Summary
On a self-serve Business (Cloud) plan, there's confusion over being billed at the 'Builder' rate for more users than the 1-2 who actively edit apps each month, based on the understanding that only users who edit an app should be billed as Builders.
AI Response
Retool defines a 'Builder' as any enabled user who built or edited an app or workflow at any point during the billing cycle — so a user who has Edit access and opens the editor and makes even a minor change is counted as a Builder for that month, while enabled users who didn't edit anything are billed at the lower internal-user rate. Simply holding Edit permissions doesn't trigger Builder billing, but any editing activity does, and there's nothing stopping a user with sufficient access from flipping to Builder by opening the editor. On the Business plan, the documented way to keep costs down is to use permission groups to restrict users who shouldn't build/edit to Use-only access, ensuring they remain billed at the reduced internal-user rate. Reviewing which accounts have Edit/Own access and scoping them down accordingly should align the bill with actual usage.
Sources
Billing and usage | Retool Docs
Official billing reference defining Builder vs. internal user (Builders = enabled users who edited an app/workflow that cycle) and noting Business plans can use permission groups to keep non-editors at the lower internal-user rate.
Solved 2026 community thread confirming any user with edit access becomes a Builder just by opening the editor, and that the Business plan's permission groups are what let you actually govern who can edit.
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