Same here. I collaborate with other freelancers (designers and developers alike) who already pay for their own professional plan. Right now I am sharing the *.fig file with them, but this is such a tedious task given the fact that paying users should just be able to collaborate in multiple workspaces when invited.

Also, since I am on a yearly plan, I can only add seats with a yearly interval as well (prorated yes, but still yearly). I didn’t see an option to invite a new user to my team with a monthly plan instead that I could just cancel again once it isn’t needed anymore.

This is something Figma really needs to fix. It just feels wrong having to pay for a seat in multiple workspaces even though you’re already a paying customer.

Hello everyone,

Exact same experience here. I never explicitly consent to get a new paid seat but at the end of the month I received a bill asking for payment.

I never get any email or notification explaining that a new paid seat has been added until the end of the month when payment has been declined because my card was not valid anymore for payment.

This is really unacceptable and deceptive practices.

I would really like Figma to address these frustrating billing issues, but so far, silence… Billing issue - #2 by ksn

Hey All, sorry for the lack of acknowledgement here!

We hear you. The team is monitoring this thread, and we released this YouTube video a couple of days ago in hopes of clarifying how to manage your paid seats:

Lastly, here’s some direct acknowledgement from our CEO, Dylan:

Please know that your feedback is not falling on deaf ears. We are taking your feedback seriously, and hope to make billing more transparent and frictionless.

Got to say, this is quite deceptive! Our bill keeps creeping up each month, and Figma make it deliberately hard to identify why. ☹

Figma charges for non-active users! 🫥

We’re getting automatically billed for seats that haven’t used in months. Why are we paying for seats that aren’t being used!?

The Admin Console is impossible to find! 🥷

This has to be a deliberate dark patten!

Where might someone logically look for their billing info?

• Account Settings? — NOPE!


• Under the main menu? — NOPE!


• Under their user profile? — NOPE!


• On the Figma.com website? — NOPE!


• Okay, let me google this ‘Figma Admin Console’ → I get various Help docs with NO link to the Admin Console. 😠

The only way to find this is to:

1. Navigate to your Files in Figma


2. On the left side of the screen you’ll see the Teams panel


3. Then hiding next to your Team name you’ll find a tiny slider icon 🎚️ (with no label)


4. If you tap that cryptic little icon it’ll take you to a Dashboard which is apparently the ‘Admin console’.


5. From this screen you can tap on to Billing which doesn’t do 💩 Instead you’ll want to tap Members and downgrade or remove of all the seats that Figma has been silently charging you for, even though you don’t actually use them.

Well, that feels like a masterclass in deceptive billing practices. Well done Figma 👏

@dvaliao Unfortunately none of these answer my questions. And the post from your CEO does not portrait him in the best light. “If you don’t want collaboration…” Seriously?

Well, I suppose nobody here is actually willing to talk about it or answering anything, so back to silently hating your business approach.

I am also having this issue. I found the video support posted on here to try and resolve but it doesn’t give any detail into this problem at all. The only clear option I can see is to upgrade to an Organization plan. I am a one man team which needs to share with a single dev. The little guys out there need assistance with this!

There can be no doubt that this is by design and fraudulent

Non-US citizen, please get in touch with your ombudsman:

https://icpen.org/resolve-dispute#cross-border-disputes

US citizens, get in touch with the federal trade commision:

Given the size of Figma and that Figma is an industry standard and the fact that Figma main focus is UX and that it is close to impossible to find you billing info. That the invoice does not link to you billing info and you are given no alerts, confirmation etc. for new seats is criminal.

For that reason this is something journalists will have a field day over and they should. So give them a tip. Save this thread as a PDF and send it to them or share the link.

BBC

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/info-pages/contact-us/

Please add more…

Att: Figma. I have made a copy of this thread, I would advise you not to delete it.

Same thing happened to me, I shared a file and all of a sudden I get an email the next day saying that got I charged double!! She already had a license of her own and I received no warning that I was adding her to my team, this is a total dark pattern and it’s abusive!

Chiming in to mirror the community’s surprise and anger over billing practices. It’s so unclear, and it feels like an intentional “dark pattern”. As a system it just doesn’t make sense that two paid subscribers to a software would have to pay MORE to work together, and that the amount would differ depending on where the files originate. Barring a change there, y’all should at least have a clear warning every time an editor is added that billing will be affected. Insane. This model kind of works for agencies, and totally unfairly penalizes freelancers.

Also everyone here PLEASE VOTE FOR THIS TOPIC at the top of the page… and maybe post about it on social… that’s the only way it’ll get any real attention

This is total nonsense. As an agency, I have clients who have their own paid licenses, but if we share a file with their designers then those designers are added to my account and I’m paying for them? Also with no warning to accept the additional charges, or add an additional seat. It feels VERY intentionally grey and dishonest to double, triple, quadruple etc. charge for these services and should be called what it is: total bull$hit. Fix it, Figma.

Sharing and Billing on Figma:

Figma has two main billing plans: Professional and Team. Professional is for a single user, while Team allows you to add multiple people.

On the Professional plan, anyone you invite to view or edit your Figma file counts as a paid seat unless they are designated as a viewer with specific limitations set by you. This can lead to surprise charges if you aren’t careful.

Here are some things you can do to avoid future charges:

Switch to the Team plan if you need to collaborate with multiple people. This plan gives you more control over billing and allows you to set viewer permissions.

Be mindful of who you invite to edit your files. If you only need someone to view your work, make sure to set their permissions to viewer and restrict editing capabilities.

Keep track of your team members. Figma allows you to see who has access to your files and their permission levels. This helps you identify if someone has been given editing access unintentionally.

Figma’s billing practices are outlined in their Help Center https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360050602593-Guide-to-billing-at-Figma. It might be worth reviewing this to learn more about how their plans and permissions work.

Alternatives to Figma:

There are several design collaboration tools available, some with different billing models. Here are a few options to explore:

Adobe XD: A popular choice from Adobe with similar functionalities to Figma.

genio: A well-established design tool, particularly popular for Apple users.

InVision: A prototyping tool that also offers design collaboration features.

These tools all have their own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s worth trying them out to see which one best suits your needs.

Hey @Dakoe, sorry to ask but, are you a Figma employee? Or is it just your personal opinion to recommend different tools?

I’ve been paying $15USD / month on a professional plan, and last month Figma sent me an email saying that I’ve been moved to a team plan… didn’t think much of it until today when I received a charge on my card for $264USD/month. That’s $400 in Australian dollars. No warning, no explanation. And the link to “manage billing” just takes you to the Project Boards. WTF Happened.

The fact that you need a tutorial to explain where the money go (2 years after this thread started) makes it obvious that this is a very shady practice. Hiding the admin tab so well only confirms this is on purpose.

Once I’ve paid for my seat, my collaborators also own their own license, taxing all of us again makes it close to stealing…

Its just insane that if you invite a user that already has a license that you get charged additionally in your team. Figma please reconsider.

Evil and disgusting

We both have paid accounts to work on our own projects, but if I want to invite my associate to collaborate on a project together, then I need to pay for another seat for him? This makes no sense at all and is scummy, to say the least.

And then silence…

For the two of us, you’re already getting 4 paid seats. Isn’t that enough?

Same thing happened to me. I’m fuming about it. The way subscriptions work with Figma are SO complicated.

My case is interesting. I have a yearly plan and I made a mistake of inviting another designer for couple of days and forgot about it. After a week or 10 days, I get locked out due to unpaid due of $15, Though I have removed the extra seat, I am still hostage and tricked. I wonder even if someone uses it for a days, I get charged for a month, sweat. If I pay $ 15, doesn’t that mean I can add add as many people as long as I keep one seat max? this is unclear and most of all, why denying the software I have already paid in full? Overall, very unethical and disappointing approach by Figma.

Sorry to hear this, @Russell_Phillip!

It looks like you’re already being helped by Lars on ticket #1070119. He’ll review your account and be in touch soon.

I was livid. It was embarrassing to hear what I accidentally cost our company from our IT department, I wasn’t even aware of monetary changes that were happening. It’s dark UX, Figma knows this, and they are just preying on unsuspecting users.