Demystifying Salesforce Data Cloud Pricing
Introduction
Salesforce Data Cloud is a powerful real-time customer data platform (CDP) that enables businesses to unify, segment, and activate customer data across multiple channels. However, one of the most confusing aspects for businesses considering Data Cloud is pricing – which is based on a credit consumption model rather than a fixed cost.
We can better understand the Salesforce Data Cloud pricing by breaking down as follows:
Understanding Data Cloud Credits
Salesforce doesn’t price Data Cloud based on a flat license fee. Instead, it operates on a credit-based consumption model.
What Are Data Cloud Credits?
- Credits act as currency for processing, querying, and activating data in Data Cloud.
- Your Salesforce contract includes a base number of credits, with the ability to purchase more as needed.
- If you exceed your credit allocation, Salesforce will charge overage fees (with penalties).
Example:
A company receives 250,000 credits annually with its Data Cloud package. Every time they process data, query audiences, or trigger marketing activations, they consume credits.
Key Cost Drivers & Multipliers
| Usage Type | Unit | Credit Cost (Per 1M Units) |
|---|---|---|
| Data Queries (Zero-Copy Access) | Rows Accessed | 70 credits |
| Batch Segmentation | Rows Processed | 20 credits |
| Batch Activation (Email, Ads, etc.) | Rows Activated | 10 credits |
| Streaming Activation (Real-Time Personalization) | Rows Activated | 1,600 credits |
| Profile Unification (Combining Data from Different Sources) | Rows Processed | 100,000 credits |
| Real-Time Event Processing (APIs & Streaming Data) | Events Processed | 70,000 credits |
How Credits Are Consumed
- Segmenting & querying data = Uses Data Queries + Profile Unification credits.
- Activating audiences (sending emails, ads, etc.) = Uses Batch Activation or Streaming Activation credits.
- Real-time personalisation (triggering messages based on behaviour) = Consumes significantly more credits (1,600 per 1M activations).
Example
If a business segments 10M customers and then activates 5M in a campaign, it would consume:
- Segmentation: 10M rows × 20 credits per 1M = 200 credits
- Activation: 5M rows × 10 credits per 1M = 50 credits
- Total consumption: 250 credits
Zero-Copy Architecture & Its Pricing Impact
What Is Zero-Copy?
Salesforce Data Cloud allows users to query data in real-time without duplicating it—this is called Zero-Copy Access.
- Instead of moving data into Salesforce, businesses can query external data sources (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Snowflake, etc.).
- This helps reduce data silos but still consumes credits for every query.
Zero-Copy Pricing Considerations
| Usage Type | Unit | Credit Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Querying external data (Zero-Copy) | 1M rows accessed | 70 credits |
Example:
If an email campaign queries 5M external records before sending, it would consume:
- 5M rows × 70 credits per 1M rows = 350 credits
Key Takeaway:
Zero-copy queries can add up quickly, so optimising how often you pull data is critical!
Overages & Penalties:
What Happens If You Exceed Your Credits?
- Salesforce does NOT stop campaigns from running if you go over your credit limit.
- Instead, you get one month to adjust your usage or purchase additional credits.
- If you don’t adjust within a month, Salesforce auto-generates an invoice with a 25% penalty.
Example:
If a company exceeds its annual credit limit by 100,000 credits, they would receive:
- An invoice for 100,000 overage credits
- A 25% penalty on top of the cost
How to Optimise Data Cloud Costs
Best Practices to Reduce Credit Usage:
- Use Batch Activation Instead of Streaming – Batch activation costs 10 credits per 1M rows, while real-time streaming costs 1,600 credits per 1M rows.
- Optimise Segmentation Queries – Instead of querying all records every time, use incremental updates.
- Use Data Cloud’s “Digital Wallet” to Pre-Test Costs – Before running a campaign, simulate credit usage to avoid unexpected overages.
- Filter Data Before Querying – Instead of querying all customer records, filter only the necessary segments first.
- Monitor Usage & Set Guardrails – Regularly track credit consumption to avoid surprises.
Final Thoughts: How to Plan for Data Cloud Pricing
- Data Cloud credits are consumed based on segmentation, activation, and real-time personalisation.
- Batch processes are significantly cheaper than real-time queries.
- Overages result in automatic invoices with a 25% penalty, so proactive monitoring is essential.
- Zero-copy access is great for real-time queries, but it still consumes credits – optimise it!