I've sold over 10 million dollars in digital products online in my career and I couldn't have done it without sales funnels and various marketing tools.
- I need a website builder.
- I need something to send emails.
- I need something to capture emails.
- I need something to collect payments.
- I need something to facilitate sales funnels.
I consider these all to be universal online marketing needs.
I'm currently happy enough with the stack of tools I use to sell my products online, but given the massive rise of popularity and interest in GoHighLevel (which I will abbreviate often as "GHL" for this article) I felt I owed it to my audience to sign up and run it through some tests.
What started as a "me too" sales funnel builder that seemed to be a rebound option for entrepreneurs who became tired of the popular sales funnel softwares like ClickFunnels and Kartra, Go High Level has actually taken over market share and is the new big name on the block.
So much so, in fact, that Clickfunnels (Etison, LLC) has sued them for alleged infringement on their patented concepts.
You can read the formal filing against GHL from Clickfunnels here if you're interested. Long story short, Clickfunnels is losing enough business to GHL that they are attempting to bring them down for knocking off many of their fundamental (or shall we say, funnel-mental) concepts.
I don't really have a strong opinion on it, the courts can decide that. I do find it ironic that Clickfunnels became famous for endorsing the practice of "funnel hacking" to grow a business but then sue when a company does it to them.
This article isn't about that beef though, so let's get into the ins and outs of Go High Level in enough detail that you can decide if it's worth the $97 to $299/month investment.
My First Impression of GoHighLevel
I saw the GoHighLevel sales page way back when it first launched. The first thing I told my marketing buddies in a private chat was "how can they sell a website building software and have such an ugly sales page?"
The page is still up and looks the exact same. Ugly...as...hell. It's full of amateur design mistakes that drive me nuts. Little things like mismatched font pairings throughout the page.
For most websites, I wouldn't care much. But this is like going to a dentist who is missing teeth and has bad breath.
Fortunately, GoHighLevel is customizable, but still, this makes me immediately take them less seriously.
Signing Up for GoHighLevel
The sign up process was relatively straight forward. I had a few issues with the page glitching out when setting up my password, but nothing too crazy. It very well could have been a temporary connectivity issue or something on my end.
I was mildly surprised at the lack of a sales funnel in the process. The only upsell was a concierge offer where they build out your first website for you for $299. This was a brilliant offer (which I highly recommend most people jump on).
Honestly, I liked it as a consumer and will admit the 8 upsells and down sells you get from services like ClickFunnels are obnoxious. However, that is the nature of sales funnels. They are annoying but can be a "necessary evil." In some weird way, I was disappointed that they didn't showcase a deeper funnel.
Who am I? What do I actually want? Sometimes, I'm unsure. But I digress.
When you sign up for GHL, they prompt you to add some things. One thing that stood out was the "Google My Business" recommendation. The others were your standard things like "Add Users" and a Stripe integration.
I went through and added Stripe to something called "LeadConnector" so I could get started.
That's kind of the bottleneck of everything. Setting it up was pretty easy and it let me start with an existing Stripe account. It took about 10 minutes total.
I wanted and got started on my first website.
Within a few minutes of signing up, I got a text message asking me to set up an onboarding call.
I fully expected this since they asked for my phone number. Honestly, I like this. Texts are annoying, but a free onboarding call is pretty great. I always recommend that people take these offers when they get them. Especially if you're on a free trial and really want to see if a tool is right for you. Spending a little time on an onboarding can save you hours or days of time later.
However, I did also receive two calls the day I signed up, which I didn't love. This method clearly works, but I just don't like it as a consumer.
GoHighLevel also prompts you to check out their live trainings which they seem to hold regularly. They clearly understand that it doesn't matter how much their tool does if customers don't understand how to use it.
So What Tools Does GoHighLevel Actually Replace?
GoHighLevel went all out in their attempt to be a "one stop shop" for business owners and marketers. They truly wanted to replace everything that people like me use to run online businesses and agencies.
Here's a screenshot of the tools that GoHighLevel claims to replace.
I wanted to go through this list and really see how these tools would save me money in my business and how they actually compare to what GoHighLevel is advertising.
My Relatively Hot Take on "Saving" on Tools
I pay over $20,000/year on software products for my business. Hosting, funnel builders, email marketing, etc. Perhaps surprisingly, I rarely ask myself "how can I reduce these costs?" The reason is several fold.
#1 These Tools Have a Large Collective ROI. $20,000 of tax deductible expenses on tools that save me time, make my business look better, help my customers, and make me more money is something I pay gladly. I understand I am an outlier and many people are still in the early phases of business growth and can't yet justify that big of an expense.
#2 "Everything" Usually Means Lower Quality. Would you rather eat at a place that sells every type of food you could want (like a Golden Corral or local buffet) or a place that specializes in a certain type of food (like an expensive steak house)? If you can afford better and specific, you probably would choose that option over the all-in-one option.
Feature | Software I Use | Cost | Importance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CRM & Pipeline Management | Service Provider Pro | $99/Month | Low | I use this in just one business currently. |
Sales Funnels | $649 Lifetime | Highest | I sell almost all of my products through ThriveCart funnels. | |
Website Builder | Thrive Themes + WordPress + Hosting | $299/Year for Thrive Themes + $999/Year for WPX Hosting | Highest | ThriveCart doesn't build great front end pages, so I use Thrive Themes and WordPress. This requires paid hosting and WPX is the best option I've used. |
Survey and Forms | TypeForms | $376/Year | Medium | Although I use Typeforms a lot, I could get away with a free tool like Google Forms if I needed in most cases (and most others could as well). |
Email Marketing | ConvertKit | $5,190/Year | Highest | NOTE: GHL doesn't include unlimited emails, so this cost is variable. You will pay per email about $0.01 which can add up quickly and take you way beyond the $299/month payment. This is my biggest expense on software but also has the highest ROI. I have over 50,000 subscribers and send a lot of emails, so I gladly pay top dollar for ConvertKit. There are also much more expensive options. |
2 Way SMS | Nothing | $0 | N/A | I don't do any form of SMS messaging with my clients and customers. |
Booking and Appointments | YouCanBook.Me | $108/Year | Low | I rarely use my YouCanBook.Me calendar. I avoid scheduling calls though like the plague. |
Workflow Automations | Nothing | $0 | N/A | If you're a large agency this is handy, but I have no use for it. These do get pricey though. |
Courses | Thrive Apprentice + Skool | $198/Month | Highest | I host my courses in Thrive Apprentice (which is included in the Thrive Themes membership I already calculated here) and Skool. I have two Skool communities and each cost $99/month. |
Call Tracking | Nothing | $0 | N/A | Another feature that is beneficial to agencies and sales teams that I don't use or need. |
Reputation Management | Nothing | $0 | N/A | What's a reputation? |
Tracking and Analytics | Google Analytics and Tag Manager | $0 | Medium | These are important but they are free. |
Communities | Skool and Facebook | Calculated in "Courses" | Highest | Facebook groups free but we added Skool to better control our reach. |
Document Signing | Print and Sign or Free Tools as Needed | $0 | Low | I rarely need signatures from anyone. If you regularly need them, I can see this being very valuable. |
Total Cost
That's a nice chunk of change. However, it isn't totally accurate. Let me explain briefly though why I'm not about to go and cancel everything I'm paying for to switch to GHL today.
GoHighLevel Pricing and Plans
Let me preface by saying that 99% of people won't benefit from the $97/month plan. It doesn't give access to the API which is critical to adding things like your email marketing. If you start with that plan, I can almost guarantee that you will end up upgrading or cancelling.
Starter
$97
All Suite Tools
Up to 3 Sub Accounts
Unlimited Contacts + Users
Unlimited
$297
Everything in Starter Plan
API Access
Unlimited Sub Accounts
Branded Desktop App
Agency Plans available for $497 additional per month on top of unlimited plan
sTARTER
$970
All Suite Tools
Up to 3 Sub Accounts
Unlimited Contacts + Users
Pro
$2,970
Everything in Starter Plan
API Access
Unlimited Sub Accounts
Branded Desktop App
Agency Plans available for $497 additional per month on top of unlimited plan
There is a free 14 day trial of GoHighLevel on their website, but I've got an extended 30 day trial offer if you use the coupon code below.
Also, if you're sure you're going to commit to GHL, I highly recommend biting the bullet and purchasing the annual plan. It will save you 20% over the course of the year.
GoHighLevel Variable Costs
As the saying goes, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." That is unfortunately the case with GoHighLevel when they claim to replace a few tools.
#1 GoHighLevel Email Marketing Costs
This is the biggest one. The monthly payment does not include the variable cost of your email broadcasts.
For me, I'd just integrate my ConvertKit account with their native plugin that pairs it up with GoHighLevel.
This is fine, but if I was switching over to GoHighLevel trying to save costs on my email marketing, this would totally negate that.
#2 GoHighLevel SMS and Phone Call Costs
Obviously, this wasn't going to be free. Don't expect this to be covered in your monthly payment. You can see exactly how much more you'd be paying for phone usage on GHL here.
#3 WordPress Hosting
You can host websites on GoHighLevel for free BUT they charge $14.99 if you want to use WordPress.
#4 Various Apps
There are a number of free and paid apps in the GoHighLevel App Marketplace. Some of these, you might wish were just included for free in your plan, but cost extra.
Building Webpages and Funnels with GoHighLevel
Alright, this was the part I was really excited to test out. How easy was it to make great looking pages for your website with GoHighLevel.
The templates are just so-so.
The editor feels foreign to me since I'm so used to more robust ones like Thrive Architect, but it offers enough for you to build decently customized pages.
You can drag and drop elements onto the page and align them, resize, change colors and do all of the basic editing functions you'd expect in any page builder.
It takes time to get comfortable with any page builder but I can see why some people might struggle for awhile getting used to the GoHighLevel page builder.
Compared to solutions like Clickfunnels, it is on par in terms of quality and functionality. Other tools though like Thrive Architect are superior for building the best pages possible.
All in all, this is exactly what I expected the page builder to be like.
So Is GoHighLevel Legit?
The million dollar (or should we say, $297/month) question. Is GoHighLevel worth it?
For someone like me who has been building websites and sales funnels for over a decade, no. I don't plan on using GHL after my trial.
However, for the average business owner, I can absolutely say GoHighLevel can be a great solution for your website, customer management and marketing needs.
Also, resellers of GoHighLevel can do very, very well with the program. I've never seen a program that sets up agency owners for success better than GHL.
Business Type | Is GHL Worth It? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Established business with systems in place that are doing well and earning money. | Not worth it. | Switching to a service, no matter how great it is, is a hassle and rarely worth it from my experience. If you have tools that work and you're comfortable with, I suggest sticking with them. |
New businesses with no systems in place. | Yes, it's worth it. | If I were starting from scratch, I'd absolutely consider GHL. |
Agencies who sell websites and systems to clients | Yes, it's absolutely worth it. | The GoHighLevel reseller program is next level. If you're an agency that offers done for you services for clients that could use GHL, do it. Even if you don't sell exclusively GHL solutions. |
Businesses looking to cut costs. | Maybe worth it. | It depends what your costs are and how many emails or SMS messages you plan on sending. It could end up costing you more to use GHL if you send a lot of messages. |
GoHighLevel Affiliate Program
GoHighLevel is growing using a nearly identical affiliate model as Clickfunnels started with.
- 40% recurring on all plans.
- 5% recurring payments on 2nd tier commissions for sales from affiliates you refer.
- A "dream car" program for top affiliates.
Of course, you should sign up for GoHighLevel and try it out before you promote it.
How Does the GoHigh Level Reseller Program Work
Special Article Guest
Dom Bavaro
GoHighLevel Reseller Expert
”As a GHL reseller, also known as a “SaaSPRENEUR” by HighLevel, the program works by paying HighLevel a flat “wholesale” fee of $497 per month plus any messaging fees. Now while the messaging fees may seem scary at first, you end up not paying them yourself as I’ll explain later.
But once you’ve paid the “wholesale” fee, you’re now allowed to put your own brand on HighLevel’s software and begin selling it as your own for a minimum of $97 per month to each customer. If following a minimum pricing strategy, you would need 5 customers paying you to cover the $497 HighLevel bill that you’re responsible for each month. Any customers after that are yours to keep 100% of the profit on.
What About Those Messaging fees?
As for the messaging fees, these are charged directly to you by HighLevel. You’ll get billed for both your personal usage AND for the usage of your customers. The individual charges themselves are TINY, but there are a lot of them. Luckily, HighLevel bills you at preset increments and not for every charge. I have my billing increment set at $200.
As for the amount, HighLevel charges about 70 cents to send 1000 emails ($.0007 per), but texts are a little more expensive at ¾ of a penny per text ($.0074).
As the agency owner, you have three choices: eat these costs for your customers (just make sure you build into your pricing), pass the cost along, or mark them up to a margin of 10x.
Personally, I mark my messaging up 2x, but cover the first $10 of messaging charges for my customers every month. This allows me to turn a small profit on big senders as well as stay competitive price wise with other messaging software on the market.
I position my brand of HighLevel at the $197/mo price point and include “up to 8000 emails a month” with the software. “Beyond standard sending” (which is how I wrote my copy) is where I begin the rebilling at 2x or $0.0014 per email and $0.015 per text.
I do not include any agency services at the $197/mo price point. In fact, contrary to most HighLevel resellers I do not provide Agency services at all. I simply provide a software solution.
"So, What makes YOU different from HighLevel?”
I get this question ALL the time on my YouTube channel (Link?) comments, “If you’re just putting your name on HighLevel’s software, why should anyone pay you $197 when they can go direct to HighLeevel for $97?”
This is where my IP comes into play, and where 90% of GHL resellers fall short!
The Secret: Offer Something That HighLevel Doesn’t
If you’re doing full-service agency services for $2,000 or more every month, you’re clearly offering something HighLevel doesn’t offer and thus there is no reason to go to GHL directly. Reselling just the SaaS is different.
Too many resellers just swap the logo and think they can succeed without anyone figuring out that it’s HighLevel. I laugh in those people’s faces because they actually think they can hide the fact that they’re reselling HighLevel. Sooner or later your users will figure out that you’re white labeling HighLevel. Full Stop.
Because of this, I actually lean into the fact that my software is built using HighLevel and no one thinks about going direct. Why? Because of the pre-built signature frameworks (also known as “snapshots”) I load into every single account and the community I’ve built around the software.
The Signature Framework (Snapshot)
Think of a snapshot like a WordPress theme. Can you install WordPress for free and build a website using their tools directly? Sure. It’s just gonna be hard AF for you to make a website that functions decently and the learning curve is enormous. For someone who’s never done it before, it’s a near-impossible task. HighLevel is no different.
People buy WordPress themes for the same reason they buy HighLevel white labels. Convenience and templatization. WordPress themes are usually specialized for a certain type of site or business and the purchaser of the theme can just “plug & play” their business into the theme and get up and running in a fraction of the time it would take to build on WordPress directly.
Again, HighLevel is no different. Proper HighLevel accounts come COMPLETELY BLANK and devoid of direction. No automations, templates, frameworks. Nothing. Essentially it’s a blank sketch pad to create whatever you want… if you know how to draw.
However, I don’t sell sketchpads to my customers. Why? because they don’t know how to draw. Instead, I sell a “color by numbers” book to people who don’t know how to draw. This way, all they have to do is follow the instructions I’ve laid out for them and insert their business into the framework that I’ve laid out for them. The end result is something they would not have been able to achieve on their own with a direct HighLevel account.
It might surprise you, but most small businesses have NO IDEA how to market themselves and even less of an idea on how to convert a lead into a customer while staying organized.
There’s no knowledge of abandoned cart sequences, web design, sold-follow up automations, or automated review request sequences. They got into business to provide their product or service to their customers.
What I do as the SaaSPRENEUR (and marketing expert) is I pre-program all these types of conversion elements into my white-label and integrate them so that they talk to each other seamlessly.
Then, I tell my customers “put your name & logo into this form here” and then all the sequences & page templates start looking native to their businesses. This process is very much like plugging your colors & logo into a WordPress theme.
Again, the end result is something that my customer would never have been able to do on their own had they bought a direct HighLevel account. At least not without MONTHS of tinkering & learning HighLevel.
In my opinion, it’s the pre-loaded snapshots that make or break the SaaSPRENEUR. Those that can understand what their customer needs, build it, and then make it easy to adopt will truly win. If you’re looking for an easy way to resell software that’s already commoditized, you will always struggle to find traction. You’ll never succeed trying to sell HighLevel with a different name. HighLevel does that too well already.
Focus on the framework, and the rest will fall into place.
-Dom Bavaro DomBavaro.com
GoHighLevel Certification
Taking yet another page from the Clickfunnels playbook, GoHighLevel offers a certification program that teaches users the ins and outs of the program.
Benefits of the certification include...
- Deep training on GHL and general marketing tactics.
- It opens the door to exclusive invitations for earning additional skills badges.
- Being featured in their directory, offering opportunities to mentor, coach, or consult with other HighLevel users.
It isn't free. It costs an additional $97/month or $970/year (it is not included in your GHL plan and you will need an active plan to certify). You also need to "re-certify" each year to remain in their directory.
It takes about 7-10 days at a moderate pace to complete the certification program as well.
Go High Level Concierge Service
One of the things I really liked (although I didn't purchase it) was the fact that Go High Level offers a "done with you" set up service.
The price is very reasonable and since it's directly serviced by GoHighLevel, the quality will be much more consistent and reliable than finding your own person elsewhere.
I always recommend buying done for you options for new entrepreneurs who have more money than time. Don't blindly click no thanks on this offer. Definitely consider it.
GoHighLevel Partner Network
If you missed the done for you offer, fear not, you can still buy your way out of a lot of the tedious work.
One thing that I loved about GoHighLevel was that they have their own marketplace of freelancers who can help you with anything you need done in your account.
Many of these people are GHL certified so you can trust that the quality is going to be high level (no pun intended).
They currently have over 100 folks in their network database that can do a wide range of tasks across various niches.
There are people who can help you with...
- Migrating to GoHighLevel from other services like Clickfunnels or Keap.
- Building your website and sales funnel.
- And much more
Again, I can't stress how great it is to pay experts to do things you don't know how to do or just don't have the time to do.
overall
GoHighLevel Overview
HighLevel is a comprehensive marketing and CRM platform designed primarily for entrepreneurs, digital marketing agencies and consultants. HighLevel includes a wide range of features such as CRM capabilities, pipeline management, automated workflows, social media planning, and a suite of tools for building websites, funnels, and online courses. It also supports extensive API integrations, white labeling, and offers tools for email marketing, SMS communications, and appointment scheduling. HighLevel is praised for its ability to consolidate multiple tools into a single platform, reducing the need for complex integrations and helping agencies streamline their operations and scale their services.
GoHighLevel Is an Alternative To...
GoHighLevel is built as an all-in-one marketing suite of tools, so it is an alternative to many things.
Other software programs that work in the same "all-in-one" model include ClickFunnels, Kartra and SamCart.
GoHighLevel Pros
GoHighLevel Cons
Who Is the Best Fit for GoHighLevel?
There are two groups I recommend GHL to.
- New entrepreneurs on a budget. If you're on a budget and want an all in one solution, Go High Level can be that. Yes, even at $297/month, GoHighLevel will save you money if you're buying all of the tools you really need to make your business work.
- Agencies that build websites and funnels for clients. This is the heart of GoHighLevel and it is built with these agencies in mind.
If you tried a tool like Clickfunnels and didn't like it but still want to get an all-in-one solution a shot, try out GoHighLevel.
Quality
Support
Cost
Community