I’m confused about how AppSheet Core licensing works when you get it complimentary through Google Workspace.
Here’s what’s happening:
Our Workspace includes Core licenses, but when I add internal/external users to test our prototype apps, the Admin Console is throwing warnings about “unlicensed users” and saying we need to purchase additional licenses. It’s showing 3 used / 0 purchased with 2 unlicensed app users.
But AppSheet’s site clearly says you can “test your apps with up to 10 users at no cost” during the prototype phase. So which is it?
Does the 10-user free testing don’t apply when you already have complimentary Core licenses from Workspace?
Do I need to buy licenses for external testers during prototyping, or not?
I’ve dug through the docs but can’t find anything that explicitly covers this scenario. The pricing FAQ doesn’t mention how complimentary Workspace licenses interact with the testing phase.
Has anyone dealt with this before? Really don’t want to buy licenses just to test if that’s not actually required.
We appreciate your insightful inquiry. We are looking into this further and will follow up with you once we have more information. Thank you for your time and understanding.
As someone correctly stated, if you have a paid license you can have up to 10 users for prototype applications and you can ignore the warnings you might see.
You are absolutely correct! I mentioned in the “PM” conversation we had that these warning messages can be ignored and that you still can give access to 10 users for prototype apps. Let me paste my response here:
The issue discussed in that forum post is a common point of confusion where the Google Workspace Admin Console logic conflicts with the AppSheet Prototype policy.
Based on the forum thread and AppSheet’s licensing behavior, here is what is likely happening:
The “Purchased vs. Included” Reporting Bug: The user in the post sees “3 used / 0 purchases.” This is because AppSheet Core licenses provided via Google Workspace are “complimentary.”
The Issue: The Admin Console often looks for manually purchased add-on licenses. Since the Workspace licenses are “included” (automatically assigned to your domain users), the console sometimes fails to recognize them in the “purchased” tally.
Result: It flags any user—internal or external—as “unlicensed” because the math ($Users - Purchased Licenses$) results in a positive number, even though those users are technically covered by the Workspace entitlement.
It’s important to say that Prototype Mode Warnings are “Soft” Warnings and whilst AppSheet allows up to 10 users to test a prototype for free, the Admin Console is a separate monitoring tool that doesn’t always “silence” itself just because an app is in prototype mode.
Having said that, as long as you are under the 10-user limit for your prototype, you can safely ignore these warnings. They are automated notifications and do not mean your app will be shut down immediately.
Here is the checklist to ensure everything is actually working:
Check the AppSheet “Account” Page: Go to the AppSheet Editor → Manage → Monitor → Usage. This gives a more accurate “AppSheet-centric” view of your users compared to the Google Workspace Admin Console.
Verify External Sharing: Ensure your Workspace Admin has enabled “Allow sharing with users outside your organization” in the AppSheet Admin Settings (within the Google Admin Console). If this is off, external users will be blocked regardless of the 10-user limit.
Sync the License: Sometimes the “unlicensed” warning persists because of a sync lag. Logging out of AppSheet and logging back in (or using an Incognito window) can force the system to re-verify your Workspace entitlement.
