Per-seat vs per-active-user pricing for team apps

Per-seat pricing charges for each seat a company orders. Per-active-user pricing charges for the people who use the app during a billing period. Nutrola for teams uses per-seat pricing: you pay for each seat ordered, with one email address for each seat, and unused or leavers’ seats move to someone else free. The rest of this guide explains the two models and how to compare them.

What do the two models mean?

Under a per-seat model, the price depends on how many seats you order, whether or not each seat is used during the term. Under a per-active-user model, the price depends on how many people actually use the app in each billing period. The unit of charge is the main difference, but it changes how the budget behaves.

	Per seat	Per active user
What you pay for	Each seat you order	Each person active in the billing period
Budget	Fixed once the seat count is set	Changes with usage
Main risk	Paying for seats nobody uses	Bills that are hard to forecast
Common question	Can seats move when people leave?	How is “active” defined?

What are the trade-offs?

Per-seat pricing is easier to plan. You can see the total before you start, and the cost does not move with usage. The risk is paying for seats that stay empty, so the contract should explain what happens to those seats.

Per-active-user pricing can follow actual use more closely. The trade-off is that the total is harder to forecast, and the definition of “active” matters a great deal. Ask how the vendor counts an active person, and whether that count can be checked.

Tiers add another layer. Nutrola’s price per person is set by tier, so the seat count decides which price applies to everyone on the list. Read the tier table before you settle on a headcount.

How does Nutrola handle seats?

1. Order seats for the people on your list, with one email address for each seat.
2. Premium turns on within one business day of the list and payment.
3. Unused or leavers’ seats move to someone else at no charge.
4. A person added later pays the same per-person price, and their 12 months start at activation.

Staff licenses run for 12 months per person, the minimum is 10 people, and the price per person falls as the seat count rises, from $35 for 10 to 60 people to $24 for 501 or more.

What questions should you ask any vendor?

1. What is the unit we pay for: seat, person, active user or something else?
2. Can we reassign a seat when someone leaves?
3. Can we reduce seats during the term?
4. How are people added in the middle of the term, and at what price?
5. How does renewal work, and how do we stop it?
6. What does the admin or the company see about usage?

Write the answers into the contract, not only into a sales call. A clear answer to each question is more useful than a low headline price.

Which model fits which team?

A team that needs a fixed budget for a set term may find per-seat pricing easier to approve. A team that wants cost to follow use may prefer per-active-user pricing, if the vendor explains how it measures activity. Neither model is right for every team, so compare the total cost, the renewal terms and the seat rules side by side.

For more on what happens to unused seats, read what happens to unused seats in a team app plan? For the monthly view, see what does a wellness perk cost per employee per month?

How to get started

Ask for a quote at /quote/ or email partnerships@nutrola.app with your headcount, and ask how seats move before you order.