Company licence vs per seat: What it means for L&D

You can tell a lot about a learning library by the way it is bought. Pricing is not just a finance choice. It shapes behaviour. It sets the pace. It sends signals to leaders about what matters and who gets access.

Two models dominate content buying in L&D. Per seat. And a single company licence.

On paper both can look reasonable. In reality they lead to very different outcomes. If your goals include faster adoption, less admin, and visible impact in a quarter, the model you pick will either help or quietly work against you.

Let’s unpack the real trade offs so you can decide with confidence.

What per seat pricing really means in practice

Per seat looks tidy in a spreadsheet. You pay for the people who will use the content. No waste. Simple. Except work is messy and people move. Here is how that “tidy” model often plays out on the ground.

1) Access becomes a question not an answer

You create a list of managers who qualify. You collect names and job titles. Someone checks cost centres. Someone else asks which level of content each person needs. Then the business reorganises, and the list is wrong by Friday. Every new starter or internal move triggers another request. You can almost hear the brakes.

2) Adoption slows before learning starts

People ask if they are on the list. Some are. Some are not. Those who are not wait for the next batch. Momentum dips. The very people who needed help yesterday now need an approval first. You end up training the same keen group over and over because they already have seats.

3) Fairness questions spread

When only a slice of managers get access, you create two classes of support. That rarely matches what leaders say about standards and culture. It also makes it harder for new managers. They are told to step up but are not given the same tools.

4) Forecasting and admin take over

Per seat demands constant housekeeping. Assigning seats. Reclaiming them when someone leaves. Chasing transfers. Running reports to prove usage to justify renewal. All of this is time your team could spend on conversations that actually lift performance.

5) The hidden cost of hesitation

When content sits behind a limited seat pool, managers are less likely to dip in for a single topic to fix a specific problem. They wait. The small people issues stack up. You pay elsewhere through lost productivity and not right first time.

Per seat can still make sense in some situations. We will come back to that. But most organisations feel the gravity of these five points within weeks.

What a company licence changes

A company licence does something very simple. You pay once and everyone in your legal entity can use it. No tallying. No haggling over spare seats. No forms for access.

That single shift removes friction at three key moments.

At the point of need

A manager hits a people issue on Tuesday. They do not need to ask permission to learn. They can take a short course and use the task with their team the same week. That is how behaviour moves.

At the point of rollout

You can tell leaders the plan in one line. Every manager has access. No carve outs. No waiting lists. That consistency helps you raise the floor across teams faster.

At the point of evidence

You can point to simple behaviours to track across the whole population. Weekly one to ones. Clear goals. Timely feedback. When everyone can access the same playbook, you can show movement in weeks not quarters.

There is also a human side. Removing access hurdles signals trust. People use what they can reach. Make it easy and you will see more practical learning in the day to day.

Let’s talk money without jargon

Finance teams want numbers not poetry. Fair. Here is a simple way to compare.

Imagine a business with 800 people and roughly 300 managers across first line, mid-level and senior roles.

A per seat vendor quotes £120 to £200 per person for a leadership library. Even if you only buy for 200 managers, that is £24,000 to £40,000 a year.

Ology Learning’s Lead-Ology company licence for a focused, practical library sits between £2,500 and £4,000 a year depending on levels included.

These are not fictional gaps. They are common. Pricing varies by vendor and scope, but the shape holds. The per seat model multiplies cost every time you try to be inclusive. The company licence stays flat while adoption grows. That is the point.

The real win is not only price. It is total cost to operate. With per seat you spend L&D time administering seats. With a company licence you spend that time helping managers apply skills on the job.

Why pricing model shapes learning behaviour

We often tell managers to remove friction for their teams. The same rule applies to learning. Pricing is part of the system that either invites people in or slows them down.

Lower friction equals higher use. If everyone can get to the content, you will see more people try it when they hit a problem.

Higher use equals more data. When more managers engage, you can see patterns and target support where it matters.

Clear signals drive fair expectations. If access is universal, your message about standards and consistency rings true.

This is how you move from “we bought a thing” to “we changed how managers work day to day.”

Company licence fits how managers really learn

Most managers do not learn in blocks. They learn in moments. Before a tough one to one. When a decision has dragged for a week. When a meeting keeps missing the point. That is why short, practical courses work. People go in, take a tool, use it, and move on.

A company licence pairs neatly with this pattern. It lets managers dip in for what they need without a gatekeeper. No days out of the business. No queues. No drama. Just better conversations and communication skills showing up in the week’s work.

Does per seat ever make sense?

Yes. There are edge cases where per seat is reasonable.

Very small populations. If you have a handful of managers and no plan to grow, and if you know exactly who needs what, per seat could be cheaper in year one.

Highly specialised training. For narrow topics that only a small cadre needs once, per seat can be fine.

Short pilot with a clear end. If you are testing a niche tool with a fixed cohort, per seat might be enough to learn and move on.

Even then, ask what happens when more people want in after you prove value. If growth is likely, you will cross the line where a company licence is both cheaper and smarter.

Procurement and IT sanity check

Procurement wants control. IT wants low risk. Both are reasonable. A company licence can meet those needs cleanly when the content is designed to work with your existing LMS.

• You keep your own data and controls inside your LMS.

• You avoid extra platforms where possible.

• You stay in your standard privacy and security frameworks.

• You roll out faster because set up is simple.

One price. One contract. Your systems. Everyone can get on with the job.

A simple way to decide in under an hour

Book a short session with your finance partner and answer five questions.

1. How many managers do we have today across first line, mid-level and senior roles

2. How many will need access in the next twelve months given promotions and churn

3. What is our per seat quote and what does that look like when we include the likely population

4. How much L&D time will we spend each month adding, moving and chasing seats

5. What is the value of getting essentials in place across all managers in one quarter

Put a fair hourly rate on L&D admin. Add that to the per seat figure. Look at the total against a company licence. Include the opportunity cost of slower adoption. You will see the shape of the answer very quickly.

A short story case study example

A UK operations business with 650 people had a familiar problem. Different standards across teams. Surveys showed people were unclear on expectations. Attrition was nudging up. Projects dragged.

They had tried a per seat leadership library. Take up was patchy. Managers who had seats used it sometimes. Managers without seats did not push to get them. The HR team spent time moving licences rather than helping managers apply anything.

They switched to a single company licence with short, practical courses. Everyone could access the same playbook. HR focused on core behaviours to watch and track.

Leaders saw movement. Conversations were tighter. Decisions landed sooner. People issues started to drop because expectations were clearer. No one was sent off the job for learning.

Managers picked up a tool and used it on Tuesday.

Same budget band. Very different result. The shift was not just content. It was the signal sent by access for all.

The CFO’s eye view

Finance teams are not trying to block learning. They want value and predictability. Company licences can deliver both.

• Predictable cost. One number. No surprises when you promote ten new team leaders.

• Fewer workarounds. No messy internal recharging of seats. No end of quarter hunts for unused licences.

• Clear impact story. When access is consistent, you can link behaviour changes to business outcomes more convincingly.

There is even a line about risk. When access is limited, managers improvise. Some will search the open web for advice. You do not want your leadership culture shaped by the algorithm that day.

What to measure in the first thirty days

Pricing is a choice. Results are the point. If you choose a company licence, set simple measures up front.

• Percentage of managers who accessed at least one course in month one

• Percentage of teams with a weekly one to one in the calendar

• Percentage of people with a clear goal for the week in shared notes

• The number o

  f decisions made in meetings rather than parked

These are behaviours leaders recognise. They tie directly to productivity and right first time. You can talk about them in plain English at the next board.

A quick word on content quality

None of this replaces the need for practical, UK ready content. Managers learn best when the course feels like real work, not a lecture. Look for short courses that end with a task to try. Workbooks that keep people on track. Clear language. No fluff. The pricing model will not rescue content that managers dodge.

That said, even great content struggles when access is rationed. Pick good content. Then pick a model that lets everyone use it.

FAQ

What is per seat pricing

You pay for each named user who can access the content. Seats are assigned to individuals. You often manage adds, moves and changes during the term.

What is a company licence

You pay one price for the whole legal entity. Everyone in the business can access the content without seat assignment. It removes tallying and approvals.

Which model drives faster adoption

In most organisations a company licence wins. It removes the gate at the point of need so more managers try the content when it matters.

Isn’t per seat less wasteful

Only if your population is very small and stable. Once you want broad access across managers, the admin plus the missed opportunities usually outweigh any saving.

What does this mean for ROI

A company licence makes it easier to push a few essential habits across all managers and measure them. That helps you show impact in weeks rather than months.

Will IT and procurement accept a company licence

Yes when the content works in your LMS and standard terms are clear. One price and a simple set up is often easier to approve than seat juggling.

When is per seat still sensible

Small, fixed cohorts. Highly specialised topics. Short pilots with a defined end. If growth is likely, plan for a switch.

If you want to see what a company licence looks like in practice, start a free 7-day trial and try a few courses with your managers this week. If you prefer a quick walk through first, message us and we will show you how it works in under fifteen minutes.