Why does upgrading to GitHub Team charge for "Read-Only" Outside Collaborators?

[MehmetAdemi]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Product Feedback

Body

I’m looking for some clarity (or perhaps just to vent) regarding how billing works when moving from a Free Organization to a GitHub Team plan.

Our organization currently has 4 core members, but we grant access to private repositories to quite a few outside collaborators who only have Read access to specific private repositories. While we were on the Free plan, this was never an issue. However, when trying to upgrade to the Team plan, GitHub is prompting us to pay for a seat for every single one of those read-only collaborators.

According to the GitHub Documentation on License Users, a "consumed license" isn't based on permission level. If you are on a paid plan, GitHub counts:

• Every organization member.
• Every outside collaborator on private repositories.
• Every pending invitation.

Essentially, even if a collaborator has the most restrictive Read access, they are treated exactly the same as a full Organization Admin for billing purposes.

This feels like a major hurdle for small teams who want to use Team features (like branch protection). It means our "4-person" team suddenly becomes a "XXX-person" bill, even though only 4 people are actually working within that organization.

Is there any way to keep these outside collaborators on private repos without them consuming a paid seat, or is the only "fix" to make those specific repositories public?

It's strange because taking other platforms as an example, they allow to have outside collaborators read-only permissions without having to pay for a license for them. Example Figma Pricing:

If you're on a paid plan, you can let others view and comment on your files without purchasing extra seats.

Sources:

• Adding outside collaborators to repositories in your organization:
  https://docs.github.com/en/organizations/managing-user-access-to-your-organizations-repositories/managing-outside-collaborators/adding-outside-collaborators-to-repositories-in-your-organization
• People who consume a license in an organization:
  https://docs.github.com/en/billing/reference/github-license-users

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[devnavodhimsara]

Here is a breakdown of the main points the user is raising:

The Main Problem: The user has an organization with 4 core members but grants "Read-Only" access to several outside collaborators on private repositories. On the Free plan, this was not an issue. However, when trying to upgrade to the paid "Team plan," GitHub is prompting them to pay for a "seat" for every single read-only collaborator.

GitHub's Billing Policy: The user points out that according to GitHub's documentation, billing on paid plans is not based on permission levels. Whether someone is a full Organization Admin or just has the most restrictive Read access, they consume a paid license.

User's Frustration: The user feels this is a major hurdle for small teams. A 4-person team suddenly faces a massive bill just to let external people view their code. They compare it to platforms like Figma, which allow read-only/view-only guests without requiring extra paid seats.

The Question: Finally, the user asks the community if there is any workaround to keep these outside collaborators on private repositories without paying for a seat, or if the only "fix" is to make those private repositories public.

Essentially, the user is frustrated that GitHub charges full price for users who only need to view code, making the upgrade to a paid plan too expensive for their small team.