HighLevel Founder Plan and the $20 AI Employee Starter Plan (LevelUp 2026)
By Dr Priya Jaganathan, GoHighLevel Certified Admin · HL Growth Partner · Updated 28 October 2026 · 5 min read
What the HighLevel Founder Plan and the $20 AI Employee Starter plan change after LevelUp 2026, with a use case, set-up steps and how an agency can sell them.
Part 1 of 10 in the LevelUp 2026 guide. Each release has a status label, an example use case, set-up steps and how to sell it. Checked against HighLevel's LevelUp Day release blog, changelog and help centre.
This is part 1 of 10 in my HighLevel LevelUp 2026 guide. HighLevel announced more than 300 features and updates at LevelUp 2026, on LevelUp Day (27 October 2026) in Dallas. This post covers two of the 20 biggest: Release 1, Founder Plan, and Release 2, $20 AI Employee Starter plan. Each one has a status label, what it is, why it matters, an example scenario, how to set it up and how an agency can sell it. The whole guide starts on the main LevelUp 2026 updates page.
Why listen to me? I was in the room at LevelUp Day. I run HL Growth Partner, a white-label HighLevel fulfilment partner in Brisbane. I'm a HighLevel Certified Admin and a Gold SaaSPRENEUR, and I build these features for agencies every week. Every launch here is checked against HighLevel's own LevelUp Day release blog, changelog and help centre. HighLevel's blog tells you what each feature does. This guide tells you what to do with it.
Release 1: HighLevel Founder Plan (formerly Agency Pro)
The Founder Plan is the new name for HighLevel's $497/month plan, previously Agency Pro. Existing customers move across automatically, at the same price. It adds exclusive features, including Industries, Workflow Maps, custom navigation and the A2P console, plus founder perks, HighLevel Partner introductions, and access to the $20 AI Employee Starter plan for clients.
Status: Live naming. HighLevel's pricing guide now lists the plans as Starter, Unlimited and Founder Plan. Some public pages still showed "Agency Pro" when I checked.
What it is. HighLevel's top plan, the $497/month plan previously called Agency Pro (and SaaS Pro before that), is now the Founder Plan. It isn't a new plan or a price rise. Existing $497 customers move across automatically. HighLevel is adding exclusive features to it. Here's what it has named so far:
- Industries
- Workflow Maps
- Custom navigation: rename, reorder, pin and hide menu items
- An A2P console: now the Agency Trust Center
- Founder perks: HighLevel has listed exclusive demo systems, a Founder Academy, in-office trainings at HighLevel HQ, a community leaderboard, and access to HighLevel Partner introductions
- Founders Club: "a new online community" with "special access for you guys", named on stage as a Founder Plan perk alongside more exclusive events, discounted event tickets and payment commissions. Status: Announced on stage.
- The $20 AI Employee Starter plan: available only on this plan
The other plans stay at $97 (Starter) and $297 (Unlimited), all in USD.
Why it matters. HighLevel is putting its newest value at the top tier. That's deliberate: small businesses only get those features by signing up under a founder. If you've been on $297 and asking yourself whether SaaS mode is worth it, the answer now involves more than SaaS mode.
Example scenario: agency deciding whether to upgrade (illustrative). Picture a two-person Brisbane agency on the $297 plan with 18 clients. Here's how it weighs the upgrade:
- $200/month more
- the $20 AI plan for each client, which it can rebill with markup
- Workflow Maps for audits
- Industries for its three restaurant clients
- a shot at HighLevel Partner leads
It upgrades once two clients agree to an AI bundle that covers the difference.
How to set it up. If you're already on $497, there's nothing to do. If you're upgrading, plan your client AI tiers and rebilling first, so the upgrade pays for itself from month one.
How an agency can sell this. You don't sell the Founder Plan to clients. You use what it unlocks. If you're a HighLevel affiliate, the $497 plan has a clearer story than ever, but stick to HighLevel's affiliate rules on incentives and disclosures.
Also announced for this release at LevelUp 2026:
- More Founder perks: more exclusive events, including events at HighLevel's two offices, and access to private betas. Status: Announced on stage.
Release 2: The $20 AI Employee Starter plan
The AI Employee Starter plan costs US$20 a month per client location, and only agencies on the $497 Founder Plan can use it. It includes a base allowance of Ask AI, AI Studio and Creator Studio, using standard models. AI agents such as Conversation AI, Voice AI, Reviews AI and Managed Agents are billed separately.
Status: Live (per HighLevel's pricing guide)
What it is. HighLevel's pricing guide now lists three AI Employee plans, each charged per enabled location:
| AI plan | Price (USD) | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| AI Employee Starter | $20/month per location | Only for businesses on HighLevel's $497/month plan. Base usage of Ask AI, AI Studio and Creator Studio, using standard models. AI Agents (Conversation AI, Voice AI, Reviews AI, Managed Agents) are billed separately |
| AI Employee Growth | $50/month per location | 2x the Starter usage for Ask AI, AI Studio and Creator Studio, plus generous limits across the full AI suite |
| AI Employee Unlimited | $97/month per location | Unlimited Conversation AI, Voice AI, Reviews AI and Content AI (fair use), plus 5x the Starter usage for Ask AI, AI Studio and Creator Studio |
| Pay-per-use | No monthly fee | Billed at token cost |
On agency plans ($97, $297 and $497), agency users get AI Assistants at no extra cost, subject to fair use. Ask AI, AI Studio and Creator Studio allowances reset in rolling five-hour windows. To rebill AI Employee usage to clients, your agency needs the $497 plan. Phone charges still apply to Voice AI calls.
Why it matters. The $20 Starter plan gives you a cheap way to put the AI builders and assistants into every client account. The catch is that it's only available on the $497 plan, so it's also part of HighLevel's case for upgrading.
Example scenario: café group (illustrative). Picture a three-venue café group in Fremantle.
- It goes on the $20 Starter plan for each venue so staff can use the AI tools for socials, emails and menu updates.
- It doesn't run Voice AI, so it doesn't need Growth or Unlimited.
- When it later adds an AI phone agent at one venue, that location moves to Growth.
How to set it up
- Check your agency plan. Starter needs the $497 plan.
- Map each client to Starter, Growth, Unlimited or pay-per-use, based on whether they use AI agents.
- Set your rebilling markup in Agency settings.
How an agency can sell this. Bundle AI into your tiers. For example, your Essentials plan includes the Starter AI plan, and your Pro plan includes Growth plus one agent. Don't list it as a confusing add-on.
Keep going through the LevelUp 2026 guide
- Next: Releases 3 and 4: Managed Agents and Outbound AI and database reactivation
- All of it: 300+ HighLevel LevelUp 2026 updates, every launch explained
