User type and permission level both impact how you can interact with Smartsheet.
User Type is determined by the System Admin and designates what you can and can't do with your own Smartsheet account. For example, a licensed user (in the Legacy Collaborator Model) or a Member (in the User Subscription Model) can create new sheets, reports, and dashboards in Smartsheet while Viewers and Guests can only interact with items shared to them.
Sharing Permissions determine how the collaborators shared to the asset are able to interact with it.
User type and sharing permissions are independent from each other.
User types
Permission-based user types help System Administrators understand the users for the plans they manage.
See the information below that matches your plan’s model.
If you're unsure about your model type, learn how to determine the model your plan is on.
User Subscription Model
Admin-type User Accounts
Smartsheet supports three different admin roles for administrators who manage different aspects of your Smartsheet plan.
When someone has permissions for an Admin role, it doesn’t affect their user type.
| Admin access type | Definition | Paid access needed? |
|---|---|---|
| System Admin | System Admins manage users and adjust plan-level settings for everyone in the account. Best practice is to have more than one System Admin. See Admin Center: Set security controls for your account and Admin Center: Add, edit, or delete users for more details. | No |
| Plan Asset Admin | Plan Asset Admins manage access requests on items where no other user has Owner or Admin permissions. | Yes |
| Group Admin | Group Admins can create and manage groups based on contacts in their Smartsheet contact list. | Yes |
Permission-based user types
| User type | Definition | This information helps you | How to assign a user |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viewer | Internal or external users without a license who have only Viewer permissions on assets | Understand the value of free use of your plan | Grant Viewer permissions to one or more assets. |
| Guest | External users without a license who have Commenter or Editor permissions on one or more assets | Keep track of external users and their permissions | Grant external user, Commenter or Editor permissions to one or more assets. |
| Member | Internal or external users who have been assigned a license. They can have full access permission. See more details below. | View and manage the user and their access permissions | Assign a license to the user. |
If a user’s email address domain matches one of the domains associated with the plan, they’re considered an internal user. If it doesn’t match any of the domains associated with the plan, they’re an external user.
See the User Subscription Model System Admin overview article for more information.
Legacy Collaborator Model
Admin-type User Accounts
Smartsheet supports three different admin roles for administrators who manage different aspects of your Smartsheet plan.
When someone has permissions for an Admin role, it doesn’t affect their user type.
| Admin access type | Definition | License needed? |
|---|---|---|
| System Admin | System Admins manage users and adjust plan-level settings for everyone in the account. Best practice is to have more than one System Admin. See Admin Center: Set security controls for your account and Admin Center: Add, edit, or delete users for more details. | No |
| Plan Asset Admin | Plan Asset Admins manage access requests on items where no other user has Owner or Admin permissions. | Yes |
| Group Admin | Group Admins can create and manage groups based on contacts in their Smartsheet contact list. | Yes |
Permission-based user types
| User type | Definition | This information helps you | How to assign a user |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viewer | Internal or external users who have only Viewer permissions on assets | Understand the value of free use of your plan | Grant Viewer permissions to one or more assets. |
| Guest | External users who have Commenter or Editor permissions on one or more assets | Keep track of external users and their permissions | Grant external user, Commenter or Editor permissions to one or more assets. |
| Unlicensed Admin and Editor | Internal or external users who have Admin permissions on one or more assets. | Understand the value that your internal/external users get from their current access permissions | Grant Admin permissions to one or more assets. |
Licensed User | Internal or external users who have been assigned a license. They can have full access permission. See more details below. | View and manage the user and their access permissions | Assign a license to the user. |
If a user’s email address domain matches one of the domains associated with the plan, they’re considered an internal user.
See Licensed user details in the Legacy Collaborator Model for more information.
User type report
A System Admin can download a user type report at any time from the Admin Center homepage to help understand and manage the plan users.
For User Subscription Model plans, System Admins can also download the report from the Manage true-up page.
The report lists all active users associated with the plan and includes the following details by user:
- Email and domain
- User type and Admin access types
- Permissions
- Activity
See User type report details for more information.
Download a user type report
- On the Admin Center homepage, under User Accounts, select Download user type report.
The report includes all active users associated with the plan. Generating the report for plans with a large number of users can take a little time.
Other user types
Smartsheet continues to support the following user types.
Free users
Check the section that applies to the model your plan uses: User Subscription Model or Legacy Collaborator Model. Not sure which model your plan uses? Ask a System Admin if there’s a Manage true-up page in Admin Center. If there is, your plan uses the User Subscription Model. See the User Subscription Model overview article for more information.
User Subscription Model
In Business and Enterprise plans, there are two types of free users: Viewers and Guests. In Pro plans, there are only Viewers. See the User Subscription Model overview article for more information.
Legacy Collaborator Model
Free users are important participants in collaborating on the work that you manage in Smartsheet. For more information, see the Viewers and Guests learning track.
Resource Management User Types
Resource Viewer
Resource Management by Smartsheet is available to all new customers, so new plans do not include Resource Viewers.
Resource Viewers in Legacy Resource Management can track everyone in the account's allocation percentage across all sheets. As a Resource Viewer, you must have a user license under a Business or Enterprise account. See Legacy resource allocation with project resource view for more details.
Connector-specific user types
See Connector user types for details.
Sharing permission levels and tasks
There are five permission levels in Smartsheet. When you share a Smartsheet item with someone, you can set the following permission levels:
- Admin
- Editor - can share
- Editor - cannot share
- Commenter
- Viewer
Tasks and permissions
The permission level you assign determines the features available to a collaborator for the item you're sharing (sheet, report, or workspace for example). If you create an item, you’re the Owner of that item.
Go to the sharing permissions and levels table for a detailed breakdown of tasks and permission levels.
It's possible to be a System Admin on a Business or Enterprise plan with only Viewer-level sharing access to a particular sheet. You could also be a collaborator with Admin-level sharing access to a sheet.
Some features listed here are available only to paid users. See the Identify your Smartsheet plan and user type article.
Check your permission level on a Smartsheet item
There are two ways to do this:
- Check the file properties
- In the menu bar, select File > Properties.
- In the Permissions row, you’ll see the permission level.
- Open the Sheet Sharing form
- In the upper-right area of the Smartsheet item, select Share.
- In the Collaborators section, search for your name. In the right side of your email address, you’ll see the permission level.