Looking after your customers is business management 101, but finding the right customer relationship management (CRM) software can feel overwhelming. On the one hand, you have dedicated CRM platforms focused on managing contacts and sales. Alternatively, you’ve got integrated platforms that bundle in a CRM alongside various marketing and communication tools.
Capsule and HighLevel (also known as GoHighLevel) are two very different options. Capsule is a simple yet powerful CRM designed for small to medium-sized businesses, helping teams stay organized and build stronger customer relationships.
HighLevel takes a different approach, providing an all-in-one platform built primarily for marketing agencies that combines basic CRM features with a wide variety of sales and marketing tools.
In this guide, you’ll get to see how Capsule and HighLevel compare across all the most important areas, from the features on offer to how easy they are to use. By the end, you’ll have a clearer picture of which platform is the better fit for your organization.
Capsule and HighLevel plans compared
For small businesses, having access to a free or affordable plan is a low-risk way to try new software and see how it fits into your workflow.
Capsule offers a free plan that includes:
- Up to 2 users
- 250 contacts
- 1 sales pipeline
- 5 custom fields
- Contact history & activity log
- Gmail & Outlook add-ons
- Android & iOS mobile app
HighLevel doesn’t currently provide a free plan, but you can try it out with a 14-day trial.
When you’re ready to grow, both Capsule and HighLevel offer paid plans. Here’s how their entry-level plans compare:
| Capsule Starter plan | HighLevel Starter plan |
|---|---|
Dedicated CRM | Sales and marketing platform with built-in CRM |
$18/user/mo for 30,000 contacts | $97 per month (flat fee) |
30,000 contacts | Unlimited contacts |
50 custom fields | Unlimited custom fields |
1 customizable sales pipeline | Unlimited pipelines |
Task and project management | Task management |
Gmail/Outlook integration | Email, social (SMS and voicemail billed separately) |
Capsule’s Starter plan is designed for growing small businesses. It expands the free plan’s contact limits, adds more customization options, and introduces project boards to help you manage post-sales work. Pricing is predictable because it scales with your team size.
HighLevel’s Starter plan is built for agencies that want more than a CRM. It bundles websites, funnels, and communication tools, while the flat monthly fee means you’ll pay the same whether you ’re a team of two or twenty. However, messaging and calling costs are billed separately, which can make total costs less predictable.
As your business grows and your needs increase, you can take advantage of one of the more advanced plans. Capsule has three additional plan levels, scaling with your business requirements:
- The Growth plan ($36/user/mo) adds useful features like multiple Sales Pipelines, Workflow Automations, advanced Sales Analytics, and Contact Enrichment.
- The Advanced plan ($54/user/mo) includes up to 120,000 contacts, 50 project boards, and increased limits for other features.
- The Ultimate plan ($72/user/mo) adds premium onboarding, a dedicated account manager, and priority support for larger rollouts.
HighLevel’s Unlimited plan ($297/month) gives you unlimited sub-accounts, API access, and a branded desktop app
For most SMBs, Capsule offers a clearer and more affordable way to get started, with the flexibility to scale as your needs grow. HighLevel’s pricing makes sense if you’re running a marketing agency and want to manage multiple clients under one roof, but for individual businesses, it’s often more expensive and complex than necessary.
What features and functionality do Capsule CRM and HighLevel offer?
While Capsule and HighLevel both have many similar CRM features, they are very different platforms.
Capsule focuses on being a simple, effective CRM that small and medium-sized businesses can start using right away. You get all of the essential CRM tools you’d need, alongside useful features that help improve your daily work.
Capsule’s core features include:
While Capsule and HighLevel both have many similar CRM features, they are very different platforms.
Capsule focuses on being a simple, effective CRM that small and medium-sized businesses can start using right away. You get all of the essential CRM tools you’d need, alongside useful features that help improve your daily work.
Capsule’s core features include:
- Contact Management. Keep track of your leads and customers with Custom Fields, Tags, DataTags, and Lists
- Contact and Business Enrichment. Get a comprehensive picture of each contact and company with the latest information
- Sales Pipelines and Projects. Watch deals as they progress through multiple pipelines and then manage your client work after the sale with project boards
- Tracks and Workflow Automations. Create task templates and automate your repeatable processes
- Reporting Dashboards and Forecasting. Visualize your sales performance with user-friendly dashboards and predict upcoming revenue
- AI Content Assistant. Get past the blank page and create relevant emails with the right tone using built-in AI
- iOS and Android apps. View and edit customer information from anywhere, even when you’re offline.
HighLevel takes a very different approach. It’s an all-in-one marketing and sales platform that bundles CRM functionality alongside a full suite of digital tools. Its features include:
- CRM and pipeline management. Track customer activity and keep sales opportunities moving forward.
- Funnel and website builders. Create landing pages and sales funnels to capture and convert leads.
- Form and survey tools. Collect customer feedback and lead information to understand prospects better and improve campaigns.
- Booking calendars and appointment scheduling. Enable clients to book meetings online, reducing back-and-forth emails and saving time.
- Built-in email, SMS, and voicemail. Run campaigns across multiple channels from the same platform (additional fees apply).
- Competitor analysis and reputation management. Benchmark clients’ online reputation against competitors using real-time review data.
- White-label branding. Rebrand the platform with your logo and domain.
The key difference between the two platforms is scope. Capsule focuses on being the best CRM it can be, while integrating smoothly with your existing stack. HighLevel packs a wide range of tools into one system, reducing the need for separate apps, but that also means there’s much more to learn and manage.
Which CRM connects best with your existing software?
A CRM is often just one part of your workflow, so how well it connects with the rest of your tools can make a big difference.
Capsule is designed to fit neatly alongside the apps that many small businesses already use. Its App Marketplace offers over 70 integrations, including:
- Email/calendar management with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365
- Accounting tools like Xero and QuickBooks
- Marketing platforms like Mailchimp and Transpond
- Customer support tools like Zendesk.
These integrations make Capsule easy to slot into your current setup without having to rethink your existing work processes. The integration with Transpond’s marketing platform is especially useful, keeping your CRM and campaigns in sync so you can manage sign-up forms, run email and social campaigns, and build automations with confidence that you’re always using the most up-to-date contact data.
Capsule also connects with thousands of other apps through Zapier and Make, or you can use the API to build your own unique integrations.
HighLevel builds many tools directly into its platform, from email and SMS marketing to funnel and website builders. However, it also offers integrations with other apps, from social media to ecommerce platforms.
For SMBs who already have preferred tools in place, Capsule’s broad selection of integrations makes it easy to plug in without disruption. HighLevel’s strength is in replacing multiple tools altogether, but that generally means committing to its ecosystem.
Which CRM is best for ease of use?
Ease of use can make the difference between a CRM your team adopts and one that gathers dust.
Capsule is designed with simplicity in mind. Its clean, intuitive layout means you can get started quickly without needing technical expertise. Teams can easily navigate contacts, pipelines, and projects.
One feature that Capsule customers particularly appreciate is how easy it is to import data, whether from spreadsheets or from another CRM using Import2, making setup faster and less stressful.
HighLevel, by contrast, offers more features but also comes with a steeper learning curve. Because it combines so many different tools, new users may find the platform overwhelming at first. To get the most out of HighLevel, you’ll need well-defined processes and the time to set up its many modules properly.
For small businesses that want to get up and running quickly, Capsule is the more straightforward option. For teams willing to invest time and energy into mastering a powerful all-in-one platform, HighLevel has lots to offer, but that investment isn’t necessary for many SMBs.
Which CRM offers more customization and flexibility?
Every business has its own way of working, so it’s important to choose a CRM that can adapt to your processes, rather than forcing you to change the way you work.
Capsule offers users flexibility without complexity. You can tailor Sales Pipelines, create Custom Fields, apply Tags, and set up Workflow Automation to take care of repetitive tasks. The end result is a CRM that you can personalize to your business without requiring a full-time administrator to manage it.
HighLevel offers deeper customization, particularly for agencies. You can build complex automation workflows, brand the platform as your own, and even create a custom app for clients. This makes it highly flexible, but also more demanding. Setting up and managing these customizations requires significant upfront effort.
For most SMBs, Capsule strikes the right balance: enough customization to fit your workflow, but simple enough that you can start seeing results straight away. HighLevel is best suited for agencies that need all the features with white-label flexibility.
Which platform is best for support and security?
When customers trust you with their details, it’s your responsibility to look after that data. As a result, strong support and reliable security are must-haves when choosing a CRM.
Capsule is known for its friendly and responsive support. All customers can access 24/7 AI support, world-class human support, and an extensive knowledge base. The Ultimate plan offers even more help, with priority support, a dedicated account manager, and custom training. Capsule customers regularly highlight how approachable and helpful the support team is, with around 96% of tickets answered within 24 hours.
On the security side, Capsule is SOC 2 Type II certified, encrypts data in transit and at rest, and offers role-based permissions. It’s also GDPR compliant and maintains an uptime record of 99.99%, giving businesses confidence that their data is both secure and accessible.
HighLevel offers 24/7 support through live chat, email, and phone calls. The platform also provides community resources and training for new users.
In terms of security, HighLevel is EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certified. However, it does not currently publish its own SOC 2 certification (instead relying on AWS services’ certification), which some businesses may require.
For SMBs, Capsule provides trusted compliance and a responsive support experience that customers genuinely value. HighLevel offers broader availability and resources, but with a focus on agency use cases.
Which CRM is best for my business?
Choosing between Capsule and HighLevel largely depends on the type of business you run and what you need from your software.
Capsule is built for small and medium-sized businesses that want a straightforward CRM to manage contacts, pipelines, and projects without unnecessary complexity. It integrates smoothly with the tools you already use, is easy to set up, and scales affordably as your team grows.
HighLevel is designed primarily for sales and marketing agencies. Its strength lies in providing an all-in-one platform that combines CRM, outreach, websites, funnels, forms, and more. For agencies managing multiple clients, that breadth can be powerful, but for the average business, it often introduces more features and costs than you really need.
For most SMBs, Capsule is the more accessible and cost-effective choice. It delivers the essential CRM features you need without the heavy overhead of an all-in-one platform.
Try any Capsule plan free for 14 days or sign up for our free plan to get started with a simple yet powerful CRM.
