Builder vs Creator permissions & issues with license costs

[sarahfarnsworth]

I've noticed we've been having issues managing the number of "Builders" we have on our company's Airtable account. In the Admin Panel it indicates that we have a limited number of "Builders" and "Contributors" included in our plan, and there are billing implications if we go over this number. Unfortunately we keep going over the number but can't seem to work out why!

I have tried to find more information on the functionality of these user seat license types, but all I could find was information about Airtable user permission levels (Owner, Creator, Editor, Commenter, Viewer) and haven't been able to work out how they are connected, but the definitions of the user seat license types seems to indicate that a "Builder" seat allows users to have Creator level permissions, and a "Contributor" seat allows users to have Editor level permissions:

• Builder: Builders are able to create and customise bases and workspaces
• Contributor: Contributors are able to edit records in existing bases and workspaces
• Viewer: Viewers can view and comment on bases and interfaces

I can see in other forum posts that people have noticed users being upgraded to Builders if another user shares a base/workspace giving them Creator permissions, and I THINK thats' happening with us. However I've also noticed that when we downgrade a user from Builder back to Contributor, any Creator access they have remains.

Given our ongoing issues with extra users being upgraded to Builder, I'm wondering if Contributors that have existing Creator access are inadvertently taking Creator level actions causing their license type to be upgraded?

I wish downgrading a user license automatically downgraded their access permissions from Creator to Editor where relevant. And I wish it was only possible to share Creator access with users who have a 'Builder' licensed account - with licensing only manageable via the Admin panel. Are there differences between Builder/Creator and Editor/Contributor that I'm missing? Seems confusing to use different terminology if they are effectively the same... And is there any way to manage sharing permissions to stop people inadvertently having their licenses upgraded? This seems to keep happening without obvious warning!

[TheTimeSavingCo]

re: I can see in other forum posts that people have noticed users being upgraded to Builders if another user shares a base/workspace giving them Creator permissions, and I THINK thats' happening with us.

You've probably already done this, but I take it you've already turned off the ability for new collaborators / share links to be created?  https://support.airtable.com/docs/es/workspace-sharing-restrictions

[kuovonne]

I'm guessing that you are on a legacy enterprise license where there was different pricing for builders versus contributors. I believe that in enterprise scale licenses, the pricing is the same for builders and contributors, but I could be mistaken as larger enterprises might have negotiated more favorable pricing.

Yes, having an existing creator share a base with creator permissions will upgrade a contributor to builder status. I've also noticed that it is technically possible to downgrade a person to "contributor" in the admin panel while the person still has creator access in the base. I usually downgrade the person to an editor in the base as well, so I don't know if the person taking creator actions would re-trigger an upgrade from contributor to builder, but that makes sense.

I have not yet found built-in ways to prevent this. Instead my organization is small enough that I can provide rigorous training to people who are newly granted creator access.

Adam, while preventing people from adding new collaborators can help in some situations, it does not help when it comes to accidentally upgrading an existing contributor to a builder.

[TheTimeSavingCo]

Ahh, I see, thanks!