I manage two accounts in my Microsoft 365 tenant: [email protected] for everyday work and [email protected] as an unlicensed global administrator. I'm now responsible for a small business that uses Google Workspace, although I'd eventually like to move it to Microsoft 365.
Google Workspace appears to automatically assign paid licenses to new users, and I haven't found an obvious way to create an admin-only account without consuming a license. Should I use a fully licensed account for administration and a separate account for everyday work, or is there a Google equivalent to an unlicensed Microsoft 365 admin account? What setup is considered best practice?
3 Answers
Don’t automatically make every administrative account a Super Admin. Create custom or narrower admin roles for tasks such as user management, Drive settings, or sharing controls, and reserve Super Admin for actions that genuinely require it. That reduces the potential damage if an account is compromised and makes periodic access reviews easier.
For the few accounts that do need Super Admin, use strong multi-factor authentication—ideally security keys—and keep them separate from routine work.
Google’s licensing model can make this less straightforward than Microsoft 365. If Cloud Identity Free isn’t available or suitable for the tenant, a dedicated licensed admin seat may be necessary. Even then, the account should remain separate from daily work, be used only for administration, and be protected with MFA.
It’s also sensible to maintain a small number of protected emergency administrator accounts rather than giving broad privileges to lots of regular users.
Use the same basic model as Microsoft 365: keep a normal licensed account for Gmail, Drive, and other daily work, and create a separate account for privileged administration.
Check whether Cloud Identity Free can be enabled in the organization. An account using that tier can be assigned administrative roles, including Super Admin when necessary, without consuming a paid Google Workspace license. It won’t have normal Workspace services such as Gmail, which is generally fine for an admin-only or break-glass account.
You may also need to disable automatic license assignment for the organizational unit where the admin account is created.
Cloud Identity Free is the closest equivalent to an unlicensed admin account. It can manage the environment through the Admin console even though it doesn’t include services such as Gmail.