leads come from ads and need fast replies, GoHighLevel or another tool with SMS and booking makes more sense. The best CRM is the one you will keep up to date every week.
You can connect them with an integration tool, but running both usually means paying twice and keeping two sets of contacts in sync. Most small businesses are better off picking one as the main record and only adding a second tool for a clear gap, such as texting.
Send us your setup and we will tell you honestly where it is leaking customers and what to fix first. Free, no pitch.