HighLevel’s Starter plan is $97/mo read 2026-10-28, or $80.83/mo read 2026-10-28 billed yearly, with unlimited users read 2026-10-28. Texts, calls, email sends and AI come out of a separate prepaid wallet. For one person that is about three times the entry price of a client-work CRM. At five people the flat price puts it below some per-seat tools.
What one person pays, against a client-work CRM
| Billed yearly | 1 seat | 5 seats |
|---|---|---|
| HighLevel Starter | $80.83/mo read 2026-10-28 | $80.83/mo read 2026-10-28 |
| HoneyBook, cheapest plan | $29/mo read 2026-10-28 | $109/mo read 2026-10-28 |
| Dubsado, cheapest plan | $27.92/mo read 2026-10-28 | $52.92/mo read 2026-10-28 |
| Bonsai Essentials | $19/mo read 2026-10-28 | $95/mo read 2026-10-28 |
Usage is billed on top of the subscription read 2026-10-28:
- US local number: $1.15 a month
- Texts: $0.00747 per segment, sent or received, plus carrier fees
- Calls: $0.0166 a minute outbound, $0.01165 a minute inbound
- Email: $0.675 per 1,000 sends
- AI Employee: $50 or $97 a month per sub-account, or pay per use
A freelancer who texts every inquiry back and sends a monthly newsletter to 2,000 people adds the number, the texts and about $1.35 in email a month.
What HighLevel adds over most client-work CRMs
Funnels and a website builder, courses, communities, two-way texting and calling, and up to 3 separate business workspaces (sub-accounts) on Starter read 2026-10-28. Forms, booking calendars, invoices, payments, documents and contracts, and workflow automation are core features on every plan.
The test client, on paper
The plan each step needs, from HighLevel’s own pages:
Juniper Lane Bakery (fictional) · Launch package: three 30-second social videos for a second shop opening · $2,400, 50% deposit
Inquiry
Dana fills in the CRM's own web form: name, email, job, budget, deadline.
Pass The lead appears in the pipeline with all five fields, with no retyping.
Plan needed Starter read 2026-10-28
Reply and booking
An automatic reply goes out with a booking link. Dana books a 20-minute call.
Pass Reply sent within 5 minutes, call booked through the CRM's own scheduler, and the call shows on the lead.
Plan needed Starter read 2026-10-28
Proposal
Send the three-line proposal, $2,400, with the $150 cutdown as an optional item.
Pass Built from a saved template, and Dana can tick or untick the optional item herself.
Plan needed Starter read 2026-10-28
Contract
Dana signs the contract on her phone.
Pass E-signature inside the CRM, with the signed copy saved to the lead.
Plan needed Starter read 2026-10-28
Deposit
A 50% deposit invoice for $1,200 is paid by card in test mode.
Pass Invoice created from the accepted proposal, and the payment is recorded with no manual entry.
Plan needed Starter read 2026-10-28
Kickoff
Turn the won deal into a project. Dana gets a link to upload footage and see the schedule.
Pass Project created from the deal without retyping. Dana gets in with no account, or one magic link.
Plan needed Starter read 2026-10-28
Final invoice
The remaining $1,200 is invoiced on delivery and paid by card in test mode.
Pass Sent automatically or in one click from the payment schedule.
Plan needed Starter read 2026-10-28
Close-out
Mark the deal won. Dana gets a receipt. Check the month's revenue report.
Pass Deal closed at $2,400, receipt sent, and the report shows both payments.
Plan needed Needs a hands-on run
On paper, every step from inquiry to final invoice is on Starter. The client portal rests on HighLevel’s help center rather than its pricing page.
Price at 1, 3 and 5 seats
| Plan | 1 seat | 3 seats | 5 seats | What this plan gates | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $80.83$97 monthly | $80.83$97 monthly | $80.83$97 monthly |
| read 2026-10-28 |
| Unlimited | $247.50$297 monthly | $247.50$297 monthly | $247.50$297 monthly |
| read 2026-10-28 |
| Agency Pro | $414.17$497 monthly | $414.17$497 monthly | $414.17$497 monthly |
| read 2026-10-28 |
| Enterprise | not on this plan | not on this plan | not on this plan | — | read 2026-10-28 |
- Trial
- 14 days, card required read 2026-10-28
- Add-ons
- Phone System (LC Phone) - numbers: US local number $1.15/month; toll-free $2.15/month read 2026-10-28
- Phone System (LC Phone) - SMS: US/Canada SMS $0.00747 per segment outbound and inbound, plus carrier pass-through fees read 2026-10-28
- Phone System (LC Phone) - calls: US/Canada outbound $0.0166/min; inbound $0.01165/min; billed in full minutes read 2026-10-28
- Email System (LC Email): $0.675 per 1,000 emails read 2026-10-28
- Email Validation: $2.50 per 1,000 validations read 2026-10-28
- AI Employee Growth Plan: $50/month per sub-account read 2026-10-28
- AI Employee Unlimited Plan: $97/month per sub-account read 2026-10-28
- AI pay-per-use (Conversation AI, Voice AI, Reviews AI etc. without an AI Employee plan): Token-based for Conversation AI; Voice AI speech-to-speech $0.10-$0.20/min plus phone charges; Reviews AI $0.01 per AI reply read 2026-10-28
- WordPress Hosting: Standard $10/mo for 1 site; Utility $220/mo for 25 sites; Truly Unlimited $497/mo read 2026-10-28
- Branded Client Portal App (mobile app for client communities): $49/month per sub-account read 2026-10-28
- Workflow Premium Features: $0.01 per execution (or Workflow Pro tiers $10/$25/$50 per month) read 2026-10-28
- WhatsApp integration: $10/month per sub-account plus usage read 2026-10-28
- Dedicated email IP: $59/month per IP ($297 and $497 plans only) read 2026-10-28
- HIPAA compliance: $297/month, account-wide; cannot be deactivated once enabled read 2026-10-28
- White label mobile app: $497/month read 2026-10-28
- Premium support: $500/month read 2026-10-28
- Card fees
- No HighLevel card-processing rate is shown on the pricing page; payments run through the connected provider (Stripe, PayPal, NMI, Authorize.net, Square, etc.), so that provider's fees apply read 2026-10-28
Where it’s more than you need
- You work alone. Unlimited users and three sub-accounts are capacity a one-person business doesn’t use, and the price is flat.
- You don’t text clients. The wallet and the phone number are setup for a channel you won’t use.
- You don’t need a website or funnel. Much of HighLevel’s core feature list is marketing tooling: funnels, websites, courses and communities.
When it isn’t
- Four or more people. The flat price doesn’t grow with seats. At five seats, HighLevel Starter costs less than HoneyBook Premium, billed yearly.
- You run marketing for clients. Sub-accounts, and wallet rebilling on the Unlimited plan, are built for that.
Scorecard
| Criterion | Weight | Score /10 | Points | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inquiry to proposal to contract | 25% | — | — | Needs a hands-on run |
| Payments and invoicing | 20% | — | — | Needs a hands-on run |
| Price at 1, 3 and 5 seats | 20% | — | — | Needs the plan a hands-on run completes on |
| Setup time | 15% | — | — | Needs a hands-on run |
| Client experience (portal, forms, emails) | 10% | — | — | Needs a hands-on run |
| Support and docs | 10% | — | — | Needs a hands-on run |
| Overall | 100% | — | No overall score until a hands-on run measures every criterion. Nothing is estimated. | |
Verdict, on the numbers
For one person, HighLevel Starter costs about three times the entry plan of a client-work CRM, before any wallet usage. That’s the case where it’s more than you need. The flat price stops being a premium as the team grows: at five seats, billed yearly, it costs less than HoneyBook Premium and Bonsai Essentials. If you also sell funnels, texting or marketing to clients, the extra tools are part of the job rather than overhead.