How editor seats work
This page explains Orbit’s one licensing rule: reading is free for everyone, and editing needs an editor seat.
Know what is free and what needs a seat
Section titled “Know what is free and what needs a seat”- Reading is always free. Anyone with access to a workspace can open, search, and read its notes without a seat — on every workspace type.
- Editing needs an editor seat. This applies to every workspace, including your personal OneDrive workspace.
- Every organization includes 10 free editor seats. Extra seats cost $10 per seat per month billed annually, or $15 per seat per month billed monthly (USD, prices exclude tax).
A seat belongs to a person, not a workspace: one licensed editor can edit every workspace they have write access to. Write access itself comes from Microsoft 365 — see Permissions.
Request a seat
Section titled “Request a seat”If you have write access to a workspace but no seat, Orbit shows a banner: “You can view this workspace.”
- Select Request to edit in the banner.
- If seats are free and your organization uses automatic assignment, you get a seat instantly and can start editing.
- Otherwise Orbit shows “Edit request sent — pending approval.” and notifies your admins.
Assign seats as an admin
Section titled “Assign seats as an admin”Org admins manage seats in Settings → the Organization group → Licenses:
- Assign a license grants a seat to anyone in your directory immediately.
- Approve or Deny handles pending requests.
- Revoke frees a seat; the person keeps read access and can request again.
Two assignment modes control how requests resolve: Invite only (an admin approves every license) and Automatic while seats are free (requests are granted instantly while seats remain; otherwise they wait for approval).
Do viewers cost anything?
Section titled “Do viewers cost anything?”No. Readers are free, in unlimited numbers, on every workspace. Only editors need seats.
Does my personal workspace need a seat?
Section titled “Does my personal workspace need a seat?”Yes. Editing any workspace — including your personal OneDrive workspace — needs a seat. Creating your first workspace grants you a seat automatically while free seats remain.
What happens when all seats are used?
Section titled “What happens when all seats are used?”New requests wait for approval, and the assign dialog tells you every seat is in use. An admin either revokes a seat from someone or purchases more — see Buy and manage seats.
Do I lose my notes if my seat is revoked?
Section titled “Do I lose my notes if my seat is revoked?”No. Your notes stay in your OneDrive or SharePoint, and you keep read access to everything you could read before.
Up next: Buy and manage seats.