Salesforce Community Licenses Explained: Login-Based vs Member-Based
Struggling with Salesforce Community licensing for external users?
This guide breaks down login-based vs member-based license models and helps you choose the right approach to optimize cost and usage.
Salesforce Experience Cloud (formerly Community Cloud) offers two licensing models for external users, and selecting the wrong one can significantly impact your budget. For deeper insights, read the Salesforce Community (Experience Cloud) Contract Negotiation Guide.
Below, we explain each model in plain terms, compare cost scenarios to show which saves money when, and share negotiation tips to align your contract with real user behavior.
Choose the Right License Model for External Users
Choosing between Salesforce Community login-based licenses and member-based licenses comes down to understanding your users’ behavior.
Both models allow customers or partners to access your Experience Cloud sites, but they charge differently:
What Is a Member-Based Community License?
A member-based community license (also called a named-user license) requires one license per individual external user. Each user is assigned their license, granting them unlimited logins and access for that month (or year, depending on contract).
Key points about member-based licenses:
- Unlimited access for the user: A licensed external user can log in as often as needed without additional cost per login. This is similar to how internal Salesforce user licenses work.
- Best for frequent users: If your external users (customers, partners, or members) log in regularly (e.g., weekly or daily), a member-based license is usually more cost-effective. You pay a fixed fee for that user and they can engage as much as they want.
- Predictable cost per user: You’ll pay a set price per external user license. This makes budgeting straightforward, but it also means you pay for each user regardless of whether they log in. For example, a 1,000-member license means paying for 1,000 users, even if only 600 used the community that month.
In summary, member-based licensing is like a subscription per user. It’s ideal for active user communities – think of key partners who check your portal daily or loyal customers who frequently access support and resources.
Get better insights by reading High-Volume Community Users Negotiation Strategies for Large Portals.
What Is a Login-Based Community License?
A login-based community license utilizes a pooled login model, where you purchase several logins that can be consumed by external users each month. You are essentially paying for each day a user logs in, rather than for each user.
Key points about login-based licenses:
- Logins pooled per month: You buy a block of logins (e.g., 20,000 logins per month) for all external users to share. Every time an external user logs in, it consumes one login from the pool. The count resets every month.
- Daily unique login count: Salesforce counts at most one login per user per day against your usage. If the same user logs in multiple times on the same day, it only counts as one login for that day. They can even switch between multiple community sites in your org on that one login. This prevents a single enthusiastic user from burning through your entire login allotment in a day.
- Best for infrequent or high-volume users: Login-based licenses excel when you have a large number of users who log in infrequently. For example, a self-service customer portal or community forum might have tens of thousands of registered users. Still, each individual only logs a case or checks info once a month. In this model, you only pay for actual login events, not for every user record.
- Flexible user count: You can create many more user accounts than you have logins purchased (Salesforce typically allows a certain multiple of users per login license block), as long as the total login events per month stay within your purchased allotment. This model scales well for broad audiences where each user’s activity is low.
In short, login-based licensing is a pay-per-use model. It avoids paying for idle users and suits scenarios such as large customer communities, where each customer may only occasionally sign in.
Cost Comparison and When Each Saves Money
Selecting the right model can result in significant cost savings. The general rule is to use login-based licensing for volumes with low engagement and member-based licensing for lower volumes with high engagement.
Consider these scenarios:
- Heavy Use Scenario: You have 10,000 external users who each log in 20 or more times per month (essentially daily or very frequently). If you used a login-based model, that could result in up to 200,000+ logins being consumed monthly. Paying per login would likely cost significantly more than providing each user with a fixed license. Here, member-based licenses are likely cheaper because you pay a predictable per-user fee instead of many login fees. Frequent users quickly consume a lot of logins, so member licenses cap the cost no matter how often they log in.
- Light Use Scenario: You have 50,000 external users, but on average, each person logs in only about once a month (some might not log in every month at all). With member-based licensing, you’d be paying for all 50,000 users even though actual usage is low — a huge expense for minimal activity. In contrast, login-based licensing would charge you roughly $50,000 per month (only when users sign in). The cost in this case is substantially lower with login-based licenses, because you aren’t paying for idle users. You pay for, say, 50k logins instead of 50k users.
- Rule of Thumb: If an external user logs in more than a few times per month (for example, every week or more), a member-based license often makes financial sense. If they log in rarely (a handful of times per quarter or only when needed), the login-based model will usually save money. Some experts boil it down simply: 3 or fewer login days per month per user indicate that a login-based approach is cost-effective; more than that indicates a member-based approach is cost-effective.
Always analyze your community’s actual login frequency data if possible. The break-even point depends on Salesforce’s pricing in your contract (e.g., the dollar cost of a member license vs. cost per login), but usage patterns are the clearest guide.
Use login frequency to guide your license model selection: high-frequency users tend to favor a member-based model. In contrast, high-volume/low-frequency populations tend to prefer a login-based model.
How Licensing Interacts with Community Types
Salesforce Experience Cloud offers a variety of community license types (with different capabilities), and each type supports both member-based and login-based models. The choice between login vs member is independent of whether it’s a Customer Community or Partner Community, for example.
Here are common external user license categories and how they can be deployed:
- Customer Community / Customer Community Plus: These licenses are designed for customer-facing portals and portals that require advanced functionality. Both “Customer Community” and the more advanced “Customer Community Plus” can be purchased as either per-user (member-based) or per-login options. For instance, you might choose Customer Community Login licenses for a high-volume self-service support site, while using Customer Community Member licenses for a subset of customers who engage frequently.
- Partner Community: Meant for business partners, distributors, or resellers who need access to sales data (like opportunities) and collaboration. Partner Community licenses also come in login-based or member-based editions. Because partners often log in daily to manage leads or deals, many organizations opt for member-based partner licenses for core partners. Still, you could use a login-based approach for a wider partner program where many partners log in infrequently.
- External Apps and Others (Channel Account, etc.): Salesforce has introduced licenses like External Apps and Channel Account for specific use cases (large external user bases, partner marketplaces, etc.). These too offer both models. External Apps licenses, for example, can support massive numbers of users with either a per-user fee or pooled logins. Always verify the model options for any new license type. However, Salesforce generally provides flexibility to choose between login or member-based pricing across most Experience Cloud license types.
Crucially, you can mix and match models to fit your specific needs. Ensure license flexibility in your planning: you might run one community on logins and another on member licenses, or even segment users within a single community by license model (heavy-use users receive member licenses, while long-tail users utilize the login pool). Salesforce allows you to purchase both types concurrently, so you can tailor the combination to optimize costs.
Negotiation Tips Based on License Model
When it comes time to negotiate your Salesforce contract or renewal, use your knowledge of these models to get the best deal. Salesforce licensing for communities can be customized if you come prepared. Here are some tips:
- Leverage usage data to justify your model: Come to Salesforce with data on your current or expected login frequency. For example, if analytics show that 80% of your 100,000 community users log in only once a month, present this data to argue that a login-based arrangement will be far more cost-effective for you. Showing real user behavior can support a request for a pricing model change (or better rates) by demonstrating you’d otherwise be overpaying with a one-size-fits-all approach.
- Ask for a hybrid licensing arrangement: Don’t assume you must pick only one model for all external users. You can negotiate a blended contract – for instance, 5,000 member-based licenses for your known frequent users and a block of 100,000 logins per month for the long tail of occasional users. Salesforce sales representatives can be receptive to a hybrid approach if it means a larger overall license purchase and a more satisfied customer. Make sure the contract language allows you to allocate the two license types as needed (sometimes called a “flex” or mixed model).
- Negotiate grace for usage spikes: If your community usage varies seasonally or could spike due to campaigns, discuss how overage logins are handled. Salesforce typically sells login-based licenses in fixed blocks per month. Still, you might negotiate terms like an allowance for a certain percentage of overage or the ability to true-up quarterly instead of paying steep penalties for one high-traffic month. For example, if you run an annual event that drives a surge in logins, consider requesting flexible terms or temporary login packs to accommodate this without incurring permanent cost increases. The goal is to avoid paying for peak capacity throughout the year.
In any negotiation, it’s wise to get quotes for both models. Salesforce’s pricing for logins vs members can evolve, and they may offer promotional deals. By understanding your user access patterns and being willing to mix models, you can significantly minimize waste in licensing costs.
FAQ
When should I choose member-based over login-based licensing?
Choose member-based licenses if your external users access the portal frequently, such as on a weekly or daily basis. In these cases, a fixed per-user cost is usually cheaper in the long run because login-based costs would accumulate rapidly with high usage. Frequent, engaged users (for example, key partners or power users) are good candidates for member-based licensing.
When does login-based licensing save money?
Login-based licensing saves money when you have a large number of users who log in infrequently. For instance, if you run a customer community or knowledge forum with tens of thousands of registered users, but each person only logs a case or reads articles occasionally, paying per login means you only spend money when they use the system. This avoids the hefty cost of licensing every single user who might log in. It’s ideal for broad communities, self-service portals, or any scenario where many users are idle in a given month.
Can I mix both license types for different user groups?
Yes. Many organizations utilize a combination of license models to optimize their costs. You might assign member-based licenses to heavy users (ensuring they have unlimited access) and use login-based licenses for occasional users. Salesforce allows you to have both in your org. For example, a partner portal could give core partners member licenses, while smaller partners use a shared login pool. This dual approach lets you right-size the investment for each segment of users.
How do I negotiate contract pricing to get the best deal?
The key is to align pricing with your actual usage. Come armed with data on how often users log in and request a tailored solution from Salesforce. You can request a blended pricing model (a combination of member licenses and login volume) that matches your user behavior. Additionally, consider seeking volume discounts if you have a large community — Salesforce may lower the per-login cost at higher volumes or offer discounts on large blocks of member licenses. Don’t be afraid to outline your ideal model and ask Salesforce to match it. Getting quotes for both options can also give you leverage to compare and negotiate.
What’s the biggest licensing mistake enterprises make with communities?
A common mistake is defaulting to member-based licenses for a vast user base without analyzing usage patterns. This “one-size-fits-all” approach often means paying for thousands of users who barely log in, leading to inflated costs. Another related mistake is not revisiting your license mix over time — as your community grows or user behavior changes, the optimal model (or mix of models) may shift. Always re-evaluate and ensure you’re not overspending on inactive users. The bottom line: don’t pay for what you’re not using. By carefully selecting the right Community license model (or combination) and monitoring usage, you can significantly reduce unnecessary Salesforce licensing expenses while still providing the access your external users need.
Read more about our Salesforce Contract Negotiation Service.
