Quick Summary: In 2026, a growing number of marketing agencies are dropping HubSpot in favor of GoHighLevel. The reasons aren’t complicated: it’s cheaper, it lets you white-label everything under your own brand, and the tools were actually designed with agency workflows in mind. For most mid-sized agencies, that combination means healthier margins and a lot less software juggling.
Something interesting is happening in the agency world right now. At digital marketing conferences across the USA and Canada, the same conversation keeps coming up: “We just moved from HubSpot to GoHighLevel.” This isn’t just a handful of agencies; it’s becoming an industry trend.
The shift makes sense when you look at the numbers. Agency owners are watching profit margins shrink as HubSpot’s contact-based pricing climbs monthly. They’re managing multiple separate tools for funnels, SMS, and scheduling. Most importantly, they want to package services as their own branded software, something HubSpot doesn’t allow.
The Go High Level CRM platform offers a different approach: everything agencies need in one place, flat-rate pricing, and complete white-label freedom. For a lot of agency owners, just hearing those three things: lower cost, white-label freedom, native tools, is enough to start seriously looking at alternatives.
The Breaking Point: Why Agencies Started Looking
Here’s a situation I’ve seen play out more than once. Sarah owns a digital marketing agency in Austin with about 45 active clients. Last year, her HubSpot bill hit $2,800 monthly, before adding Marketing Hub Professional. She was also paying for ClickFunnels ($297/month), Calendly ($16/seat), and SMS tools ($150/month).
Total monthly cost: over $4,200 just for software.
Meanwhile, her competitor managed the same client volume on GoHighLevel for $297 monthly. Same services, same quality, but keeping an extra $3,900 in the business each month. That’s $46,800 annually, enough for another employee or a serious marketing investment.
But cost isn’t the only driver. The traditional agency model faces pressure from clients expecting faster results and lower fees, while HubSpot’s enterprise roadmap doesn’t address these agency-specific challenges.
What Makes GoHighLevel Different for Agencies
The platform was built by agency people, for agency people. That distinction matters.
Unlimited Sub-Accounts
Every client gets their own isolated environment. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 10 clients on the platform or 100; you’re paying the same flat fee every month. That kind of pricing predictability is hard to find, especially if you’ve been watching your HubSpot invoice creep up every time you onboard a new account.
White-Label Capabilities
Here’s where things get interesting. Agencies using white-label Go High Level rebrand the entire platform: login screens, mobile apps, and even domain names. To clients, it looks like proprietary software you built specifically for them.
This perception shift changes everything. Clients see you as a technology provider, not just a service vendor. That justifies higher retainers and improves retention. Several agencies report client churn dropping from 18% annually to under 8% after implementing white-labeled Go High Level software.
Built-In Tools
HubSpot often requires integrations for funnels or SMS automation. GoHighLevel includes funnel builders, two-way SMS, email automation, appointment scheduling, review management, pipelines, and memberships, all native.
Go High Level marketing automation includes drag-and-drop funnel builders, two-way SMS and email sequences, appointment scheduling with reminders, missed call text-back, review collection, membership sites, and pipeline management: all connected natively without middleware.
Real Cost Comparison
Let’s examine a realistic scenario: an agency managing 30 clients, generating 2,500 monthly leads.
HubSpot Monthly Cost:
- Marketing Hub Professional: $890
- Sales Hub Professional: $450
- Additional contacts: $300
- Service Hub: $450
- ClickFunnels: $297
- Calendly (6 users): $96
- SMS platform: $150
Total: $2,633/month ($31,596 annually)
GoHighLevel Monthly Cost:
- Unlimited Plan: $297 (everything included)
Total: $297/month ($3,564 annually)
Annual Savings: $28,032
That gap doesn’t even include lower implementation costs. GoHighLevel setups typically require less complex troubleshooting compared to enterprise HubSpot configurations.
(Disclaimer: Pricing reflects public monthly billing estimates as of early 2026. Actual costs may vary.)
When HubSpot Still Makes Sense
GoHighLevel isn’t right for everyone. Here’s when to stick with HubSpot:
- You serve Fortune 500 enterprises requiring deep HubSpot integrations.
- You’ve built a specialized HubSpot CMS practice.
- Your revenue depends on complex multi-year B2B attribution models.
- Your positioning revolves around being a HubSpot-certified partner.
Consider GoHighLevel if:
- Clients need results quickly.
- Margins matter.
- You want SaaS-style recurring revenue without building software.
- You work with local service or appointment-based businesses.
Most agencies fall into the second category.
The Migration Process: Why Agencies Make the Move
The biggest hesitation around migration isn’t technical; it’s fear of disruption. After years of building inside HubSpot, switching platforms feels risky. But migration isn’t starting over. It’s rebuilding in a leaner, more agency-focused system.
Weeks 1–2: Export and clean data. You will likely find a lot of “junk” data you don’t need to migrate.
Weeks 3–4: Rebuild core workflows using GoHighLevel’s native tools. Don’t just copy-paste; simplify.
Weeks 5–6: Transition a pilot group of 3–5 clients before rolling out to everyone.
Typical timeline: Around 6 to 8 weeks, depending on complexity.
What you gain:
Predictable monthly costs, fewer moving parts in your tech stack, full white-label control, and automations that don’t break every time a third-party tool pushes an update.
What to expect short-term
A learning curve. Your team will need time to adjust, and there’s a retraining period that’s unavoidable. It’s worth it, but it’s not instant.
Why agencies actually make the switch:
It comes down to control. Control over what you spend, how fast you can scale, and how your brand shows up in front of clients. Once software costs start eating into margins and your tool stack feels like it’s held together with duct tape, switching platforms stops being a “nice to have” and starts being a business decision.
Migration Done Right: Tools, Timing & Strategy
One of the most common mistakes agencies make? Skipping the built-in tools that GoHighLevel already provides to make migration smoother. Things like the Lead Connector WordPress plugin, simple CSV imports for contacts and membership data, and the “Move Number” feature tucked inside Phone Integration settings, these exist specifically so you’re not doing everything by hand.
A common mistake? Trying to migrate every client at once.
Even with solid playbooks for leaving ActiveCampaign, Pipedrive, ClickFunnels, Kajabi, Skool, or Calendly, it’s smarter to start small. Move 3–5 clients first, test the full rebuild process, fix the gaps then scale. It’s cleaner, calmer, and far less risky.
And honestly? Don’t just copy-paste your old workflows into the new system. Migration is one of the few chances you get to step back and ask, “Does this automation even need to exist anymore?” Use it as a reset; simplify sequences, cut what’s redundant, and lean into GoHighLevel’s native features to build something cleaner than what you had before.
White-Label GoHighLevel Agency
This fundamentally changes agency business models.
With Go High Level white label solutions, you’re not using software; you’re becoming a software company.
Here’s where the math gets interesting. With HubSpot, there’s always a risk that your client Googles the platform, sees the retail price, and starts wondering why they’re paying you a premium on top. With a white-labeled GoHighLevel setup, that conversation disappears. They’re paying $2,500 a month for your platform and your management, not a marked-up subscription to someone else’s software. The perceived value goes up while your actual cost base goes down.
Some of the more forward-thinking agencies have taken it further, packaging their white-labeled CRM as a standalone SaaS product priced anywhere from $199 to $399 a month, then layering management services on top as an upsell.
What to Look for in Implementation Partners
Platform choice matters less than implementation quality. A poorly configured GoHighLevel setup underperforms a well-optimized HubSpot system.
When you hire GHL developer teams, prioritize:
- Migration experience (20+ full transitions)
- Agency workflow understanding
- Ongoing GoHighLevel support availability
- Custom integration capabilities
- White-label implementation expertise
Pennine Technolabs GoHighLevel
We’ve helped over 150 agencies move from HubSpot to GoHighLevel since 2024, and we’ve learned a lot along the way. Our team works across the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, so we understand the compliance quirks and workflow differences that vary by market.
What we actually do: audit your current setup, move your data without losing anything, set up white-label branding, train your team, and stick around for 30 days after launch. Most clients see 25–35% cost savings and better client retention within the first 90 days.
Not sure if GoHighLevel is even right for you? We offer free migration assessments and will give you a straight answer, even if that answer is “stay with HubSpot.”
Final Thoughts
The truth? This isn’t really a software debate. It’s a margin problem.
Agencies paying enterprise-tool prices while serving mid-market clients are fighting a losing battle. The numbers just don’t add up in 2026.
GoHighLevel works for agencies because it was built with agencies in mind; white-labeling, straightforward scaling, and workflows that don’t require a dedicated ops person to maintain.
The move isn’t for everyone. But it’s worth an honest look at your costs, your workflows, and what you actually need from a platform. Start there
