GoHighLevel vs. ConvertKit: $3049 Spent—Winner Is?

In this post, I’ll compare GoHighLevel vs ConvertKit (now rebranded from {kit}).

I’ve spent over $1,200 on ConvertKit.

• Gained 27245 subscribers
• 805K emails sent
• 19.05% open rate

Solid results from someone who used the platform.

On the other hand, Gohigh level.

I’ve spent over $5,000 per month on GoHighLevel’s SaaS subscription for clients.

• 11096 email sent
• 20.28% open rates
• 6 Bounced

This review offers an unbiased perspective from someone with extensive experience using GoHighLevel and ConvertKit.

And it’ll be compared based on:

• Email Marketing
• Deliverability scores
• CRM and Client Management
• Level Of Automation
• Landing page
• Pricing

Let’s dive right in.

Introducing: The Two Competitors

First things first, let’s understand what these tools do.

GoHighLevel is an all-in-one sales and marketing platform designed primarily for agencies and service-based businesses.

It provides comprehensive tools such as funnel building, email marketing, CRM, SMS automation, and reputation management, all under one roof.

Convert{Kit} officially known as Kit, on the other hand, is an email marketing platform, primarily targeted at creators like bloggers, YouTubers, and podcasters.

It focuses on email list management, automation, and landing pages with a simple, user-friendly interface.

So, if you’re an agency looking for an all-in-one tool, GoHighLevel might have already piqued your interest.

But hold on—ConvertKit might just have what you need if email marketing is your main focus.

Key Features: Head-to-Head Comparison

Now, let’s compare the core features of both GoHighLevel and ConvertKit.

1. Email Marketing:

GoHighLevel: Provides email automation within its suite of marketing tools.

You can create email campaigns and workflows that integrate with SMS and other marketing tools.

However, its email marketing function is not as specialized compared to ConvertKit.

ConvertKit: This is where ConvertKit shines.

It was built primarily for email marketing, meaning it excels at creating powerful email automation workflows, segmenting audiences, and sending broadcast emails.

The platform also offers easy-to-use templates for newsletters, which are a favorite among creators.

Winner: For pure email marketing, ConvertKit is the clear winner.

2. Delivery Score:

For my client’s business, email accounts for 60% of our revenue {over $15,000} and 30% from sales calls.

Any issues with our email marketing directly impact that revenue, and we want to avoid that.

ConvertKit has always been our email marketing CRM.

But as our business grew, we needed advanced features like:

• Automation
• SMS
• Triggers
• Funnel page builder
• Complex workflows

While ConvertKit is great, it has limitations in those areas (more on that later).

We decided to switch to GoHighLevel, but our first three months on the platform were challenging.

Email delivery struggled; many messages ended up in spam, others bounced, and quite a few were skipped.

My email open rate dropped from 97% with ConvertKit to just 64% on GoHighLevel.

This decline was due to GoHighLevel’s lower delivery score compared to ConvertKit.

To address the need for advanced features, I kept both subscriptions active as a backup plan.

In the end, I managed to boost my delivery score on GoHighLevel back to 100%.

The key? The more frequently you engage your audience, the better your delivery score becomes.

Winner: Even.

However, for advanced email automation, templates, and SMS capabilities, GoHighLevel takes the lead, as ConvertKit has notable limitations in these areas.

3. CRM and Client Management:

For GoHighLevel: It’s a robust CRM system built into the platform, which is ideal for businesses looking to manage their leads, clients, and prospects all in one place.

You can:

• Send and automate SMS campaigns
• track customer interactions across multiple channels
• Automate follow-ups
• More funnel builders than converkit
• E-commerce stores
• Course creation
• WordPress integration
• Phone calls

On the other hand, ConvertKit: Lacks the depth in CRM functionality that GoHighLevel provides.

While you can manage your email list and segment it based on customer actions, it’s nowhere near as robust for full client relationship management.

This was one reason I moved over to Gohighlevel it replaced the need to use over 37+ software.

Think about it this way…..

• Converkit doesn’t offer SMS but Gohigh level does
• Converkit doesn’t offer Phone call features but Gohigh Level does
• Convertkit templates are limited but the Gohigh level has over 200+ templates
• Gohighlevel allows you to build complex funnel systems while converkit doesn’t.

Winner: GoHighLevel takes this one for its comprehensive CRM features.

Converkit is best for newsletters and small creators…

4. Automation:

As discussed earlier, Gohigh level Offers powerful automation that integrates SMS, email, and pipelines.

 

You can create complex workflows that automate marketing actions based on customer behaviors.

On the other hand;

ConvertKit provides advanced email automation with an intuitive visual builder.

While it doesn’t support multi-channel marketing automation like GoHighLevel, it’s great at email-focused automation sequences.

Winner: Both platforms excel in automation, but GoHighLevel wins for its multi-channel approach

5. Landing Pages:

You can build the following on Gohighlevel.

Complete sales funnels:

Online Stores:

Landing pages:

And membership sites:

The platform offers a drag-and-drop builder for customization with over 1000+ templates.

ConvertKit does offer landing pages with less than 20 templates to choose from which are very basic.

They are more basic in design and functionality compared to GoHighLevel’s funnel builder.

However, ConvertKit’s simplicity can be ideal for creators who don’t need advanced features.

Winner: GoHighLevel is the better option if you need robust landing pages and funnels.

6. Pricing:

When evaluating pricing, it’s essential to consider the following:

GoHighLevel as a CRM: GoHighLevel is primarily a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, not just an email marketing tool.

Its pricing reflects its broader functionality beyond email marketing.

ConvertKit’s Focus: ConvertKit is designed solely as an email marketing platform, catering specifically to those needs.

Given these distinctions, comparing their pricing directly may not yield a definitive conclusion, as they serve different purposes, even though they offer similar features.

But with GoHighLevel: Starts at $97/month, which is a steal considering the breadth of tools included.

However, the full suite is $297/month, which may be a bit steep for smaller businesses.

But when it comes to email marketing: GHL charges you for amount of emails sent and not amount of contacts you have {learn more on Gohighlevel Pricing here}.

ConvertKit: Offers a free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers, and its paid plans start at $29/month.

In short:

• The higher the subscribers, the more the subscription fees/
• The more email you send, the more cost you get charged for high-level.

For bloggers or creators just getting started, ConvertKit’s pricing is much more accessible.

Winner: Depends on your business goal.

ConvertKit is more affordable for smaller businesses or individual creators, but GoHighLevel’s pricing is justified for the features it offers.

6. Ease of Use:

GoHighLevel: The learning curve is steeper because it’s an all-in-one platform with a wide range of features.

However, once you get the hang of it because it’s also not too complicated to learn, it can become a powerful tool.

ConvertKit: Known for its clean, intuitive interface.

Even beginners with no technical experience will find it easy to navigate and use.

Winner: ConvertKit is the more user-friendly option.

Who Should Use GoHighLevel?

If you run a marketing agency, service-based business, or any business that needs a robust CRM alongside marketing automation, GoHighLevel is an excellent choice.

It’s built for businesses that want to manage their entire sales pipeline, from lead generation to customer management, under one roof.

The platform’s automation, funnels, and integration with SMS make it a great tool for agencies.

Who Should Use ConvertKit?

ConvertKit is the go-to platform for creators—bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, and influencers—who need to focus solely on growing and managing an email list.

Its simplicity and focus on email marketing make it a great choice for content creators who want an easy-to-use tool without a steep learning curve.

If your main goal is to nurture your audience through emails and convert subscribers into customers or fans, ConvertKit delivers.

Conclusion: Which One Is Right for You?

The decision between GoHighLevel and ConvertKit boils down to your business model and marketing needs:

If you’re an agency or a service-based business that needs comprehensive CRM, multi-channel marketing automation, and sales funnels, GoHighLevel is worth the investment.

It’s an all-in-one powerhouse designed to handle complex sales pipelines.

If you’re a creator who primarily needs email marketing with simple automation and segmentation, ConvertKit offers exactly what you need at an affordable price point.

Its clean interface and email focus make it perfect for creators who don’t need extra bells and whistles.

Ask yourself:

Are you looking for a tool that can manage your entire sales process, or do you need something that simplifies email marketing?

Your answer will guide you to the right choice.