Free Edition 2 free core seats

Smart CRM & Sales Hub Account & Settings
1

I’m the only active user in my account. Previously created 2 invite that was never accpeted. Deactivated one core seat and as of now the system indicates I have 1 seat free, but I’m unable to create a 2nd user for one colleague who’s evaluating the CRM for our business.

Can someone help? I already checked no deactivated users, or pending invites are listed for the Users & Teams seeting page.

2

@JayEncarnacion you’re the third person today to bring this up, this seems to be a bug. @CommunityTeam could you help and look into this?

3

Thank you for bringing my concern to the community team. I greatly apprecaite the reply. Hopefully it gets resolved.

4

Hi @JayEncarnacion,

Thank you for posting to the Community!

Can you please collect a HAR file by following the steps here while reproducing the issue (until you see the error) and send it to me via DM?

Once we have that, I can flag internally :slightly_smiling_face:

Cassie, Community Manager

5

Hi @chighsmith I tried following your instructions but was unable to attach the HAR file or paste the content in the DM. Somehow its fixed now I was able to create a 2nd user in our account. Thank you for your help.

6

Here are a few practical checks and workarounds you can try:

  1. Double‑check for any “hidden” users or invites

  • Go to Settings → Users & Teams and confirm there are:

    • No users with “No seat assigned” who still have some permissions.
    • No pending invitations for the email you’re trying to add (including previously invited test addresses).

  • Also confirm there are no deactivated users or pending invites shown in the filters; occasionally those can still block the extra seat even if you only see yourself as active.​

  1. Try inviting from a different path and role
    Several users with the same issue reported that:

  • Inviting from “Users & Teams” rather than from any “Seats” or upgrade prompts helped in some cases.​

  • A specific workaround that works for some:

    • Add the second user initially as a “Developer” or with very minimal permissions.
    • Let them complete the account setup and log in.
    • Then edit their user and upgrade their permissions (for example to Admin or to whatever you actually need).
      This workaround essentially “sneaks” the second user into the free seat before the upgrade flow kicks in.​
  1. Be aware of current free seat limits and behavior
  • Current documentation and pricing guides show that Free Tools now effectively cap free core users to 2, with unlimited view‑only seats.​
  • However, several community threads from November 2025 describe what looks like a bug: the portal clearly shows “1 seat remaining,” but clicking Add User just forces an upgrade path without creating the second user.​
  • Because Free accounts do not include direct support, this kind of bug sometimes lingers until product fixes roll out, so behavior is not always perfectly aligned with what the pricing docs say.​
  1. If you only need your colleague to evaluate
    Depending on what your colleague needs to do:

  • If they only need to look around and not edit records, you can:

    • Invite them as a user without assigning a core seat, which makes them effectively view‑only (no editing access, but they can still get a feel for navigation and basic UI).​

  • If they must test editing (creating deals, editing contacts, etc.) and the second free seat keeps forcing you to upgrade even after trying the “Developer first, then change permissions” trick, then you are most likely hitting that current bug/limitation in the free tier.​

  1. Practical next steps specific to your situation
    Given what you described (one active user, 2 previous invites that were never accepted, one seat deactivated, UI showing 1 free seat):​

Try this sequence:

  • In Users & Teams:

    • Confirm there are absolutely no pending invitations and no deactivated users left (use filters to be sure).​

  • From the Users & Teams page (not from any upgrade banner):

    • Click Create User.
    • Enter your colleague’s email.
    • Assign the role “Developer” or a very minimal role with as few permissions as possible, and make sure only one core seat is assigned across all users.​

  • Have your colleague accept the invite and log in once.

  • Then edit their user record and adjust permissions to what you actually want them to test.​

If, after doing exactly that, the UI still redirects to the upgrade screen and refuses to create the user even though it shows “1 seat free,” then you are almost certainly dealing with a product-side issue rather than a configuration mistake.​

In that case, the only options right now are:

  • Use a view‑only, no‑seat user for basic evaluation.​
  • Or temporarily upgrade to Starter if you want both of you to have full editing access while evaluating (knowing that on Starter, every editor requires a paid core seat, and the “two free editors” model from Free no longer applies).