Kartra or HighLevel

Updated 2026-09-19

Stay on Kartra if your business is online products sold through pages and email and its hosting, checkout and helpdesk cover what you need. Move to HighLevel if you need a pipeline, booking, SMS with a local number, or more than one business under one login, and are paying elsewhere for those.

What Kartra is built for

Kartra is built as an all-in-one platform for creators and course sellers, combining pages, email, checkout, memberships, video hosting and a helpdesk in one system. It suits an online product business whose whole customer experience, from the sales page through delivery and support, is meant to run inside one login.

When pages and email stop being the whole business

A business built on Kartra often reaches a point where it sells by call and follow-up as well as by page and email, and starts needing a pipeline with stages, a booking calendar with round robin, SMS or a phone number tied to the same contact record, or a way to run more than one business or client under one login. These needs sit alongside the pages and checkout Kartra already handles well, not in place of them.

Running both motions from one account

With HighLevel, a pipeline, booking calendar, SMS and phone, and multiple sub-accounts sit on the same plan as pages and email (as at September 2026), so a business that has added a call-and-follow-up motion to its online products can run both in one account. Where Kartra can still be the fit: video hosting built into the checkout flow and a helpdesk built for digital-product support are part of what a course-first business needs, and a general CRM does not attempt to match that depth.

What the export covers and what video re-hosting costs you

Contacts and tags generally export as a CSV; verify current export options on Kartra's own site. Pages, sequences and memberships are rebuilt inside HighLevel, and checkout is recreated through Stripe. Video is re-hosted rather than transferred; check HighLevel's own course documentation for current hosting limits before moving a large library. Video hosting analytics and affiliate program data do not move and are lost in the switch (as at September 2026). Download any video assets you plan to keep before cancelling your Kartra account.

The pace video re-hosting sets

A Kartra move typically runs 4 to 8 weeks, as at September 2026, with video re-hosting usually the slowest part. The sending domain warm-up takes 2 to 4 weeks and should start on day one so it finishes alongside the rest of the rebuild. the setup timeline tool and the setup checklist cover the full sequence.

Video-and-checkout business, or call-and-follow-up too

Stay on Kartra if:

1. Video hosting and a helpdesk are part of how you deliver to customers.
2. Your funnels and email sequences are refined and working.
3. You run one business and have no need to separate accounts.

Move to HighLevel if:

1. You sell by call and follow-up as well as by page and email.
2. You need phone and SMS tied to the same contact record as your funnels.
3. You run clients or multiple businesses and want them under one login.

The mistake that stretches this move past its estimate is starting the video downloads late, since re-hosting a large library is the slowest single step and cannot be rushed once it is the only thing left to do. the plan fit test turns the conditions above into a verdict for your own business before you set a date.

Questions people ask

Can I move from Kartra to HighLevel?

Yes. Contacts and tags export as a CSV, and pages, sequences and memberships are rebuilt using that export as the reference; checkout is recreated through Stripe.

Does HighLevel host video?

Courses, memberships and communities are included on every plan (as at September 2026); check HighLevel's own course documentation for current video hosting limits before moving a large library.

Will my memberships transfer?

Membership rules and content are rebuilt rather than imported. Download your existing videos and content before cancelling Kartra so nothing is lost during the rebuild.

Is there a helpdesk in HighLevel?

HighLevel is built around the CRM, pipeline and conversations rather than a dedicated helpdesk product; if a support desk built for digital products is central to your delivery, weigh that directly against the channels you would gain.

How long does the move take?

Typically 4 to 8 weeks, as at September 2026, with video re-hosting usually the longest step. clickfunnels, kajabi and systeme io cover three other all-in-one platforms if one is closer to your current setup, and courses memberships communities goes into how course delivery works day to day on HighLevel.

Who should own a Kartra migration?

One named person, given how many separate pieces (pages, sequences, memberships, checkout and video) need rebuilding in parallel. Start the video downloads and the sending domain warm-up in week one, since both run in the background and both are slow to redo if skipped.

What about my affiliate program?

Affiliate program data does not move across and is lost in the switch, so export whatever reporting you need to keep before cancelling your Kartra account, and plan how affiliates will be tracked in the new setup before inviting them to it.

Does the helpdesk carry over?

No. Support tickets and their history stay in Kartra and are not imported, so close out or export any open tickets before cancelling. If a dedicated support desk is central to how you serve customers, weigh that need directly against the channels HighLevel adds.