Blog · Costs · Updated · By the FitMySaaS team
How to find unused software licenses, tool by tool (2026)
Short answer: Most small teams can find unused software licenses in under an hour using reports they already have: the "Last sign in" column in Google Workspace, the Active users report in Microsoft 365, and the Seats tab in HubSpot. Mark anyone inactive for 60 days or more. The catch is billing: removing a person does not always lower the bill, and some annual plans only shrink at renewal.
Why do unused licenses pile up in small teams?
Three things cause most of them. People leave and their seats stay. New hires get a seat in every tool "just in case." And a few tools charge for everyone in the workspace, whether they use it or not.
None of this is visible on a card statement, which only shows a total. You have to look at seat-level activity inside each tool.
Where does each tool show who is inactive?
These are the reports for the tools small teams pay for most often. Each link goes to the vendor's own help page.
| Tool | Where to find activity | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace | Admin console, Users, "Last sign in" column | Approximate last sign-in ("2 months ago", or "Hasn't signed in"); can lag up to 3 days |
| Microsoft 365 | Admin center, Reports, Usage, Microsoft 365 apps, Active users tab | Last active date per user for Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams; export to CSV |
| HubSpot | Settings, Users & Teams, Seats tab | Seat type and last active date per user |
| Slack | No report needed; see the Fair Billing Policy | Members who haven't used Slack in over 28 days are not billed; you get a prorated credit |
Two notes on the Microsoft report. It shows trends over 7, 30, 90 or 180 days, and Microsoft says usernames are hidden by default, so an admin may need to turn on user details first. The same help page explains how.
For tools not in the table, open the admin or members page and look for a "last active" or "last login" column. If there isn't one, ask each team lead to confirm who on their team still uses the tool.
How do you check for unused licenses step by step?
- Export your user list from Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. This is your list of current staff.
- For each paid tool, export or copy its member list and seat count.
- Remove anyone who is not on the staff list. These are former employees and contractors.
- Pull last-active dates and mark anyone inactive for 60 days or more.
- Check each person's seat type. Someone who only views records may not need a full seat.
- Ask the people you marked whether they still need access. Some tools are used once a quarter and that is fine.
- Remove the seats, then confirm the change on the next invoice.
Which tools don't need a paid seat for every person?
Many tools have free or cheaper roles. Moving occasional users onto them is often the biggest saving.
| Tool | Who can be free or cheaper | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Notion | Guests are free | Notion pricing |
| Airtable | Read-only collaborators are free | Airtable pricing |
| Calendly | Only people who host meetings need a seat | Calendly pricing |
| Slack | Single-channel guests are free | Slack Fair Billing Policy |
| ClickUp | No: every workspace member must be on the paid plan | ClickUp pricing |
What does one unused seat cost per year?
Here is the yearly cost of one idle seat at list price, billed yearly, October 2026.
| Tool and plan | Per seat per month | One idle seat per year |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Sales Hub Professional | $90 | $1,080 |
| Zendesk Suite Team | $55 | $660 |
| Asana Advanced | $24.99 | $299.88 |
| Airtable Team | $20 | $240 |
| Calendly Teams | $16 | $192 |
| Google Workspace Business Standard | $14 | $168 |
| Notion Plus | $10 | $120 |
One idle seat each in HubSpot, Zendesk, Asana, Notion and Google Workspace adds up to $2,327.88 a year. That is one person who left and was never removed.
Why doesn't removing a user always lower the bill?
Each vendor handles it differently. Check these before you count a saving.
- HubSpot: Its help page says unassigning a seat does not stop billing. You also have to click "Remove unassigned seats," and removals apply from the next billing period. The current invoice is not adjusted.
- Google Workspace: On the Annual/Fixed-Term Plan, your payment stays the same after you remove licenses until the contract renews. On the Flexible Plan, charges are prorated and you can remove users at any time.
- Asana: Seats are sold in steps (2 to 5, then 5 at a time up to 30, then 10 at a time), per Asana's pricing page. Going from 23 to 21 people still leaves you in the 25-seat step.
- Slack: Inactive members are credited automatically, so removing them saves little extra. The credits apply to future bills and have no cash value.
The practical rule: remove access right away for security, but expect the money to come back at the next billing period or renewal.
To keep track between audits, use a software license tracking spreadsheet with renewal dates and notice periods.
When one system makes more sense
If the audit shows that most people use each tool for only a few features, trimming seats only goes so far. Our guide on how to cut your team's SaaS bill covers plan downgrades and overlapping tools, and the SaaS cost calculator shows what your whole stack costs at list price. FitMySaaS can replace several of these tools with one system priced as a fixed monthly fee, so there are no per-seat charges to track.
Questions
How often should we check for unused licenses?
Every quarter, and whenever someone leaves. A quarterly check takes about an hour once you know where each report lives.
Is 60 days the right threshold for an inactive user?
It is a practical default for a small team. Use a longer window for tools people use only at month-end or quarter-end, such as reporting or finance tools.
Should we deactivate or delete unused accounts?
Deactivate first, and export anything you need to keep. In some tools, deleting an account also removes or reassigns that person's content, so check the vendor's help page first.
Do free trials and free plans count?
They don't cost money, but they can hold company data. List them in your audit so you know where data lives and who has access.