Publish date:

• 23rd May, 2025

Did you know that 40% of Salesforce customers spend more money than necessary because they choose the wrong licenses or don’t use them fully? At first, Salesforce licenses may seem simple, but many types and pricing options exist.

If you pick the wrong licenses, you could end up overpaying or missing valuable features. Figuring it all out on your own can be confusing.

Our guide will help you direct your way through Salesforce licenses and understand:

• How the Salesforce licensing model works

• Difference between various Salesforce license types and cost

• Calculation of the total Salesforce license cost for an SMB company

• How to audit your current Salesforce licenses

• Limitations of each license type and edition

• 3 practical tips for Salesforce license optimization

What is a Salesforce License?

A Salesforce license is an agreement that allows a user to access Salesforce products and features. It acts like a pass determining what each user can do in the Salesforce platform.

Every person in an organization using Salesforce needs their license to control what they can see, change, and interact with within the system.

How Does a Salesforce Licensing Model Work?

When your company subscribes to Salesforce, you must buy a license for every platform user. Each type of license offers different basic features and capabilities.

Users will need different license types based on their roles, such as sales, partner management, or custom app development.

By User Type

• Internal User Licenses. For example, Salesforce CRM (Full) license, Salesforce Platform, Chatter Only, etc.

• External User Licenses, such as Customer Community, Customer Community Plus, Partner Community, External App, and Channel Account, are available.

By Billing Model

• Seat-Based Licenses: Each license is assigned to a specific user (commonly used for internal users).

• Login-Based Licenses: Billed based on the number of logins per month, suitable for external users with infrequent access.

• Usage-Based Licenses: Pricing depends on usage metrics, such as API calls, Data storage, and Transaction volumes.

• Per-Org Licenses: Licenses that cover the entire organization, regardless of the number of users.

By Functionality

• User Licenses like Salesforce CRM, Salesforce Platform, Chatter Free, etc.

• Feature Licenses like Marketing, Flow, Service Cloud users, etc,

• Permission Set Licenses,

• Platform Licenses (formerly Lightning Platform) and Platform Plus (formerly Lightning Platform Plus),

• Identity Licenses,

• Einstein Licenses include Einstein Search, Opportunity Scoring, Prediction Builder, and Next Best Action.

Common Types of Salesforce Licenses: Internal vs. External

Salesforce typically distinguishes licenses into two main categories: internal and external licenses.

What Are Internal Salesforce Licenses?

Internal licenses are intended for internal employees.

The Salesforce internal license includes a variety of options beyond core user and feature licenses:

• Platform licenses are available in two editions: Enterprise and Unlimited. Several platform licenses include Salesforce Platform Login, Lightning Platform – One App, Force.com – App Subscription, Company Community User, and Developer license. These licenses provide access to accounts, contacts, reports, and automation tools like Flow and Apex. They are helpful for users who primarily work with custom applications instead of standard CRM functions.

• Identity-only licenses: Users can log in through Salesforce single sign-on (SSO) without needing a full CRM license. This option is helpful for organizations that must manage access to different systems while keeping security intact.

• Salesforce Integration: Salesforce Integration User Licenses limit what data integration users can access. It helps organizations maintain better control over their operations and track all transactions at each integration point more effectively.

• Salesforce Einstein licenses for Sales, Service, Marketing Cloud, and Salesforce Platform add artificial intelligence features to Salesforce. These features include predictive analytics and automated insights. With these advanced licenses, teams can make better decisions.

• Marketing Cloud licenses allow teams to use Salesforce’s marketing automation platform. This platform helps manage campaigns, improve customer experiences, and analyze data; marketing teams need these licenses to increase engagement.

• MC Account Engagement, previously known as Pardot, offers licenses for B2B marketing automation. It provides tools for generating leads, nurturing them, and managing campaigns. These licenses help organizations improve their lead management processes, especially those with complex sales cycles.

License costs vary based on type and edition. Monthly pricing per user starts at $25 and can go up to $500 for the most comprehensive plans. Knowing these differences can help you create a cost-effective licensing strategy.

What are External Salesforce Licenses?

Experience Cloud, previously known as Communities, has community licenses similar to standard Salesforce internal licenses. 

It provides different license types for external users who are not employees of your organization. 

External users with a member-based license can access a community as often as they want, but they do not have access to the internal Salesforce organization.

What Are the Different Salesforce Experience License Types?

Customer Community licenses are ideal for external users who need limited access and can serve themselves.

• Customer order tracking,

• Case management,

• Knowledge base access.

Customer Community Plus licenses support more collaborative business processes:

• Team-based work,

• Data sharing capabilities,

• Improved customer service features.

Partner Community licenses help manage business partner relationships:

• Lead and opportunity sharing,

• Partner relationship management,

• Customizable partner portal access.

Channel Account licenses allow up to 40 users from each partner account. It is a cost-effective option for organizations with multiple contacts at each partner company.

External App License: External users can use custom apps designed for customers to connect and engage with your brand while keeping CRM data secure.

The Salesforce External Identity License is for external users such as customers, partners, or stakeholders. It lets them register, log in, manage their profiles, and access connected sites and apps. However, this license does not give them access to all CRM features.

Experience Cloud licenses have different pricing from internal user licenses. You can purchase them based on how you use them, either by individual user or by how often users log in.

Individual licenses cost less if users log in more than four times a month.

Also, Salesforce Experience Cloud offers two types of site access licenses:

• Guest User License: This license is for public users visiting Site.com or Experience Cloud sites. Anyone can view public pages and content on these sites. Guest User licenses are included with Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, and Developer editions, though the number may be unlimited or limited. These licenses cannot be bought separately.

• Site.com Only License: This is an internal license for users who want access to Site.com features but do not need standard CRM features. It is available only in the Performance, Unlimited, and Enterprise editions. Users can create unlimited custom tabs for one custom app with this license. Users must also have either the Site.com Contributor or Publisher feature licenses.

Login-Based vs. Seat-Based Licenses

Another vital consideration in Salesforce licensing is login-based vs. seat-based licenses.

• Seat-based licenses: These licenses are given to specific people who use Salesforce often and heavily, such as internal employees who log in daily.

• Login-based licenses: Users are charged based on how many times they log in each month. These charges apply to external or occasional users, like seasonal employees or customers who log in rarely.

If you need help managing Salesforce licenses and reducing costs, the Codleo team can assist you.

• select the appropriate licenses,

• utilize permission sets and profiles,

• conduct regular license audits,

• Create custom reports and dashboards in Salesforce to track user logins and adoption.

Salesforce Developer License vs. Platform License

The Salesforce Developer License and the Salesforce Platform License have different purposes and functions. They vary mainly in access, use cases, and limitations.

Salesforce Developer License

Salesforce Developer licenses are available for Development Orgs. These licenses are mainly for individual developers or teams who want to build and test apps or learn Salesforce without paying for a permit.

Key features:

• Free and available through Salesforce Developer Edition.

• Full access to Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and custom app development.

• Limited users, storage, and API calls (e.g., 2 MB data storage, 5 MB file storage, 15,000 API calls per 24 hours).

• Used by developers to build, test, and experiment with Salesforce apps

• Not for production use.

Salesforce Platform License

Salesforce Platform Licenses allow you to build custom apps in a production setting. They are an excellent choice for organizations that want to give non-sales and non-service users access to Salesforce for internal applications or operation dashboards.

Key features:

• This type of Salesforce license requires a paid license for users who need to access custom apps built on the Salesforce Platform.

• You can access standard and custom objects, reports, dashboards, and automation tools like Flow. However, you cannot access core CRM features such as Leads, Opportunities, Cases, or Campaigns.

• This is for employees who need access to custom business apps built on Salesforce but do not require full CRM features.

Platform licenses come in two varieties.

Salesforce Platform License: Platform Starter vs. Platform Plus

• Platform Starter, previously known as Lightning Platform, allows you to use 10 custom objects. This makes it a good choice for simple applications with limited data models.

• Platform Plus, previously known as Lightning Platform Plus, allows access to 110 custom objects. This feature helps create complex custom applications that handle many data relationships.

Both options include automation tools such as Flow and Apex. These tools allow developers to create advanced solutions without needing full CRM licenses.

Platform licenses give you access to Salesforce’s infrastructure, letting you build custom applications without all the features of a complete CRM.

both versions come with core features like:

• Process Automation,

• Lightning App Builder,

• AppExchange access,

• Identity for Employees,

• Customizable reports and dashboards.

Platform Plus gives you 11 times more custom object capacity, making it perfect for organizations with complex data structures.

Also, Salesforce offers a Platform Login & Dev Credits option at $1,000 per 10,000 credits and 200 Logins.

Salesforce Editions vs. License Types Pricing Comparison

Organizations often struggle to distinguish between Salesforce editions and license types. This difference affects subscription costs.

These two concepts stand apart:

Salesforce editions are the packages of features that your organization purchases. These editions determine the basic functions available when using Sales and Service Clouds.

Salesforce Editions Cost Breakdown

• Starter/Essentials Edition: This tool efficiently manages contacts, leads, and opportunities for small businesses. When paid annually, it costs $25 per user per month. The Essentials Edition includes simple CRM features to help you manage your contacts, leads, and opportunities.

• Professional Edition: This plan is suitable for mid-sized teams and costs $75 per user monthly when billed annually. It includes all the features of a complete CRM, along with improved sales forecasting and automation.

• Enterprise Edition: Large organizations can choose this plan for $150 per user monthly, billed annually. It provides customization options, detailed reporting, and integration features for complex business needs.

• Unlimited Edition: The complete package costs $330 per user monthly if paid annually. This package includes full functionality, 24/7 support, and premium features like generative AI.

• Einstein 1 Sales Edition: This powerful solution includes added AI features and costs $500 per user per month.

• *Salesforce Foundations is a free set of features for all customers using Salesforce Sales Cloud and Service Cloud on Enterprise and Unlimited editions. It includes selected features from Data Cloud, Marketing, Commerce, Service, Sales, and Agentforce.

Salesforce user licenses determine what each user can access. While editions apply to the entire organization, licenses are assigned to individual users based on their job needs.

Each license type has specific permissions, profiles, and access levels that you can customize. This way, organizations only pay for what each user needs.

How Salesforce User Licenses and Feature Licenses Differ

Salesforce uses two main license categories that blend to create a custom access model:

Salesforce user licenses set the basic access level for each user.

Every Salesforce user needs one user license. These licenses provide core CRM functions and access to standard objects like:

• Accounts,

• Contacts,

• Leads,

• Opportunities.

Popular Salesforce license types include:

• Salesforce (complete CRM) licenses: The Starter Suite costs $25 per user per month, and the Pro Suite costs $100 per user.

• Salesforce Platform license types: Platform Starter costs $25 per user per month, and Platform Plus costs $100 per user per month.

• Identity licenses (Identity Only, External Identity, Identity Verification Credits Add-On Licenses): The Enterprise and Unlimited editions include these licenses for free. However, a Standalone Identity license costs $5 per user per month.

• Salesforce Integration licenses: If you have the Enterprise, Unlimited, or Performance editions, you get five free integration licenses for your organization. For the Developer Edition, you receive one free permit. They cost $10 per user each month if you need more licenses.

  • Usage-based licenses: There are different usage-based license types.

  •  Experience Cloud offers different login-based licenses. Each login costs $2 per month for a customer community, and for a Partner Community, each login costs $10.

  • You can purchase extra data storage in 500 MB blocks for $125 monthly. Each license type has limits on API usage. If you exceed those limits, you may face extra costs or need to upgrade your license.

  • Advanced AI solutions like Agentforce AI agents are $2 per conversation.

Each user is assigned a core Salesforce user license, which provides basic functionality.

This license has permission sets that offer access beyond the standard features. Permission-set licenses also allow access to features not included in the main user license.

Salesforce feature licenses are add-ons that access specific features beyond the standard user licenses.

Users can have several feature licenses at once. For example:

• Marketing User license,

• Flow User license,

• Salesforce CRM Content user license,

• Knowledge Only User license,

• Service Cloud User license.

The concepts connect in this order:

1. The organization purchases a Salesforce edition,

2. Admin purchases appropriate license types,

3. User licenses are assigned to individual users,

4. Feature licenses are added as needed for specialized functionality.

This structure helps reduce costs by giving each user the access they need instead of giving everyone full-featured licenses.

How Much Do Salesforce Licenses Cost for an SMB Company?

Innovative Technologies Solutions is a small tech consulting and service company with 25 employees. It uses Salesforce as its primary system to manage customer interactions, run internal operations, and connect with external communities. 

We will look into the potential costs of Salesforce licenses for Innovative Technologies Solutions, focusing on the average fees for various user licenses based on their roles and needs.

Company User Profiles and Needs:

Internal (Employee) users (20 licenses):

• Sales & Marketing Team (8 employees): The system needs complete CRM features and full access to Sales Cloud.

• Operations and Admin Team (6 employees): It only needs limited access to custom apps and does not require access to Leads and Opportunities.

• Developers & IT (2 employees): They need licenses for Integration Users and only manage API connections.

• HR team & executives (4 employees): They need licenses that allow only identity login to access the HR portal through Salesforce SSO (without CRM features).

External users approximately (monthly usage-based):

• Partners and resellers use their logins to access the Partner Community about 100 times monthly.

• About 200 customers use the support portal monthly to log in to the Customer Community.

Salesforce Licensing Calculation:

Internal Licenses:

• Salesforce CRM Full License (“Pro Suite”) for a Sales & Marketing Team (8 users x $100/user/month) = $800/month

• Salesforce Platform Starter License for an Operations/Admin Team (6 users x $25/user/month) = $150/month

• Salesforce Integration License for IT & Developers (5 integration licenses included free in Enterprise/Performance editions, no additional cost) = $0/month *(included)

• Identity Only Licenses (Single Sign-On) for HR & Executives (4 users x $5/user/month) = $20/month

Monthly Total Internal License Cost: $970/month

External Licenses (Usage-Based):

• Partner Community Login-based license (partners and resellers): 100 monthly logins x $10 per login user/month = $1,000/month

• Customer Community Login-based license (support customers): 200 monthly logins x $2 per login user/month = $400/month

Monthly Total External License Cost: $2,370

As a result, the annual total Salesforce license cost will be $28,440

Additional Costs (Optional):

• Extra Data Storage or API usage: $125/month for each additional 500MB

• Agentforce AI Agents: $2 per AI conversation (optional)

This text explains what a small business may pay for Salesforce licenses.

The costs can vary based on the edition you choose, how you negotiate, any additional needs, your contract, and any available discounts or promotions.

Nonprofit Cloud License Types and Pricing

Salesforce understands how exceptional and effective nonprofits are. To help them achieve their goals, Salesforce provides specific licensing options for nonprofits through its Nonprofit Cloud platform.

These licenses make it easier for nonprofits to manage relationships with donors, raise funds, track grants, manage programs, generate reports, and more.

Now, look at the main licenses, offerings, and programs available to nonprofit organizations.

The Power of Us Program for Nonprofits

Salesforce supports nonprofits through its Power of Us Program. This program helps nonprofits start using Salesforce for free and offers discounts for future growth.

Through the Power of Us Program, eligible nonprofit organizations get:

• 10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud free licenses for or Sales/Service Cloud Enterprise Edition

• Special pricing for additional licenses, upgrades, and Salesforce products

• Salesforce helps nonprofits by providing free, powerful technology platforms.

It allows them to concentrate on their essential mission work without worrying about costs.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Editions & Pricing Options

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud offers solutions for various organizations. These solutions cater to small and growing nonprofits and larger, established institutions.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud: Enterprise Edition

• Cost: $60 per user per month (billed annually)

This is the best choice for midsize nonprofits that need an affordable yet effective CRM. It helps with fundraising, managing donors, tracking activities, preparing financial reports, building relationships, and overseeing programs.

Key Features:

• A nonprofit data model helps organizations manage their data effectively and gain valuable insights.

• Nonprofit Toolkit and Accounting Subledger for easier accounting.

• Nonprofit Copilot helps you use your CRM more efficiently in your tasks.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud: Unlimited Edition

• Cost: $100 per user per month (billed annually)

This edition is for larger or fast-growing nonprofits that need flexibility to customize their systems. It offers more storage, automation, priority support, and testing features to help them scale effectively.

Key Features:

• All Enterprise Edition features

• More data and file storage and customization possibilities

• Join our Premier Success Plan. You will get personalized coaching, expert support 24/7, and a special Full Sandbox to test updates and features.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Einstein 1 for Sales

• Cost: $300 per user per month (billed annually)

This option is for nonprofit teams that want to use data analytics and AI-powered CRM to improve their fundraising efforts. It helps you gain insights and predictions to boost donor engagement and build strong relationships.

Key Features:

• All Unlimited Edition features,

• Einstein for Sales capabilities for AI-driven predictions and insights,

• Use Experience Cloud and Data Cloud to manage donors and analyze engagement.

• Salesforce offers tools to improve productivity and collaboration. These include Salesforce Maps, Scheduler, Slack Enterprise Grid, Slack Sales Elevate, and Sales Enablement.

Nonprofit Cloud Einstein 1 for Service

• Cost: $300 per user per month (billed annually)

This is for nonprofit organizations that focus on providing excellent service interactions. This includes support programs for donors, helplines for volunteers, services for members, and custom outreach efforts in a data-rich environment.

Key Features:

• Everything in Unlimited Edition,

• Advanced Einstein for Service AI features for optimized service management,

• Data Cloud and Experience Cloud for customer service insights and personalized interactions,

• Service Cloud Voice, Digital Engagement tools, Einstein Conversation Insights, Salesforce Scheduler, and internal team collaboration through Slack Enterprise Grid.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking: Enterprise Edition

Salesforce has developed special nonprofit licenses for managing grants. These licenses are different from those used for fundraising. 

These licenses allow nonprofits that apply for, manage, and report on grants to access Salesforce features tailored to their needs.

• Cost: $175 per user per month (billed annually)

Using branded portals, nonprofits can effectively manage grant applications, allocate budgets, evaluate grants, and create personalized experiences for grantees.

Key Features:

• Full access to Salesforce Sales and Service Cloud,

• Application & Budget Management tools,

• Grantseeker and Grantee Experience features with 100 included Customer Community+ login licenses for external users and partners.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking: Unlimited Edition

• Cost: $225 per user per month (billed annually)

This system is for organizations that manage large and complex grantmaking operations. It offers maximum storage, extensive automation, custom workflows, full support, and integration throughout the grantmaking process.

Key Features:

• All Enterprise Edition features plus additional customizations, automation, and integrations,

• More storage and automation capabilities for grant lifecycle management* Premier Success Plan with specialized support, expert coaching, 24/7 support, and a Full Sandbox testing environment.

What is NPSP (Nonprofit Success Pack)?

The Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) was Salesforce’s original model for customizing customer relationship management (CRM) for nonprofits. It provided free, open-source services to help nonprofits manage relationships with donors, track grants, and raise funds.

Now, Salesforce is focusing more on the Nonprofit Cloud, which meets the complex needs of modern nonprofit organizations. Although NPSP is still available and widely used, most new features, AI tools, and updates are coming from the Nonprofit Cloud.

Marketing Cloud and Pardot License Types and Pricing Models

Marketing Cloud takes a different approach to licensing compared to other Salesforce products:

• It uses a per-org billing model instead of charging per user,

• It comes in modules (Studios and Builders) that you can buy based on your needs.

Marketing Cloud splits into bundles with different editions and pricing:

• Marketing Cloud Engagement editions start at $1,250 org/month,

• Marketing Cloud Intelligence editions begin at $3,000 org/month,

• Marketing Cloud Personalization editions start at $108,000 org/year,

• Marketing Cloud Growth Edition starts at $1,500 org/month,

• Loyalty Management editions start at $20,000 org/month,

• Data Cloud for Marketing – $108,000 USD/org/year.

Your pricing structure can change based on which modules you need and your organization’s size.

Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) uses a similar per-org billing approach.

Multiple users can access the platform with one license. The pricing looks like this:

• Growth Edition: Start your B2B marketing at $1,250 per month,

• Plus Edition: Get mid-tier features for $2,500 per month,

• Advanced Edition: Access complete marketing features at $4,000 per month,

• Premium Edition: Use enterprise-grade tools for $15,000 per month.

Pardot editions have different contact limits (usually 10,000 contacts; Premium gets 75,000). You can buy more contacts in blocks of 10,000.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers different pricing for its products and integrations. Each Account Engagement tier has better features. The Advanced and Premium editions provide custom objects and dedicated IP addresses. The Growth edition has basic features but limits the number of forms, landing pages, and automation rules.

Choose the proper license based on your business needs, user count, and budget. This can help you save money while getting all the features you need.

Limitations of Each Salesforce License Type

Knowing about Salesforce license types and their limits is crucial for managing costs and ensuring compliance. Each license type has specific rules that affect how Salesforce is implemented.

Custom object limits in Platform Starter and Platform Plus.

Platform licenses have strict rules regarding access to custom objects. With the Platform Starter (formerly Lightning Platform), users can access only 10 custom objects.

Platform Plus, formerly known as Lightning Platform Plus, allows users to use up to 110 custom objects. It gives teams more space to create complex applications.

You can assign more custom objects through permission sets without hitting a technical limit. However, if you exceed the number of custom objects, you will break your agreement with Salesforce, and they may charge you for past usage.

Salesforce does not allow custom objects to replicate standard features to avoid paying for them. Using custom objects to create a system similar to Opportunities will break Salesforce’s rules, which could lead to penalties.

API-only Access in Salesforce Integration User License

The Salesforce Integration User license, launched in March 2023, is designed for system-to-system connections. These licenses only work with APIs, which means users cannot access the Salesforce interface directly.

Organizations with Performance, Enterprise, or Unlimited editions receive five free Integration User licenses.

Developer organizations receive a special license. Managing permissions for these licenses requires careful attention.

• You can only edit permissions through permission sets – not at the profile level.

• Users need at least “Modify Metadata Through Metadata API Functions” and “Customize Application” permissions.

• All interactions happen through REST, SOAP, or Bulk APIs due to the API-only restriction.

Einstein License Restrictions by Edition and Feature

Einstein features vary across Salesforce editions.

If you have the Enterprise edition or a higher version, features like Einstein Search and Opportunity Scoring are included. The Unlimited edition offers most Einstein features at no additional cost.

Enterprise and Performance editions of Salesforce come with extra costs for many Einstein features. Before choosing a Salesforce edition, organizations should think about which Einstein features they need.

Einstein’s licensing model is different from regular user licenses. Its availability usually depends on specific Salesforce products and editions rather than being offered as standalone options.

How to Audit Your Current Salesforce Licenses

A Salesforce license audit can help you save money. According to research from Gartner, you could save up to 30%. Regular audits show how your organization uses licenses and help cut unnecessary costs. 

Let’s explore some practical steps to review your current Salesforce license setup.

How to See How Many Salesforce Licenses You Have

The Company Information section is where you start any Salesforce license audit.

Here’s how to find this critical area:

• From Setup, type “Company Information” in the Quick Find box,

• Click on the resulting link to see your organization’s details.

You’ll find detailed information about your license inventory, including:

• Total licenses purchased by type,

• Number of licenses currently in use,

• Available licenses remaining for assignment,

• Expiration dates for license agreements.

This view shows your license usage right away without running complex reports.

The Feature License section lists special license types, such as Marketing User, Service Cloud User, and Flow User. These details are not found in standard reports.

Be careful with Integration User licenses. They are ideal for API-only access to third-party tools like Marketo or HubSpot when users don’t need to log in to an interface.

How to Export License Data using Salesforce Reports

Salesforce provides several ways to manage license allocation. You can create standard user reports to track how often users log in and how licenses are assigned.

Here’s how to build a report that tracks inactive users:

1. Create a report using the “Users” standard report type,

2. Add a filter for “Last Login” that is not equal to LAST 30 DAYS,

3. Include columns for “Full Name” and other relevant user data,

4. Add a row-level formula to calculate “Days Since Last Login” using: TODAY() – DATEVALUE(LAST_LOGIN)

5. Sort by “Days Since Last Login” in descending order.

Permission Set License Assignment Reports:

To see which licenses belong to specific users:

• Create a custom report type using Permission Set License Assignments as the primary object.

• Add fields like Assignee: Full Name, Permission Set License: Developer Name, and User License: Name.

• Filter by specific users as needed.

You can export these reports as CSV or Excel files to work offline or share with others. If you choose the “Formatted Report” option, your export will keep its original formatting.

How to Identify Underutilized or Inactive Licenses

Only 47% of Salesforce licenses see active use, and here’s how to spot these underused licenses:

Set clear metrics to spot underuse:

• Users who haven’t logged in for 30-60 days.

• Little or no activity with key objects (opportunities, accounts, etc.)

• Low usage of critical features that match job roles.

Look at how different departments and teams log in to find usage trends. This can show if some teams are using the system less often.

Ask users to explain why they need specific licenses before assigning them. It helps ensure licenses are appropriately allocated.

Pay attention to seasonal trends to identify opportunities to reassign licenses. Some roles only need full licenses at certain times, allowing you to optimize license use throughout the year.

You can give inactive licenses to new users or change them to cheaper types.

Consider temporarily deactivating licenses for users who haven’t logged in for 45 to 60 days.

Make license audits a regular part of your Salesforce management. Review your license distribution quarterly to keep it optimized as your organization grows.

How to Save 40% with Salesforce License Optimization Strategies

Smartly managing your Salesforce licenses can save you up to 40% on subscription costs. Many companies waste money by not allocating their licenses properly. Before buying new licenses, try these cost-cutting methods.

Tip #1: Reassign Unused Licenses to New Users

License audits show companies keep paying for inactive licenses they don’t need.

Here’s how to spot these chances:

• Run system checks for users inactive for 45-60 days,

• Check with team leaders if they still need access,

• Get clear reasons before giving out new licenses.

You can quickly turn off unused licenses without losing user data – users can be reactivated whenever needed. Start with teams that have seasonal usage, where licenses sit unused during quiet periods.

Tip #2: Switch from Full CRM to Platform Licenses for Internal Apps

Users who primarily work with custom apps instead of core CRM can use

• Platform licenses to save money:

• Platform Starter lets you use 10 custom objects at a lower cost.

• Platform Plus gives access to 110 custom objects.

These licenses are good candidates for:

• Post-sales teams that don’t use Opportunities,

• Teams mainly use Managed Packages,

• Non-standard business setups (standard in nonprofits).

Switching from full Salesforce licenses to Platform licenses will remove all permission sets. After the switch, you will need to set up new permissions.

Tip #3: Use Identity Licenses for SSO-only Users

Salesforce Identity licenses allow users to sign in easily without giving access to all the features of the CRM.

These work best for:

• Staff who need identity services,

• Account Engagement users accessing Lightning apps,

• People need login access across multiple systems.

The Salesforce Identity license includes key features like Single Sign-On, Multi-Factor Authentication, App Launcher, and Connected Apps. The Identity Plus version offers improved security and integration options.

With Account Engagement, your company gets 100 identity licenses. If you already use these tools, you can save money easily.

How Codleo Can Help with License Cost Optimization

Need to manage your Salesforce licenses within your budget? Hire Codleo, a certified Salesforce consultant, to help you save on costs and use your licenses effectively.

With over 10 years of experience, we understand how to improve how you manage Salesforce licenses.

We will help your organization maximize its Salesforce investment by ensuring you save money while gaining efficiency and productivity.

Besides that, we will help you:

• Calculate the actual cost of migrating to Salesforce, including any hidden fees.

• Selecting the right edition and licenses will lower your initial costs for Salesforce implementation. Analyze your business structure to simplify user system access.

• Make sure to use all licenses in your organization effectively and improve how you manage Salesforce licenses.

• Streamline the development process. You can cut Salesforce development costs by using the techniques we’ve learned and reducing technical debt.

• Reduce integration costs by choosing or creating the right tool to connect with your system.

• Lower the costs involved in developing and getting approval for your AppExchange app.

• Expand system functionality in the most cost-effective way and keep saving costs over time.

• With our virtual support and administration services, you can maximize your license usage with each new release and fully take advantage of Salesforce innovations.

Are you unsure about Salesforce license types, editions, or subscription costs? Do you need help understanding how Salesforce pricing works?

Get your free consultation today!