HighLevel SaaS mode: how it works and who it suits

SaaS mode is the part of HighLevel that lets you sell the software to your own customers under your own plan names and prices. A customer buys your plan, HighLevel creates a sub-account for them, and you earn the difference between what they pay you and what you pay HighLevel. HighLevel’s pricing page puts it as turning HighLevel into “your own sellable software product” [1]. This guide explains how it works, what you need before you start, who it suits and where it runs out of road. Everything is sourced to HighLevel’s own pages, read on 2026-10-31.

Prices and plan names move. Check the current plans on HighLevelaffiliate (opens HighLevel in a new tab) before you decide anything.

How we researched this

We have not run a SaaS-mode business and does not claim to. This guide is built from HighLevel’s pricing page and help-center articles, with the page’s “modified” date noted where HighLevel shows one. Where those pages leave a question open, we say so rather than fill it in. We earn a commission if you sign up through our links; that is disclosed on every link and does not change what we report.

What is SaaS mode?

Normally an agency uses HighLevel to run work for clients: you build pipelines, automations and sites inside a sub-account and bill the client for your service. SaaS mode changes the model. You sell access to the software itself, as a subscription you design, and each customer gets their own sub-account.

Three pieces make that work:

• SaaS plans you define in the SaaS Configurator: name, price, features, optional snapshot [3].
• Billing through your payment processor, so customers pay you and not HighLevel [2][3].
• Rebilling of usage such as phone, so you can charge customers for messaging and calls [2].

How it works, step by step

HighLevel’s own roadmap lists the order as: create an agency sub-account, activate the phone system, set up the white-label domain and white-label the desktop app, set up the API domain for system-generated links, activate premium features, connect your payment provider, then create and configure SaaS plans [5]. See our white-label guide for the domain steps, and the SaaS mode hub for every guide in this set.

1. Connect payments

SaaS V1 needs a Stripe account connected under Agency View, Settings, Stripe before you create plans; HighLevel calls Stripe the billing system of record in that version [3]. SaaS V2 instead uses a designated agency sub-account and a supported provider set up under Payments, Integrations in that sub-account [3]. A sub-account can use only one version at a time [4].

2. Create plans

In the SaaS Configurator you click Add Your Plan, pick the processor or billing architecture, then set category, pricing, features, snapshot, add-ons, marketplace apps, trial or credits and usage billing [3]. You must select at least one feature before saving [3]. Plans in a category should share a currency, because the category decides which upgrade and downgrade paths customers see [3].

3. Sell the plan

You can sell through a HighLevel funnel or by sale link. For funnel sales, the product must be tagged as an Agency Plan or no sub-account is created [4].

4. Provisioning

After a successful checkout HighLevel confirms the payment, creates or links the sub-account, applies the configured snapshot if one is attached, sets up customer access, and marks the subscription active or trialing [3]. New users receive a welcome email, subject “Activate your account” by default [4]. Our snapshots guide covers what a snapshot does and does not copy.

You can also hold new accounts for review. With “Pause new sub-accounts” turned on in the Configurator’s Security settings, new accounts show “Paused due to pending approval” until you approve or reject them [4].

5. Rebilling usage

Rebilling passes usage costs such as phone to the customer, charged through your Stripe account [2]. Setup has three conditions in HighLevel’s phone-rebilling article: the customer uses LeadConnector (LC) Phone rather than their own Twilio account; the customer adds their own card under the sub-account’s Company Billing page, and agencies “must not add their own card” there; and the sub-account has at least one account admin who is not an agency admin [2]. You then switch rebilling on for that customer in Manage Client [2].

Whether you can add a markup depends on your plan. The article says the $297 Unlimited plan can rebill only at cost, with a default 1.05x multiplier to cover Stripe charges, and that markup is only available on the $497 Founder plan [2]. What that means for your prices is covered in HighLevel SaaS mode pricing.

Requirements at a glance

Need	What the sources say
HighLevel plan	The $497 plan: SaaS Mode appears in the pricing-page FAQ for it [1] and on its plan card on HighLevel’s real estate page [6]; the help-center SaaS FAQ states no requirement [4]
Payment processor	Stripe (V1); Stripe, NMI, Authorize.net, Square (V2) [4]
Domains	White-label and API domains are part of HighLevel’s setup path [5]
Admin access	Agency Admin to use the Configurator [3]
Live payments	Test-mode purchases do not create sub-accounts [4]

Who SaaS mode suits

• You already have a repeatable offer for one type of business (for example, a lead-follow-up system for a single trade) and can describe it in one sentence.
• You can answer onboarding questions and support tickets, because the customer is a software user and you are the vendor.
• You are comfortable setting a recurring price that covers HighLevel usage, payment fees and your time. Our Agency Profit calculator lets you test that with your own numbers.

If you are weighing the plan fee against the rest of the costs, see HighLevel pricing: which plan fits and the sibling SaaS mode pricing guide.

Who should not use SaaS mode

• You want passive income with no support. Sources describe you as the vendor, and you handle refunds and credits manually [4].
• You are not ready to learn a large platform. Customers will ask you how it works.
• You expect HighLevel to find your customers. It provides the software, not the demand.

If your real question is whether the $497 plan pays for itself, see who should not pay for SaaS mode in the pricing guide.

Limits and gotchas

• SaaS V2 does not support proration for tier or interval changes [3]. The two help articles disagree on interval changes: the SaaS FAQ says V2 allows only same-interval changes (monthly to monthly, yearly to yearly) [4], while the Configurator guide says monthly and annual intervals can change as part of a supported upgrade or downgrade [3]. Test it before you promise customers an annual switch.
• You cannot change a plan category’s currency once sale links or active subscriptions exist [4].
• Stripe cannot be disconnected while active SaaS billing depends on it [4].
• Auto-recharge does not support 3DS-only cards [4].
• Disabling SaaS on an account deletes its wallet permanently [4].
• If a V1 Stripe price changes, re-import it into the selling sub-account before using it in a funnel; changing the plan does not update the price on an existing order form [3].

Pros and cons

Pros

• Customers pay you, under your plan names and prices [1][3].
• Sub-account setup and snapshot loading happen automatically at checkout [3].
• Phone usage can be rebilled, with markup on the Founder plan [2].

Cons

• Plan naming differs between HighLevel pages, so you must confirm the tier [1].
• Two SaaS versions with different rules for processors and plan changes [3][4].
• You are responsible for support, refunds and customer billing questions [4].

Next steps

1. Read the pricing guide and run your numbers in the Agency Profit calculator.
2. Decide on one niche and one plan, then read how to sell HighLevel SaaS.
3. If you are ready, start the 14-day trial and set up SaaS modeaffiliate (opens HighLevel in a new tab). HighLevel’s pricing page says billing begins automatically when the trial ends unless you cancel, and that usage fees may apply during the trial [1].