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Loading…Stop Wasting Money
On CRMs
We tested 17 platforms with real accounts and real money. Only 2 are worth paying for. Everyone else is charging you for features you'll never use.
2,400+ businesses guided
$587/month average savings
17
Platforms evaluated
2
Actually work
$587
Average savings
50%
Failure rate
The two that work
17 tested. 15 rejected. Here's what's left.
One for people building alone. One for teams managing clients.
For Solo Creators
Systeme.io
Everything you need, nothing you don't
Pages, email, courses, payments — all in one place. Built for coaches, consultants, and course creators who don't want to duct-tape five tools together.
- Set up in a weekend, no technical background needed
- Replaces 5-7 separate tool subscriptions
- Free tier available (genuinely usable)
- Landing pages, email, courses, payments included
Affiliate link · We earn a commission at no extra cost to you
For Agencies & Teams
GoHighLevel
Built for running other people's businesses
If you manage clients, juggle multiple accounts, or need white-label everything — this is the one.
- White-label your entire client-facing experience
- Manage unlimited client accounts from dashboard
- Full automation suite for agency workflows
- Replaces $500-$1,000/month in separate tools
Affiliate link · We earn a commission at no extra cost to you
Resources
The stuff we learned so you don't have to
Migration checklists, platform breakdowns, and honest opinions from testing 17 CRMs with real money.
Why us
We tested 17 CRMs with real money. Most of them sucked.
We actually pick one for you
Every comparison site gives you 15 options and tells you to "choose what fits." That's useless. We spent 12 months testing 17 platforms on real business accounts. Only two consistently worked. Systeme.io for solo creators. GoHighLevel for agencies. Done.
50% of CRM implementations fail within year one
We tell you what not to buy
HubSpot costs $800+/month for features solo businesses never touch. ClickFunnels charges $147/month for stuff you won't need for two years. We tested them all and we'll tell you exactly which ones are a waste of money.
$4.6B wasted annually on abandoned platforms
We give you the setup order
Buying the right CRM is 20% of success. Knowing what to build first is the other 80%. Our implementation guide tells you what to set up on day 1, day 3, and day 7 — so you're not staring at a blank dashboard wondering where to click.
1-2 weeks setup with roadmap vs 3-6 months alone
Do the math
How much are you overpaying right now?
Plug in your current monthly bill
Your Monthly Savings
$0
Annual savings: $0
Real numbers
What happened after they switched
Actual savings and revenue from businesses that took the recommendation
We were spending $847/month across ConvertKit, ClickFunnels, and Teachable. Switching to Systeme.io cut our costs to $27/month. Same functionality, 97% cost reduction.
$820
Monthly Savings
1,200+
Students
As a marketing agency, we were paying $1,200/month for HubSpot. GoHighLevel replaced everything for $97/month. The white-label feature lets us resell it. $15K/month added revenue.
$1,103
Monthly Savings
$15K
New Revenue
I tried Kajabi, Kartra, and ClickFunnels before Lucky4 recommended Systeme.io. The free plan let me test risk-free. Six months later, I'm at $12K/month revenue on the $27 plan.
$395
Monthly Savings
$12K
Revenue
Managing 47 real estate agents. GoHighLevel's sub-account system means each gets their own branded CRM. We charge $97/month per agent. That's $4,559/month profit.
47
Agents
$4,559
Profit
The implementation checklist was worth more than the platforms. It showed me EXACTLY what to build first. I had my entire funnel, email sequence, and course live in 10 days.
10 Days
Setup Time
$8.4K
Month 1
We switched from Salesforce Enterprise ($2,400/mo) to GoHighLevel. Lost zero functionality we actually used. Saved $27,636 in year one. Our team adapted in 3 weeks.
$2,303
Monthly Savings
3 Wk
Onboarding
The comparison
The features that actually matter
We cut the 200-row feature grids down to what you'll use in your first year
| Feature | Systeme.io | GoHighLevel | HubSpot | ClickFunnels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $27/mo | $97/mo | $800+/mo | $147/mo |
| Free Plan | Yes (2,000 contacts) | No | Limited | No |
| Email Automation | Unlimited | Advanced | Included | Basic |
| Course Hosting | Unlimited | Included | Not available | Basic |
| White-Label | No | Full | No | No |
| Setup Time | 1-2 days | 1-2 weeks | 1-3 months | 1 week |
| Verdict | ✓ Recommended | ✓ Recommended | Skip | Skip |
The rejects
15 platforms that didn't make it (and why)
See the 15 platforms we cannot recommend
Click to expand and see why each was rejected
#01
✗
HubSpot
Enterprise-priced at $800+/month. Features solo businesses never use. Built for teams with dedicated RevOps staff.
#02
✗
Salesforce
Requires dedicated CRM admin. Implementation cost alone exceeds most small business annual budgets.
#03
✗
ClickFunnels
$147/month for capabilities you won't need for two years. Expensive for output received.
#04
✗
Kartra
Tries to do everything. Cluttered interface leads to high abandon rates at setup stage.
#05
✗
ActiveCampaign
Strong email tool alone but still needs 3-4 additional platforms to complete business stack.
#06
✗
Keap
Steep learning curve with poor onboarding resources for solo launches.
#07
✗
Pipedrive
Excellent for traditional sales pipelines. Lacks funnel and course tools most online creators need.
#08
✗
Zoho CRM
Capable feature set but inconsistent UX across modules makes daily use frustrating.
#09
✗
Freshsales
Solid mid-market tool. Automation depth too shallow for growing online businesses.
#10
✗
Monday CRM
Outstanding project management tool, not built for lead nurturing or client workflows.
#11
✗
Copper
Google Workspace exclusive. Too narrow for multi-platform businesses.
#12
✗
Insightly
Basic feature set at mid-range price. Most businesses outgrow it within six months.
#13
✗
Agile CRM
Free tier too restricted to validate fit. Paid plans don't justify cost jump.
#14
✗
Bitrix24
Feature-dense with no clear path. Users explore without activating anything useful.
#15
✗
Apptivo
Undercooked interface with slow support response times. Hard to build confidence.
Not sure which one?
Tell us what you're running. We'll tell you what to switch to.
Platform-fit questions, migration headaches, or "my CRM bill is insane" — all fair game.
- "Should I use Systeme.io or GoHighLevel?" — we'll just tell you
- "My CRM costs $400/month and I use 10% of it" — we hear this a lot
- "I need to migrate without breaking everything" — we've done this
FAQ
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between Systeme.io and GoHighLevel?
Systeme.io is built for solo creators ($27/mo with free plan). GoHighLevel is built for agencies ($97/mo) with white-labeling.
Can I use Systeme.io for free?
Yes. The free plan includes 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 membership site, and unlimited emails.
How much money can I save?
Our users report average savings of $587 per month. Examples: ConvertKit + ClickFunnels to Systeme.io saves $313/month.
How does Lucky4.tech make money?
We maintain affiliate relationships with Systeme.io and GoHighLevel. When businesses sign up, we receive compensation.