In the User Subscription Model, users are automatically assigned a seat type based on how they're shared to core items in Smartsheet. These seat types affect whether you need to pay for those users or not.
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As a System Admin, understanding seat types is key to managing access, minimizing costs, and confidently navigating reconciliation periods. You can reduce a user's access by changing their seat type. If they need a higher level of access to an item, they need to request it in the item.
Overview of seat types
Seat type | Description | Who can be this type? |
|---|---|---|
Member | A paid user with full access to Smartsheet features | Internal or external users |
Provisional Member | A temporary seat type with full access, pending review during reconciliation | Internal or external users |
Viewer | A user with view-only access | Internal or external users |
Guest | A limited-access user (Editor or Commenter) who is external only | External users only (Business/Enterprise plans) |
Provisional Members are automatically promoted to paid Members at your true-up date unless you downgrade them during reconciliation.
Internal vs. external users
Whether a user is internal or external depends on their email domain:
- Internal user: Has an email address that belongs to a domain associated with your Smartsheet plan
ISP domains (for example, gmail.com) are counted as internal users.
- External user: Has an email address that doesn't belong to any domains associated with your Smartsheet plan
If you're unsure which domains are associated with your plan, reach out to the Support team through the Smartsheet Support Portal for assistance.
Seat type | Internal user | External user |
|---|---|---|
Member | Can be assigned at any time | Can be assigned at any time |
Provisional Member | Triggered by Commenter+ permissions plus qualifying action | Triggered by Admin permissions plus qualifying action |
Viewer | Triggered by view-only sharing | Triggered by view-only sharing |
Guest | Not applicable | Triggered by Editor or Commenter access |
Pro plans don't support the Guest seat type. External users are treated the same as internal users.
Seat type assignments
Smartsheet automatically assigns a seat type based on the permission level selected when sharing a core item with a new user.
Sharing scenario | Resulting seat type |
|---|---|
Internal user shared with Viewer permissions | Viewer |
Internal user shared with Commenter permissions or higher | Viewer with the ability to take a qualifying action and become a Provisional Member |
External user shared with Viewer permissions | Viewer |
External user shared with Editor or Commenter permissions (Business or Enterprise plan) | Guest |
External user shared with Admin permissions (Business or Enterprise plan) | Guest with the ability to take a qualifying action and become a Provisional Member |
Pro plans don't support the Guest seat type. External users are treated the same as internal users.
Can I change seat types?
Yes. System Admins can:
- Downgrade a Member or Provisional Member to Viewer, Guest, or remove their access
- Deactivate users who no longer need any access to Smartsheet
Users can be upgraded to a different seat type when they’re shared to core items with Commenter or higher permissions and then take a qualifying action.
You can also edit a user from the User Management page in Admin Center.
To see how seat types are currently assigned on your plan, download the seat type report from the Admin Center. It shows each user's seat type, email, and internal vs. external status—helpful when reviewing access or preparing for reconciliation.
For more on managing seat types, see Manage users in the User Subscription Model.