Experience Cloud, or a portal you own?
Salesforce Experience Cloud is a real, sensible way to get external users off full internal seats — it's built for exactly that. But it still bills per login or per member, so the cost keeps climbing with usage. A custom portal is the other path: one flat fee, your exact workflow, still wired live into Salesforce. Here's an honest read on when each one wins.
Per login, per member — or flat.
Experience Cloud is far cheaper than full seats for external users. The difference here is what happens to the bill as usage grows.
| Model | How it's billed | Scales with usage? |
|---|---|---|
| Full Sales/Service Cloud seat | ~$150–$165/user/mo (list) | Yes — per user |
| Experience Cloud — login-based | ~per-login blocks (list) | Yes — per login |
| Experience Cloud — member-based | monthly per active member (list) | Yes — per member |
| Custom portal (Ardn) | Flat monthly fee | No — same fee at any headcount |
Prices above are typical, publicly listed ranges as of this writing — not a quote. Salesforce sells Experience Cloud on both login- and member-based models; the exact rate depends on edition, volume, and negotiated contract. Confirm current numbers with Salesforce, and use our calculator to compare against a flat-fee portal for your own user counts.
When each one is the right call.
Neither is universally better. It comes down to user count, how custom the workflow needs to be, and whether you'd rather rent or own.
Experience Cloud wins when…
- 1You want it live fast, out of the box
Salesforce's templated components get a basic community stood up quickly with admin-level effort.
- 2External user count is modest and stable
If per-login or per-member fees stay small, there's little to save by moving off them.
- 3Staying 100% inside Salesforce matters most
Same admin model, same AppExchange, one vendor — a real advantage for some teams.
A custom portal wins when…
- 1User counts are high and growing
A flat fee costs the same at 50 users or 5,000 — the more logins, the more it wins.
- 2The workflow is specific
Built to your exact process, not assembled from a fixed component set.
- 3You'd rather own than rent
You own the portal and the IP; it still syncs live with Salesforce as the source of truth.
More on cutting CRM cost.
How to Cut CRM Licensing Costs
The full decision framework — reclaim, right-size, or replace the seat.
Read the guide →Custom Portal Development
Seller, ops, partner & customer portals synced to Salesforce, on one flat fee.
Explore portals →Savings Calculator
Compare Experience Cloud fees against a flat-fee portal for your user counts.
Run the numbers →See the full Salesforce & HubSpot seat-cost math →Cut per-login Partner Community costs →Explore custom software development →
Common questions.
Pricing models, when each wins, data sync, and cost.
What is Salesforce Experience Cloud and how is it priced?
Experience Cloud (formerly Community Cloud) is Salesforce's way to give external users — partners, customers, members — a branded portal built on top of your Salesforce data. It's typically sold on either a login-based model (you pay per login, in blocks) or a member-based model (a monthly price per active external user). Either way, the cost still scales with how many people use it.
Is Experience Cloud cheaper than full Salesforce seats?
Yes — for external users, it's usually much cheaper than putting them on full internal Sales or Service Cloud licenses, and that's exactly what it's designed for. If your only alternative is full seats for partners and customers, Experience Cloud is a legitimate saving. The question this page answers is what happens beyond that: when the login or member fees themselves start to add up at scale.
When does a custom portal beat Experience Cloud?
When user counts are high and growing, when you want a very specific workflow rather than a templated community, or when you'd rather own the portal outright than rent access per head. A custom portal runs on one flat monthly fee regardless of how many users log in, so the more light users you have, the more the flat-fee model tends to win. It also isn't limited to Salesforce's component set — it's built to your exact process.
When is Experience Cloud the better choice?
When you want something live quickly using Salesforce's out-of-the-box components, your external user count is modest and stable, and staying fully inside the Salesforce ecosystem (including its admin model and AppExchange) matters more to you than escaping per-user pricing. We'll tell you honestly if that's your situation — we're not here to talk you out of a tool that fits.
Does a custom portal keep my Salesforce data in sync?
Yes. The portal integrates with Salesforce through its API and reads and writes the same records in real time, so Salesforce stays the single source of truth. Your power users keep working in Salesforce exactly as they do now; the portal is just a tailored, flat-fee front end for the users who need less.
How long does a custom portal take to build, and what does it cost?
Most portals go live in 2–6 weeks via our AI Forge Framework, with a fixed quote within 48 hours of the first call. It runs on one flat monthly subscription — tiers from $3,000–$12,000+/month depending on scope — covering the build, hosting, and ongoing changes. New customers pay nothing for the one-time build.
Not sure which fits your users?
Tell us roughly how many external users you have and how they use Salesforce. We'll give you an honest read on Experience Cloud vs. a portal — and a fixed quote.
Rent access, or own the portal?
30-minute free call. We'll look at your external user counts, tell you honestly whether Experience Cloud or a custom portal saves more, and give you a fixed quote in 48 hours.