What is Salesforce Experience Cloud? Features, benefits, use cases, and pricing in 2026
Salesforce Experience Cloud is the platform for building secure, branded digital portals connected directly to Salesforce CRM. It helps companies create customer self-service hubs, partner dashboards, and internal workspaces powered by real-time Salesforce data.
More than 5,000 active sites use Experience Cloud today, supporting over 10 million monthly visits and 50 million community members worldwide. A Forrester study found that organizations using Experience Cloud achieve an average 342% ROI within three years.
As companies shift toward AI-driven personalization and unified customer experiences, Experience Cloud has become one of Salesforce’s fastest-growing products. It extends the power of Customer 360 and Data Cloud, allowing every external interaction to stay connected to the same source of truth inside Salesforce.
In this guide, you’ll learn what Salesforce Experience Cloud is, how it works, and what you can build with it. We’ll explore its main features, benefits, and pricing structure and share real examples from Noltic’s projects to show how businesses use it to connect people, data, and processes in one place.
What is Salesforce Experience Cloud?
Salesforce Experience Cloud is a digital experience platform that lets you build secure, branded portals, websites, and mobile apps connected directly to your Salesforce CRM. It allows customers, partners, and employees to interact with your company’s data and services in one place without switching between systems or duplicating information.
At its core, Experience Cloud extends the power of Salesforce CRM by giving external users access to relevant data in a controlled way. Whether it’s a customer tracking an open case, a distributor registering a deal, or an employee viewing onboarding materials, all actions happen within a unified Salesforce environment.
Here’s what you can do with Salesforce Experience Cloud:
- Create self-service hubs where customers can submit cases, browse knowledge articles, and update their details.
- Set up partner portals to manage deals, share leads, and collaborate securely with resellers or distributors.
- Build employee communities for HR documents, onboarding, or internal knowledge sharing.
- Launch microsites or campaign pages that connect directly to Salesforce data for marketing or events.
- Deliver personalized content and recommendations using AI tools like Agentforce and Data Cloud.
Because it’s part of the Salesforce platform, Experience Cloud uses the same security, data model, and automation logic as your main org. You can apply sharing rules, automate workflows with Flow, embed reports and dashboards, and track user activity without custom integrations.
In simple terms, Salesforce Experience Cloud turns Salesforce from an internal CRM into a complete digital interaction platform where every stakeholder can connect with your business through one consistent experience.
Benefits of Salesforce Experience Cloud for your business
Salesforce Experience Cloud offers far more than a branded portal. It connects people, processes, and data in one digital environment built directly on Salesforce CRM. Its core advantage lies in extending your existing Salesforce setup to customers, partners, and employees without losing control over security, data, or automation. Below are the main benefits explained in depth, together with their practical results.
1. Faster customer self-service
Experience Cloud allows customers to solve problems on their own by accessing knowledge articles, checking case statuses, or updating contact details at any time. Instead of waiting for email replies or phone support, users can find what they need instantly.
Result:
Companies typically see a sharp drop in support ticket volume, shorter response times, and improved satisfaction scores because customers receive immediate answers instead of waiting in queues.
2. Better partner collaboration and visibility
Partner portals built with Experience Cloud let resellers, distributors, and affiliates manage leads, register deals, and share sales updates in one space. All information remains tied to Salesforce data, meaning no more version mismatches or missed opportunities.
Result:
Sales cycles shorten, reporting accuracy improves, and partner engagement increases because everyone works in the same system with transparent data.
3. Stronger internal communication and knowledge sharing
Internal portals built on Experience Cloud help teams centralize HR resources, IT policies, onboarding guides, and training materials. Employees get clear visibility of company updates, access documents anytime, and collaborate across departments.
Result:
Reduced internal email traffic, quicker onboarding, and easier knowledge access, so employees spend less time searching for information and more time doing actual work.
4. Unified data and consistent experience
Because Experience Cloud runs on Salesforce’s core platform, it uses the same data model as your CRM. This means customer, partner, and employee data all stay in one system with no separate logins, data sync tools, or integrations required.
Result:
Every department relies on accurate, real-time data. Marketing, sales, and service teams get a single source of truth, reducing reporting errors and duplication.
5. Flexible security and access control
Experience Cloud uses Salesforce’s proven security framework. You can define permissions for each user role: who can see which data, edit records, or access specific content. Authentication can use Salesforce logins, Single Sign-On (SSO), or social logins, depending on your setup.
Result:
Organizations maintain complete control over data visibility and compliance while safely opening parts of Salesforce to external audiences.
6. Personalization powered by AI
Experience Cloud connects natively with Agentforce and Data Cloud, letting you personalize user experiences based on activity, preferences, or role. Customers can see product recommendations or articles tailored to their previous interactions. Partners can receive content suited to their performance or region.
Result:
Better engagement, higher conversion, and more relevant content delivery across every digital touchpoint.
7. Built-in analytics and actionable insights
You can embed dashboards and reports directly into your portal. Admins track how many users log in, what content performs best, and which processes cause drop-offs. These insights help refine the portal and identify where automation or design improvements are needed.
Result:
Data-backed decision-making for both customer-facing and internal experiences, leading to continuous improvement and measurable ROI.
8. Scalability for long-term growth
Experience Cloud scales as your business evolves. Whether you add new departments, products, or entire partner networks, you can expand access and content without rebuilding the platform. Templates, components, and modular design keep future updates simple.
Result:
You invest once and keep evolving on the same foundation, saving time and development costs as your organization grows.
9. Consistent branding across all experiences
With Experience Builder, teams can align every portal, microsite, or community with the company’s look and feel with colors, fonts, and logos included. This ensures that whether a user logs into a support center, a partner portal, or an employee dashboard, the experience feels unified and professional.
Result:
Higher trust and recognition across all digital channels, strengthening brand identity while maintaining usability.
10. Quicker implementation with low-code tools
The drag-and-drop interface, prebuilt templates, and reusable components mean that admins and designers can launch functional portals faster, without depending fully on developers.
Result:
Faster time to market for new digital experiences and lower implementation costs.
16 most useful Salesforce Experience Cloud features in 2026
Salesforce Experience Cloud includes a broad range of tools that let you design, customize, and manage digital experiences without relying heavily on code. These features combine design flexibility, personalization, security, and analytics within a single Salesforce environment.
Below is a detailed overview of the most important features:
1. Experience Builder
A drag-and-drop interface that allows teams to design portals, websites, and apps visually. You can create pages, adjust navigation, and preview layouts across devices without code. The builder includes preconfigured templates for customer service, partner portals, onboarding, and more.
2. Themes and templates
Administrators can choose from standard templates or create their own. Each template supports full branding control: colors, fonts, logos, headers, and footers. Reusable themes make it easy to maintain a consistent look across multiple portals.
3. Mobile-ready design
Every site created in Experience Cloud automatically adapts to mobile devices. Pages resize and reorganize for smaller screens without building separate apps. This ensures that customers and partners can access key information wherever they are.
4. Content components and reusable blocks
You can save frequently used components like banners, forms, or dashboards, and reuse them across multiple sites. This reduces maintenance time and keeps user experiences consistent.
5. Salesforce CMS
Experience Cloud includes a native content management system that supports text, images, and documents. You can organize assets in libraries, tag them by topic, and publish them to specific pages or audiences.
6. Multilingual support
Portals can operate in multiple languages, each with translated navigation, content, and system messages. Users can switch languages from within the interface, and the platform tracks which version they prefer.
7. Dynamic content delivery
Experience Cloud uses Salesforce data to show users relevant information. For example, a partner may see different dashboards or product lists based on their assigned region or role.
8. AI-powered recommendations
With Agentforce and Data Cloud integration, the platform suggests articles, documents, or offers based on previous activity. This adaptive personalization helps users find answers faster and encourages ongoing engagement.
9. Role-based access and sharing rules
Experience Cloud inherits Salesforce’s security model. You can define which users can view, edit, or create records. Each group of customers, partners, or internal staff can see only what’s relevant to them.
10. Authentication options
Support for Single Sign-On (SSO), social logins, or standard Salesforce credentials makes login processes flexible. Multi-factor authentication ensures data protection for sensitive portals.
11. Guest user access
Public sections of the portal can still display general information for unauthenticated visitors. Administrators can restrict which records or fields guest users can view, balancing openness with safety.
12. Audit and compliance tools
Every interaction is logged, which supports compliance audits and internal reviews. You can track changes, monitor failed login attempts, and review access trends through dashboards.
13. Reports and dashboards
Admins can track metrics such as login frequency, content engagement, and case deflection directly in Salesforce dashboards. This real-time visibility helps evaluate how well each portal performs.
14. Experience Workspaces
An integrated environment where teams moderate discussions, manage users, and monitor engagement. It allows managers to edit content, respond to feedback, and analyze portal activity from one interface.
15. Automation with Salesforce Flow
Automations built in Flow can trigger actions inside the portal, like assigning cases, sending reminders, or updating records. It ensures that users experience real-time updates without manual follow-up.
16. Health monitoring
Built-in Health Check tools flag performance or security issues early. Admins can review portal load times, user permissions, and configuration inconsistencies.
Salesforce Experience Cloud use cases and practical examples from different industries
We use Salesforce Experience Cloud internally at Noltic to manage resources and collaboration across teams, and we help clients apply the same technology across customer, partner, and employee use cases. Here is how you can use it:
Use case #1: Customer self-service portals and help centers
Experience Cloud helps organizations create branded self-service sites where customers can solve problems without contacting support. Through a secure login, users can:
- Search knowledge articles or FAQs;
- Submit and track support cases;
- View invoices, orders, or service requests;
- Update their personal information
These portals integrate directly with Service Cloud and Knowledge Base, so updates appear instantly in Salesforce.
Real-world example: a telecommunications provider lets subscribers reset passwords, pay bills, and track service requests through an Experience Cloud portal, cutting call-center volume by nearly half.
Use case #2: Partner and reseller portals
Partner portals built with Experience Cloud strengthen collaboration with distributors, resellers, and suppliers. Companies can:
- Share leads and register deals;
- Provide training materials and price lists;
- Track sales performance and payouts;
- Automate approval workflows using Salesforce Flow.
All data flows back to Sales Cloud, eliminating spreadsheets and email chains.
Real-world example: a manufacturing company uses an Experience Cloud partner portal to share product updates and manage co-marketing funds with distributors, improving deal visibility and partner engagement.
Use case #3: Employee and internal service hubs
Experience Cloud isn’t only for external users. Internal portals let employees access HR policies, request IT help, and collaborate on projects in one central space. With role-based access, teams see content relevant to their department or region.
Real-world example: a multinational firm created an internal portal for HR onboarding and internal announcements. Employees access forms, submit requests, and complete training from one dashboard, reducing administrative delays and onboarding time.
Use case #4: Industry-specific portals
Experience Cloud’s flexibility allows customization for any industry, from finance to healthcare to nonprofits. Banks and financial institutions use portals for client onboarding and secure document exchange. Manufacturers build dealer or service-center portals that display inventory and warranty claims. Nonprofits use it for volunteer management, donor access, and beneficiary tracking.
Example: a healthcare provider built a patient portal where individuals can view appointments, download medical forms, and communicate securely with clinicians managed within Salesforce Health Cloud.
Use case #5: Microsites and marketing campaigns
Marketing and event teams use Experience Cloud to launch microsites for campaigns, product launches, or webinars. These small sites connect directly to Salesforce CRM, capturing leads and syncing them instantly.
Example: a tech company created an Experience Cloud microsite for a product launch campaign that allowed visitors to register, download materials, and join a live webinar. The data is automatically fed into Marketing Cloud journeys for follow-up communication.
Use case #6: Combined ecosystem use cases
The real power of Experience Cloud appears when it connects multiple audiences through a shared CRM.
- A customer support portal feeds cases to Service Cloud.
- A partner portal shows related deals from Sales Cloud.
- An employee hub uses the same Knowledge Base articles as the public help center.
This unified setup ensures everyone interacts with the same data source, reducing friction and increasing visibility across departments.
Salesforce Experience Cloud pricing in 2026
Salesforce Experience Cloud uses a flexible licensing model. The final cost depends on the audience size, how often users log in, and the type of portal you build. Salesforce offers two main approaches: login-based pricing and member-based pricing.
Customer portals (B2C self-service)
For customer communities, you can choose between paying for active users or for total logins.
Login-based licenses
- Customer Community – $2 per login/month;
- Customer Community Plus – $6 per login/month.
Best fit for large audiences that access the portal occasionally.
Member-based licenses
- Customer Community – $5 per user/month;
- Customer Community Plus – $15 per user/month.
Best fit for customers who log in frequently and need advanced features such as roles, sharing, and reports.
Source:
https://www.salesforce.com/service/customer-self-service/pricing/
Partner portals (PRM)
Partner and reseller portals require more CRM access and, therefore, cost more.
Member-based licenses
- PRM – from $25 per user/month;
- Partner Ecosystem Management – from $50 per user/month.
These licenses support opportunity management, lead registration, forecasts, and deeper collaboration with your internal sales team.
Source:
https://www.salesforce.com/sales/partner-relationship-management/pricing/
Industry Experience Cloud bundles
Industry clouds package Experience Cloud with prebuilt data models and workflows. That is why the price is higher.
For example:
- Customer Community Plus – $15 per login/month or $35 per user/month.
- Partner Community – $20 per login/month or $50 per user/month.
Source:
https://www.salesforce.com/manufacturing/cloud/experience-cloud/
What the license price does not include
Experience Cloud is not a standalone product. The total budget also includes:
- Sales Cloud or Service Cloud licenses for internal users;
- Implementation and UX setup;
- Integrations and data migration;
- Storage and API capacity;
- Add-ons such as AI, bots, or Data Cloud.
Keep in mind that the portal license is only one part of the overall investment.
Source:
https://www.salesforce.com/pricing/
How to choose the right pricing model for Salesforce Experience Cloud
Companies typically follow a simple rule:
Choosing the correct model early has a direct impact on long-term ROI, especially for high-growth portals.
Real-world results of Salesforce Experience Cloud implementation
Below are four real Salesforce Experience Cloud examples from Noltic’s projects that show how different organizations improved speed, cut costs, scaled faster, and served users more efficiently.
We Are Group
A UK-based organization supporting vulnerable populations used Experience Cloud as part of a full Salesforce overhaul. Their outdated systems slowed down support services and led to duplicate work across teams. Noltic replaced five disconnected legacy CRMs with one unified platform and built a customer-facing Experience Cloud site that helped clients self-register, submit documents, and track their cases online.
Results:
- User adoption of Salesforce jumped from 25% to 75%;
- Delivery timelines for key services were cut in half, from 4 months to 2;
- The client described the new system as "critical" to maintaining timely support during crisis situations.
Technical textiles manufacturer
A long-established manufacturer in the UK needed a modern platform to unify production, inventory, and accounting. Noltic used Experience Cloud to build a connected ERP-style system with real-time dashboards and process automation. The portal allowed staff to access up-to-date production schedules, raw material usage, and order data, replacing manual spreadsheets and siloed tools.
Results:
- Real-time access to production data reduced delays in order processing;
- Thread waste was reduced through accurate forecasting;
- Internal operations became significantly leaner, saving time across departments.
Caribbean financial services company
A financial firm working across the Caribbean region needed to digitize how requests were submitted and processed between clients, banks, and internal teams. Noltic used Experience Cloud to create a secure partner-facing portal that replaced unreliable email chains and manual processes. They also added a public Salesforce Sites form connected to the same backend.
Results:
- 100% request delivery success rate after implementation;
- Eliminated duplicates and human errors from the request lifecycle;
- Created full auditability for every action across the process, improving trust and compliance.
Freedom ID
Freedom ID, an NGO from the Czech Republic, needed to quickly onboard and verify hosts offering shelter to refugees. Noltic built a scalable Salesforce Experience Cloud for nonprofits portal that collected applications, processed verifications, and tracked case progress, keeping it compliant with EU KYC standards. The solution had to be fast, secure, and flexible enough to handle surges in activity.
Results:
- 500+ verified hosts onboarded in the first month;
- Application processing was automated end-to-end, reducing manual admin time;
- The platform supported growth and compliance needs without extra staff.
Challenges and limitations of Salesforce Experience Cloud
While Experience Cloud in Salesforce offers powerful tools, it’s important to be realistic about its challenges.
Setup and implementation can be complex
Launching a high-quality portal involves more than just enabling the product. It requires work across UX, permissions, data modeling, branding, and testing. Organizations without experienced admins or developers may find the learning curve steep, especially when dealing with visibility rules, guest user security settings, or multilingual content.
Customization often requires developer support
Although Experience Builder allows drag-and-drop editing, many advanced features, like dynamic page logic, custom LWC components, or integrations with third-party systems, require Salesforce Experience Cloud development skills.
Licensing and pricing can be confusing
Different user types (Customer Community, Partner Community, Customer Plus, etc.) come with different limits and pricing tiers. It’s easy to miscalculate Salesforce Experience Cloud license needs, especially if portal usage grows faster than expected.
Content management isn’t as flexible as a CMS like WordPress
While there is a built-in CMS, it’s designed more for structured business content than for marketing teams used to standalone web editors. Asset versioning, content workflows, and editor collaboration are basic.
How to get started with Experience Cloud
Getting started is easier when you follow a structured approach. Salesforce offers a variety of templates and tools that help speed up development. You can choose prebuilt layouts for common use cases such as customer service portals, partner hubs, or employee onboarding platforms. Using Experience Builder, you can quickly customize content, configure logic, and apply your branding without writing code.
If you're planning your first project, it helps to review a complete Salesforce Experience Cloud implementation guide to understand the architecture, licensing, and customization options. You’ll want to define roles, data access, and integrations early. For those managing more complex setups, a clear understanding of Salesforce Experience Cloud architecture is key to ensuring long-term scalability and security.
At Noltic, we provide full Salesforce Experience Cloud implementation services, from design and configuration to rollout and optimization. We’ve delivered over 160 Salesforce projects, earned 400+ certifications, and have a team that includes 8 certified architects. Our AppExchange profile holds a 5.0 rating, and we’re trusted by companies in financial services, manufacturing, nonprofit, and healthcare.
Our Salesforce Experience Cloud consulting team is here to help you move fast, make the right technical choices, and launch a portal that meets the needs of your users and your business. Whether you're just starting or looking to optimize an existing site, our Salesforce Experience Cloud services are built to deliver real results.
FAQs
What is Salesforce Experience Cloud used for?
Salesforce Experience Cloud is used to build secure, branded portals for customers, partners, and employees. These portals can provide self-service support, enable deal registration and collaboration, or serve as internal knowledge hubs. It connects directly to Salesforce CRM, allowing real-time access to cases, accounts, documents, and custom workflows.
What is Experience Cloud in Salesforce?
Experience Cloud is Salesforce’s platform for creating digital experiences across audiences. Formerly known as Community Cloud, it allows organizations to design and deploy websites, portals, and apps with user-specific content, secure login access, and CRM integration, all without building from scratch.
How do you create an Experience Cloud site in Salesforce?
To create an Experience Cloud site in Salesforce:
- Go to Setup, search for "Digital Experiences" or "All Sites".
- Click New, select a template (such as Customer Service or Partner Central).
- Name your site, set its domain, and follow the prompts to publish.
- Use Experience Builder to customize the layout, pages, branding, and components.
- Set up roles, profiles, and sharing rules to control what different users see.
What is the difference between Salesforce Experience Cloud and Community Cloud?
Salesforce Experience Cloud vs Community Cloud is mostly about naming. Community Cloud was the original name, but as the platform expanded to support broader digital experiences beyond basic communities, it was rebranded as Experience Cloud in 2021. The features are the same, just a new name to better reflect modern use cases.
How to get a Salesforce Experience Cloud certification?
To get the Salesforce Experience Cloud certification, you need to pass the Salesforce Certified Experience Cloud Consultant exam. Here's how to get started:
- Review the exam guide on Salesforce's official website to understand the topics covered, including Experience Cloud architecture, sharing models, branding, and content management.
- Complete relevant Trailhead modules, especially the Experience Cloud Consultant learning path.
- Get hands-on experience building portals using Experience Builder and configuring user access, content, and CRM integration.
- Register for the exam through Webassessor. The exam includes 60 multiple-choice questions and requires a passing score of 62%.
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