The purpose of Data Cloud is to combine a range of data points from various data sources. This data can be both demographic and behavioral – for example, mobile app engagement, eCommerce purchases, and customer support cases.
As a usage-based product (determined by credits), you may have some hesitation about how much it could end up costing your organization. As budgets are closely monitored (and ‘squeezed’ for many people), gaining some indication has never been more important.
So, how much does Data Cloud cost, and what are the differences between each edition? I was confused at first by the SKUs (i.e. product lines) Salesforce is selling. In this guide, I will first walk through the free(mium) editions of Data Cloud, then move on to the paid “Einstein 1” editions.
I should also make it very clear that I don’t have all the answers, and that a product like this is likely to change in pricing as time goes on – in fact, I started drafting this article a few months ago, and the landscape has already changed. I will add links to Salesforce pricing resources throughout so that you can do your own due diligence.
Data Cloud Overview
If you’re familiar with Data Cloud, you may wish to skip this section.
Data Cloud can handle large volumes of data to produce unified profiles of individuals from the data streaming in from different data sources. The phases of data processing that occur are:
- Ingestion: Bringing in large volumes of data from disparate sources.
- Harmonization: Mapping ingested data to a data model to make it usable.
- Identity resolution: Compiling records together to render a ‘golden record’ for an individual customer, regardless of variations across other platforms in your tech stack.
- Segmentation: Build audiences (groups of individuals) according to criteria.
- Activation: The process of sending these ‘golden records’ to a destination where they can be used for highly personalized interactions, such as Marketing Cloud.
The final point, activation, is a key part of Data Cloud. While connecting and harmonizing data is important, doing something with these unified profiles can deliver incredible value. That’s where activation comes in, delivering better experiences for customers across every touchpoint for any channel. This is why you will hear Salesforce talk extensively about this particular point in the Data Cloud life cycle.
Data Cloud Editions
Detangling how Data Cloud is sold has confused me for months. After seeing how Data Cloud brings value across the whole organization (for whichever Salesforce ‘cloud’ product the team works with), I was questioning how product offerings were priced up for these team-specific use cases.
Marketing seems to be on a different pricing framework than their sales and service counterparts. Then there are the Salesforce Industries product lines (e.g. Health Cloud, Financial Services Cloud). This information is better summarized in a list:
- Data Cloud Starter for Marketing: If the Data Cloud for free (zero dollar SKU) doesn’t cut it for your organization, this is the edition you will graduate to.
- Data Cloud for Commerce: The newest addition (announced May 2024), there is minimal information at the time of writing.
- Data Cloud Starter for Health: An ‘Industry Cloud’ example for us to reference.
- Zero dollar SKU (see next section).
As a starting point, this page is arguably the most useful publicly-facing resource.
Zero Dollar SKU (Data Cloud for Everywhere)
At Dreamforce ‘23, Salesforce announced a freemium edition of Data Cloud – a $0 product line with up to 10K unified profiles. This is what’s known as a zero dollar SKU, in other words, a Salesforce product line that doesn’t incur any costs. I’ve termed this ‘Data Cloud for Everyone’ (to distinguish it from the paid versions).
There are a number of capabilities that you won’t have access to unless you upgrade to Data Cloud Starter (the paid edition of Data Cloud), including Segmentations and Activations, Data Services, Ad Audiences, and increased Data Storage.
Data Cloud Starter for Marketing
Once you progress past ‘Data Cloud for Everywhere’ (zero dollar SKU), Data Cloud Starter is the lowest-tier paid edition of Data Cloud for marketing use cases.
With this, you gain access to/replenish the following:
- Segmentations and Activations: (Refer to the “Data Cloud Overview” section.) Priced per 100,000 credits.
- Data Services: Priced per 100,000 credits.
- Ad Audiences: Activate segments to advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, Meta, and Amazon Ads. Priced per audience activated.
- Data Storage: Simply, the more data you are storing, the more you’ll pay. Priced per TB.
For the most up-to-date pricing, refer to the Salesforce Add-on Products PDF.
Data Cloud + Marketing Cloud Growth Edition
Marketing Cloud Growth Edition is the first iteration of a marketing app built in alignment with Salesforce’s core platform.
With Marketing Cloud Growth Edition, you will receive additional Data Cloud credits to justify the price (versus Marketing Cloud Account Engagement). Salesforce’s pricing page only outlines the costs to add-on Data Cloud services; however, how much comes as standard, and for which purposes, we can’t confirm for now.
Data Cloud for Sales and Service (Einstein 1)
There’s a different way to tap into the Data Cloud edition for each ‘cloud’ product. These are mentioned on Salesforce’s Data Cloud product page.
Einstein 1 Sales and Einstein 1 Service will grant you a number of Data Cloud credits. These credits are ‘pooled’. For example, if you have 1000 credits from your Sales Cloud license and 1000 credits from your Service Cloud license, this equates to a pool of 2000 credits. The 2000 credits can be used by either sales or service users.
Source: Sales Pricing and Service Pricing
Data Cloud for Commerce Cloud
(Expected to move into general availability in Summer ‘24.)
This brings in various commerce-related data points that are then usable for richer customer experiences (hyper-personalized) and more accurate up-sell/cross-sell purchases.
Compare this to the alternative. If there is a weaker view of the customer (not as unified as could be), your organization could be left tackling ineffective targeting, abandoned shopping carts, lost revenue, and even customer churn.
We’ll do some digging, and provide further information over the next few months.
Data Cloud for Industries
Salesforce has around a dozen offerings that make up the Salesforce Industry Cloud.
Data Cloud for Health (Einstein 1)
Originally the first of what (is highly likely) a collection of industry-tailored Data Cloud solutions, Health Cloud Einstein 1 has two variations (depending on which users you wish to assign the licenses to): Health Cloud Einstein 1 for Service, or Health Cloud Einstein 1 for Sales.
According to the latest Health Cloud Pricing Datasheet, you get additional Data Cloud capabilities, outlined in the table below:
Source: Health Cloud Pricing Datasheet
There is also a similar offering for Financial Service Cloud – details are to be confirmed.
How Much Does Salesforce Data Cloud Cost?
As a usage-based/credit offering, Salesforce appears to still be in the process of figuring out a way to make their Data Cloud pricing transparent (an on-demand, online calculator, perhaps?).
The two aspects that will, especially, require you to do the math, are platform services and segmentation/activation. The more complex your usage of these processes, the more credits you will consume to perform these actions. The links will direct you to Salesforce’s rate cards so you can calculate your own usage predictions. As anyone who has engaged in the process of purchasing any Salesforce products, you will know that pricing could be adjusted – even on Salesforce’s website, after looking at the rate cards, they suggest that you then “Work with your account executive to find a solution that meets your goals” (source).
Digital Wallet (Credit Consumption)
Generally available now, Salesforce customers will be able to access a ‘digital wallet’. This means that any of their services, that are based on credits, you will be able to view your organization’s spent and remaining Data Cloud credits.
Remember that sales/service Data Cloud credits are pooled. The wallet mindset makes it clearer which processes – no matter whether the sales team or service team – are consuming the most credits.
Summary
Navigating the costs of Salesforce Data Cloud can be complex due to its usage-based pricing model and various editions tailored to specific needs. From the zero-dollar freemium edition to the more advanced paid editions, each option offers different capabilities and levels of access to features like segmentation, activation, and data storage.
While this guide provides an overview, it’s crucial to continuously check Salesforce’s resources and work with an account executive to get the most accurate and up-to-date pricing information tailored to your organization’s requirements.