Understanding how user licenses work in Synthesia can help you manage billing and user access more efficiently. This guide explains the difference between license types, how they affect billing, and how to manage them.
License Types in Synthesia
Each user in your Synthesia workspace can have one of the following license types:
Full license: Grants access to create, edit, and generate videos. These count toward your purchased license total.
Restricted license: Allows access to view and comment on videos by default. When shared a video with edit or full access permission, restricted license members can also edit scripts and add screen recordings. Users need admin approval to upgrade to a full license. These do not use a paid license.
Free license: An introductory role. Allows access to view and comment on videos by default. When shared a video with edit or full access permission, free license members can also edit scripts and add screen recordings. Members can request an upgrade to a full license. These do not use a paid license.
✍️ Script editing and screen recording for free and restricted license members is only available to workspace members — not guests. For a full breakdown of what these members can and cannot do, see How do I edit a video with a free or restricted license?
Tips for Managing your Licenses
Regularly review user roles and permissions in Workspace settings.
Assign Full licenses only to users who need to create, generate, or publish videos.
Use Free or Restricted licenses for members who primarily review, translate scripts, or add screen recordings — they can now contribute meaningfully without a paid seat.
If you need more Full licenses than your current allotment, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager or contact the Synthesia Sales team to upgrade your plan.
💬FAQs
I added someone as a free license, but they became Full. Why?
I added someone as a free license, but they became Full. Why?
A Free license user can automatically upgrade to a Full license simply by starting to create or edit videos — no admin approval is required. In this case, the user began editing or creating and was upgraded to Full automatically.
Admins can control this behavior by setting the Default license for new members in the Org/Workspace Billing settings. If you'd like to manage who receives a Full license, set the default to Restricted. This way, anyone who wants to upgrade to a Full license will need admin approval.
I want to add a new admin, but they show as free. What does that mean?
I want to add a new admin, but they show as free. What does that mean?
If an admin shows as having a Free license, they likely haven't attempted to edit or create content. As soon as they start creating or editing videos, their license will change to Full. You can manually upgrade them to a Full license in the Workspace Members settings.
How do I switch a user back to a Restricted license?
How do I switch a user back to a Restricted license?
To change a user back to a Restricted license:
Go to Workspace settings > Members.
Find the user.
Change their license type to Restricted.
Once their permissions are updated, the user will no longer count toward your paid licenses.
If a user was upgraded to Full and then removed, do we get that license back?
If a user was upgraded to Full and then removed, do we get that license back?
Yes. If a user is invited as a Free license but is later upgraded to Full, and they are then removed from the workspace, their license is released and made available for another user in your workspace.
What's next?
📚 To learn more, check out the Synthesia Documentation: