GoHighLevel vs Kartra is a comparison of two tools selling the same promise: stop paying for five tools and run your marketing from one login. Where they differ is who that login belongs to. Kartra is built for a single business, usually a coach, consultant or course creator, selling its own offers. GoHighLevel is built for agencies managing marketing for many businesses, with a CRM and phone system at its centre.
We compared both using their official pricing pages, checked on 5 November 2026. Kartra’s yearly billing saves up to 22%, and GoHighLevel’s yearly plans work out to two months free.
Short answer: Short answer: in GoHighLevel vs Kartra, choose Kartra if you sell your own courses, memberships or coaching and want polished pages, checkouts, email and SMS that work well out of the box. Choose GoHighLevel if you run an agency or a local service business, need two-way texting and calling, or want to manage and rebill several client accounts.
GoHighLevel vs Kartra at a glance
| GoHighLevel | Kartra | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $97/mo (Starter) | $59/mo, or $52 yearly (Essentials) |
| How pricing scales | By client accounts and features | By contacts |
| Contacts | Unlimited on every plan | 500, 2,500, 12,500 or 25,000 |
| Email and SMS | Billed per use | 10,000 emails/mo on Essentials; unlimited email and SMS from Starter |
| Phone calls | Built in, per minute | Not offered |
| Transaction fees | None from HighLevel listed | 5% on Essentials; 0% from Starter |
| Client sub-accounts | Yes (3 on Starter, unlimited from $297) | Built for one business |
| White label | Yes | No |
| Trial | 30 days | 30-day money-back guarantee |
GoHighLevel vs Kartra pricing: two very different models
Kartra charges by list size
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (per month) | Contacts | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $59 | $52 | 500 | 5 pages, 1 product, 1 course, 10,000 emails/mo, 5% transaction fee |
| Starter | $119 | $99 | 2,500 | Unlimited pages, products and courses, unlimited email and SMS, calendars, video hosting, 5 team members |
| Growth | $229 | $189 | 12,500 | Automations, affiliates, surveys and quizzes, helpdesk, 10 team members |
| Professional | $549 | $429 | 25,000 | Real-time funnel analytics, help desk live chat, 5 custom domains |
GoHighLevel charges by agency size
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $97 | $970 | Up to 3 client accounts |
| Unlimited | $297 | $2,970 | Unlimited client accounts, usage rebilling |
| Agency Pro | $497 | $4,970 | SaaS Mode and usage markup |
HighLevel adds usage charges for email (LC Email, $0.675 per 1,000 sends), and for texts and calls through LC Phone. Kartra bundles email and SMS into the plan from Starter upward.
What a coach with 2,000 contacts would pay
Essentials tops out at 500 contacts, so a coach with 2,000 subscribers needs Kartra Starter: $119 a month, or $99 on yearly billing, with email and SMS included. The same coach on GoHighLevel Starter pays $97 plus usage, which for 8,000 emails a month is about $5.40 in email fees, before texts. The costs are close at that size. Kartra gets more expensive faster as the list grows past 2,500 contacts, because the next step is $229; GoHighLevel’s price doesn’t depend on contacts at all.
Pages, checkouts and memberships
Kartra’s strength is how finished everything feels. Pages, checkouts, membership sites, video hosting and email campaigns are designed to work together, and Kartra ships 100 pre-built campaigns you can import and adapt. For someone launching a course or a coaching program, that saves days of setup. Unlimited pages, products and courses arrive on Starter; Essentials is limited to 5 pages, 1 product and 1 course.
GoHighLevel’s funnel and website builder is capable and its memberships and communities cover most course needs, but it takes more configuration to look polished. Its advantage is what happens after the form submission: the lead lands in a pipeline and a workflow can text, call, email and book them automatically.
Texting, calling and follow-up
Kartra includes SMS alongside email, with unlimited email and SMS listed from Starter. That covers reminders, broadcasts and automated follow-up for a coaching business.
GoHighLevel goes further for businesses that sell by conversation. Its unified inbox puts SMS, email, calls, social messages and web chat in one thread per contact, and it adds missed-call text-back, call tracking numbers, voicemail drops and review requests. For a local service business or an agency selling lead generation, those tools are the reason to choose HighLevel. Kartra doesn’t offer a phone system.
GoHighLevel vs Kartra for agencies and white label
This is the clearest split. GoHighLevel was designed for agencies: every client gets a sub-account, you can load “snapshots” to set up new clients in minutes, white-label the web app under your own domain, rebill usage from the $297 plan, and resell the whole platform with SaaS Mode on Agency Pro.
Kartra is built around one business. Its Growth plan adds 10 team members and lists “agency capacity” in its comparison table, but Kartra doesn’t advertise white-labelling or client rebilling. An agency can manage a client’s Kartra account, but each client would normally need its own subscription. If that’s your model, read our best white-label CRM guide.
GoHighLevel vs Kartra, feature by feature
| Feature | GoHighLevel | Kartra | Better for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pages and funnels | Yes | Yes, polished | Kartra for creators |
| Checkouts and upsells | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Memberships and courses | Yes | Yes, plus video hosting | Kartra |
| Per-use fees | Unlimited from Starter | Kartra | |
| Two-way SMS inbox | Yes | SMS included | GoHighLevel for conversations |
| Phone calls | Yes | No | GoHighLevel |
| Reputation and reviews | Yes | No | GoHighLevel |
| Helpdesk | Conversations and chat | From Growth | Kartra |
| Your own affiliate program | Yes | From Growth | GoHighLevel on price |
| Client sub-accounts and white label | Yes | No | GoHighLevel |
Ease of use and setup
Kartra is the faster start for a solo business. The pre-built campaigns, consistent design system and fewer moving parts mean a coach can launch a lead magnet, sales page, checkout and course without hiring help. Its AI assistant is included with limited uses (30 on Essentials, 100 on Starter).
GoHighLevel takes longer. Phone numbers need registration before US texting works, domains and email sending need configuring, and workflows reward patience. Agencies accept that because they set it up once and then clone it for each client with snapshots. A coach setting up one account doesn’t get that payoff.
Switching between GoHighLevel and Kartra
Contacts export and import as CSV with tags in both directions. Pages, checkouts, sequences and courses need rebuilding, and course videos need re-uploading if Kartra was hosting them. If you’re moving a coaching business from HighLevel to Kartra, check that every automated text in your workflows has an equivalent before you switch off your HighLevel number.
Choose GoHighLevel if…
- You run an agency with several clients
- Leads expect texts and calls within minutes
- Reviews and local reputation matter
- You want to resell or white-label the platform
Choose Kartra if…
- You sell courses, memberships or coaching
- You want polished pages and checkouts quickly
- You prefer email and SMS included in the plan
- Your list is under about 12,500 contacts
How we researched GoHighLevel vs Kartra
We compared both official pricing pages on 5 November 2026, including plan limits, included usage and transaction fees, and checked HighLevel’s published usage rates for email, texts and calls. Cost examples are our own calculations from those published rates. This is a research-based comparison rather than a hands-on campaign test. See how we test and our affiliate disclosure.
Sources: GoHighLevel pricing, Kartra plans and pricing.
OUR PICK
GoHighLevel vs Kartra verdict: Kartra for coaches and course creators, GoHighLevel for agencies and local service businesses.
Kartra gives a single business polished pages, checkouts, memberships and included email and SMS. GoHighLevel wins as soon as you need calling, a two-way inbox, reviews or several client accounts.
FAQ
Is GoHighLevel better than Kartra?
For agencies and local service businesses, yes, because it adds client sub-accounts, two-way texting, calling, review management and white-labelling. For coaches and course creators running one business, Kartra is often the better fit.
Is Kartra cheaper than GoHighLevel?
Kartra Essentials is cheaper at $59 a month ($52 yearly) but limited to 500 contacts. Kartra Starter ($119) costs more than GoHighLevel Starter ($97), though it includes unlimited email and SMS while HighLevel charges per use.
Does Kartra have SMS?
Yes. Kartra lists unlimited email and SMS from its Starter plan. It doesn’t include a phone system for calls.
Can agencies use Kartra for clients?
They can manage a client’s account, but Kartra is built around one business and doesn’t advertise white-labelling or client rebilling. GoHighLevel is designed for multi-client agencies.
Does Kartra have a free trial?
Kartra offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on its plans. GoHighLevel offers a 30-day free trial through our link (14 days if you sign up directly).
