What counts as an active user in LMS pricing?
By EmbayLMS Inc.
Vendors define it differently: some count a sign-in, others a learning action such as opening a course. EmbayLMS counts the sign-in. An active user is someone who signs in at least once during your billing period. People you have provisioned but who never sign in are not billed, and neither are deactivated accounts.
Key facts
- Definition
- An active user is someone who signs in at least once during your billing period.
- Counted per user
- Once per billing period, no matter how many times they sign in.
- Not counted
- Provisioned users who never sign in, and deactivated accounts.
- Sign-in methods
- All of them, including SAML and OIDC single sign-on.
- Currency
- Canadian dollars.
How is an active user invoice calculated?
Take an example. A company has created 1,000 accounts in its LMS. During one billing period, 250 people sign in. Billed per active user, it pays for 250 people. Billed per seat, it pays for the 1,000 seats it bought, used or not.
The table below summarizes what each model charges for.
| Model | What is billed |
|---|---|
| Per active user | The people who met the activity rule during the period |
| Per registered user | Every account created, used or not |
| Per seat | The block of licences bought in advance, used or not |
What should you check in a vendor's definition?
"Active" has no shared definition. Adobe Learning Manager, for example, counts a monthly active user when they consume a course, download a resource or take part in social learning, not when they sign in. Before comparing prices, ask the vendor four questions.
- Which action makes a person billable: signing in, or a learning action?
- Over what period is the count taken: the calendar month, the billing period, or a yearly total?
- Is an account deactivated mid period still counted?
- Does a single sign-on login count the same as any other?
Who is excluded from the active user count?
Two groups never appear on the invoice. The first is provisioned users who never sign in. You can import a full staff directory, create every account in advance, and pay nothing for the people who do not show up that month. The second is deactivated accounts. Once an account is deactivated it stops counting from that billing period onward.
This matters most for seasonal and rotational workforces. A retailer who onboards 400 people for a season and keeps 60 year round pays for the 400 only in the months they actually train.
How is active user billing different from per seat licensing?
Per seat licensing charges for the right to have an account. Active user billing charges for use of the account. The difference shows up whenever the number of accounts is larger than the number of people training in a given month.
Under per seat licensing you buy a block of seats up front and pay for it whether or not the seats are used. If you overbuy, the money is spent. If you underbuy, you have to buy more before the next person can be enrolled. Active user billing removes both problems, because the count follows what happened rather than what you predicted.
Does single sign-on change the count?
No. A sign-in through SAML 2.0 or OIDC counts exactly the same as a sign-in with an email address and password. The method is not part of the definition.
This is worth stating plainly because some vendors price identity integration separately or count federated users differently. EmbayLMS does neither.
What happens when someone is deactivated mid month?
If the person already signed in during that billing period, they are counted for that period. Deactivating an account does not refund a sign-in that already happened.
From the following billing period onward they stop counting. Their learning records, completions and certificates stay in the system, so your compliance history is unaffected by removing someone from the active roster.
Related questions
- How is an active user invoice calculated?
- Take an example. A company has created 1,000 accounts in its LMS. During one billing period, 250 people sign in. Billed per active user, it pays for 250 people. Billed per seat, it pays for the 1,000 seats it bought, used or not.
- What should you check in a vendor's definition?
- "Active" has no shared definition. Adobe Learning Manager, for example, counts a monthly active user when they consume a course, download a resource or take part in social learning, not when they sign in. Before comparing prices, ask the vendor four questions.
- Who is excluded from the active user count?
- Two groups never appear on the invoice. The first is provisioned users who never sign in. You can import a full staff directory, create every account in advance, and pay nothing for the people who do not show up that month. The second is deactivated accounts. Once an account is deactivated it stops counting from that billing period onward.
- How is active user billing different from per seat licensing?
- Per seat licensing charges for the right to have an account. Active user billing charges for use of the account. The difference shows up whenever the number of accounts is larger than the number of people training in a given month.
- Does single sign-on change the count?
- No. A sign-in through SAML 2.0 or OIDC counts exactly the same as a sign-in with an email address and password. The method is not part of the definition.
- What happens when someone is deactivated mid month?
- If the person already signed in during that billing period, they are counted for that period. Deactivating an account does not refund a sign-in that already happened.
Sources
- EmbayLMS pricing and billing FAQ, EmbayLMS, accessed July 30, 2026
- Manage Learning Manager orders and billing, updated August 10, 2026, Adobe, accessed October 5, 2026
- EmbayLMS trust and compliance posture, EmbayLMS, accessed July 30, 2026