Community Gamification in HighLevel

Updated: May 23, 2025  | 
Author: Bill Stilwell

This post covers how the points and level system works, how to customize level names and rewards, how the leaderboard is structured, and how to build workflows that respond to gamification events.

Reading time: about 10 minutes.

What Is Community Gamification in HighLevel?

Community Gamification adds a progression system to HighLevel community groups. It gives members a visible reason to post, comment, and interact – because every like they receive moves them closer to the next level.

The system runs automatically once it is in place. Members earn points, watch their profile badge update, see their rank on a leaderboard, and get notified when they level up.

None of this requires admin intervention after the initial setup.

What makes it more than a cosmetic feature is the workflow integration. You can trigger automations when a member reaches a specific level – send an email, grant course access, or award bonus points.

And you can manually grant points through a workflow action for activities that happen outside the community, like completing a course or submitting a form.

How Do Points and Levels Work?

Points work on a simple rule: every like a member receives on their post, comment, or reply equals one point for them. The person doing the liking does not earn points – only the author of the content that got liked does.

There are nine pre-defined levels with fixed point thresholds. Level 1 starts at zero.

Level 2 requires 5 points. Level 3 needs 20, Level 4 needs 65, Level 5 needs 155, Level 6 needs 515, Level 7 needs 2,015, Level 8 needs 8,015, and Level 9 requires 33,015 points.

Each member’s profile badge reflects their current level and updates automatically as they advance. A circular progress bar shows how far they are toward the next level along with how many points remain.

Levels are specific to each group – a member at level 5 in one group starts at level 1 in any other group they join.

Admins can rename any of the nine levels to match the community’s theme. The names appear on member profiles and in the leaderboard.

The point thresholds themselves are fixed and cannot be changed.

The Leaderboard

The leaderboard gives members a competitive view of how their point totals compare to others in the group. It shows rankings across three time frames: the past 7 days, the past 30 days, and all time.

The 7-day and 30-day views are useful for highlighting recently active members who may not have the highest overall totals yet. This keeps the leaderboard relevant for newer members who would otherwise always be buried under long-time participants.

The leaderboard also previews which courses unlock at specific levels – so members can see exactly what they are working toward, not just an abstract badge. This connects the gamification system directly to your course content library.

Custom level names configured by the admin are displayed in the leaderboard, so members see your community-specific tier names rather than generic “Level 1, Level 2” labels.

Rewards

Admins can add up to three reward descriptions in the gamification settings. These are plain text entries – a short sentence or phrase describing what a member earns at a certain level.

For example: “Reach Level 5 to win a $50 Amazon gift card” or “Level 7 members get a one-on-one strategy call.”

Rewards appear in the Leaderboard tab so members can see the incentive structure before they reach the qualifying level. This is a visibility tool – it motivates behavior by making the reward visible as a goal.

Rewards are not linked to levels programmatically. They cannot trigger automatically.

All reward fulfillment is manual – you track who qualifies and deliver the reward yourself. Workflow automations fill this gap if you want to automate delivery when someone reaches the right level.

Gamification Workflow Triggers and Actions

HighLevel has two workflow tools specifically for community gamification: a trigger and an action.

The User Group Gamification Level Changed trigger fires whenever a member reaches a new level in a community group. You set filters for the specific group and the specific level, so the workflow only activates for the exact condition you care about.

A common use is firing a congratulatory email when someone hits Level 5, or granting course access automatically when they reach Level 7.

The Grant Community Group Leaderboard Points action awards a configurable number of points to a contact for a specific group. You set how many points and which group they apply to.

The action can be added to any workflow, triggered by any event – course completion, form submission, tag added, or anything else in HighLevel. This is how you reward activity that happens outside the community itself.

One important rule: the contact must already be a member of the group or the workflow execution will fail.

What Can You Do With It?

• Drive consistent posting activity: Members who see their point total and level on their profile have a visible reward for contributing, which nudges more frequent posting without any prompting from you.
• Recognize your most active contributors publicly: The leaderboard shows who is engaging most in the past week, month, or all time – making active members visible to the whole community.
• Reward course completion with bonus points: Use the Grant Points workflow action after a course is completed to credit members for learning, not just social engagement.
• Gate course access by level: Set courses to unlock only when a member reaches a specific level, creating a progression path where learning content becomes available as members prove their engagement.
• Automate level-up recognition: The Level Changed trigger lets you send a personal congratulations email, add a tag, or grant access to a private channel the moment someone levels up – without watching manually.
• Incentivize onboarding with points: Award bonus points via workflow when a new member completes their profile, makes their first post, or submits an intake form – giving new members a quick early win.
• Give your levels meaningful names: Rename levels from generic numbers to community-specific titles that reflect your audience and make advancement feel more meaningful.
• Show members what they are working toward: The leaderboard course unlock preview and reward descriptions give members specific goals, not just abstract points.

Key Definitions

Use Cases by Industry

Business Coaching and Masterminds

A mastermind community uses level names like Apprentice, Practitioner, Advisor, and Maven. Members who reach Advisor level (Level 5) unlock a private mastermind channel.

The leaderboard makes the unlock preview visible, giving members a concrete target to work toward.

Result: Engagement climbs because members can see exactly what they get for reaching the next milestone.

Online Education and Certification

An educator ties course access to gamification levels. Foundational courses are visible to everyone.

Intermediate courses unlock at Level 4. Advanced modules open at Level 7.

Students who want to progress faster become more active contributors in the community.

Result: Course completion rates improve because community engagement is the unlock mechanism, not just a timer.

Fitness and Wellness

A fitness community awards bonus points via workflow whenever a member logs a completed workout using a form submission. Members earn social points from likes plus action points from logging – creating two distinct ways to climb the leaderboard.

Result: Both social members and quieter but highly active members have a path to recognition.

Professional Associations

An industry association renames their levels with titles that reflect experience: Newcomer, Contributor, Expert, Fellow, Distinguished Fellow. The titles carry meaning for the professional audience and create a status signal members want to display on their profiles.

Result: The gamification layer doubles as a reputation system that means something within the professional context.

Digital Marketing Agencies

An agency builds a client community with gamification enabled. When a client reaches Level 3, a workflow automatically enrolls them in an advanced strategy course and sends a personal note from the account manager.

The level-up trigger does the work without anyone watching the leaderboard manually.

Result: A personalized milestone recognition that feels thoughtful but runs entirely on automation.

Who Is This For?

How to Set Up Community Gamification

Step 1: Open the community gamification settings

Go to Memberships, then Communities, then Groups. Log in to your group and navigate to Settings, then Gamification and Rewards, then Gamification.

Step 2: Rename your level tiers

Click each level name field and replace the default label with something meaningful for your community. Use names your members will find motivating or aspirational.

Click Save after making changes – unsaved edits are lost.

Step 3: Add offline rewards

Go to Settings, then Gamification and Rewards, then Rewards. Add up to three reward descriptions as short text entries.

These display in the Leaderboard tab as visible incentives. Plan how you will fulfill them manually before publishing.

Step 4: Preview the leaderboard as a member would see it

Open the Leaderboard tab and review the 7-day, 30-day, and all-time views. Confirm that your custom level names and reward text display correctly before announcing the system to your members.

Step 5: Open Workflow Builder for a level-up automation

Go to Automation, then Workflows and create a new workflow. Click Add Trigger and select User Group Gamification Level Changed.

Step 6: Configure trigger filters

Set filters for the specific community group and the level number that should fire the automation – for example, Level 5 in your main community group. Filters ensure the workflow only runs for the right combination of group and level.

Step 7: Add level-up recognition actions

Connect the actions you want to fire when someone hits that level. Options include a congratulatory email, a new tag, course access via the Course Grant Offer action, private channel access, or bonus points via Grant Community Group Leaderboard Points.

Step 8: Build a bonus points workflow for off-platform actions

Create a second workflow triggered by a course completion, form submission, or any other HighLevel event. Add the Grant Community Group Leaderboard Points action, set the point amount, and select the group.

This rewards behaviors that happen outside the community feed.

Step 9: Announce the gamification system to your members

Post a pinned explanation in the community covering how points are earned, what the level names mean, what rewards are available, and what unlocks at each tier. Members who understand the rules engage with them.

Members who do not know the system exists ignore it.

How Does It Connect to HighLevel?

• Community Groups: Gamification is built into HighLevel Community Groups and is configured per group. Each group has its own independent level system and leaderboard.
• Courses and Memberships: Level-based course unlocks connect gamification directly to Courses and Memberships, making community engagement the gateway to learning content.
• Workflow Builder: The Level Changed trigger and Grant Points action make gamification fully automation-ready inside Workflow Builder – no manual monitoring required.
• Paid Community Memberships: Gamification works alongside Paid Community Memberships to reduce churn – members who have invested social capital in a leaderboard position have a stronger reason to stay.
• Community Affiliates: Members active enough to reach high levels are also prime candidates for the Community Affiliates referral program – combining two engagement incentive systems in the same group.

Common Questions

How do members earn points in a HighLevel community?

Members earn one point for every like their posts, comments, or replies receive. Only the content author earns points – not the person who clicked like.

Admins can also award additional points through the Grant Community Group Leaderboard Points workflow action.

How many levels does HighLevel community gamification have?

There are 9 pre-defined levels. Level 1 starts at 0 points and Level 9 requires 33,015 points.

Admins can rename each level but cannot change the point thresholds or add levels beyond 9.

What do badges look like in HighLevel communities?

Each member’s profile badge reflects their current level and updates automatically when they advance. A circular progress bar shows how far they are toward the next level and how many points remain.

What is the leaderboard in HighLevel communities?

A ranking view showing which members have earned the most points over the past 7 days, 30 days, or all time. It also shows which courses unlock at specific levels and displays the admin’s custom level names.

Are levels shared across community groups?

No. Levels are group-specific.

A member at level 5 in one group starts at level 1 in any other group they join. Points and level progress do not carry over between groups.

Can I automate rewards when a member levels up?

Yes. Use the User Group Gamification Level Changed trigger in Workflow Builder.

Set filters for the specific group and level, then add any action – email, tag, course enrollment, private channel access, or bonus points.

How does the Grant Community Group Leaderboard Points workflow action work?

It awards a configurable number of points to a contact for a specific community group. You choose the point amount and the group in the workflow setup.

The contact must already be a group member or the workflow execution will fail.

How do I add rewards in HighLevel community gamification?

Go to Settings, then Gamification and Rewards, then Rewards. Add up to three reward descriptions as short text.

They appear in the Leaderboard tab. Reward fulfillment is manual – the system shows them as visible goals but does not automate delivery.

Can I rename gamification levels in HighLevel?

Yes. Go to Settings, then Gamification and Rewards, then Gamification.

Click the level name to edit it and hit Save. Custom names show on member profiles and in the leaderboard.

Do members get notified when they level up?

Yes. Members receive in-app and push notifications when they reach a new level.

When a course tied to their new level unlocks, they receive in-app, email, and push notifications about the new course access.

To Wrap It Up

Community Gamification in HighLevel works because it taps into something that already happens naturally in any active group – members want recognition for their contributions. The points and levels system gives them a visible, persistent record of that recognition on their profile.

The workflow integration is what separates it from a cosmetic badge system. Being able to fire automations when someone levels up – and award points for activity that happens anywhere in HighLevel – turns gamification into a genuine engagement and retention tool rather than a novelty.

The offline rewards limitation is worth noting. If you want reward fulfillment to happen automatically, you need to build that on top of the system using the Level Changed trigger and workflow actions.

The built-in reward text is a display feature, not an automated delivery mechanism.

Here is how to get started:

1. Open the community group settings and go to Gamification and Rewards
2. Rename the nine levels with names that fit your community’s theme
3. Add up to three reward descriptions to motivate members toward key levels
4. Build a workflow triggered by User Group Gamification Level Changed at your most important milestone level
5. Add a Grant Points action to any course completion or form submission workflow to reward off-platform activity
6. Post a pinned explanation so members know how the system works
7. Check the leaderboard weekly to recognize top contributors publicly

The leaderboard 7-day view is one of the most underused features in the system. Highlighting it weekly in a community post – ‘here are this week’s top contributors’ – drives a competitive engagement loop that reinforces itself without any further prompting.