Is LeadPages Still Worth It After the Price Hike?
The 50%+ price increase pushed me away - but is it still the right landing page tool for you?
For many years, I’ve recommended LeadPages to my clients, readers, and course students as a platform to build and maintain landing pages as well as complete websites. As everything I recommend, I used it myself to manage my online presence for nearly a decade. It was easy, fast, and reliable. And most importantly: fun to use. I liked pushing the platform to its boundaries, and creating things most others didn’t.
When I originally signed up, it made sense to pay for a done-for-you platform that allowed me to spin up a landing page in minutes without needing to code anything. For a long time, it felt like a fair deal, as it solved a lot of headaches and saved me significant time. I was ok with some platform constraints as a tradeoff.
But in the last year, LeadPages changed its pricing model. And that decision changed everything for me.
From grandfathered promise to broken trust
Like many long-term users, I was on a grandfathered price plan. One of LeadPages’ original selling points was that if you signed up early, you’d be locked into your rate for life, no surprise increases. This is a model I wish more companies adopted.1 I took them at their word. After all, that was part of what sold me.
That promise quietly disappeared.
Out of the blue, I was informed that my $579 USD/year Pro plan would jump to $888. Admittedly, even at my original rate I’d have to catch my breath every year as the Canadian Peso never converted that US dollar price tag in my favour. The new price would push that well above a thousand dollars, where I had to draw a line. It wasn’t about the money as much as it was about the principle of a broken promise, which ultimately broke my trust.
So I complained, and I was offered a “discounted” rate of $599 as a courtesy, but that still meant paying more—with no change to my needs or usage. And as a Canadian, the worsening exchange rate means this hike hit even harder. What used to be manageable is now well over $1,000 CAD annually for a tool I rarely touch these days.
So I reached out to customer support again.
Their response? “Grandfathered rates are not promised nor guaranteed.”
Ouch.2
For me, it was the last straw, but also the final push I needed
What I do today is more personal: writing, teaching, building. LeadPages used to help me do that within a structured system. But when they doubled my rate, that structure started to feel more like a constraint than a convenience.
Ironically, the price hike became an unexpected gift: it pushed me to invest in building something I truly own.
I dusted off my coding skills and began creating self-hosted landing pages using lightweight, modern tools3. It took a bit of time, but the result was my own platform that gives me full creative control. I can finally do things that were never possible inside the rigid box of a SaaS template system.4
While I haven’t looked back, I also realize that the huge amount of additional work to get things up and running again isn’t for everyone. While I may enjoy putting together a new online project on a rainy Vancouver Sunday afternoon (preferably with a bottle of wine), your priorities may be different.
But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong for you
So billing disputes aside, I’m not here to trash LeadPages, because for the right person, it can still be a fantastic solution. If you’re just getting started, or you simply want to launch quickly without worrying about code, hosting, or design quirks, LeadPages might still be the best tool for the job.
They’ve added AI tools, blog hosting, custom domains, and team features that can be a great fit for growing small businesses. And if time is your most precious asset, their drag-and-drop builder can get you from idea to launch in record time.
Sometimes, principles matter more than price
For me, it just wasn’t the right fit for me anymore. Especially when the price jumped and the principles shifted. I was fine working within the constraints of a platform designed by someone else, until they changed the terms. At that point, the incentive tipped in favor of independence. I chose creative freedom over convenience, and that trade-off was worth it for me.
But not everyone wants to build their own thing from scratch. And that’s okay.
If you’re not ready to code or host your own site, and you just want to build fast, LeadPages is still worth considering. But go in with your eyes open. Don’t assume the price you sign up for today will be there tomorrow.
Get Into Action
If you’re currently using LeadPages and weighing your options, ask yourself:
Are you paying for ease and speed, or are you settling out of habit? There are other options available that may work for you (see below or visit my VIP Lounge for additional links and resources).
If you’re still curious about LeadPages, you can explore the platform using the link below to claim a 2 week free trial.
Use what works, for you.
