Skool vs GoHighLevel: The Best Community Platform in 2025?

by | Oct 9, 2024

Winner
Skool logo
4.5
  • Universal Search Bar
  • Email Broadcasts
  • Actionable Analytics
  • Calendar with Reminders
  • Member-to-Member Chat
  • 14-day free trial
  • Paid Plans from $9
Runner Up
gohighlevel logo
3.5
  • Digital Marketing Engine
  • Capture New Leads
  • Nurture Leads
  • Automated Booking
  • Create Membership
  • Free trial available
  • Paid Plan Starts at $97
Skool vs GoHighLevel

Choosing the right CRM platform can feel like navigating a maze.

Skool and GoHighLevel are two popular options vying for your attention, but which one comes out on top?

We’ll go through This is the ultimate showdown of the Skool vs GoHighLevel comparison.

This post dives deep into both platforms, comparing their features, pricing, and ease of use so you could make the best decision for your business.

Overview

To give you the most accurate comparison, we’ve spent weeks testing both Skool and GoHighLevel, exploring their features and more.

This hands-on experience allows us to provide real-world insights and guide you toward the best platform for your needs.

Skool
4.5out of 5

Skool offers a streamlined platform for building online courses and fostering thriving communities. Try it now!

Pricing: 14-day free trial available. Paid plan Starts at $99/month

Key Features:

  • Simple Course Creation
  • Built-in Community
  • Gamification
GoHighLevel
3.5out of 5

Want to see GoHighLevel in action? Start your journey and explore its powerful features!

Pricing: It has a free trial. Paid plan starts at $97/month

Key Features:

  • Website Builder
  • Funnel Builder
  • 2-Way SMS

What is Skool?

Think of Skool as your online classroom, but way cooler.

It’s where you can create and sell courses, host live streams, and build a thriving community all in one place.

So you could focus on teaching & connecting with your audience rather than wrestling with technology.

Also, explore our favorite Skool alternatives…

skool homepage

Our Take

skool logo

It excels at building engaged communities and offers excellent value for its price. However, it loses a few points due to its slightly limited course customization and fewer marketing integrations than other platforms. If community is your top priority, Skool is worth checking out.

Key Benefits

Kajabi’s biggest strength is its comprehensive suite of tools.

They’ve helped over 75 million customers turn their passions into profitable businesses.

You get everything you need to create, market, and sell your digital products.

  • All-in-one solution: No need for separate website, email, and course platforms.
  • Built-in marketing tools: Create funnels, automations, and email campaigns right inside Kajabi.
  • No transaction fees: You keep 100% of your earnings on all plans (minus payment processor fees).
  • 24/7 support: Get help whenever you need it with their customer support team.
  • Mobile apps: Members can access your content and community on the go.

Pricing

  • Hobby: $9/month
  • Pro: $99/month.
skool pricing

Pros

  • kool is intuitive for both creators and members.
  • Skool provides a focused environment.
  • Grow your community without limits.
  • One plan with all features included.
  • Gamification and challenges keep members active.

Cons

  • Branding options are basic.
  • You’ll need to integrate with third-party tools.
  • Currently, it only supports Stripe and PayPal.

What is GoHighLevel?

Now, let’s talk about GoHighLevel. This platform is like Swiss Army knife of online business tools.

It’s packed with features to help you with everything from marketing & sales to client management & even website building.

It’s a bit more complex than Skool, but that’s because it does so much!

Also, explore our favorite GoHighLevel alternatives…

Building digital marketing in GoHighLevel

Our Take

GoHighLevel

This is great for agencies and businesses wanting to consolidate tools. The automation capabilities are very strong.

Key Benefits

  • All-in-one marketing platform.
  • White-labeling available.
  • Automated campaigns.
  • Lead-nurturing tools.
  • Comprehensive reporting.

Pricing

  • Starter: $97/month.
  • Unlimited: $297/month.
GoHighLevel Pricing

Pros

  • All-in-one solution.
  • User-friendly interface.
  • Powerful automation tools.
  • Extensive integrations.
  • Active community & support.

Cons

  • Steep learning curve.
  • It’s pricey for some.
  • Limited customization.

Feature Comparison

Skool vs GoHighLevel Feature Comparison GoHighLevel is a business management platform designed for marketing and sales processes, whereas Skool offers a simplified, community-first online learning platform and conducive learning environment.

1. Primary Platform Focus

  • Skool: The primary focus is on building an active community and providing a conducive learning environment for community members around course creation.
  • GoHighLevel: Is a business management platform designed for marketing and sales processes, acting as an all in one marketing and CRM hub for agencies.

2. Customer Relationship Management

  • Skool: Offers very limited customer relationship management (CRM) functionality, focusing instead on internal community management and student engagement.
  • GoHighLevel: Features a robust marketing and full-featured customer relationship management (CRM) system designed to manage contacts, track sales pipelines, and automate lead nurturing.

3. Marketing and Sales Processes

  • Skool: Has limited built-in marketing and sales efforts and lacks core features like funnels, advanced email marketing, and SMS capabilities, requiring external tools.
  • GoHighLevel: Excels in marketing and sales processes, providing a complete suite of all in one marketing tools, including website/funnel builders and sophisticated automation.

4. Course Creation and Management

  • Skool: Provides a streamlined course creation and course management system, which is simple and intuitive, integrated directly within the community space.
  • GoHighLevel: Offers course creation via its Membership Sites feature, but it is less specialized and not as natively integrated as the dedicated online learning platform of Skool.
skool

5. Community Features and Engagement

  • Skool: Offers superior community features, gamification (leaderboards), and a familiar social-style feed to drive high community engagement and interaction among community members.
  • GoHighLevel: Includes basic community features like forums and chat, but community engagement is not its strength; its focus is on automated communication for marketing and sales efforts.

6. Business Management Features

  • Skool: Gohighlevel and skool differ sharply here; Skool has minimal business management features, focusing solely on community and course delivery.
  • GoHighLevel: Provides a wide range of business management features such as scheduling, lead tracking, reputation management, and white-label options for agencies.

7. User Interface and Simplicity

  • Skool: Highly praised for its clean and easy to use interface, which promotes student engagement and a focused, conducive learning environment.
  • GoHighLevel: Has a complex and feature-rich interface; while powerful, it is less intuitive and requires a steeper learning curve to master all the robust marketing and business management features.

8. Marketing Strategies and Automation

  • Skool: Supports basic marketing strategies but lacks native automation; users must manually set up or use third-party tools to connect data.
  • GoHighLevel: Features robust marketing automation and workflows, enabling advanced marketing strategies like conditional email/SMS sequences based on user actions.
GoHighLevel close more deals

9. Pricing Structure

  • Skool: Gohighlevel and skool have similar base prices, but Skool offers a single, simple plan for all features, unlimited courses, and unlimited members.
  • GoHighLevel: Offers tiered pricing (starting higher than Skool’s core price) for its all in one marketing solution, with advanced features and multi-client access at top tiers.

10. Audience and Best Fit

  • Skool: Ideal for educators, coaches, and content creators whose primary goal is fostering an active community and student engagement within a conducive learning environment.
  • GoHighLevel: Best for marketers, agencies, and entrepreneurs who need robust marketing and customer relationship management to manage clients and scale marketing and sales processes.

11. Mobile Access

  • Skool: Offers a dedicated skool mobile app for community members to ensure community engagement and content access on the go.
  • GoHighLevel: Provides a mobile app for managing CRM and communication but it is not optimized for community members and the conducive learning environment like the Skool app.

What to Look for When Choosing a CRM Platform

  • Confirm if the platform’s core focus is on fostering engagement within educational communities, or if it’s merely a technology stack focused on marketing campaigns.
  • Prioritize platforms that offer seamless integration of online courses with the community space, ensuring that courses are an intrinsic part of the user experience.
  • Check for comprehensive marketing campaigns tools, such as advanced email sequencing and sms marketing, if client acquisition and funnel automation are a primary business need.
  • Assess the long-term cost: some platforms charge per member/contact, which makes scaling expensive, while others offer fixed pricing for unlimited courses and unlimited members.
  • Look for a strong customer relationship management (CRM) system if managing leads and complex marketing and sales processes are essential to your business model.

Final Verdict

Choosing between GoHighLevel vs Skool depends on what you need.

Skool is great for building online communities and keeping track of student progress.

It has simple management tools and is easy to use.

GoHighLevel is better for businesses and marketing professionals who need more features. It costs more but does a lot more.

We’ve used both platforms and found them helpful in different ways. Our experience gives us confidence in recommending them to you.

Ultimately, the best choice for you will depend on your specific needs and priorities.

Consider your budget, technical skills, and the features that are most important to you.

We hope this guide helps you make the right decision for your business!

More of Skool

Here’s a brief comparison of Skool against the listed alternatives:

  • Skool vs Circle: Skool integrates community with gamified courses, while Circle focuses primarily on customizable community building.
  • Skool vs Teachable: Skool blends community with courses and gamification; Teachable centers on course creation with community as an add-on.
  • Skool vs GoHighLevel: Skool is for community/courses with gamification; GoHighLevel is a broad marketing automation platform, including community features.
  • Skool vs MightyNetworks: Skool emphasizes gamification within its community/course structure; MightyNetworks offers a wider range of content, event, and community options.
  • Skool vs Bettermode: Skool offers integrated courses and gamification; Bettermode provides deeper customization for branded community experiences.
  • Skool vs Thinkific: Skool combines community, courses, and gamification; Thinkific is primarily a course platform with community features.
  • Skool vs LearnWorlds: Skool adds gamification to community and courses; LearnWorlds focuses on interactive online courses with integrated communities.
  • Skool vs Swarm: Skool integrates courses and gamification with the community; Swarm focuses on structured, interest-based community interactions.
  • Skool vs Disco: Skool includes gamified courses and community; Disco specializes in cohort-based learning and learning communities.
  • Skool vs Kajabi: Skool is focused on community and courses with gamification, while Kajabi is an all-in-one business platform that includes courses, marketing, and community.
  • Skool vs Wylo: Skool provides a platform for creators with courses and gamification; Wylo connects people through interest-based community discovery and interaction.
  • Skool vs Whop: Skool offers a creator platform with gamified communities and courses; Whop is a marketplace and platform for selling access to communities and digital goods.

More of GoHighLevel

Here’s a comparison of GoHighLevel with the requested alternatives:

  • GoHighLevel vs Pipedrive: GoHighLevel offers a broader, all-in-one marketing and sales suite, including funnel builders and extensive automation, while Pipedrive focuses primarily on sales pipeline management with a highly visual interface.
  • GoHighLevel vs Keap: GoHighLevel provides a more comprehensive, all-in-one platform with robust automation and a built-in website builder, whereas Keap focuses on CRM and marketing automation with a simpler, more user-friendly interface.
  • GoHighLevel vs ActiveCampaign: GoHighLevel is a true all-in-one platform for sales, marketing, and automation with integrated tools, while ActiveCampaign excels in email marketing and segmentation but may require more integrations for comprehensive sales features.
  • GoHighLevel vs HubSpot: GoHighLevel is an all-in-one platform for agencies and businesses that offers extensive marketing and sales features; HubSpot provides a broader suite of integrated hubs, including advanced AI and customer service automation.
  • GoHighLevel vs ClickFunnels: GoHighLevel is a comprehensive marketing platform built for agencies with a wide feature set, including CRM and white-labeling; ClickFunnels primarily focuses on sales funnel and landing page building.
  • GoHighLevel vs Folk: GoHighLevel offers robust marketing automation, lead generation, and comprehensive CRM, while Folk emphasizes collaborative contact organization and simpler email sequences.
  • GoHighLevel vs Instantly: GoHighLevel provides a comprehensive suite for marketing automation, sales funnels, and membership management; Instantly specializes in lead finding and cold email outreach, focusing on ease of use.
  • GoHighLevel vs ClickUp: GoHighLevel is a dedicated all-in-one marketing and sales automation platform designed for lead management and follow-ups. ClickUp is primarily a project management tool that can be customized for CRM functions.
  • GoHighLevel vs Monday CRM: GoHighLevel offers advanced marketing automation and an all-in-one solution for customer management; Monday CRM excels in visual project management and team collaboration with a highly customizable interface.
  • GoHighLevel vs Capsule CRM: GoHighLevel is a comprehensive platform with powerful automation and extensive integrations ideal for growing businesses and agencies; Capsule CRM is a simpler, more affordable CRM for basic contact and sales pipeline management.
  • GoHighLevel vs Insightly: GoHighLevel offers a customizable, all-in-one solution that emphasizes user experience and integrated features; Insightly focuses on diverse modules and functionalities for small to mid-sized businesses, including project management.
  • GoHighLevel vs Freshsales: GoHighLevel provides comprehensive digital marketing tools and white-label options, catering to agencies; Freshsales CRM focuses on AI-driven insights, sales automation, and integrated communication for sales teams.
  • GoHighLevel vs Salesforce: GoHighLevel is a simpler all-in-one platform for lead generation, sales, and white-labeling for local businesses; Salesforce is an industry-leading, highly customizable CRM tailored for large enterprises with extensive add-ons.
  • GoHighLevel vs Zendesk: GoHighLevel is a comprehensive marketing and sales automation platform that includes CRM and lead management; Zendesk primarily excels as a customer service and support ticketing system with CRM capabilities for managing customer interactions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Skool and GoHighLevel together?

Absolutely! They can complement each other. Use Skool for your courses and community, and GoHighLevel for your marketing and sales.

Which platform is better for beginners?

Skool is generally easier to learn and use, thanks to its intuitive interface and focused feature set.

Does GoHighLevel offer a free trial?

Yes, GoHighLevel offers a 14-day free trial so you could explore its features before committing to a paid plan.

Can I migrate my existing courses to Skool?

Yes, Skool provides resources and support to help you migrate your courses from other platforms.

Is GoHighLevel suitable for small businesses?

While GoHighLevel is powerful, its extensive features and higher price point might be more suitable for growing businesses with dedicated marketing needs.

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