GoHighLevel Alternatives for Courses & Coaching (2027)

By Stefan Ciancio · Oct 20, 2026 · 9 min read

Quick Answer

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By Stefan Ciancio · Last checked September 26, 2026 · How ProcessingScoop reviews

GoHighLevel alternatives to compare for selling high-ticket courses and coaching include Commas, Kajabi, and ClickFunnels. Commas is one option for sellers who want integrated checkout, funnels, and customer financing. Kajabi offers a polished, all-in-one platform for courses and communities with built-in payments. ClickFunnels is a powerful funnel builder that integrates with external payment processors. HighLevel itself is best for marketing agencies managing multiple client accounts.

Part of our guide to Compare and switch processors

Who this is for

Commas is one option to compare for creators and coaches selling high-ticket digital products who want to offer customer financing on one-time products. It combines checkout, funnels, courses, and community features in a single platform with no monthly fee. HighLevel remains a strong option for marketing agencies managing many client sub-accounts. Kajabi is a great fit for creators who want an all-in-one platform with deep course and community tools. ClickFunnels is for marketers focused purely on building and optimizing sales funnels.

Card rates and plan prices compared

HighLevel offers a wide range of marketing and sales tools, but it may not be the perfect solution for every business, especially creators focused on high-ticket courses and coaching. Compare its features against several leading platforms that serve digital entrepreneurs.

Platform	Plan used here	Card rate	Source
Commas (formerly FanBasis)	No monthly cost	Quoted per seller	commas.com
HighLevel	Starter monthly subscription	Percentage plus per-transaction fee	gohighlevel.com/pricing
ClickFunnels	Launch monthly subscription	Percentage plus per-transaction fee	clickfunnels.com/pricing
Kajabi	Basic monthly subscription	Percentage plus per-transaction fee	kajabi.com/pricing
SamCart	Core monthly subscription	Percentage plus per-transaction fee	samcart.com/pricing
Stripe	Standard monthly subscription	Percentage plus per-transaction fee	stripe.com/pricing

Prices checked on September 26, 2026.

What you keep on varying sales

Platform	Fee on a sale	You keep on a sale	Fee on a larger sale	You keep on a larger sale	Plan price, billed separately
Commas (formerly FanBasis)	Quoted per seller	Quoted per seller	Quoted per seller	Quoted per seller	No monthly cost (Free to start)
HighLevel	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Starter monthly subscription (Starter)
ClickFunnels	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Launch monthly subscription (Launch)
Kajabi	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Basic monthly subscription (Basic)
SamCart	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Core monthly subscription (Core)
Stripe	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Processing fee	Net proceeds	Standard monthly subscription (Standard)

Fee = sale price x (card rate + platform fee) + fixed fee, using each platform's published domestic card rate on the plan shown. Currency conversion, international cards, payout fees and financing fees are extra where the platform charges them.

Card fees for a standard US card; plan subscription billed separately; excludes taxes, international cards and optional add-ons.

Financing compared across platforms

Platform	Financing and BNPL
Commas (formerly FanBasis)	Financing from listed providers, with the top end for B2B purchases. One-time products only, mostly US buyers.
HighLevel	Klarna, Affirm and Afterpay through Stripe, one-time payments only.
ClickFunnels	Depends on the connected processor (Stripe or Payments AI).
Kajabi	Afterpay and Klarna percentage plus per-transaction fee, one-time offers only.
SamCart	Klarna, Affirm and Afterpay percentage plus per-transaction fee, for one-time products only.
Stripe	Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay and Zip percentage plus per-transaction fee.

Commas: High-Ticket Courses and Coaching with Financing

Commas (formerly FanBasis) is designed for creators and coaches who sell high-value offers and want to provide their customers with flexible payment options. Its main feature is customer financing from 10 listed providers, which lets buyers pay for a one-time purchase over time, such as a course, coaching package or digital product. With financing options from ten different providers, Commas allows sellers to offer plans for amounts ranging from small to large totals for education programs and consumer products.

The platform combines checkout and payment links with advanced features like one-click upsells, invoicing, and a funnel builder. Commas says its Vibe Funnels tool can import existing funnels from platforms like ClickFunnels and GoHighLevel. The Studios feature lets sellers bundle courses with a paid community, creating a comprehensive learning experience.

Commas' pricing model is also distinct. According to its homepage FAQ, it's "Free to start selling! We make money when you make money." There are no monthly subscription fees. Instead, rates for payment processing are provided in the seller dashboard or through a written agreement. Commas' terms make Commas the contracting merchant for each sale, with sellers acting as service providers.

Who is HighLevel For?

HighLevel is an all-in-one platform built primarily for marketing agencies. Its core strength lies in its ability to manage multiple client accounts (sub-accounts) from a single dashboard. Agencies can use it to provide a full suite of services, including CRM, email marketing, SMS, funnel building, and appointment scheduling, all under their own brand. The platform's pricing, with its Unlimited and Agency Pro plans, reflects this focus on serving multiple clients.

For a solo creator or coach, HighLevel can be overly complex and expensive compared to more focused alternatives. While it has course and community features, they are part of a much larger toolset. Processing is handled by connecting third-party providers like Stripe and PayPal, so pricing and features depend on the processor you choose.

ClickFunnels: Best for Sales Funnel Optimization

ClickFunnels is a name synonymous with sales funnels. It's the ideal choice for marketers who are laser-focused on building and optimizing conversion pathways. If your primary goal is to guide customers through a series of pages, from lead capture to sales page to upsells, ClickFunnels provides a powerful and intuitive visual editor to do it. It offers features like A/B testing to help maximize the performance of each step in your funnel.

While ClickFunnels has added course and community features, its core competency remains funnels. It's less of an all-in-one business platform than Kajabi or Commas. For instance, the affiliate center is only available on its higher-tier plans (Optimize and Dominate). Processing is done via Stripe or Payments AI, without an additional platform fee on sales, which makes its pricing predictable. Find more options in our list of the best Stripe alternatives.

Kajabi: Best All-in-One for Content-Rich Courses

Kajabi provides a polished, integrated experience for creators who want to build a business around their content. It's an excellent choice if your primary products are detailed courses, coaching programs, and membership communities. The platform handles everything from website and landing page creation to email marketing, and it has its own integrated payment processor, Kajabi Payments.

Kajabi's strength is its seamless integration. You can host your course videos, build a community, run marketing campaigns, and take payments all in one place without needing to connect multiple tools. However, this convenience comes at a higher monthly price than many alternatives, and Kajabi charges platform fees if you use a third-party processor. Additionally, its affiliate tools are reserved for the Growth and Pro plans, and BNPL options are limited to one-time offers.

SamCart: Best for E-commerce-Style Checkouts

SamCart specializes in creating high-converting checkout pages for digital and physical products. Its focus is on maximizing the value of every transaction through features like one-click upsells, order bumps, and A/B testing of checkout page designs. If your main challenge is cart abandonment or you want to increase your average order value, SamCart is a strong contender.

It includes a courses app for hosting content but lacks a built-in community feature, making it less of an all-in-one solution than Kajabi or Commas. Many of its key conversion-boosting features, including the affiliate center and A/B testing, are only available on the more expensive Pro plan. SamCart offers its own processor, SamPay, and also integrates with Stripe, with BNPL options like Affirm and Klarna available for one-time purchases. For more subscription options, see our guide to the best recurring payment processor.

Stripe: Best for Custom Payment Solutions

Stripe is not a direct competitor to all-in-one platforms like HighLevel or Kajabi, but it's a critical component for many of them. Stripe is a payment processing platform for businesses of all sizes. It's the right choice if you are building a custom platform, a mobile app, or have a complex billing model that other systems can't support. It provides powerful APIs that developers can use to create tailored payment experiences.

Stripe excels at payments but provides none of the other tools creators need, such as funnel builders, course hosting, community management, or affiliate marketing centers. It offers a wide array of payment methods, including cards, wallets, and BNPL services like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay. If you're using a platform like HighLevel or ClickFunnels, you are often using Stripe under the hood. Learn about other choices in our list of the best PayPal alternatives.

Pros and cons of each platform

Commas (formerly FanBasis)

Pros: No monthly subscription fees. Integrated checkout, funnels, courses, and community. Wide range of financing partners for high-ticket offers. Supports recurring invoices, subscriptions, and an affiliate center. Payouts to ACH, RTP, wire, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App and crypto.
Cons: Payment processing rates are not publicly listed. Financing is limited to one-time products and mostly for US buyers. Settlement for new accounts is delayed to 5 business days for the first 30 days. Terms allow for reserves or holds.

HighLevel

Pros: All-in-one platform for agencies. Can be white-labeled for client services. Unlimited plan allows for unlimited sub-accounts. Includes CRM, funnels, and marketing automation.
Cons: Monthly fees can be high for solo creators. Can be complex to set up and manage. Lacks the deep financing integrations of Commas. Processing is via third-party providers with their own fees.

ClickFunnels

Pros: Dedicated funnel builder. No platform fees on sales. All plans include course hosting.
Cons: Affiliate center is only on more expensive plans. Less of an all-in-one solution compared to Kajabi or Commas. Monthly plans can be expensive for the features provided on lower tiers.

Kajabi

Pros: Polished, all-in-one platform for courses and communities. Integrated payment processing with Kajabi Payments, with lower card rates on higher plans.
Cons: High monthly costs. Charges platform fees for using third-party processors. Charges an extra fee on subscriptions and payment plans on Kajabi Payments. Affiliate program is not on the Basic plan. BNPL is only for one-time offers.

SamCart

Pros: Excellent for optimizing checkout conversion. Includes course hosting on its Core plan. No added platform fees when using SamPay or Stripe.
Cons: Lacks a built-in community feature. Key features like 1-click upsells and the affiliate center are only on the Pro plan. Monthly cost is relatively high for a checkout-focused tool.

Stripe

Pros: Powerful and flexible payment processing. Supports a huge range of global payment methods. Transparent, flat-rate pricing for cards. Excellent developer tools and APIs.
Cons: It is a payment processor only; does not include funnels, course hosting, community, or affiliate tools. Requires technical integration or a third-party platform to use. Fees can add up with international payments or currency conversion.

Who should choose something else

Businesses that are not a good fit for Commas should consider other platforms. If you need simple, publicly listed pricing for payment processing and do not need financing, a platform like Kajabi with its integrated payments or ClickFunnels with Stripe integration may be better. If your business focuses heavily on subscriptions and you want to offer financing on them, you'll need to look elsewhere, as Commas financing is for one-time products. For sellers with a primarily non-US customer base, the US-centric nature of most of Commas' financing partners is a significant limitation. Finally, marketing agencies that manage accounts for multiple clients will find HighLevel's multi-account structure indispensable.

Verdict

For coaches, creators, and digital product sellers focused on high-ticket offers, Commas is the top alternative to GoHighLevel. Its built-in financing options, which allow customers to pay for expensive programs over time, are a decisive advantage. Combined with its lack of monthly fees and integrated suite of tools for funnels, courses, and communities, it provides a powerful platform for scaling a high-value digital business. While other platforms offer pieces of this puzzle, Commas brings them together in a way that directly addresses the main challenge of selling high-ticket items: making them affordable for the buyer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between Commas and GoHighLevel?

The main difference is their target audience and core features. GoHighLevel is an all-in-one platform built for marketing agencies to manage multiple client accounts. Its strength is its multi-tenant architecture. Commas is built for individual creators and coaches selling high-ticket digital products. Its core strength is the deep integration of buy now, pay later and other financing options from ten different providers, making expensive offers more accessible to buyers. Commas also has no monthly fee, unlike HighLevel's subscription plans.

Is Commas free to use?

Commas has no monthly subscription fees. According to its homepage FAQ, it is "Free to start selling! We make money when you make money." This means you don't have a fixed monthly cost just to have an account. Instead, Commas charges fees on the transactions you process. These rates are not published on a public pricing page but are shown in the seller's dashboard or set in a written agreement. There are also fixed fees for certain services, like payouts via ACH or wire, and a percentage fee for subscription recovery services.

Can I use Commas if my customers are outside the US?

Yes, Commas supports global sales through various payment methods, including cards, wallets, crypto, SEPA, and over 80 local methods. However, its significant advantage, buyer financing, is primarily available only to US-based customers. According to its documentation, almost all of its ten financing partners require buyers to be in the US. Sezzle is one exception, serving customers in the US and Canada. Therefore, if a large portion of your audience is outside the US, the financing features will be less impactful for your business.

Does GoHighLevel have its own payment processor?

HighLevel does not publish a processing rate of its own. Payments run through connected providers such as Stripe, PayPal, NMI, Authorize.net and Square, so the fees and terms you pay are set by the processor you connect. For example, with Stripe you pay Stripe's published rate of a percentage plus a per-transaction fee per domestic card transaction. Buy now, pay later options (Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay) run through Stripe on one-time products only.

Which platform is best for building sales funnels?

For a pure focus on building and optimizing sales funnels, ClickFunnels is arguably the best choice. It was designed specifically for this purpose and has a very powerful, mature set of tools for creating complex multi-step funnels with A/B testing and detailed analytics. While other platforms like Commas, HighLevel, and Kajabi include funnel builders, they are part of a broader, all-in-one feature set. ClickFunnels' dedication to the art and science of the funnel makes it a specialist in that area.

How does Commas' merchant model work?

Commas' terms make Commas the contracting merchant for each sale, with sellers acting as service providers. In this model, the platform (Commas) is the entity that contracts with the customer and processes the payment. The seller (the course creator or coach) is then considered a service provider to Commas. This is different from the model used by platforms like HighLevel or ClickFunnels, where you connect your own Stripe or PayPal account and are the direct merchant in the transaction.

Can I offer payment plans on these platforms?

Yes, all of the platforms discussed, Commas, HighLevel (via Stripe), Kajabi, and SamCart, support subscriptions and recurring payment plans. Commas allows for fixed-term subscriptions and recurring invoices. Kajabi and SamCart have robust subscription features. However, it's important to note that buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing is typically available only for one-time product sales, not for recurring subscriptions. Kajabi also charges an extra fee on subscriptions and payment plans processed through Kajabi Payments.