Paid Channels and Monetization Added to HighLevel Communities

TL;DR

HighLevel Communities now supports visible private channels and direct monetization with one-time or recurring payments. If you monetize community access, review your channel settings.

Who this affects

HighLevel has not confirmed which plans or tiers have access to this update, or whether it applies universally across all sub-accounts. Community operators looking to charge for specific spaces should check their settings; agencies not using Communities can safely ignore it.

What changed

HighLevel introduced visible private channels and native payment collection inside Communities. The updates include:

• Private channels can be toggled as Visible or Hidden to non-members.
• Visible private channels display in the sidebar with a lock icon, presenting channel details while restricting post access until the user joins.
• Channel pricing can be configured as Free, Recurring (monthly and/or annual), or One-time.
• Setup supports multiple currencies and includes a Test Mode toggle.
• Members can purchase access through a self-serve checkout flow directly on the web and the mobile app.
• Read-only channels can also be configured as visible, paid, or both.

HighLevel has not confirmed limits, plan gating, or replacement details for previous setups.

Where to find it

Navigate to Communities > Sidebar > Channels and click the + button to create or configure a channel.

How agencies will use this

An agency running a client sub-account can maintain a free community while gating premium content into separate spaces. Inside the community sidebar, the admin adds a new channel via the + button, marks it visible, and sets the pricing to a recurring monthly subscription.

The admin switches on Test Mode to confirm currency and checkout behavior before going live. Non-paying members browsing on web or the mobile app see the channel in the sidebar with a lock icon, review the channel details, and complete payment directly through the self-serve checkout without requiring manual access granting.

Our take

This is a major functional update for Communities. Handling monetization natively inside the community sidebar removes the need to patch together external billing systems just to restrict access to a specific channel. If you already use Communities to run client groups or paid masterminds, this simplifies the onboarding flow immediately.