{"id":21210,"date":"2026-09-07T18:07:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T18:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/?p=21210"},"modified":"2026-09-07T18:08:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T18:08:32","slug":"salesforce-clouds-comparison-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/salesforce-clouds-comparison-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Salesforce Clouds Compared: Which Ones Do You Actually Need?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Key Takeaways<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce cloud counts vary because \u201ccloud\u201d is not a clearly defined category, with guides counting core products, industry clouds, or acquired products differently.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The six core clouds are Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Experience, and Analytics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2026, Sales, Service, Marketing, and Commerce Cloud adopted Agentforce naming, while Experience Cloud and Analytics Cloud remained unchanged.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data 360, Agentforce, and the Salesforce Platform are foundation layers rather than additional Salesforce clouds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Industry clouds provide pre-built data models for sectors such as healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, education, and nonprofit.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Businesses often create unnecessary overlap by purchasing multiple products that perform similar functions, particularly Marketing Cloud vs. Account Engagement and Analytics Cloud vs. Tableau.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most businesses should start with one or two clouds, rather than attempting a multi-cloud rollout from the beginning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce licences are purchased separately by cloud and user, making role-based licensing important for controlling costs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data 360 and Agentforce are generally better added after an organization has clean data and well-established processes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The right Salesforce cloud mix depends on business processes, customer journeys, existing systems, and actual operational needs, not simply the size of Salesforce&#8217;s product catalogue.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><b>Quick Answer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Most businesses do not need all Salesforce clouds. Sales Cloud is typically the starting point for sales-led organizations, while Service Cloud fits businesses focused on customer support. Marketing, Commerce, Experience, Analytics, industry clouds, Data 360, and Agentforce should be added based on specific business needs. Starting with one or two clouds and expanding after adoption is usually more practical than implementing the entire Salesforce ecosystem at once.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask how many Salesforce clouds there are, and you\u2019ll get confident, contradictory answers. Six. Fifteen. More than twenty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All three are right, and the reason nobody explains it is the most useful thing on this page: \u201ccloud\u201d isn\u2019t a defined term. Some guides count only the core products. Some add industry clouds. Some include acquired products like Tableau and Slack that Salesforce sells but runs separately.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s a second reason the guides disagree, and it\u2019s newer: Salesforce renamed some of the clouds in 2026 and not others. Sales, Service, Marketing, and Commerce Cloud now carry the Agentforce name. Experience Cloud and Analytics Cloud don\u2019t. So depending on when an article was written, the same product has two names.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This guide sorts the portfolio properly, then answers the question you\u2019re actually asking &#8211; which ones do you need.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Portfolio, Grouped Properly<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21229\" src=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_34_26-PM.webp\" alt=\"Four-column diagram grouping Salesforce products into core clouds, the foundation layer, industry clouds, and acquired products\" width=\"1672\" height=\"941\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_34_26-PM.webp 1672w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_34_26-PM-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_34_26-PM-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_34_26-PM-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_34_26-PM-640x360.webp 640w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_34_26-PM-400x225.webp 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1672px) 100vw, 1672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Count only the core clouds, and you get six. Add the industry clouds, and you\u2019re near fifteen. Count acquisitions, and you pass twenty. That\u2019s the whole explanation for the discrepancy, and once you see the grouping, the catalogue stops being confusing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The foundation column matters more than it looks. Data 360, Agentforce and the Platform aren\u2019t clouds &#8211; they sit beneath all of them. A guide that lists Data Cloud as \u201cthe seventh cloud\u201d has miscategorised it, which then makes the rest of the advice harder to follow.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Six Core Clouds<\/b><\/h2>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-316\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-316\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Cloud<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Current name<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">What it\u2019s for<\/th><th class=\"column-4\">Typical buyer<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Sales Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Agentforce Sales<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Pipeline, forecasting, quoting, deal management<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Sales leadership<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Service Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Agentforce Service<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Cases, routing, knowledge, chat, phone<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Support leadership<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Marketing Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Agentforce Marketing<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Email, journeys, SMS, advertising<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Marketing leadership<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Commerce Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Agentforce Commerce<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">B2B, D2C and B2C storefronts<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Ecommerce leadership<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Experience Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Unchanged<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Portals, communities, partner sites<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Whoever owns the audience<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Analytics Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Unchanged<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Dashboards and reporting inside CRM<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Operations, leadership<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-316 from cache -->\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sales Cloud and Service Cloud remain the most deployed by a wide margin<\/span><b>.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Most Salesforce projects still start with one or both, and that hasn\u2019t changed despite everything else that has.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fastest-growing area isn\u2019t a cloud at all; it\u2019s Data 360, because unified data is what makes the AI layer worth having.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deeper: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sales Cloud guide<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Service Cloud guide<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marketing Cloud guide<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Foundation: Not Clouds, but Underneath Them<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Data 360<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (formerly Data Cloud) unifies customer records from every system you run &#8211; Salesforce and otherwise &#8211; into one profile. It\u2019s what makes \u201cone customer view\u201d real rather than aspirational, and it\u2019s what agents are grounded in. See <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data 360 explained<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Agentforce<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the AI agent layer spanning every cloud. Not a separate product you use in isolation &#8211; it acts inside Sales, Service, Marketing, and the rest. See <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what <\/span>Agentforce is<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Salesforce Platform<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is what all of it is built on, and what you build your own applications on. It also has its own licence type at roughly a sixth the cost of a full CRM seat, which matters if you have users who never touch a Lead or Case. See <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the Salesforce Platform explained<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Industry Clouds<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are pre-built data models for specific sectors &#8211; not add-ons or templates, but genuine object models Salesforce builds and maintains.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-317\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-317\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Industry cloud<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">What it adds<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Health Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">FHIR-aligned clinical model: patient, care plan, encounter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Financial Services Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Household and relationship model, financial accounts, policies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Manufacturing Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Sales agreements, account forecasting, rebates<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Education Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Student journey: applications, programmes, affiliations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Agentforce Nonprofit<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Gift transactions, grantmaking, programme management<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Automotive, Energy, Media, Public Sector<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Sector-specific models for each<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-317 from cache -->\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The argument for buying rather than building is simple arithmetic. Rebuilding an industry data model costs six figures, and you maintain it forever; the industry cloud costs more per seat and Salesforce maintains it. For anything genuinely clinical, financial or regulated, the industry cloud wins on total cost by year three.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deeper: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/salesforce-development-for-healthcare\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce for healthcare<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/salesforce-for-financial-services\/\">Salesforce for financial services<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/salesforce-development-for-manufacturing\/\">Salesforce for manufacturing<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Where Clouds Overlap, and You Pay Twice<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21228\" src=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_36_09-PM.webp\" alt=\"Five overlaps between Salesforce clouds where organisations commonly buy the same capability twice\" width=\"1672\" height=\"940\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_36_09-PM.webp 1672w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_36_09-PM-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_36_09-PM-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_36_09-PM-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_36_09-PM-640x360.webp 640w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_36_09-PM-400x225.webp 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1672px) 100vw, 1672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>The Two Worth Understanding Before You Buy Anything:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Agentforce Marketing Cloud versus Account Engagement:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Account Engagement is what used to be Pardot, and it\u2019s a genuinely separate product from Marketing Cloud despite both doing marketing automation. The rough split is B2C scale versus B2B nurture. Plenty of organisations end up owning both because different teams bought them at different times, and one usually goes unused.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Analytics Cloud versus Tableau:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Both do reporting. Analytics Cloud lives inside the CRM and is good at CRM data. Tableau is stronger across systems and better for analysts. The overlap is real, and organisations frequently pay for both while using one.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Before adding any cloud, ask what you already own that does 70% of the job:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Usually, something does, and 70% with no additional licence often beats 100% with one.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Related: H<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ow to reduce Salesforce licence costs<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"background: #EEF2FE; border: 1px solid #DBE2FB; border-radius: 14px; padding: 28px 32px; margin: 38px 0;\">\n<h4 style=\"color: #1b3fae; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.3; font-weight: bold; margin: 0 0 10px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Are You Paying for Unused Salesforce Clouds?<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"color: #4b5563; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0 0 22px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get expert help auditing your Salesforce licences, eliminating unnecessary overlap, and choosing the right cloud mix for your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a style=\"display: inline-block; background: #2563EB; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600; padding: 13px 26px; border-radius: 8px;\" href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/salesforce-consulting-services\">Explore Salesforce Consulting Services<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><b>What to Start With<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21227\" src=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_40_44-PM.webp\" alt=\"Table showing which Salesforce cloud to start with by business type, and what to add next\" width=\"1665\" height=\"944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_40_44-PM.webp 1665w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_40_44-PM-1024x581.webp 1024w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_40_44-PM-768x435.webp 768w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_40_44-PM-1536x871.webp 1536w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_40_44-PM-640x363.webp 640w, https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-7-2026-08_40_44-PM-400x227.webp 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1665px) 100vw, 1665px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Almost Nobody Should Start With More Than Two:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The most common implementation failure isn\u2019t picking the wrong cloud &#8211; it\u2019s buying four and rolling out none of them properly.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The Sequencing That Works:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Get one cloud genuinely adopted, with clean data and people actually using it, then add the second. A working Sales Cloud beats a half-implemented Sales, Service and Marketing suite in every measurable way.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"background: #EEF2FE; border: 1px solid #DBE2FB; border-radius: 14px; padding: 28px 32px; margin: 38px 0;\">\n<h4 style=\"color: #1b3fae; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.3; font-weight: bold; margin: 0 0 10px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Ready to Build Out Your Salesforce Setup?<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"color: #4b5563; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0 0 22px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bring in experienced Salesforce developers to customize, integrate, and scale the clouds your business actually needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a style=\"display: inline-block; background: #2563EB; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600; padding: 13px 26px; border-radius: 8px;\" href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/hire-salesforce-developers\">Hire Salesforce Developers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data 360 and Agentforce come later, not first. They\u2019re what you add once you have data worth unifying and processes worth automating. Buying the AI layer before the data is clean is how organisations end up with agents that give confident wrong answers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Common Combinations<\/b><\/h2>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-318\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-318\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Combination<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Why it works<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">Watch for<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Sales + Service<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">The classic. Covers the full customer lifecycle<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Ensure one account model, not two<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Service + Field Service<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Cases plus scheduling and mobile engineers<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Field Service is a separate licence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Sales + Marketing (or Account Engagement)<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Lead generation through to close<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Decide which system owns the lead<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Commerce + Service<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Orders plus post-purchase support<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Order Management comes with Commerce<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Industry cloud + Experience Cloud<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Sector data model plus customer portal<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Portal licences are counted separately<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Any core cloud + Data 360<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Unified identity across systems<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Only worth it once you have several systems<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-318 from cache -->\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The one to think hardest about is Sales plus Marketing<\/span><b>.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The question that prevents most problems is deciding early which system owns the lead record and which one owns consent. \u201cBoth\u201d is how data diverges.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Licensing: What Multi-Cloud Actually Costs<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each cloud is licensed separately, per user<\/span><b>.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> That\u2019s the fact most buyers underestimate. Two clouds for fifty users is not one licence; it\u2019s two, and the cost roughly doubles for anyone who needs both.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Three things that reduce the bill:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Not Everyone Needs Every Cloud:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A support agent doesn\u2019t need Sales Cloud. Licence by role, not by headcount.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Platform Licences<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Cost roughly a sixth of a full CRM seat for users who need custom apps but never touch Leads, Opportunities, or Cases. In most organisations, that\u2019s more people than expected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Editions Matter As Much As Clouds:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Enterprise versus Unlimited is a bigger cost difference than adding a second cloud for a small team.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deeper: Salesforce pricing in full \u00b7 Editions compared \u00b7 Reducing licence costs<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Naming Problem<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worth a short section, because it causes real confusion when comparing guides.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce has renamed the same products repeatedly<\/span><b>.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Pardot became Marketing Cloud Account Engagement became Account Engagement. Force.com became the Lightning Platform became the Salesforce Platform. Data Cloud became Data 360. Four of the six core clouds picked up the Agentforce name in 2026; two didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What this means practically:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An article using only old names was written before 2026<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An article using only new names may be missing that Experience and Analytics Cloud kept theirs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A partner listing \u201cSales Cloud Consultant\u201d hasn\u2019t updated their credentials &#8211; the certification was renamed in July 2026<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some stale content is worse than that;<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one widely-shared guide with a 2026 update stamp still lists \u201cVaccine Cloud\u201d among the current products, a COVID-era offering. If a guide\u2019s product list includes something that no longer exists, treat the rest of its advice accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Related: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/salesforce-certifications-guide\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce certifications and the 2026 renames<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Where to Go Next<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the individual clouds in depth &#8211; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sales Cloud<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Service Cloud<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marketing Cloud<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experience Cloud<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the foundation layer &#8211; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data 360<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what is Agentforce<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the Salesforce Platform<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For industry clouds &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/salesforce-development-for-healthcare\/\">Salesforce for healthcare<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/salesforce-for-financial-services\/\">Salesforce for financial services<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">manufacturing<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nonprofit<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For cost &#8211; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce pricing<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">editions compared<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reducing licence costs<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce ROI<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For deciding whether Salesforce fits at all &#8211; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce alternatives<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vs HubSpot<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for startups and SMBs<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For implementing &#8211; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">choosing an implementation partner<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">every Salesforce product<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/what-is-salesforce\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">complete guide to Salesforce<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the hub.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Buying More Clouds Than You Need Is the Default Outcome<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce sells by cloud, so the conversation naturally trends toward more of them. Nobody in that meeting is incentivised to say \u201cyou don\u2019t need Marketing Cloud yet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are, because an implementation that covers two clouds properly succeeds, and one that covers four badly becomes a rescue project.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"background: #EEF2FE; border: 1px solid #DBE2FB; border-radius: 14px; padding: 28px 32px; margin: 38px 0;\">\n<h4 style=\"color: #1b3fae; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.3; font-weight: bold; margin: 0 0 10px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Not Sure Which Salesforce Clouds You Need?<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"color: #4b5563; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0 0 22px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tell us about your business and existing systems, and our team can help you determine the right Salesforce setup without paying for unnecessary products.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a style=\"display: inline-block; background: #2563EB; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600; padding: 13px 26px; border-radius: 8px;\" href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/contact\">Talk to Our Salesforce Experts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<style>.elementor-21218 .elementor-element.elementor-element-2932a52{text-align:left;}.elementor-21218 .elementor-element.elementor-element-2932a52 > .elementor-widget-container{margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;}.elementor-21218 .elementor-element.elementor-element-0b767d1 .elementor-tab-title{border-width:1px;border-color:#00000014;}.elementor-21218 .elementor-element.elementor-element-0b767d1 .elementor-tab-content{border-width:1px;border-bottom-color:#00000014;}.elementor-21218 .elementor-element.elementor-element-0b767d1 > .elementor-widget-container{margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;}<\/style><div class=\"porto-block elementor elementor-21218\">\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-27707ca elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"27707ca\" data-element_type=\"section\">\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0163611\" data-id=\"0163611\" data-element_type=\"column\">\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-03a2969 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"03a2969\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.14.0 - 26-06-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2932a52 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2932a52\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.14.0 - 26-06-2023 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large\">FAQs <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0b767d1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-toggle\" data-id=\"0b767d1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"toggle.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.14.0 - 26-06-2023 *\/\n.elementor-toggle{text-align:left}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title{font-weight:700;line-height:1;margin:0;padding:15px;border-bottom:1px solid #d5d8dc;cursor:pointer;outline:none}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title .elementor-toggle-icon{display:inline-block;width:1em}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title .elementor-toggle-icon svg{-webkit-margin-start:-5px;margin-inline-start:-5px;width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title .elementor-toggle-icon.elementor-toggle-icon-right{float:right;text-align:right}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title .elementor-toggle-icon.elementor-toggle-icon-left{float:left;text-align:left}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title .elementor-toggle-icon .elementor-toggle-icon-closed{display:block}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title .elementor-toggle-icon .elementor-toggle-icon-opened{display:none}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title.elementor-active{border-bottom:none}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title.elementor-active .elementor-toggle-icon-closed{display:none}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title.elementor-active .elementor-toggle-icon-opened{display:block}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-content{padding:15px;border-bottom:1px solid #d5d8dc;display:none}@media (max-width:767px){.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-title{padding:12px}.elementor-toggle .elementor-tab-content{padding:12px 10px}}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-toggle,.e-con>.elementor-widget-toggle{width:var(--container-widget-width);--flex-grow:var(--container-widget-flex-grow)}<\/style>\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 id=\"elementor-tab-title-1201\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1201\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">How many Salesforce clouds are there?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1201\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1201\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It depends on what you count. Six core clouds: Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Experience and Analytics. Around fifteen if you include industry clouds. More than twenty if you count acquired products like Tableau, Slack, and MuleSoft. Guides disagree because \u201ccloud\u201d isn\u2019t a defined term.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 id=\"elementor-tab-title-1202\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"2\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1202\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">What are the main Salesforce clouds?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1202\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"2\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1202\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sales Cloud (now Agentforce Sales), Service Cloud (Agentforce Service), Marketing Cloud (Agentforce Marketing), Commerce Cloud (Agentforce Commerce), Experience Cloud and Analytics Cloud. Sales and Service remain the most widely deployed by a considerable margin.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 id=\"elementor-tab-title-1203\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"3\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1203\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Is Data Cloud a Salesforce cloud?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1203\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"3\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1203\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not in the same sense, Data 360, as it\u2019s now called, is a foundation layer that unifies customer records across every system &#8211; it sits beneath the clouds rather than alongside them. The same is true of Agentforce and the Salesforce Platform.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 id=\"elementor-tab-title-1204\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"4\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1204\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Which Salesforce cloud should I start with?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1204\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"4\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1204\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sales Cloud if you\u2019re sales-led, Service Cloud if support volume is your pressure point. Most businesses should start with one and add a second once it\u2019s genuinely adopted. Starting with three or four is the most common cause of a stalled implementation.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 id=\"elementor-tab-title-1205\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"5\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1205\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">What\u2019s the difference between Marketing Cloud and Account Engagement?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1205\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"5\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1205\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019re separate products that both do marketing automation. Account Engagement &#8211; formerly Pardot &#8211; is oriented toward B2B nurture and integrates tightly with Sales Cloud. Marketing Cloud handles B2C scale, journeys, and multi-channel campaigns. Owning both is common and usually unnecessary.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 id=\"elementor-tab-title-1206\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"6\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1206\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Do I need all six Salesforce clouds?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1206\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"6\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1206\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Almost certainly not. Most organisations use two or three. The right number depends on the processes you actually run, not the size of the catalogue &#8211; and unused licences are one of the most common sources of Salesforce overspend.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 id=\"elementor-tab-title-1207\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"7\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1207\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Are Salesforce clouds licensed separately?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1207\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"7\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1207\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, and per user. Two clouds for the same fifty people means two licences each. Licence by role rather than headcount, and check whether a cheaper Platform licence covers people who never touch Leads, Opportunities or Cases.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 id=\"elementor-tab-title-1208\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"8\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1208\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Why do Salesforce clouds have new names?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1208\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"8\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1208\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salesforce renamed several products around Agentforce, its AI agent platform, in 2026. Sales, Service, Marketing and Commerce Cloud picked up the Agentforce prefix. Experience Cloud and Analytics Cloud didn\u2019t, which is why guides written at different times disagree.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 id=\"elementor-tab-title-1209\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"9\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1209\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><i class=\"fas fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><i class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened fas fa-caret-up\"><\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">What are industry clouds, and are they worth it?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1209\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"9\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1209\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-built data models for specific sectors: Health Cloud, Financial Services Cloud, Manufacturing Cloud, and others. They cost more per seat than core clouds and considerably less than building the equivalent data model yourself, which is a six-figure project you\u2019d then maintain permanently.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many Salesforce clouds are there?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">It depends on what you count. Six core clouds: Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Experience and Analytics. Around fifteen if you include industry clouds. More than twenty if you count acquired products like Tableau, Slack, and MuleSoft. Guides disagree because \\u201ccloud\\u201d isn\\u2019t a defined term.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What are the main Salesforce clouds?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Sales Cloud (now Agentforce Sales), Service Cloud (Agentforce Service), Marketing Cloud (Agentforce Marketing), Commerce Cloud (Agentforce Commerce), Experience Cloud and Analytics Cloud. Sales and Service remain the most widely deployed by a considerable margin.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is Data Cloud a Salesforce cloud?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Not in the same sense, Data 360, as it\\u2019s now called, is a foundation layer that unifies customer records across every system &#8211; it sits beneath the clouds rather than alongside them. The same is true of Agentforce and the Salesforce Platform.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Which Salesforce cloud should I start with?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Sales Cloud if you\\u2019re sales-led, Service Cloud if support volume is your pressure point. Most businesses should start with one and add a second once it\\u2019s genuinely adopted. Starting with three or four is the most common cause of a stalled implementation.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What\\u2019s the difference between Marketing Cloud and Account Engagement?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">They\\u2019re separate products that both do marketing automation. Account Engagement &#8211; formerly Pardot &#8211; is oriented toward B2B nurture and integrates tightly with Sales Cloud. Marketing Cloud handles B2C scale, journeys, and multi-channel campaigns. Owning both is common and usually unnecessary.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Do I need all six Salesforce clouds?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Almost certainly not. Most organisations use two or three. The right number depends on the processes you actually run, not the size of the catalogue &#8211; and unused licences are one of the most common sources of Salesforce overspend.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Are Salesforce clouds licensed separately?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Yes, and per user. Two clouds for the same fifty people means two licences each. Licence by role rather than headcount, and check whether a cheaper Platform licence covers people who never touch Leads, Opportunities or Cases.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why do Salesforce clouds have new names?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Salesforce renamed several products around Agentforce, its AI agent platform, in 2026. Sales, Service, Marketing and Commerce Cloud picked up the Agentforce prefix. Experience Cloud and Analytics Cloud didn\\u2019t, which is why guides written at different times disagree.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What are industry clouds, and are they worth it?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Pre-built data models for specific sectors: Health Cloud, Financial Services Cloud, Manufacturing Cloud, and others. They cost more per seat than core clouds and considerably less than building the equivalent data model yourself, which is a six-figure project you\\u2019d then maintain permanently.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}}]}<\/script>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/section>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways: Salesforce cloud counts vary because \u201ccloud\u201d is not a clearly defined category, with guides counting core products, industry clouds, or acquired products differently. The six core clouds are Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Experience, and Analytics. In 2026, Sales, Service, Marketing, and Commerce Cloud adopted Agentforce naming, while Experience Cloud and Analytics Cloud remained [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":21230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"Salesforce Clouds Compared: Which Ones Do You Actually Need?","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"Compare Salesforce clouds, including Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Experience, Analytics, and industry clouds, and learn which ones your business actually needs.","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-2026-09-07T202937.308-1024x576.webp","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_wp_applaud_exclude":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[2696],"class_list":["post-21210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salesforce","tag-salesforce-cloud-comparison"],"featured_image_src":{"landsacpe":["https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-2026-09-07T202937.308-1140x445.webp",1140,445,true],"list":["https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-2026-09-07T202937.308-463x348.webp",463,348,true],"medium":["https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-2026-09-07T202937.308-300x169.webp",300,169,true],"full":["https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-2026-09-07T202937.308.webp",1536,864,false]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Salesforce Clouds Compared: Which Ones Do You Actually Need?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Compare Salesforce clouds, including Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Experience, Analytics, and industry clouds, and learn which ones your business actually needs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/salesforce-clouds-comparison-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Salesforce Clouds Compared: Which Ones Do You Actually Need?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Compare Salesforce clouds, including Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Experience, Analytics, and industry clouds, and learn which ones your business actually needs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dianapps.com\/blog\/salesforce-clouds-comparison-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Learn About Digital Transformation &amp; 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