A HubSpot user needs a paid seat: core, sales and service seats explained

In HubSpot, a user's seat decides which tools they can open, and their permissions decide what they can do inside those tools. A user can have every permission switched on and still be blocked from sequences, which need a Sales or Service seat, or from advanced help desk features, which need a Service seat. Changing permissions won't fix that. Only a different seat will.

Check the user's seat first. In settings, open Users & Teams and click the Seats tab, which shows each user's seat, invite status and last active date. As of October 2026, HubSpot's seats article lists View-Only, Core, Sales, Service and Revenue seats, plus free Partner and Developer seats.

What each seat gives a user

HubSpot's Products and Services Catalog has the full list of what each seat includes. This seat model applies to accounts and subscriptions created after March 5, 2024. Accounts on HubSpot's limited-release flexible seats-and-credits pricing don't have Core, Sales, Service or Revenue seats. They use GTM and Ops seats instead, so this doesn't apply to them. Older accounts that haven't moved to it only have paid Sales or Service seats on legacy Sales Hub and Service Hub plans.

Where users hit "seat required"

Sequences

Opening the sequences tool and creating sequences needs an assigned Sales or Service seat. When a workflow enrolls contacts in a sequence, the sender you choose needs one too. If the seat is fine and emails still don't go out, see sequence emails not sending.

Help desk

Help desk is part of Service Hub Professional and Enterprise. Agents need Service or Sales Access permissions to work tickets there, and an assigned Service seat for advanced features such as custom views, SLAs and reply recommendations, according to HubSpot's help desk setup article.

Lead rotation in workflows

Only users with an assigned Sales or Service seat can be picked by the assignment rotation action. If one rep never gets records from a rotation, check their seat before you check the workflow.

Super Admins

Super Admin access covers almost everything except paid Sales Hub and Service Hub features, which need a Sales or Service seat. On a paid subscription every Super Admin must hold a Core, Sales or Service seat, and to view sequences and playbooks they need a Sales or Service seat on Professional or Enterprise.

View-Only users

A View-Only user can't edit records, save reports, change settings or log emails, including through the BCC or forwarding address. When a user moves from a paid seat to View-Only, HubSpot turns off their email logging. Giving them a Core, Sales or Service seat again and turning on Personal email access brings it back. The emails not logging article covers the other logging causes.

How to assign a seat

1. Check your own access. Assigning or changing seats needs Super Admin or the Modify billing and change name on contract permission. Add and edit users on its own can't assign a paid seat.
2. Open the user. In settings, go to Users & Teams, hover over the user, click Actions and choose Change seat. The Seats tab has the same option.
3. Pick the seat. Select it in the Seats dropdown and click Save. Starter accounts offer Core and View-Only. Professional and Enterprise also offer Sales or Service, depending on what you've bought.
4. Buy one if none are free. On the Seats tab, click Add seats under that seat type, or free up a seat from someone who no longer needs it.
5. Turn on the permissions. A new seat doesn't change the user's permissions, so switch on Sales Access or Service Access and the tool permissions they need.
6. For a deactivated user holding a paid seat, reactivate them, change their seat to View-Only, then deactivate them again.

Seats and billing

Taking a seat away from a user unassigns it, but you keep paying for it until you remove the unassigned seat on the Seats tab. Removals take effect at the next billing period, seats can't go below your subscription's minimum, and the purchased count can't drop before renewal. A Super Admin can also swap unassigned seats for a different seat type or for HubSpot Credits. Credits can't be swapped back into seats.

How to stop it happening again

Keep a short list of who needs which seat and why. Before you build a workflow that rotates records or enrolls contacts in sequences, check that every user it names has a Sales or Service seat. Look at the last active dates on the Seats tab now and then, and free up seats nobody uses. Seats are one of the sections in my HubSpot audit checklist. For users who can open a tool but can't find records in it, see user can't see records.

From client work

On the Phoenix Industrial Cleaning project, part of my work was advice on their plan and seats, which I worked out with HubSpot's account team.

If you're not sure which users need which seat, I can review your seats and permissions with you.

Questions

Are View-Only seats free?

Yes. HubSpot describes them as free and unlimited on Starter, Professional and Enterprise subscriptions.

Can permissions give a user a tool their seat doesn't include?

No. The seat sets which tools a user can reach. Permissions only control what they can do within those tools.

Why can't I see the Change seat option?

You need Super Admin or the Modify billing and change name on contract permission. Assigning Core, Sales, Service or Revenue seats also needs a paid subscription on the seats-based pricing model.

Can I move a Core seat to another user?

Yes. If your account has only one Core seat, use Transfer seat on the Seats tab. When a Super Admin transfers their seat, their Super Admin permissions go with it.