GoHighLevel is the better pick for most buyers comparing the two: it costs $97/mo against Keap’s $299/mo, includes unlimited contacts and users, and is the only one built for marketing agencies running multiple clients. Keap is the better pick for a single small business owner who wants a team to map the sales process and build the first automations, and who will pay roughly three times more for that help.
Keap and GoHighLevel are both all-in-one sales and marketing automation platforms with a CRM, a sales pipeline, email marketing, SMS, landing pages, appointment booking and invoicing. The difference is who they were built for: Keap is a platform for small business owners, GoHighLevel is a platform for an agency or small business that wants everything in one dashboard. Keap, formerly known as Infusionsoft, has sold CRM and automation to small businesses since 2001, renamed itself Keap in 2019, and was bought by Thryv Holdings in October 2024. GoHighLevel (HighLevel, or GHL) launched in 2018 for agencies, so its CRM sits inside an account structure designed for managing many businesses at once.
GoHighLevel vs Keap pricing
Price is where the GoHighLevel vs Keap comparison is most lopsided.
| GoHighLevel | Keap | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $97/mo Starter | $299/mo |
| Annual billing | $970/yr | $2,988/yr |
| Contacts | Unlimited | 1,500 at the starting tier, rising with volume |
| Users | Unlimited | 2 included, $39/mo each after that |
| Multiple businesses | 3 sub-accounts on Starter, unlimited from $297/mo | One business per plan |
| Usage billing | SMS, calls, email, AI on top | 500 texts and 100 voice minutes included |
GoHighLevel’s three agency plans are Starter ($97/mo, 3 sub-accounts), Unlimited ($297/mo, unlimited sub-accounts and at-cost rebilling) and Agency Pro ($497/mo, adds SaaS Mode). Every plan includes the CRM, funnels, websites, email, SMS and automation. What moves the bill is usage: $0.00747 per SMS segment plus carrier fees, $0.675 per 1,000 emails, and AI billed per use unless a sub-account is on an AI Employee plan. Our guide to GoHighLevel’s pricing plans and usage fees walks through realistic monthly totals.
Keap pricing is one plan now. The old Pro, Max and Ultimate plans (including Keap Max) are legacy names for existing accounts, and new customers get a single plan starting at $299/mo that includes the whole platform. The price then scales with your contact list, and Keap doesn’t publish the exact steps, so get a quote at your real list size. Implementation is required for new accounts. Keap’s pricing page doesn’t list its cost and invites you to ask about reducing it, so get that figure in writing before signing.
A consultant with 2,000 contacts and three staff pays $97/mo on GoHighLevel Starter. On Keap the same business is already past the starting 1,500 contacts and pays for an extra user on top of the $299 base.
Where Keap wins: guided setup, support and invoicing
What Keap offers that GoHighLevel doesn’t is human help. Every new account goes through required implementation: a business-mapping session with an automation expert, done-for-you automations, data import and migration, then weekly, monthly and quarterly strategy calls. A dedicated Customer Success Manager, US-based phone support during business hours and 24/7 chat come with the standard plan. For a small business owner who has never built an automation, that turns a blank workflow builder into a working system without hiring anyone.
Keap supports the money side of a small business too. Invoicing, quotes, checkout forms and Keap Pay processing live next to the contact record and pipeline, so a closed deal can trigger an invoice and a follow-up sequence without a separate billing tool.
The limits are real. Text broadcasts, automated texts and reply handling work only with US numbers, which rules Keap out for many businesses selling abroad. Landing pages and simple funnels cover lead capture, but you won’t replace a full website with them. And every extra user costs $39/mo.
Where GoHighLevel wins: price, funnels and workflow automation
GoHighLevel offers more software for less money, with unlimited users on every plan. Every plan includes a drag-and-drop funnel builder and a full website builder, course hosting, calendars, reputation tools, Google Business Profile integration for managing reviews, a two-way inbox and workflow automation that can automate follow-up across email, SMS and calls. Missed Call Text Back sends a text when a call goes unanswered, which is why so many service businesses, from contractors to med spas, use GoHighLevel as their business phone line and front desk.
It also covers more of Keap’s ground than older comparisons say. GoHighLevel supports invoices, recurring invoices and estimates, with payments through Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, NMI or Square. Keap’s edge there is that its processing is native and its team sets the flows up for you.
AI and automation: Keap vs GoHighLevel
AI is billed differently on the two platforms. GoHighLevel’s Conversation AI, Voice AI, Content AI and Reviews AI are on every plan but charged per use, or unlimited under fair use for $97/mo per sub-account on AI Employee Unlimited. None of it is bundled free into any agency plan. Keap’s AI is narrower and included: the AI Content Assistant drafts emails and campaign copy for each Keap customer at no extra charge.
On automation itself, both use visual builders with triggers, branching and timed steps across email and SMS. Keap’s first automations are built for you during implementation. GoHighLevel’s workflows reach further (calls, texts, pipeline moves, review requests, webhooks), but you build them yourself or load a snapshot.
GoHighLevel for marketing agencies: sub-accounts, white-label and SaaS
For marketing agencies, GoHighLevel has no real competitor in this matchup. Sub-accounts give each client a separate CRM, pipeline and set of automations under one agency login. Unlimited ($297/mo) adds unlimited sub-accounts, a white-label desktop app and custom domains. Agency Pro ($497/mo) adds SaaS Mode, so you can resell GoHighLevel as your own software with your own pricing and rebill usage with a markup. The white-label mobile app is a separate $497/mo add-on outside Enterprise. Keap has no equivalent, so for a digital marketing agency the decision is made before price even comes up. Our GoHighLevel review covers how the platform holds up once a whole agency runs on it.
The cost is the learning curve. GoHighLevel is self-serve, and community consensus puts setup at 4-6 weeks and real proficiency at 60-90 days. Snapshots (cloneable account templates) shorten that, and HighLevel sells a $1,000 Advanced Account Setup if you want help, but nothing matches Keap’s done-for-you implementation by default.
Keap vs GoHighLevel for small business owners
Both work as a small business CRM. Choose by what your business needs most.
Pick Keap if you run one business, sell mostly in the US, want invoicing and payments tied to your CRM, and value a named Customer Success Manager over saving $200 a month. Coaches, consultants and service providers who don’t want to learn automation software are Keap’s best customers.
Pick GoHighLevel if you want the lowest cost per contact, need SMS and calling as core channels, want funnels and a full website in the same tool, or expect to add a second business or client. Agencies and small businesses that already have someone technical on staff (or a GoHighLevel agency to do the setup) get more for less here.
Switching from Keap to GoHighLevel
Export contacts, tags and pipeline data from Keap as CSVs and import them into GoHighLevel. Campaigns, automation logic, invoice history and Keap Pay billing don’t carry over, so rebuild them in GoHighLevel’s workflow builder and connect a payment processor. Run both for one billing cycle, check that every automation fires, and only then cancel Keap.
If GoHighLevel still doesn’t fit, our GoHighLevel alternatives roundup ranks the field, and the head-to-heads with ActiveCampaign for email automation, Kartra for course sellers, Kajabi for creators and Vendasta for white-label agencies cover the nearest options.
