Manage seats and billing for seats

Seats in HubSpot define the level of access users have to features included with their subscription, while permissions control what users can view, create, edit, or delete within those features.

There are different seat types available based on your subscription that provide users with specific levels of access to tools and features in your account. Every user in a Starter, Professional, or Enterprise subscription is assigned a seat, and the type of seat determines what they can view, access, and do within your subscription services.

From View-Only Seats that allow users to view data without making changes, to Core and Sales, Service, or Commerce Seats that allow access to specific features. Assigning the correct seat ensures your team members have the right level of access for their role. Adding seats to your account and removing unused seats can affect your subscription billing. 

The seats-based pricing model only applies to new accounts and subscriptions created after March 5, 2024. Accounts created prior to March 5, 2024, that haven't migrated to the new pricing model will only have access to purchased Sales or Service paid seats for Legacy Sales Hub and Service Hub Starter, Professional, and Enterprise accounts. 

Before you get started

Before you begin working with this feature, review the following requirements, limitations and considerations.

• Seats must be unassigned before they can be removed.
• Seats can't be reduced below your subscription’s minimum commitment. For example, if your subscription includes five seats, you can't reduce to four seats.
• Removing seats doesn’t change your current invoice. Learn more about how seat changes affect billing.

Seat types

HubSpot offers different types of seats based on which subscription services you purchase, and each seat type provides differing access to users. 

Every user in a Starter, Professional, or Enterprise subscription will have a seat. The following are descriptions of each seat type:

• View-Only Seat: allows users to view your subscription services. Users with a View-Only Seat can't make any changes to the account. Certain tools are inaccessible to users with a View-Only Seat (e.g., social posts, forms).
• Core Seat: provides access to core features and tools in the subscription services you've purchased.
  • For Sales Hub Starter and Service Hub Starter, users with an assigned Core Seat will have access to Sales Hub and Service Hub features respectively. Sales Hub and Service Hub seats will only apply to Professional or Enterprise subscriptions.
  • For Commerce Hub Professional and Enterprise, users with an assigned Core Seat will have access to view quotes, not create or edit them.
  • Learn more in HubSpot's Products & Services catalog.
• Sales Seat (Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise): provides access to all features included with Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise.
• Service Seat (Service Hub Professional or Enterprise): provides access to all features included with Service Hub Professional or Enterprise.
• Commerce Seat (Commerce Hub Professional or Enterprise): provides access to all features included with Commerce Hub Professional or Enterprise.
• Partner Seat: a free seat that gives eligible HubSpot Solutions Partners and provider employees access to all features in a client's account.
• Developer Seat: a free seat that provides access only to the developer platform.

Please note: Developer Seats can't be combined with another seat or Super Admin permissions. If you would like to give a user with a seat access to the developer platform, a Super Admin can give the user the Developer tools access permission.

To understand the full scope of what each seat includes, learn more in HubSpot's Products & Services catalog.

Seat billing

Depending on your subscription, a certain number of seats are included. Purchase more seats at any time at a rate determined by your subscription tier. Once you’ve purchased seats, it's not possible to reduce the number of seats in your account until your next renewal date. Removing unassigned seats schedules the change for your next billing period, and your current invoice won't be adjusted.

If you're upgrading from HubSpot free tools to a Starter subscription, free seats are removed once you upgrade. Purchase the number of seats you require at checkout. Learn how to upgrade your HubSpot subscription.

To understand which type of seats your users need, learn more about seat types. If you need guidance about which and how many seats your users need, reach out to your Customer Success Team or Manager.

Add seats

To purchase additional seats:

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Users & Teams.
3. At the top, click the Seats tab. Review seat assignments, invite statuses, and last active dates for your users in your account.
4. To add additional seats, in the center, below the seat type you’d like to add seats for, click Add seats.
   
   
5. On the Seats purchasing page, click the up arrows to increase the number of seats, then click Continue.
   
   
6. Review the added seats at checkout and click Save & continue.
7. Click Complete purchase to confirm.

Remove unassigned seats

Remove unused seats from your subscription after they are unassigned. Seat removals are scheduled for your next billing period. Learn more about how seat changes affect billing. For further information, contact HubSpot's Sales team or the Contract Management team.

Please note: if removing users with an assigned seat, you must first remove any Sales Hub or Service Hub access they have to sales tools or service tools in user permissions.

To remove unassigned seats:

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Users & Teams.
3. At the top, click the Seats tab. Review seat assignments, invite statuses, and last active dates for your users in your account.
4. To review specific users, use the search bar and filters at the top of the table.
5. In the center, below the seat type you’d like to remove seats for, click Remove unassigned seats.
   
   
6. In the dialog box, select the unassigned seats dropdown menu and select the number of seats you want to remove.
   • The Current Subscription box shows the number you currently have.
   • The Auto-Renewal box reflects the billing adjustment that'll be effective at the start of your next subscription term.
7. Click Remove [#] seats.
   
   
8. In the dialog box, review the change in seats. Click Return to Account & Billing to close the dialog box.
9. After scheduling the removal of seats, view the confirmation banner. To cancel the seat removal, click Cancel this removal. Then, click Cancel this removal.

Please note: reassigning a seat that is scheduled to be removed before its downgrade's effective date cancels the downgrade.

Assign, unassign, and change seats

Assigning a seat to a user changes their seat type, but changing a user’s seat doesn't automatically change their permissions. Removing a seat from a user unassigns the seat, but you'll continue to be billed for it. Remove the unassigned seat to adjust billing.

To assign Core, Sales, Service, or Commerce seats, you must have a paid HubSpot subscription, and be on the seats-based pricing model.

Please note: if changing a user’s seat from a Core, Sales, Service, or Commerce Seat, to a View-Only Seat, their account must be active. If the user’s account is deactivated, you can reactivate the user to unassign their paid seat, then deactivate the user again.

To assign, unassign, or change a seat:

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Users & Teams.
3. In the Users table, hover over the user and click Actions, then select Change seat.
4. In the right panel, click the Seats dropdown menu and select the seat type. The seat types available will depend on your subscription (e.g., Core and View-Only for Starter subscriptions, Sales or Service for Professional and Enterprise subscriptions).
5. To remove a seat for a user, click x next to the seat.
6. At the bottom, click Save. 

You can also assign seats by navigating to the Users & Teams settings, clicking the Seats tab, hovering over a user, and clicking Change seat.

Transfer a Core Seat

To transfer a Core Seat to another user, if you only have one in your account:

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Users & Teams.
3. At the top, click the Seats tab.
4. In the user table, hover over the user, and click Transfer seat.
5. In the dialog box, click the Choose a user dropdown menu, and select the user to transfer the seat to. Click Transfer seat. Then, click Transfer seat.