Despite promoting itself as an “all-in-one” platform, GoHighLevel does not feature its own payment gateway.
To use the platform properly and start making sales, you must connect with at least one of five available payment provider options.
Key Takeaways:
- Stripe is the default payment provider and essential for SaaS sellers
- You cannot enable the many other payment options unless you use Stripe
- GoHighLevel will be introducing Square as a payment gateway soon
Which GoHighLevel Payment Gateway Is Best?
1. Stripe: Essential for Using GoHighLevel (Especially If You Sell SaaS)
If you want to make the most of GoHighLevel, you need to use Stripe. In fact, many of the platform’s payment features—including the ability to sell the platform as SaaS—are only possible if you connect to Stripe.
Using this payment provider means you can:
- Sell products and services using online order forms
- Use the “one-time charge” automation in workflows
- Set up payments for calendar bookings (although you can use Authorize.net for this, too)
- Use text-to-pay (where you can send an automated SMS to customers containing a link to pay for a product or service)
- Create and configure GoHighLevel SaaS plans
- Enable rebilling and reselling
- Enable Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Affiliate payments
So, what is Stripe, exactly?
Although it’s not the most popular payment gateway out there (that honor goes to Square), it’s still hugely popular and used by almost three million websites to take payments.
Its robust infrastructure and security features make it a reliable choice for online payments. Plus, I’ve found it really easy to set up and use.
Currently, Stripe is available in 46 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. Once your country supports Stripe, you can use it to sell to anyone in the world.
Here’s what Stripe’s fees look like:
| Payment type | Stripe fees |
|---|---|
| One-time transaction | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| International card fees | 1.5% |
| Currency conversion | 1% |
| Sales tax calculation | 0.5% |
| Dispute handling | $15 |
| Buy now, pay later | From $5.99 + $0.30 |
Based on US transactions and amounts
2. PayPal: Alternative Worldwide Option
PayPal is another big global player that has been around for a long time. It’s used in most countries and supports over 25 currency types. If you live somewhere that doesn’t support Stripe, PayPal is your next best option.
However, unlike Stripe, you can’t use PayPal for many of GoHighLevel’s features. You’re limited to using it to sell products and services via an online order form and for affiliate payments only.
So, while it’s the best option globally, it’s got far more limitations within GoHighLevel, which is a shame.
You may also not like the fees, which are a lot higher than Stripe’s:
| Payment type | PayPal fees |
|---|---|
| One-time transaction | 3.49% + $0.49% |
| International card fees | 1.5% |
| Currency conversion | 4% |
| Sales tax calculation | N/A |
| Dispute handling | $15 |
| Buy now, pay later | N/A |
Based on US transactions and amounts
3. Network Merchants, Inc. (NMI): Great for White Label Customization
NMI differs from Stripe and PayPal since it goes beyond providing a payment gateway to facilitate transactions.
The platform is a white-label solution for merchants who want to create a customized and branded payment portal. This allows them to create a payment gateway that works any way and anywhere customers want to pay.
Because of this, it’s more complex to set up and use than other payment gateways, but the payoff is that you get a tailored solution for your business.
However, like PayPal, you can only use NMI with GoHighLevel to sell products and services. Also, NMI doesn’t have set fees—their platform is available at bespoke pricing according to the features you want.
Therefore, I recommend this option to established businesses looking to enhance their capabilities and serve their customers more efficiently on GoHighLevel and outside of it.
4. Authorize.net: For US and Canadian Businesses
Authorize.net is primarily used in the USA, Canada, and, to some extent, Europe and Australia. However, since the platform was built for North America, it only supports the USD and CAD currencies.
The main draw of Authorize.net is that you can use it as a payment gateway with or without a merchant account. So, if you already have a merchant account elsewhere, you can simply use Authorize.net to process the payments.
Where GoHighLevel is concerned, the integration allows you to take payments online, payments for calendar bookings, and affiliate payments.
Because of the slightly different setup, the platform offers a simplified fee system, which includes a flat monthly fee of $25 plus transaction charges.
Overall, I’d say that this is a great choice if you are a US or Canadian business serving local customers. For those dealing with payments worldwide, use Stripe.
Here’s a glance at the fees:
| Payment type | Authorize.net fees |
|---|---|
| Monthly flat fee | $25 |
| All-In-One plan: One-time transaction | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Payment Gateway-Only plan: Processing rate | 10¢ plus a daily batch fee of 10¢ |
| Dispute handling | $25 |
Based on US transactions and amounts
5. Razorpay: Best for India
If you’re based in India, you will have already heard of Razorpay since it has grown to be one of the largest payment gateways in the country. It has also begun to expand its reach into Southeast Asia and beyond.
If you compare Razorpay to Stripe, you will see that they are very similar platforms offering very similar features. The key difference is that Razorpay serves an Indian customer base while Stripe has a more global focus.
That said, Razorpay supports over 100 currencies, making it a suitable option for India-based businesses looking to facilitate payments worldwide.
Its fees aren’t bad, either. However, bear in mind that all of the fees below are subject to an additional 18% GST (India’s obligatory sales tax), which raises them slightly higher:
| Payment type | Razorpay fees |
|---|---|
| One-time transaction | 2% |
| International card fees | 3% (3.5% for Amex) |
| Currency conversion | 3% |
| Sales tax calculation | N/A |
| Dispute handling | ₹300 |
| Buy now, pay later | 2%-3% |
Based on Indian transactions and amounts
Upcoming Payment Gateway Developments
One thing I know is that GoHighLevel isn’t one to sit on its laurels. They are constantly updating the platform, and their payment gateways are no exception.
According to the GoHighLevel feedback and roadmap portal, we can look forward to the following in the near future:
- The addition of Square (This is HUGE—Square is the world’s largest payment gateway)
- Affirm, Klarna, and AfterPay capabilities enabled within Stripe
- Localized payment integration solutions for countries not supported by any of the current options
- Payment integration solutions that are popular in certain countries: For example, the Netherlands will get the IDEAL payment gateway option soon
When these enhancements will arrive is anyone’s guess. However, I will update this article the moment anything changes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will GoHighLevel Introduce Its Own Payment Gateway?
There is currently no information on whether or not GoHighLevel will create a native payment gateway for its platform. If news does become available, I will update this article accordingly.
What Do I Do If GoHighLevel Doesn’t Support My Preferred Payment Gateway?
If GoHighLevel does not support your preferred payment gateway, you can use Zapier to connect the two platforms. Another solution is to facilitate payments entirely outside of GoHighLevel.
Does GoHighLevel Charge Transaction Fees on Sales?
No, GoHighLevel does not charge any transaction fees on sales made within the platform.
