Annual or monthly

Updated 2026-09-19

Pay monthly until your pipeline, calendar, sending domain, contact import and first workflow have handled a real customer, which takes most businesses one to three months. Move to annual after that if you intend to stay, because the saving is real and the only risk in committing is paying for a full year of a setup that never got finished.

The prices, as at September 2026

Starter is $97 a month or $970 a year. Unlimited is $297 a month or $2,970 a year. Agency Pro is $497 a month or $4,970 a year. On every plan, the annual price equals ten times the monthly price rather than twelve, which means paying annually costs the equivalent of about two months less than paying month by month across a year.

The one rule that settles it

Stay on monthly billing until the five core pieces, sending domain, contact import, pipeline, calendar and first workflow, have run with a real enquiry, not a test contact. Once that is true, and the business intends to keep running on the platform for the year ahead, move to annual for the saving. If either condition is not yet true, monthly costs a little more per month but carries none of the risk of a mid-year cancellation on a plan you paid for upfront.

When monthly is the right call

Monthly suits an account under three months old, an account where the person who owns the setup might change, or a business still deciding between HighLevel and another tool it also pays for. In each of these cases, the flexibility to stop paying at the end of any month is worth more than the two months of savings annual offers, because the downside of an annual commitment that does not work out is larger than the upside of the saving.

When annual is the right call

Annual suits a business where the setup is complete, in use, and the plan fits: the sub-account count, the feature set and the usage volume all match what the business actually needs. At that point the saving carries little downside, since nothing about the fit is still uncertain. This is also the point at which the what you can cancel list should already be mostly executed, since a business still running two CRMs in parallel has not yet reached the point where annual makes sense.

Refunds and mid-term changes

HighLevel's published pricing page does not set out a refund policy for annual plans or the exact process for changing plans mid-term. Read the current terms in your account or ask HighLevel support directly before committing to annual, particularly if there is any chance the sub-account count or plan tier will need to change before the year is out. Do not treat an annual commitment as reversible without checking this first.

The trap: annual bought on day one

A common mistake is paying annually in the first week, often on a promoter's urging rather than the business's own proof of fit. If the setup then stalls, an account nobody finishes configuring, the business has paid a year upfront for a subscription it never used properly, which is a worse outcome than paying monthly at a slightly higher rate while the setup gets proven. The mirror mistake is an agency buying Agency Pro annually before confirming reselling is actually the plan, rather than starting on Unlimited until that decision is settled.

A worked comparison

On Starter, twelve months of monthly billing costs $1,164. Twelve months on the annual plan costs $970, a difference of $194 across the year, paid upfront instead of month by month. On Unlimited, monthly across a year costs $3,564 against $2,970 annual, a difference of $594. The saving grows with the plan tier, which is also why the downside of committing early grows with the plan tier: paying $4,970 upfront on Agency Pro for a reselling plan that turns out not to fit is a larger loss than the same mistake on Starter.

How this fits the rest of the decision

Annual or monthly is a timing decision, not a plan decision. Work out which plan fits using the plans page and the fit test first, then decide on billing frequency only once the plan itself is settled. If the arithmetic on whether HighLevel pays for itself at all is still open, read is it worth it before either billing decision.

Questions people ask

Should I pay yearly for HighLevel?

Only once the core setup has run with a real customer and you intend to stay on the platform for the year. Before that, monthly carries less risk for a small ongoing cost.

How much does the annual plan save?

The annual price on every plan equals ten times the monthly price, so paying annually costs roughly two months less across a year than paying month to month.

Can I get a refund on an annual plan?

HighLevel's pricing page does not publish a refund policy for annual billing. Check the current terms in your account or ask support directly before you pay annually.

Can I switch from monthly to annual later?

Nothing in HighLevel's published pricing suggests this is restricted; the more useful question is whether your setup and plan choice are actually proven yet, not whether the switch is technically possible.

Can I change plans on an annual contract?

Confirm the current mid-term plan-change process with HighLevel support before committing to annual if there is any chance your sub-account needs will change before the year ends.