Google Workspace Combined Subscription (PDL) | Mixed Editions on One Domain from Softprom
Partial Domain Licensing (PDL) is a Google Workspace licensing model that lets one company run several editions on a single corporate domain and give each role only the plan it needs — including subsidiaries and teams in different countries. It is available only through an authorised Google partner, not in direct billing.
Do all 300 people in your company need the same Google Workspace plan? With direct Google billing you have no choice: one edition for everyone, including colleagues who open Gmail twice a day.
Partial Domain Licensing (PDL) — a Google Workspace licensing model in which several editions coexist on one domain and the administrator assigns a specific plan to each user. Business Starter for operational and service roles, Business Standard for office teams, Business Plus or Enterprise with Google Vault, advanced device management and the full Gemini toolkit for management, finance, legal and analysts.
The blended cost per seat is typically 30–50% lower than a single edition for everyone. PDL is not offered in Google’s self-service billing: it is unlocked when the subscription is moved to an authorised partner such as Softprom.
As an official Google Workspace Premier Partner and Value Added-integrator, Softprom helps you audit workplaces free of charge, build the licence matrix, configure the hybrid environment and provide a contract and invoicing in local currency in each of the 33 countries where we operate. Request a consultation.
One domain, one directory. Mixing editions changes nothing for your people: shared address book, calendars, Google Chat, Google Meet, shared drives and one admin console. Microsoft Office files (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX) open, edit and comment in the browser on every plan, so no extra desktop licences are needed. You pay for Gemini, Vault and advanced analytics only where they create value.
What are you solving with a mixed subscription?
- Operational, retail and service teams need only mail, calendar and chat: Business Starter for them, Standard or Plus for the office.
- Legal hold, retention and eDiscovery for finance and legal only: Business Plus with Google Vault for those roles, not the whole domain.
- Gemini for marketing and project managers without raising the bill for everyone: Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Google Vids on the plans where those teams sit.
- Automating requests and task routing between departments: AI agents in Workspace Studio, independent of each user’s edition.
- Searching thousands of internal documents, policies and recordings: Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) with source citations and Audio Overviews for knowledge-heavy teams.
- Replacing a paid Microsoft 365 tier for part of the staff: Business Starter with Office file compatibility, migrated by Softprom engineers.
Tools worth placing in the licence matrix
Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides
Drafts, summaries, data insights and translations inside the apps your teams already use.
Gemini Notebook
Upload policies, contracts and meeting recordings; get answers with source links and Audio Overviews.
AppSheet without code
Mobile and web apps for assets, requests and inspections built on Google Sheets data, no developers required.
Video, images and design without third-party tools
Google Vids
AI-assembled training videos, project updates and sales pitches from a script, with voice-over.
Google Pics
Recolour objects without redrawing the background, edit and translate text on banners, upscale to 2K or 4K.
New apps at no extra cost
Google adds apps and AI features to existing subscriptions; the toolkit grows, the invoice does not.
Business tasks and IT-budget optimisation
Practical combination scenarios that turn a monthly subscription into measurable savings:
- targeted budget allocation: pay the Starter rate for operational and service roles and concentrate resources and advanced tools on the key departments;
- tiered security and compliance: enable Google Vault legal archiving, S/MIME encryption and endpoint management only for management, finance and legal;
- selective scaling of Gemini AI: give generative AI, Gemini Notebook and the Vids video studio to marketers and project managers without raising licence costs for the rest of the staff;
- process automation in Workspace Studio: build AI agents that handle requests and route tasks between departments on different subscription tiers;
- knowledge bases in Gemini Notebook: explore terabytes of corporate documents, policies and recordings with an AI notebook that generates Audio Overviews and source links;
- one team, one workspace: whatever the plan, the whole company talks in the same chats, runs surveys in Google Forms and works without barriers.
What Softprom adds as a value-added partner
- Local contract and invoicing: contract and invoice in local currency with the tax documents required in your country;
- Licence matrix design: role-by-role analysis of workplaces so each group gets the edition it needs — and nothing it does not;
- Domain security: SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, access rules and 2-step verification configured against spam and phishing;
- Migration and change management: hybrid setup, admin-console rights, Gemini training for teams, 30-day trial for new customers.
Frequently asked questions about Partial Domain Licensing
Yes — through Partial Domain Licensing (PDL). It is not available in Google’s direct billing; the subscription has to be managed by an authorised partner such as Softprom.
Any Google Workspace editions — Business Starter, Standard, Plus and Enterprise — in the mix your roles require. Softprom proposes the licence matrix after a consultation.
Google’s per-user rate for each edition, applied only to the users who actually have it. Softprom calculates the exact figure for your headcount after a free audit.
Yes. Everyone stays on one domain and one directory: shared calendars, Chat, Meet, shared drives and one admin console.
If every employee needs the same features, a single edition is simpler to administer. PDL pays off when part of the staff uses only mail, calendar and chat while the full toolkit is needed by a few teams — Softprom will say which case is yours after the audit.
Request a consultation: Softprom audits the workplaces, shows the savings calculation and runs a 30-day trial before any contract.
Features
Different Plans on One Domain
Assign the right tier to each department — from Business Starter for frontline teams to Business Plus or Enterprise for leadership.
Seamless Team Collaboration
Across mixed subscriptions, your entire organisation shares one address book, unified calendars, Google Chat, and Meet calls.
Targeted Security & Compliance
Provision Google Vault retention, advanced MDM, and S/MIME encryption strictly to roles handling sensitive data.
Partner-Integrator Support
Role-based licensing audit, savings calculation, PDL enablement via partner billing, official contracts, and multi-currency invoicing.
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