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Google Workspace and Google Cloud licensing

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This article covers per-user licensing of Google Workspace editions and add-ons (Flexible and Annual/Fixed-Term Plans, license assignment, Archived User and AI Expanded Access licenses) and Google Cloud's own licensing topics: sole-tenant nodes for bring-your-own-license, Google Cloud Marketplace licensing, and Google's summary of Microsoft BYOL. It is not legal advice. The Google Cloud Terms of Service and Service Specific Terms are contractual; help-center pages are Google's operating policy.

On This Page

Google Workspace and Google Cloud licensing covers two different things Google sells. The first is Google Workspace, a set of per-user subscriptions. A user “needs a license to use a Google service”, and “Multiple users can’t share a single Google Workspace license, even if they don’t use all of the tools”.[7] Workspace is bought on either a Flexible Plan or an Annual/Fixed-Term Plan.[1] The second is Google Cloud’s own licensing guidance for customers who bring third-party licenses to Compute Engine or buy through Google Cloud Marketplace. For software with dedicated-hardware requirements, Google’s mechanism is the sole-tenant node, a physical server billed as a whole.[17][19] Workspace is a named-user form of subscription licensing. This article reflects the Google Cloud Terms of Service last modified 2026-09-02, which now include the former Google Workspace Terms of Service and take effect for Workspace on the next renewal.[1]

Editions

Google Workspace Business editions are “Professional office tools for up to 300 users”.[13] Google publishes standard USD prices for these editions on both payment plans:[3]

Edition SKU ID Flexible Plan (per user per month) Annual/Fixed-Term Plan (per user per month) Annual yearly payment 
Business Starter 1010020027 $8.40 USD $7 USD $84 USD 
Business Standard 1010020028 $16.80 USD $14 USD $168 USD 
Business Plus 1010020025 $26.40 USD $22 USD $264 USD 

SKU IDs come from Google’s Enterprise License Manager product list. That list also names Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus and Frontline Starter, Standard and Plus, and gives separate Archived User SKUs per edition.[16] Enterprise and other product pricing is available only through Google sales and resellers.[3] The public pricing page localizes currency and runs time-limited offers. It states that Starter, Standard and Plus “can be purchased for a maximum of 300 users” and that Enterprise plans have no minimum or maximum.[15]

Google Workspace for Education uses its own per-user model. Every active user needs an Education Fundamentals license, and paid Education Standard or Education Plus subscriptions must cover every user who has a Fundamentals license.[14]

Gemini add-ons. Gemini features are included in Workspace editions, with usage limits that vary by edition. Extra capacity is sold as the AI Expanded Access add-on for Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus.[11] Education institutions can buy Google AI Pro for Education, which Google lists at $24 USD per user on the Flexible Plan and $20 USD on the Annual/Fixed-Term Plan.[12]

Metrics

Google name Catalog row Notes 
User license User license User-based license for Google Workspace and similar services 
End User Account End User Account Contractual unit in the Terms of Service 
Site-based license Site-based license Every user licensed automatically (for example Android) 
Archived User license Archived User license Matches the Workspace edition 
AI Expanded Access license AI Expanded Access license Per-user Gemini add-on 
Google AI Pro for Education license Google AI Pro for Education license Per-user Education add-on 
Education Standard / Education Plus license Education Standard / Education Plus license Covers every active user 
Sole-tenant node Sole-tenant node Compute Engine dedicated host, billed per node 

The Terms of Service define an End User Account as “a Google-hosted account established by Customer through the GWS Services or Cloud Identity Services in order for an End User to use” them. End Users may include employees of Customer Affiliates and other authorized third parties.[1]

Counting / floors

One license per user (help center, 2026-09-24). Google Workspace licensing is user-based, and a license cannot be shared. A Workspace license covers the included services, such as Gmail, Calendar and Drive.[7] Rule: One license per user; licenses cannot be shared.

Flexible Plan (Terms of Service, 2026-09-02). The customer “will pay Fees based on its daily usage of the Services, billed monthly in arrears”, and a partial day counts as a full day.[1] Users can be added or removed at any time with prorated charges. For the first 90 days a new account is limited to 20-50 users unless it prepays 50% of the total users it wants.[5] Rules: Flexible Plan: daily usage billed monthly in arrears; partial day rounds up, Flexible Plan new accounts: 20-50 users in first 90 days without prepayment.

Annual/Fixed-Term Plan. The customer commits to a number of licenses. Licenses can be added at any time, prorated to the end of the term, but cannot be removed until renewal. Cancelling early leaves “the full value of the commitment” due.[4][1] At renewal, Google renews the commitment “for the number of user accounts you have that day”.[6] Assignments cannot exceed purchased licenses. When an organizational unit is over-assigned, some users receive a temporary license.[7][9] Rules: Annual/Fixed-Term Plan: licenses reduce only at renewal; early cancellation owes full commitment, Annual Plan: assignments cannot exceed purchased licenses, Licenses added mid-term are prorated and co-terminate.

Edition size limits. Business editions allow at most 300 users. Enterprise editions have no minimum or maximum.[15] Rule: Business editions capped at 300 users; Enterprise has no minimum or maximum.

Education floor. The minimum purchase of Education Standard or Plus licenses is total student enrollment (full and part time) plus active staff using Fundamentals. Institutions below 50 must buy at least 50. The earlier model, which gave one free staff license for every four student licenses, has ended.[14] Google may require the institution to disclose these numbers and to buy more licenses if the real total is higher.[2] Rule: Education Standard and Plus: license every active user; minimum = enrollment plus active staff.

Anti-circumvention. If Google finds bad-faith dealing or use designed to avoid Fees, it may bill the whole month for every End User Account used at any time in that month, even accounts that were later disabled. The Services may not be resold, sublicensed or transferred.[1] Rule: Customer Malfeasance: whole-month billing for every End User Account used.

Renewal. Flexible Plan terms renew monthly. A party that does not want to renew an Annual/Fixed-Term Plan must give notice at least 15 days before the term ends. For Workspace, Fee changes take effect at the next renewal after at least 30 days’ notice.[1] Rule: Renewal: Flexible renews monthly; non-renewal notice 15 days before term end.

License assignment and reassignment

Licenses can be assigned automatically or manually. Automatic assignment can be turned on for only one service or subscription at a time.[7] Turning it on for the whole organization leaves existing licenses unchanged. Turning it on for an organizational unit revokes any earlier license for the same service, including another edition, and assigns the new one.[9] Rule: OU automatic licensing replaces same-service licenses.

A license cannot be moved directly from one user to another. It is unassigned from the first user and then assigned to the second, which can take up to 24 hours. Moving an add-on license to a different user in the same month may be charged as 2 licenses.[8] Licenses cannot be transferred between Google service accounts.[4] Leavers can be kept on an Archived User license that matches the edition. On the Flexible Plan the Archived User license is added automatically; on the Annual Plan more Archived User licenses must be bought.[10] Rules: Reassignment: unassign then assign; up to 24 hours; add-on double charge possible, No transfer of licenses between Google service accounts.

AI Expanded Access bought online is billed on the Flexible Plan and must not be assigned to users under 18.[11] The Service Specific Terms bar End Users under 18 from Workspace Generative AI Services, with Education exceptions.[2] Rule: AI Expanded Access: eligible editions only, not under 18, Flexible Plan when bought online.

Virtualization & partitioning

Google Workspace is a hosted service, so it has no virtualization metric. On Compute Engine, sole-tenant nodes are “physical servers dedicated to hosting virtual machine (VM) instances for only your project”.[17] Host maintenance events occur roughly every 4 to 6 weeks, and the node group’s host maintenance policy decides how many physical servers a VM can touch (see virtualization and partitioning).[18]

  • Default. VMs live-migrate to any new sole-tenant node. This suits per-user or per-device licenses.
  • Restart in place. VMs stop and restart on the same physical server. This suits licenses based on physical cores or processors.
  • Migrate within node group. VMs live-migrate within a fixed group of physical servers, and Compute Engine reserves one holdback node for every 20 nodes.

Google’s BYOL guide recommends restart-in-place or migrate-within-node-group when licenses are assigned per physical core.[17] Compute Engine reports the physical server ID so that historical server usage can be viewed in Cloud Logging.[18] Rule: Per-core BYOL: restart-in-place or migrate-within-node-group host maintenance.

Cloud / BYOL

Sole-tenant BYOL. Licenses tied to physical cores or processors with dedicated-hardware requirements need your own media running on compliant hardware such as sole-tenant nodes. Google adds no charge for bringing images with existing licenses, but the licenses themselves must still be paid for. Images based on premium images are not eligible. Linux BYOS for RHEL or SLES, and Microsoft applications under License Mobility, do not require sole-tenant nodes.[17] Rule: BYOL with dedicated hardware requirements runs on sole-tenant nodes. Related articles: cloud BYOL, Red Hat Cloud Access, SUSE BYOS.

Node billing. A node is billed for all of its vCPU and memory “plus a sole-tenancy premium, which is 10% of the cost of all of the underlying vCPU and memory resources”. Billing has a 1-minute minimum and then runs per second.[19] VMs placed on the node add no further charge.[18] Rule: Sole-tenant billing: whole node vCPU and memory plus 10% premium.

Microsoft BYOL (Google’s summary). Google describes two routes. License Mobility requires active Software Assurance, and a license deployed in a region cannot move to another region for 90 days. Outsourcing Software Management Rights cover products released before 1 October 2019 and require sole-tenant nodes.[20] Microsoft’s own terms govern these rights; see Microsoft 365 and Online Services. Rule: Microsoft BYOL on Google Cloud: 90-day region rule; OSMR needs sole-tenant nodes.

Google Cloud Marketplace. “Access to and use of a BYOL Product is governed by the Vendor or third-party software license agreements associated with that BYOL Product.” Vendor Products may not be resold.[22] VM products are sold at a flat hourly rate, on usage fees (vCPUs, memory, GPUs), or as BYOL, where the vendor bills the license and Google bills the infrastructure. For SaaS plans, a downgrade or a shorter period takes effect only when the current subscription period ends.[21] Rules: Marketplace BYOL Products: vendor license governs; vendor bills license, Google bills infrastructure, Marketplace SaaS: downgrades and shorter periods take effect after the current period.

Programs

Out of scope

  • Enterprise, Frontline and Essentials edition prices, which Google publishes only through sales and resellers. Only their SKU IDs are catalogued.[3][16]
  • Earlier Gemini SKUs (Gemini Business, Gemini Enterprise, Gemini Meet and others) that still appear in the SKU list, and their historical prices.
  • Reseller pricing and reseller-managed subscriptions, Cloud Identity Premium in depth, Google Voice, AppSheet and Chrome Enterprise.
  • Google Cloud consumption pricing (committed use discounts, on-demand premium images) beyond the sole-tenant premium.
  • Third-party license terms for software brought to Google Cloud. The vendor’s documents govern, for example SUSE BYOS or Red Hat Cloud Access.

Catalog rows

Catalog rows for this article, grouped by table.

References

  1. Google Cloud Terms of Service (incorporating the Google Workspace Terms of Service)Last modified September 2, 2026; for GWS takes effect on next renewal. §2.1(b) billing options; §2.6 fee revisions; §3.3 restrictions; §3.7(d) additional End User Accounts; §8.2 renewal; definitions.Effective 2026-09-02. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  2. Google Workspace Service Specific TermsLast modified August 31, 2026. §12.5-12.6 Workspace Generative AI Services; §22.3 Education required disclosures.Effective 2026-08-31. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  3. Compare Flexible and Annual/Fixed-Term payment plansGoogle Workspace Admin Help (support.google.com/a/answer/1247360 redirects here). Business edition USD and local-currency prices.Effective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  4. Annual/Fixed-Term PlanCommitment, prorated additions, no reduction until renewal, no transfer between accounts.Effective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  5. Flexible PlanMonthly billing, proration, 90-day new-account limit, add-on subscriptions.Effective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  6. Reduce user licensesEffective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  7. How licensing worksUser-based vs site-based; no sharing; Annual Plan assignment cap.Effective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  8. Assign, remove, and reassign licensesEffective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  9. About automatic licensing for organizational unitsEffective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  10. Add Archived User licensesEffective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  11. AI Expanded AccessEffective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  12. How Google Workspace with Gemini billing worksEffective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  13. Business editionsEffective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  14. Google Workspace for Education pricing and licensingEffective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  15. Google Workspace pricingLocalized public pricing page; plan limits footnote.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  16. Google Product and SKU IDs (Enterprise License Manager API)Product IDs and SKU IDs for Workspace editions, AI Expanded Access and Archived User SKUs.Effective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  17. Bringing your own licenses (Compute Engine)Effective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  18. Sole-tenant nodes (Compute Engine)Effective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  19. Sole-tenant node pricing10% sole-tenancy premium; billing increments.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  20. Microsoft Licensing on Google CloudGoogle's summary; Microsoft Product Terms govern.Effective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  21. Pricing plans for Google Cloud Marketplace productsEffective 2026-09-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  22. Google Cloud Marketplace Terms of ServicePrevious versions link shows last modified November 13, 2025.Effective 2025-11-13. Retrieved 2026-09-26.

See also

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