Salesforce editions are the packaged tiers you buy Salesforce in. For Sales Cloud in 2026 they are Free Suite, Starter Suite, Pro Suite, Core, Advanced and Max, priced from $0 to $550 per user per month. In September 2026 Core, Advanced and Max took the place of the Enterprise, Unlimited and Agentforce 1 tiers for new buyers, while existing customers keep their legacy pricing.
This comparison was first published in 2020, when the line-up was Essentials, Professional, Enterprise and Unlimited. It has been rewritten for 2026 and now also covers the question from our 2020 post on the Salesforce Platform licence.
Salesforce editions at a glance
As of November 2026 there are six Sales Cloud tiers, from Free Suite at $0 to Max at $550 per user per month. These are the Sales Cloud tiers and list prices shown on Salesforce's Sales Cloud pricing page on 10 November 2026, in US dollars per user per month.
| Edition | Price | Billing | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Suite | $0 | Not stated | Listed in the comparison table as the free entry point |
| Starter Suite | $25 | Monthly or annually | Lead, account, contact and opportunity management; built-in sales flows and lead routing; email, event and contact sync; email marketing and analytics |
| Pro Suite | $100 | Annually | Everything in Starter plus more customisation and automation; quoting and forecasting; AgentExchange access; Premier Support as an add-on |
| Core | $195 | Annually | Everything in Professional Edition plus Premier Success; Slack Business+; Tableau Next |
| Advanced | $395 | Annually | Everything in Core plus enhanced security, more AI and more data capacity; Sales Programs; Backup & Recover, Archive, Data Detect and Security Center |
| Max | $550 | Annually | Everything in Advanced plus Advanced Momentum; Agentforce for Sales and Agentforce Coworker; Spiff, Sales Planning, Salesforce Maps, Slack Enterprise+; 2.75M Flex Credits per org per year |
Salesforce marks the page as subject to change and asks buyers to contact sales for detailed pricing, so treat these as list prices, not quotes. The Standard Success Plan is included in all licences, and the Premier Success Plan is included with Core, Advanced and Max.
What changed in 2026: Core, Advanced and Max
Three new editions replaced Enterprise, Unlimited and Agentforce 1 for new buyers, each bundling AI, Slack and Premier Success. On 3 September 2026 Salesforce announced new Core, Advanced and Max editions for Agentforce Sales, Agentforce Service and Agentforce Industries. The announcement describes Enterprise and Unlimited as legacy editions and positions the new tiers against them:
- Core ($195) is compared with the legacy Enterprise Edition and includes 500,000 Flex Credits.
- Advanced ($395) is compared with the legacy Unlimited Edition and includes 1 million Flex Credits.
- Max ($550) keeps the Agentforce 1 Edition price and includes 2.75 million Flex Credits. Agentforce 1 customers can move to Max at no extra cost.
Salesforce says Agentforce AI capabilities, Slack and Slackbot, embedded analytics, data security and Premier Success Plans now come with every one of these editions. Two points matter for existing customers: Salesforce states that "existing customer pricing on legacy editions remains unchanged", and pricing for the Agentforce Industry Editions was due to take effect later in the autumn. If your contract still says Enterprise or Unlimited, nothing forces you to move at renewal, but it is worth comparing what Core or Advanced would include for the same spend.
Old editions and their 2026 counterparts
Enterprise maps to Core, Unlimited to Advanced and Agentforce 1 to Max. Many orgs still run on the editions our 2020 post described. This is how they line up with today's page, based on Salesforce's own comparisons:
| Edition you may have | Closest current tier | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | Starter Suite | Essentials no longer appears on the pricing page; Starter Suite is now the entry paid tier |
| Professional | Pro Suite | Core's listing builds on "Professional Edition"; Pro Suite is the $100 tier below it |
| Enterprise | Core | Compared directly in Salesforce's September 2026 announcement |
| Unlimited | Advanced | Compared directly in the same announcement |
| Agentforce 1 | Max | Same price; free upgrade offered to Agentforce 1 customers |
A tier being the "closest counterpart" does not mean identical limits. API calls, storage and sandbox allowances are set per contract, so check Setup → Company Information in your org and your order form before you assume anything carries over.
Professional Edition and API access
If you are on Professional Edition (or Pro Suite), check integrations first. Salesforce's REST API guide lists API access as included in Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance and Developer editions, while Professional Edition needs it bought as an add-on. Many marketing, ERP and telephony connectors need the API, so this is often what pushes a growing company up a tier. Our Salesforce API guide explains what the API is used for.
Developer Edition
Developer Edition is not a paid tier: it is a free org for learning and building, with no production use. Our guide to creating a Salesforce developer account shows how to get one.
How do you choose the right Salesforce edition?
Choose on customisation needs, AI, support level and security, then compare total cost rather than list price. The pricing page groups the tiers in a way that suggests four questions:
- How much do you need to customise? Starter Suite covers standard selling with built-in flows. Once you need your own automation, custom objects and quoting or forecasting, you are in Pro Suite territory.
- Do you want AI included or bolted on? The pricing page notes that AI can be added to Core and above. Agentforce for Sales is sold as an add-on from $125 per user per month, and Max includes it.
- What support do you need? Premier Success (expert guidance, health checks, 24/7 support for business-stopping issues) is included from Core upward; on Pro Suite it is an add-on.
- Do security and data protection sit on your checklist? Backup & Recover, Archive, Data Detect and Security Center appear from Advanced upward, which is often what regulated companies compare first.
For AI costs in more detail, see our Agentforce pricing guide; for the full cost of a project beyond licences, see Salesforce implementation cost.
Salesforce licence vs Salesforce Platform licence
A Salesforce (Sales Cloud) licence includes CRM selling features; a Platform licence covers custom apps only and costs less. An edition sets what your org can do. A user licence sets what each person can do in it. The two licences people confuse most are a full CRM licence, such as a Sales Cloud seat, and a Salesforce Platform licence.
| Sales Cloud licence | Platform Starter | Platform Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| List price (per user per month) | $25 to $550 depending on edition | $25, billed annually | $100, billed annually |
| Built for | Sellers and sales managers | Users of custom apps | Users of larger custom apps |
| Leads, opportunities, quoting, forecasting | Yes, by edition | Not listed | Not listed |
| Custom objects | By edition | 10 | 110 |
| Other features listed | See edition table | Process automation, AgentExchange (listed as AppExchange) | Lightning Console, AgentExchange (listed as AppExchange) |
Platform prices and object limits are from Salesforce's Platform pricing page, which also lists accounts and contacts among the features for connecting to customers, and a Platform Login and Dev Credits option at $1,000 per 10,000 credits for occasional users. Lead and opportunity management, quoting and forecasting appear on the Sales Cloud page, not the Platform one.
The practical rule: give a Sales Cloud licence to anyone who works leads and deals; give a Platform licence to people who only use custom apps, such as an operations team tracking assets or an HR team running an onboarding app. Mixing the two in one org is normal and is one of the simplest ways to cut licence spend.
Mistakes to avoid when comparing editions
The costliest mistakes are comparing list prices only and giving everyone the same licence.
- Comparing list prices only. Core costs more than legacy Enterprise did, but includes Slack, Tableau Next, Flex Credits and Premier Success. Price what you would otherwise buy separately.
- Buying the top tier for a few users. An edition applies to the whole org, so a handful of power users rarely justify Max for everyone. Add-ons may cost less.
- Giving everyone a full licence. Users who never touch leads or opportunities may be fine on a Platform licence.
- Assuming limits carry over. Moving from a legacy edition to a new tier is a commercial change: check API, storage and sandbox entitlements in the new order form.
- Ignoring billing terms. Only Starter Suite can be billed monthly; the other paid tiers are billed annually.
- Choosing before seeing your own process. Ask for a demo on the edition you plan to buy; our Salesforce demo guide has a scorecard.
Getting help
Choosing an edition is easier when you know what each team will actually do in Salesforce. Techila is a Salesforce Summit Partner; our Sales Cloud team maps your processes to the edition and licence mix that fits them, and our sandbox guide explains the environments you will build in. Talk to us before your next renewal.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Salesforce editions in 2026?
For Sales Cloud, Salesforce's pricing page lists Free Suite, Starter Suite ($25 per user per month), Pro Suite ($100), Core ($195), Advanced ($395) and Max ($550). Pro Suite and above are billed annually; Starter can be billed monthly or annually.
What happened to Salesforce Enterprise and Unlimited editions?
On 3 September 2026 Salesforce launched Core, Advanced and Max editions and now calls Enterprise and Unlimited legacy editions. Salesforce compares Core with Enterprise and Advanced with Unlimited, and says existing customer pricing on legacy editions remains unchanged.
What is the difference between a Salesforce licence and a Salesforce Platform licence?
A Sales Cloud licence includes the CRM sales features such as lead and opportunity management, quoting and forecasting. A Platform licence (Platform Starter or Platform Plus) is for people who use custom apps built on Salesforce, with accounts, contacts and a set number of custom objects, at a lower price.
How much does a Salesforce Platform licence cost?
Salesforce's Platform pricing page lists Platform Starter at $25 per user per month with 10 custom objects and Platform Plus at $100 per user per month with 110 custom objects, both billed annually. These are list prices and can change.
Which Salesforce edition should a small business choose?
Most small teams start with Starter Suite and move to Pro Suite when they need more customisation, automation, quoting and forecasting. Core and above suit companies that want built-in AI, Slack and Tableau and Premier Success support included.