The pitch sounds familiar: an all-in-one platform with AI features for websites, funnels, CRM, email, SMS, and scheduling. Sellful is the latest white-label platform promising agencies a rebrandable AI marketing suite. But strip away the AI marketing copy and the architecture is the same model that created the GoHighLevel race to the bottom — a platform built for agencies, not for the businesses they serve.
TL;DR
Sellful is a white-label AI platform agencies buy for $99-$297/month, rebrand, and sell to you for $500-$2,000/month. You don't own your data, your website, or your automations — your agency does. At Optimal.dev, we manage our clients' entire growth strategy through the Webevo platform — sold directly to service businesses with no middleman markup. Get found. Get leads. Get booked. Get retained.
The White-Label Tax: Your Agency's Business Model, Not Yours
Here is how the white-label model works:
- An agency subscribes to Sellful for $99-$297/month
- The agency slaps their own logo on the platform
- They sell it to you for $500-$2,000/month as "their proprietary platform"
- You do not know you are using a mass-market white-label tool
- Your data, website, and automations live on the agency's account
This creates three structural problems:
Problem 1: You don't own your marketing infrastructure. If you fire the agency, you lose your website, your CRM data, your email lists, your automation workflows, and your entire marketing history. You start from zero with the next agency.
Problem 2: The markup is invisible. You are paying $1,500/month for a platform the agency pays $199/month for. The remaining $1,301 is the white-label tax — agency margin disguised as platform fees.
Problem 3: Support goes through a middleman. When something breaks, you call your agency. Your agency calls Sellful. Sellful responds in 24-48 hours. Your agency relays the response. A 10-minute fix takes a week.
AI Features on a White-Label Architecture
Sellful's AI additions — content generation, chatbots, automated campaigns — are real features on top of the GoHighLevel-style stack. But AI features do not change the underlying architecture:
| Factor | Sellful (via Agency) | Webevo Platform (Direct) |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns your data | The agency | You |
| Who controls your website | The agency | You |
| Monthly cost | $500-2,000 (agency markup) | Platform pricing (no markup) |
| If you leave | Lose everything | Take everything with you |
| AI architecture | AI added to white-label stack | AI-native from day one |
| Vertical presets | Generic (agency configures) | Industry-specific from onboarding |
| Support | Agency → Sellful → Agency → You | Direct |
The AI features make the white-label platform more capable. They do not make the business model any less problematic for the end customer.
The ownership test: Ask your agency one question — "If we part ways, can I keep my website, CRM data, email lists, and automation workflows?" If the answer is no, you are renting, not owning.
The Verdict: Direct Beats White-Label
The white-label model serves one customer well: the agency that resells it. For the end business — the dental practice, the MedSpa, the law firm — white-label creates dependency, invisible markup, and data hostage risk.
Our lane: get them found, get them leads, get them booked, get them retained. We don't manage patient charts, billable hours, or inventory — we fill your calendar. And we do it directly, with no middleman.
See What Direct AI Looks Like
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For related reading, see why GoHighLevel creates a race to the bottom, why Vendasta's white-label marketplace is the wrong model, and why prescriptive AI beats extension marketplaces.
