CiviCRM vs HighLevel: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of CiviCRM and HighLevel to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
CiviCRM
6.6/10
Open-source CRM built for nonprofits and advocacy groups, covering contacts, donations, memberships, events, email marketing and case management.
HighLevel
6.2/10
All-in-one CRM and marketing automation platform, sold mainly to agencies that manage and resell software to many client sub-accounts.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.6/10 | 6.2/10 |
| Customization | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 4/10 | 5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 3/10 | 4/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 9/10 | 6/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $15/mo Spark Starter | $97/mo Starter |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Self-hosted (open source) | $97/mo Starter |
| Features | ||
| Contact Management | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Marketing Automation | ||
| Reporting & Analytics | ||
| Built-in Calling | Not listed | |
| Collaboration | Not listed | |
| Customer Support Management | Not listed | |
| Lead Management | Not listed | |
| Mobile Access | Not listed | |
| Sales Automation | Not listed | |
CiviCRM vs HighLevel cost by team size
CiviCRM costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | CiviCRM | HighLevel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | $97/moStarter |
| 5 users | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | $97/moStarter |
| 10 users | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | $97/moStarter |
| 25 users | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | $97/moStarter |
| 50 users | FreeSelf-hosted (open source) | $97/moStarter |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose CiviCRM
- Has a free plan (HighLevel does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $97/mo
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 8/10)
Why choose HighLevel
- Higher Support score (5/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (4/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for sales teams (7/10 vs 2/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (7/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
CiviCRM
Pros
- The core software is free and open source under the AGPL, so there are no licence fees whatever the number of users or contacts.
- Donations, memberships, events, CiviMail email and case management all come in one nonprofit-focused system.
- It runs inside WordPress, Drupal and Joomla, so data is shared between the website and the CRM.
- Every Spark hosted plan allows unlimited users, starting at $15 per month.
- A large extension ecosystem and an active community make it highly customisable.
Cons
- Reviewers consistently describe the interface as dated and clunky.
- Self-hosted setup and customisation usually need a developer, which adds hidden costs.
- The open-source project offers no dedicated vendor customer service. Help comes from community forums or paid partners.
- Spark plans cap contacts at 5,000 to 10,000 and limit integrations and customisation.
- It has no sales pipeline or opportunity tooling for commercial sales teams.
HighLevel
Pros
- Flat plan pricing with unlimited contacts and users, so adding team members does not raise the bill.
- Agencies can white-label the platform and rebill usage costs to clients, often with a markup, on the Unlimited and Founder plans.
- SaaS mode on the $497 plan lets agencies resell the software under their own brand as a recurring product.
- Combines CRM, SMS, email, funnels, workflows and calling, replacing several separate tools.
Cons
- Usage fees for SMS, email, calls, phone numbers and AI come on top of the plan price. Reviewers report real bills well above list price.
- Reviewers often cite a learning curve of several weeks before the automation features are productive.
- Reviews describe support quality as inconsistent and mention occasional platform stability issues.
- Key extras such as HIPAA compliance ($297 a month) and premium support ($500 a month) cost extra below Enterprise.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
CiviCRM scores higher on our CRM criteria: 6.6/10 against 6.2/10 for HighLevel. The largest gap is in Cost: 9/10 for CiviCRM and 6/10 for HighLevel.
CiviCRM costs less for 10 users: free on its Self-hosted (open source) plan, against about $97/mo on its Starter plan for HighLevel, billed monthly.
CiviCRM has a free plan; HighLevel does not list one.
HighLevel is the better fit for sales teams: we rate it 7/10 for them, against 2/10 for CiviCRM.
