Quick Answer
An Archived User (AU) license lets you keep a former employee’s Gmail, Drive, and other Workspace data accessible after they leave, without paying for a full active license. Google doesn’t publish AU pricing on its public pricing page, so the exact rate depends on your contract and the departed user’s original plan tier. Independent estimates commonly place it in the $2 to $7 per user per month range, generally lower than the equivalent active license. Confirming the current rate through a Google sales rep or an authorized reseller is the only way to get an exact figure for your account.
What Is a Google Workspace Archived User License?
An Archived User license preserves a former employee’s Gmail, Drive files, and other Workspace data after their active license is removed. It exists for organizations that need to retain access to that data for compliance, legal, or historical reasons without paying for a full, active seat that person no longer needs.
The archived account can’t send or receive email like an active user, and it can’t be used for ongoing work. It’s a retrieval and retention mechanism, not a working account.
How Much Does an Archived User License Cost?
This is the part Google doesn’t make easy to answer directly. Unlike Business Starter, Standard, or Plus pricing, Archived User license costs aren’t listed on Google’s public pricing page. Several independent sources that track this pricing report different figures, generally somewhere between $2 and $7 per user per month, with the cost tied to the tier of the license the archived user originally held.
Why the estimates vary
Reported figures differ because AU pricing appears to be handled through sales contracts and reseller agreements rather than a single published rate, and it may have changed with Google’s broader 2025 pricing update. Some sources report a Business-tier archive license running roughly $2 to $3 per user per month, with Enterprise-tier archive licenses running higher, up to around $5 to $7. Rather than treat any single number as definitive, the most reliable approach is to request current pricing directly from Google or an authorized reseller for your specific account.
The archive tier should match the original license
Google recommends assigning an archive license that matches the tier the person held as an active user; a former Business Standard user gets a Business Archived User license, and a former Enterprise user gets an Enterprise Archived User license. Assigning a lower tier is technically possible but means losing access to features tied to the original edition, such as Vault-based retention policies.
What Does an Archived User License Include?
An archive license preserves the user’s mail, Drive files, and other data in a read-only, retrievable state. It does not include an active mailbox, the ability to send or receive new mail, or ongoing collaboration access. Google Vault, used for formal eDiscovery, legal holds, and structured retention policies, is a separate add-on on top of the archive license itself, not something automatically included.
Archived User vs. Suspended vs. Deleted
These three states are often confused, and choosing the wrong one has real cost and data implications.
Suspended
A suspended account keeps its full license and cost intact but blocks the person from logging in. It’s a temporary state, useful for a short investigation or an immediate offboarding pause, not a long-term retention strategy since you’re still paying full price.
Archived
An archived account drops to the lower archive license cost while keeping the data retrievable. This is the middle ground built specifically for departed employees whose data needs to be kept but who no longer need an active seat.
Deleted
Deleting the account removes the license cost entirely, but data recovery becomes limited and time-sensitive. Once the recovery window closes, that data is generally gone for good, which is why organizations with compliance or legal retention obligations tend to avoid deleting former employees’ accounts outright.
Why Archived User Costs Add Up
At small scale, a handful of archived licenses is a minor cost. At larger organizations with regular employee turnover, it compounds. A company with a few hundred former employees on active archive licenses, even at a modest per-user monthly rate, can find itself paying several thousand dollars a year simply to retain access to data that may rarely, if ever, be accessed again.
A worked example
At a conservative estimate of $3 per user per month, 100 archived users would cost roughly $3,600 per year in ongoing archive licensing alone. At $6 per user per month, that same 100 users would run closer to $7,200 annually. The exact number for your organization depends entirely on your confirmed contract rate and how many former employees remain archived rather than deleted.
Alternatives to Long-Term Archiving
For organizations concerned about the ongoing cost of archive licenses, a few practical options exist alongside or instead of keeping every former employee archived indefinitely.
Set a retention policy
Rather than archiving indefinitely, many organizations set a fixed retention window, commonly a few months, after which the account and its archive license are removed, and the data is deleted, balancing compliance needs against ongoing cost.
Export data before removing the license
Google Takeout allows an admin to export a former employee’s data before removing their license entirely, preserving a copy without the recurring archive license cost, though without the same searchability or legal-hold features Vault provides.
Third-party backup tools
Some organizations use third-party backup and archiving tools as an alternative to Google’s native Archived User licenses, particularly at scale, where the ongoing cost comparison becomes more significant. These tools vary widely in cost, features, and how they integrate with Google Workspace, so evaluate them against your specific compliance and retrieval needs.
Archived User License Cost in Pakistan and Other Regions
Because Google doesn’t publish a fixed public rate for Archived User licenses anywhere, there isn’t a separate published figure for Pakistan or any other specific country either. Regional Workspace pricing and currency handling generally follow Google’s localized rates for active plans, but archive license pricing specifically should be confirmed directly with your Google sales contact or an authorized reseller serving your region, since it’s negotiated rather than listed.
Common Questions About Google Workspace Pricing
A few related questions come up alongside archived user costs, worth a direct answer here.
Do I have to pay for Google Workspace?
Yes, an active Google Workspace subscription with custom-domain Gmail requires a paid plan, starting at $7 per user per month on Business Starter (annual billing). A 14-day free trial is available before committing.
How much is Google Workspace overall?
Official pricing ranges from $7 per user per month on Business Starter to $22 per user per month on Business Plus, with Enterprise available at custom pricing.
How do I check who my Google Workspace administrator is?
If you’re a regular user, ask whoever manages your organization’s IT or software accounts. Admins themselves can see their own role and any other admins by checking the Admin roles section in the Google Admin Console.
Where do I find Google Workspace?
End users access their apps directly through Gmail, Drive, and the other individual app URLs. Administrators manage the account through the Admin Console at admin.google.com.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming a single published price exists. Archived User licensing isn’t on Google’s public pricing page, so any number quoted online should be treated as an estimate to confirm, not a fixed rate.
- Assigning the wrong archive tier, losing access to features tied to the original license edition.
- Archiving indefinitely without a retention policy, letting costs accumulate for data that may never be accessed again.
- Confusing archived, suspended, and deleted states, each with very different cost and data-retention implications.
- Not confirming the exact current rate with Google or a reseller before budgeting for a large-scale offboarding process.
The Bottom Line
Archived User licenses let you keep a former employee’s Workspace data accessible at a lower cost than an active seat, but Google doesn’t publish an exact price, so budgeting requires confirming the current rate directly rather than relying on any single figure found online. Independent estimates commonly land between $2 and $7 per user per month depending on the original license tier. For organizations with regular turnover, comparing archive licensing costs against a defined retention policy, data export, or a third-party backup tool is worth doing before the cost accumulates at scale.
FAQ
How much does a Google Workspace Archived User license cost?
Google doesn’t publish a fixed public price. Independent estimates commonly range from $2 to $7 per user per month depending on the original license tier, and the exact rate should be confirmed with Google or a reseller.
What is a Google Workspace Archive User license for?
It preserves a former employee’s Gmail, Drive, and other Workspace data for retrieval or compliance purposes, without paying for a full active seat.
Is Archived User the same as Google Vault?
No. The archive license preserves the account’s data. Vault, used for formal eDiscovery and structured retention policies, is a separate add-on cost on top of the archive license.
Should I archive, suspend, or delete a former employee’s account?
Suspending keeps the full license cost and blocks login temporarily. Archiving lowers the cost while keeping data retrievable, generally the right fit for departed employees. Deleting removes the cost entirely but limits data recovery to a short window.
Does the archive license need to match the user’s original plan?
Yes, ideally. Google recommends assigning an archive license matching the departed user’s original edition to retain access to tier-specific features like Vault-based retention.
How much does an Archived User license cost in Pakistan?
There’s no separate published rate for any specific country, since Google doesn’t list a fixed public price for Archived User licenses anywhere. Confirm the current rate with a Google sales contact or an authorized reseller serving your region.
Do I have to pay for Google Workspace?
Yes, for an active custom-domain Gmail account. Pricing starts at $7 per user per month on Business Starter, with a 14-day free trial available before committing.
