Learn about the three roles in a Coda workspace: Doc Makers, Workspace admins, & Editors. Read about the actions & abilities of each role.
At Coda, we like to keep things simple. So we only have three types of members within our workspaces:
Doc Maker
Doc Maker (Workspace admin)
Editor
You can think of Doc Makers as exactly what their name says - someone who makes a new doc. Workspace admins keep your docs and workspace organized. Editors are the members of your cross-functional team who interact with and access data within a doc.
A workspace can have an unlimited number of members in any role but both Doc Maker (Workspace admin) and Doc Maker are paid licenses, while editors are free in Coda. Below you will find a detailed breakdown of what each type of member is able to do.
Within this article, you'll find...
What Doc Makers can do
In addition to being able to use all the amazing features in a Coda doc, Doc Makers can also create and delete docs, manage doc settings, create pages, use Coda AI, and create and manage folders. 💡 For the full list of actions available for Doc Makers (and if you are more of a visual learner) - check out the table below.
You'll choose this role for team members who are creating new docs and pages to streamline workflows, set up processes, and build tools for the team.
Pricing for a workspace is based on the number of Doc Makers. There is no limit to how many Doc Makers you can have in your workspace.
What Doc Maker (Workspace admin)s can do
💡 For the full list of actions available for Doc Maker (Workspace admin)s (and if you are more of a visual learner) - check out the table below.
Doc Maker (Workspace admin)s are a type of Doc Maker who, in addition to Doc Maker abilities, have access to workspace settings. You will also see them referred to as “workspace admins”.
Doc Maker (Workspace admin)s have control of settings and permissions related to the workspace, including the ability to add members, remove members and update member roles. If you’re an admin wanting to learn more about managing Doc Makers, check out this article.
If you create a workspace, by default you gain the role of Doc Maker (Workspace admin). You can (and should!) have more than one admin for a workspace so that you can share the responsibilities and take over admin controls if another administrator is unavailable or needs to leave the workspace.
ℹ️ A note for our Enterprise customers: Enterprise workspaces have both workspace admins and org admins - two distinct roles. Org admins control the organization settings for all workspaces on the Enterprise plan.
What editors can do
As an editor in Coda, you can collaborate in docs. Collaboration is not limited, so you can do things like edit existing pages, add rows to tables, construct buttons, and interact with all that a Doc Maker has created. 💡 For the full list of actions available for editors (and if you are more of a visual learner) - check out the table below.
Editors are free in Coda, and you are able to have an unlimited number of editors in your workspace and docs.
There is no separate role for viewers, and no need for one since editors are free! But you can give view only permission to docs if needed - learn more here.
We recommend the editor role for teammates who interact with and contribute to docs that have already been created. Common examples of this:
Adding the weekly team meeting notes
Giving feedback on a recent product proposal
Updating the team’s project management tracker
Abilities by role
| Ability | Doc Maker (workspace admin) | Doc Maker | Editor |
| Add or delete new tables | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Add or delete views | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Add or delete formulas | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Add, edit, and delete Packs | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Add, edit, and delete automations | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Add, edit, and delete forms | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Contribute and make changes to a doc | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Contribute and make changes to a table | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Update page options, like subtitle, page authors, or page layout | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Access doc version history | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Update doc sharing (if access to do so is enabled) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Try Coda AI for free (all Free plan users & Editors can try up to a given threshold) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Refresh content created by existing AI columns or AI blocks (provided the Doc Maker has credits) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Use existing generated AI content | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Use Coda AI to generate new content | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Create or delete docs | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Add or delete pages & subpages | |||
| Change the name & icon of an existing doc or page | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Move pages & subpages | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Hide or unhide pages | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Show hidden pages (Editors can access hidden pages via URL) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Configure doc & page locking | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Configure advanced sharing settings | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Configure timezone & calendar week preferences | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Create & manage folders to organize your workspace | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Copy pages from one doc to a new doc | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Move docs between workspaces | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Create, build, and share Packs | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Add and manage custom icons | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Create or manage team templates | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Pin docs to folder or workspace | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Publish a doc, including to a custom domain | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Invite or remove members from a workspace | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Adjust member roles (e.g. Editor → Doc Maker) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Adjust workspace-level settings | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Adjust org-level settings (Only Enterprise org admins have this ability) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
FAQs
Do all members cost the same?
Coda uses a unique "maker billing" model. Often there’ll be one person who creates a doc, others who edit, and some who simply observe from afar, yet most pricing models charge for all those different types of users equally.
At Coda, we only charge for each Doc Maker in a workspace - editors and viewers in docs are free. For more information, see our billing & pricing basics article.
How can I see my role or someone else in my workspace’s role?
You can see all workspace members’ roles by going to your workspace page, click Members in the left navigation, which will open the page with everyone’s roles listed.
How can I see the non-workspace members that have access to docs in my workspace?
Check out the sharing dialog of the doc itself (open by clicking Share in top right of a doc). Although you will not see exactly who is a guest, it does have the complete list of people who the doc has been shared with, which if permitted, can include people outside of your workspace and if they have the ability to edit, view, or comment.
Can I give edit or view access to people outside my workspace?
Yes! Whenever you share a doc for editing with someone outside of your workspace, they will be added to the doc but not to your workspace. These external users can edit or view individual docs shared with them, but cannot browse the doc's workspace or folder so you can control what they see.
Is there a limit to how many editors I can have in my workspace?
No there is not! You can have as many editors as you would like in your workspace.
Is there a limit for how many Doc Maker (Workspace admin)s I can have?
There is no limit! Every Coda workspace automatically has at least one Doc Maker (Workspace admin) - also known simply as "workspace admin" - and we recommend a minimum of two workspace admins in your workspace at all times to ensure that things will continue without a hitch should one of the admins leave the workspace.
I'm on a free workspace and I see a lot of Doc Maker (Workspace admin)s. How is that happening?
There is a special rule for free workspaces that automatically makes users workspace admins when they create a doc. This enables anyone that is a Doc Maker (Workspace admin) in the workspace to upgrade when the team is ready for the next level.
If I’m a Doc Maker in one workspace, does that mean I can take Doc Maker actions even in docs that live in other workspaces?
The answer depends on the plan type of your workspace and of the other workspace. If you’re a Doc Maker in one workspace, you can take Doc Maker actions on docs in other workspaces of the same tier or below.
For instance, let’s say you’re a Doc Maker in a Pro workspace, and you’re invited as a collaborator to a doc that lives in a Pro or Free workspace. You will be able to take Doc Maker actions on this doc - because you’re a Doc Maker in an equal or higher tier workspace.
But let’s say you’re still a Doc Maker in a Pro workspace, and you’re invited as a collaborator to a doc that lives in a higher tier workspace (Team or Enterprise). In this case, you will not be able to take Doc Maker actions in this doc, because you’re a Doc Maker only in a lower tier workspace.