Google Workspace - No Mixing Business Editions

What I thought

Google was allowing us to mix licenses across different users

My Evidence

Fuck if I know I thought I’d heard it somewhere.

The rule

Google Workspace doesn’t let you mix Business editions in one tenant. If the tenant is on Business Standard, you can’t add a cheaper Business Starter seat for one person.

The ask that hit it

Contractors needed access to the company’s Google Drive, and some wanted Gmail.

Options

Need	Option
Drive files and Docs only	Share links, or a free Cloud Identity Free user (Google Workspace Cloud Identity), which can open shares and use Google Docs
Gmail on the company domain	A full seat on the tenant’s existing edition. There’s no cheaper tier available
Freeing up a seat	Look for full-licence accounts that don’t need mail (e.g. a service/admin account) and drop them to Cloud Identity Free

Tip

Make your own admin account a Cloud Identity Free user too (2FA’d and in the password manager), rather than burning a paid seat.