What Is Salesforce Experience Cloud?
Salesforce Experience Cloud (formerly known as Community Cloud until 2021) is Salesforce's platform for building externally-facing portals, communities, and digital experiences. It allows organisations to extend Salesforce data and processes to users outside the core Salesforce internal user base — including partners, dealers, distributors, customers, patients, students, volunteers, and other external stakeholders.
Experience Cloud is a separate licensing layer on top of the core Salesforce platform. Internal Salesforce users do not need Experience Cloud licenses — they access Experience Cloud sites through their existing internal license. External users, however, require their own license type, and this is where the complexity (and the cost surprises) begin.
Experience Cloud is used across virtually every industry: manufacturing companies build dealer portals, financial institutions build client portals, healthcare organisations build patient portals, and retailers build customer loyalty communities. The platform is genuinely versatile, but its pricing model is not intuitive. Before committing to a structure, review our Salesforce licensing pillar guide to understand how Experience Cloud fits within the broader commercial framework.
Experience Cloud License Types Explained
Salesforce offers multiple license types for Experience Cloud external users, each with different capabilities, pricing models, and Salesforce object access entitlements. Understanding which license type is appropriate for your use case is the foundation of Experience Cloud cost optimisation.
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| License Type | Pricing Model | List Price | Key Capabilities |
|---|
| Experience Cloud Login | Per login | $2/login | Full portal access; resets monthly; unlimited users in pool |
| Experience Cloud Member | Per user/month | $6/user/mo | Full portal access; assigned to named users; predictable cost |
| Customer Community | Per user/month | $2/user/mo | Limited — Cases & Knowledge only; no custom objects |
| Customer Community Plus | Per user/month | $6/user/mo | Cases, Knowledge, custom objects, reports |
| Partner Community | Per user/month | $10/user/mo | CRM access, leads, opportunities, custom objects; PRM use cases |
| Partner Community Login | Per login | $5/login | Login-based Partner Community access |
| Authenticated Website | Per user/month | $35/user/mo | Full Salesforce object access for authenticated web users |
| External Apps Starter | Per user/month | $25/user/mo | B2B external app access; OmniStudio included |
Common Confusion
Customer Community and Customer Community Plus are legacy license names. Experience Cloud Login and Member have largely replaced these in new contracts, but you may still encounter the old naming in proposals. Confirm which license type you're buying — the capabilities and prices differ meaningfully.
Login vs Member: The Critical Decision
The most important Experience Cloud licensing decision is whether to use Login licenses (charged per login event) or Member licenses (charged per named user per month). The financial outcome of this decision can vary by hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for large portals.
The break-even point is straightforward: at $2/login (Experience Cloud Login) vs $6/user/month (Experience Cloud Member), the break-even is 3 logins per user per month. Users who log in more than 3 times per month are cheaper on Member licenses; users who log in fewer than 3 times are cheaper on Login licenses.
| User Segment | Avg Logins/Month | Optimal License | Annual Cost (per user) |
|---|
| Very low frequency (e.g. annual renewal portals) | 1–2 | Login ($2/login) | $24–$48 |
| Low frequency (e.g. monthly reporting portals) | 2–3 | Either — evaluate | $48–$72 / $72 Member |
| Regular users (e.g. weekly active dealers) | 4–10 | Member ($6/user/mo) | $72 |
| Daily active users | 20+ | Member ($6/user/mo) | $72 vs $480+ Login |
Most organisations have a mix of user segments within a single portal. The optimal approach is a blended license model: Member licenses for regular, high-frequency users and Login licenses for occasional access users. This requires Salesforce to structure the contract with both license pools — which is achievable but needs to be negotiated explicitly.
Billing Trap
Login licenses are charged based on actual login events recorded by Salesforce, measured monthly. If your portal has a high-traffic event (product launch, open enrolment, major announcement), login volumes can spike dramatically and generate unexpected charges. Negotiate a monthly login cap or a hybrid arrangement where excess logins above a threshold convert to a Member license pool rate.
Portal Types & Their License Requirements
The type of portal you're building determines which Experience Cloud license is appropriate. Choosing the wrong license type either over-provisions capabilities (and cost) or creates access restrictions that require expensive workarounds.
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| Portal Type | Recommended License | Key Requirement |
|---|
| Customer self-service (cases, knowledge) | Customer Community ($2/user/mo) | Limited to Cases and Knowledge objects only |
| Customer portal with custom data | Customer Community Plus or EC Member ($6) | Needs custom object access |
| Dealer/distributor portal | Partner Community ($10) or EC Login/Member | Depends on whether leads/opps are shared |
| Donor portal (nonprofits) | EC Member or Customer Community Plus | Donor history, events, giving records |
| Patient portal (healthcare) | EC Member + Health Cloud license | PHI access; Shield required for HIPAA |
| Financial client portal | EC Member + FSC license | Financial account data visibility |
| Employee portal / HR self-service | EC Member or Authenticated Website | Internal employee — may use internal license |
| B2B commerce / order portal | External Apps Starter ($25) or B2B Commerce | Transaction functionality requires higher tier |
Complete Experience Cloud Pricing Overview
Experience Cloud pricing depends on both the external user license type and any add-on components. The following represents list pricing — negotiated rates for deals over 500 external users typically achieve 25–40% discounts. For partner portal use cases within Manufacturing Cloud or Financial Services Cloud deployments, negotiate Experience Cloud as part of the combined deal to maximise leverage.
- Experience Cloud Login: $2 per login (each authenticated session counts as one login, regardless of duration)
- Experience Cloud Member: $6 per user per month (named user; unlimited logins within the month)
- Partner Community: $10 per user per month (includes lead and opportunity access for PRM deployments)
- Salesforce CMS Add-on: $10,000–$25,000 per year for advanced CMS features; basic CMS included in Experience Cloud
- Einstein for Experience Cloud: $25–$50 per user per month; recommendation and personalisation AI
- Experience Cloud + MuleSoft: Required for complex external data integrations; priced separately by MuleSoft capacity
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Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Experience Cloud has several cost areas that regularly surprise organisations after the initial deal is signed:
Gotcha 01
Monthly login minimums
Experience Cloud Login contracts typically include a monthly minimum login commitment — often 1,000–5,000 logins per month — regardless of actual usage. If your portal usage is seasonal or ramp-slowly, you may pay for logins you never use. Negotiate to reduce or eliminate the monthly minimum, or to have the minimum annualised rather than charged monthly.
Gotcha 02
Authenticated vs unauthenticated page view counting
Experience Cloud portals can be configured with both public (unauthenticated) pages and private (authenticated) pages. Public pages do not consume login or member license entitlements. However, if a user transitions from public to authenticated content within the same session, the login event is triggered and counted. Review your portal architecture to maximise the content served without authentication before users log in.
Gotcha 03
Multiple portals, one license pool
A single Experience Cloud license (Login or Member) allows access to all Experience Cloud sites within the same Salesforce org. If you're building multiple portals (e.g. a dealer portal and a customer community), you can serve both populations from the same license pool — as long as they're in the same org. Salesforce proposals sometimes suggest separate license pools for each site, which is unnecessary and adds cost.
Gotcha 04
API access limitations for lower-tier licenses
Customer Community licenses (legacy) have restricted API access. If your portal needs to make API calls — for real-time data integration, mobile app support, or custom development — you may find that the cheaper Customer Community license does not support your technical requirements. Confirm API access needs with your development team before locking in on the cheapest license tier.
8 Experience Cloud Negotiation Tactics
Tactic 01
Analyse actual login data before negotiating license type
For renewals of existing portals, pull 12 months of login data from Salesforce's Event Monitoring logs before negotiating. For new portals, estimate login frequency from user segment analysis. The login/member decision should be data-driven, not assumption-based — and presenting this analysis to your Salesforce AE demonstrates you're an informed buyer who will push back on over-provisioning.
Tactic 02
Negotiate a hybrid Login + Member structure
Most Salesforce proposals default to a uniform license type (all Login or all Member). Push for a hybrid structure: Member licenses for your regular-use segments, Login licenses for your occasional-use segments. This requires more complex contract structuring but typically saves 20–35% on total portal licensing cost versus a uniform approach.
Tactic 03
Bundle Experience Cloud into your core Sales or Service Cloud renewal
Experience Cloud negotiated as an add-on to an existing Salesforce deal typically achieves 15–25% less discount than Experience Cloud negotiated as part of a combined deal renewal. Time your Experience Cloud licensing decision to coincide with your core Salesforce renewal and negotiate the combined ACV for maximum leverage. See our
EA renewal tactics guide for timing strategies.
Tactic 04
Eliminate or reduce monthly login minimums
Challenge any monthly minimum login commitment in your contract. For organisations with seasonal usage patterns (annual open enrolment portals, quarterly reporting portals), monthly minimums can represent 50–70% of your annual Experience Cloud spend on logins you don't use. Negotiate to annualise the minimum (total annual logins vs monthly minimum) or eliminate it entirely in exchange for a longer contract term.
Tactic 05
Use Microsoft Power Pages as a competitive alternative
Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps Portals) is a credible Experience Cloud alternative for organisations already in the Microsoft ecosystem. It supports authenticated portals with Dataverse integration and is priced on a per-login or per-authenticated-user model. Even if Salesforce is your preferred platform, a Power Pages evaluation creates real competitive tension. Azure-committed customers can often absorb Power Pages costs in existing Microsoft commitments — a powerful leverage point. See our
Microsoft EA negotiation guide for context.
Tactic 06
Negotiate single-license-pool access across multiple portals
If you're building multiple Experience Cloud portals within the same Salesforce org, explicitly confirm in your contract that a single license pool serves all portals. Salesforce may attempt to propose separate license entitlements for each portal — this is commercially unnecessary. A single pool of Member or Login licenses can serve users across all sites in the org, and this should be contractually confirmed before signing.
Tactic 07
Negotiate public page capacity at no additional license cost
Unauthenticated (public) Experience Cloud pages do not consume license entitlements. Design your portal architecture to maximise public-facing content — product catalogues, FAQs, knowledge articles, event calendars — and minimise the content that requires authentication. Each user session that starts on public pages before authenticating is a login that only counts once, not once per public page view. Confirm this architecture with your Salesforce technical team before building.
Tactic 08
Evaluate whether Salesforce CMS add-on is actually needed
Salesforce CMS is included in Experience Cloud at a basic level. The advanced CMS add-on ($10k–$25k/year) adds content collections, content APIs, and enhanced content management workflows. For most portals, the included basic CMS is sufficient. Only add the CMS component if your team has confirmed specific requirements (e.g. headless CMS architecture, multi-language content management, or external site integration) that require the advanced capabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a "login" in Salesforce Experience Cloud Login licensing?
A login is counted each time an external user authenticates to an Experience Cloud site. Each authentication event is one login, regardless of how long the session lasts or how many pages the user views during the session. If a user logs in, navigates the portal for 4 hours, and logs out — that is one login. If the session times out and the user re-authenticates, that is a second login. Monthly login counts reset at the start of each billing period.
Can I use the same Experience Cloud license for multiple portals?
Yes — a single Experience Cloud license pool (Login or Member) grants access to all Experience Cloud sites within the same Salesforce org. A user with an Experience Cloud Member license can access a dealer portal, a customer community, and a partner portal within the same org without additional licenses. This is a significant cost advantage when building multi-portal architectures in a single org.
Do internal Salesforce users need Experience Cloud licenses to access Experience Cloud sites?
No. Internal Salesforce users (those with standard Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, or other internal licenses) can access Experience Cloud sites using their existing license. Experience Cloud licenses are only required for external users — those outside your organisation who don't have internal Salesforce licenses. This applies to partners, customers, patients, donors, volunteers, and similar external stakeholders.
What is the difference between Experience Cloud and Community Cloud?
Community Cloud and Experience Cloud refer to the same Salesforce product. Salesforce rebranded Community Cloud to Experience Cloud in 2021. If you have an existing contract that references Community Cloud licenses (Customer Community, Customer Community Plus, Partner Community), these map directly to the equivalent Experience Cloud license types. The capabilities are functionally the same — the naming is purely a Salesforce rebrand.
What discount can I realistically negotiate on Experience Cloud licenses?
For Experience Cloud components negotiated as part of a larger Salesforce EA renewal (combined with Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, or an industry cloud), achievable discounts on list price typically range from 25–45%. Experience Cloud purchased as a standalone add-on achieves 15–30% discount. The highest discounts are achieved when Experience Cloud is included in a multi-product deal at a natural renewal point, timed to Salesforce's fiscal quarter end.