Room roles vs. org roles
Katalyz has two independent permission layers: an org role that applies across your whole workspace, and a room role that applies inside a single room. Both exist because they do different jobs.
Org roles (workspace-wide)
Your org role is set by your workspace admin and defines what you can do across Katalyz as a whole — the dashboard, creating rooms, managing settings.
Org role | What it can do |
|---|---|
Admin | Full control of the workspace. Manages members, branding, billing, integrations. Sees and edits every room, regardless of invitation. |
Pro | Can create rooms, manage rooms they own, and access rooms they've been invited to. |
Basic | Can only access rooms they've been explicitly invited to. Cannot create new rooms. |
Your org role is what you pay for. Admin and Pro are paid seats; Basic is free — invite as many Basic users as you need (see Plans).
Buyers don't have an org role because they're not members of your workspace.
Room roles (inside a specific room)
Inside a single room, each participant — whether a member of your workspace or an external buyer — has a room role that determines what they can do in that room:
Room role | Can read | Can comment | Can edit | Can manage participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Owner | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (including remove) |
Editor | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (invite only) |
Commenter | ✅ | ✅ | — | Invite Commenters and Viewers |
Viewer | ✅ | — | — | Invite other Viewers |
There's one Owner per room, fixed at creation. The other three — Editor, Commenter, Viewer — are the roles you pick from when inviting someone.
Key point: the read-and-discuss role is Commenter, and it's the default for buyers you invite. A Commenter can read the room, comment on any section, complete tasks assigned to them and update task assignees — they just can't edit widgets or sections.
Viewer is strictly read-only. A Viewer sees the same room as a Commenter but can't respond in it: no comments, no task completion. Use it for people who should be informed rather than involved — an exec sponsor, a legal reviewer doing a read-only pass.
How they combine
A single person has both a room role and an org role. The two combine to determine what they can do.
Examples:
- Admin + Viewer — Because Admin grants edit rights to every room in the workspace, this person can still edit the room, even though their explicit room role is Viewer.
- Pro + Editor — Can edit this specific room. Outside this room, Pro rules apply.
- Basic + Commenter — Can read and comment on this specific room. Cannot create rooms elsewhere.
- Buyer + Commenter — Default for most buyer contacts. Can read, comment, and act on tasks assigned to them.
- Buyer + Viewer — Read-only. They can follow the room but not respond in it.
- Buyer + Editor — Rare, but possible. Useful when you want a partner or agency to actively contribute to a shared room.
Who decides what
- Your admin sets your org role (in Settings → Members).
- A room Owner or Editor sets your room role (in the room's Participants tab).
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Updated on: 01/10/2026
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