By David Cockrum, Founder & CEO, Vantage Point
TL;DR / Key Takeaways
| What is it? | Salesforce's new consumption-based pricing framework for Data 360 (formerly Data Cloud) and Agentforce, built on Flex Credits and Conversation units |
|---|---|
| Key Benefit | Flexible, usage-based billing replaces rigid per-seat licensing — you pay for what you consume with volume-tiered discounts |
| Three Ways to Buy | Data Cloud on Flex Credits, Data Cloud Profile Pricing, and Agentforce Enterprise License Agreements (AELAs) |
| Cost Range | Flex Credits start at 100,000 credits for $500 (~$0.005/credit); Agentforce Conversations at $2/conversation (24-hour sessions) |
| Best For | Organizations scaling AI agents, data unification, segmentation, and real-time pipelines who want predictable, controllable costs |
| Bottom Line | Understanding the multiplier system is essential — a single Data 360 Unification run at base tier costs 75,000 credits per million rows, but just 15,000 at Tier 4 |
What's Changed? The Shift from Fixed Licensing to Consumption-Based Pricing
Salesforce has fundamentally restructured how organizations pay for their data and AI capabilities. The old model — flat per-seat licensing with separate Data Services Credits — is giving way to a flexible, consumption-based framework designed for the agentic era.
The new approach centers on two primary billing currencies:
- Flex Credits — A universal currency for Data 360 operations, Agentforce actions, AI prompts, speech services, and more
- Agentforce Conversations — A separate unit tracking AI agent interactions with customers and internal users
This isn't just a rebranding exercise. It's a fundamental economic shift that gives organizations the flexibility to scale their data and AI investments based on actual usage rather than projected headcount.
How Do Flex Credits Work?
Flex Credits are Salesforce's universal consumption unit. A quantity of Flex Credits is included with certain Salesforce services, specified on your Order Form. Here's what you need to know:
Key Rules
- No rollover — Credits must be used before the Order End Date on your Order Form
- Multiplier-based consumption — Different operations consume credits at different rates (multipliers)
- Volume tiering — Data 360 operations get progressively cheaper as you consume more in a given month
- Sandbox discounts — Sandbox environments consume credits at a reduced (typically 80%) multiplier rate
- Minimum purchase — 100,000 credits for approximately $500
What Consumes Flex Credits?
Flex Credits power four major categories of functionality:
- Agentforce Actions — Standard and custom agent actions
- Agentforce Voice Actions — Voice-enabled agent interactions
- AI/LLM Prompts — Bring Your Own LLM and Salesforce-enabled model prompts
- Data 360 Operations — Data preparation, unification, segmentation, activation, queries, pipelines, and more
Complete Flex Credits Rate Card: Agentforce and AI
The following table breaks down exactly how many Flex Credits each operation consumes.
Agentforce Actions
| Usage Type | Production Multiplier | Sandbox Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Action | 20 | 16 |
| Custom Action | 20 | 16 |
Agentforce Voice Actions
| Usage Type | Production Multiplier | Sandbox Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Voice Action | 30 | 24 |
| Custom Voice Action | 30 | 24 |
Note: For certain customers, the "Agentforce Voice Minutes" usage type may apply instead.
Bring Your Own LLM (BYOL) and Salesforce-Enabled Models
| Usage Type | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Starter Prompts | 2 |
| Basic Prompts | 2 |
| Standard Prompts | 4 |
| Advanced Prompts | 16 |
Applies to Agentforce 1 Edition customers, Agentforce for Sales/Service/Industries customers, and products that no longer use Einstein Requests.
Speech Foundations
| Usage Type | Unit | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Speech to Text | Per hour of transcription | 150 |
| Text to Speech | Per 1M characters translated | 6,000 |
| Translation | Per 1M characters translated | 4,000 |
Complete Flex Credits Rate Card: Data 360
Data 360 operations feature volume-based tiered multipliers that decrease as your monthly consumption increases. Tier thresholds reset on the first day of each calendar month.
How Tiers Work
- Base Tier — Up to 300,000 credits consumed: highest multiplier
- Tier 2 — 300,001 to 1,500,000 credits: 80% of base rate
- Tier 3 — 1,500,001 to 12,500,000 credits: 40% of base rate
- Tier 4 — Beyond 12,500,000 credits: 20% of base rate
This means the more you use, the less each operation costs. Heavy users can see costs drop to one-fifth of the base rate.
Data 360 Operations — Full Multiplier Table
| Usage Type | Unit | Base Tier (≤300K) | Tier 2 (300K–1.5M) | Tier 3 (1.5M–12.5M) | Tier 4 (>12.5M) | Sandbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prep | Per 1M Rows | 40 | 32 | 16 | 8 | 32 |
| Unification | Per 1M Rows | 75,000 | 60,000 | 30,000 | 15,000 | 60,000 |
| Segmentation | Per 1M Rows | 50 | 40 | 20 | 10 | 40 |
| Activation | Per 1M Rows | 60 | 48 | 24 | 12 | 48 |
| Zero-Copy Sharing-Out | Per 1M Rows Shared | 60 | 48 | 24 | 12 | 48 |
| Queries | Per 1M Rows | 3 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 2.4 |
| Unstructured Processing | Per 1 MB | 150 | 120 | 60 | 30 | 120 |
| Intelligent Processing | Per 1 MB | 600 | 480 | 240 | 120 | 480 |
| Streaming Pipeline | Per 1M Rows | 3,500 | 2,800 | 1,400 | 700 | 2,800 |
| Real-Time Pipeline | Per 1M Combined Events | 250,000 | 200,000 | 100,000 | 50,000 | 200,000 |
| Code Extension | Per Compute Unit | 40 | 32 | 16 | 8 | 32 |
Key insight: Unification is by far the most credit-intensive operation (75,000 credits per million rows at base tier), while Queries are the lightest (3 credits per million rows). Plan your identity resolution strategy carefully — it's the single biggest cost driver in Data 360.
How Do Agentforce Conversations Work?
Agentforce Conversations are a separate billing unit from Flex Credits. Here's the breakdown:
Key Rules
- A Conversation is a 24-hour interaction session between an AI agent and a user
- Conversations are included with certain Salesforce services (quantity specified on your Order Form)
- No rollover — unused conversations expire at the Order End Date
- Additional conversations can be consumed using Agentforce features, which may also consume Einstein Requests and Data Services Credits
Conversation Multipliers
| Usage Type | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Agentforce (ASA Messaging, Sales Coach, SDR) | 1x |
At approximately $2 per conversation, this pricing is straightforward — each 24-hour agent session with a customer or employee counts as one conversation.
Three New Ways to Buy Data 360
Salesforce has introduced three distinct purchasing models, each designed for different organizational needs:
1. Data Cloud on Flex Credits
The consumption-based model described above. Best for organizations that want:
- Pay-as-you-go flexibility with no upfront commitment to specific usage patterns
- Volume discounts that reward increased adoption
- Unified billing across Agentforce and Data 360 operations
- Predictable unit economics — you always know the cost per operation
2. Data Cloud Profile Pricing
A per-profile model where you pay based on the number of unified profiles (individuals or accounts) in your Data 360 instance. Best for organizations that:
- Have a well-defined customer base with predictable profile counts
- Want simpler budgeting without tracking individual operations
- Prioritize unlimited operations within their profile tier
- Are primarily focused on identity resolution and customer 360 views
3. Agentforce Enterprise License Agreements (AELAs)
Enterprise-wide agreements that bundle Agentforce and Data 360 capabilities across your organization. Best for organizations that:
- Are making a strategic, organization-wide commitment to Salesforce AI
- Want negotiated rates below published rate cards
- Need flexibility to allocate credits across multiple business units
- Are deploying Agentforce agents at scale across multiple clouds
What Does This Mean for Your Budget? Real-World Scenarios
Scenario 1: Mid-Size Organization Running Standard Agents
- 5 Agentforce SDR agents handling 500 conversations/day
- Monthly Agentforce cost: ~500 × 30 × $2 = $30,000/month in conversations
- Plus Flex Credits for underlying data operations
Scenario 2: Data-Intensive Organization with Heavy Unification
- 10 million customer records requiring monthly identity resolution
- Base tier: 10 × 75,000 = 750,000 credits per unification run
- At Tier 2 (if already past 300K): 10 × 60,000 = 600,000 credits
- At Tier 4 (high-volume): 10 × 15,000 = 150,000 credits — an 80% reduction
Scenario 3: Real-Time Pipeline for Marketing Automation
- Processing 5 million events per month through real-time pipeline
- Base tier: 5 × 250,000 = 1,250,000 credits
- At Tier 3: 5 × 100,000 = 500,000 credits — a 60% reduction
How Can You Optimize Flex Credit Consumption?
1. Understand Your Usage Patterns
Before committing to a credit volume, map your expected Data 360 operations:
- How many records do you unify monthly?
- How frequently do you run segmentation?
- What's your query volume?
- Are you using real-time or streaming pipelines?
2. Leverage Volume Tiers Strategically
The tier system resets monthly. If you're close to a tier threshold, consider consolidating operations to push into the next tier and benefit from lower multipliers for the rest of the month.
3. Use Sandboxes Wisely
Sandbox operations consume credits at a reduced rate (typically 80% of production). Use sandboxes for testing and development, but be aware they still count against your credit balance.
4. Optimize Identity Resolution
Since Unification is the most expensive operation (75,000 credits/million rows at base), consider:
- Running full unification less frequently
- Using incremental unification for new/changed records only
- Optimizing match rules to reduce processing overhead
- Batching unification runs to hit higher volume tiers
5. Monitor and Forecast
Salesforce provides consumption tracking tools within the Data 360 interface. Set up alerts and dashboards to track credit burn rates and forecast when you'll need to purchase additional credits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I run out of Flex Credits before my contract end date?
You'll need to purchase additional credits. There's no automatic overage billing — operations that require credits will fail or be throttled. Work with your Salesforce account executive to add credits to your contract.
Can I mix Flex Credits and the old Data Services Credits model?
Organizations must choose one billing model. You cannot use both Flex Credits and legacy per-conversation pricing simultaneously. Work with your Salesforce AE to understand the transition path.
Do Flex Credits roll over between contract years?
No. Credits must be used before the Order End Date specified on your Order Form. Unused credits expire without rollover.
How do I know which tier I'm in for Data 360 operations?
Tier thresholds are based on individual usage types and reset on the first day of each calendar month. For example, your Prep credits are tiered separately from your Segmentation credits. Monitor your usage in the Data 360 billing dashboard.
Are pilot features billed against Flex Credits?
Yes. Use of pilot features in conjunction with your Salesforce services may consume Flex Credits, to the extent expressly referenced in the applicable pilot terms you've agreed to.
What's the difference between Standard and Advanced Prompts?
The prompt tiers (Starter, Basic, Standard, Advanced) correspond to different levels of model capability and computational complexity. Advanced Prompts (16 credits) are 8x more expensive than Starter/Basic Prompts (2 credits) but provide access to more powerful model capabilities.
How are Agentforce Voice Actions different from standard Actions?
Voice Actions carry a higher multiplier (30 vs. 20) because they involve additional infrastructure for speech processing. They also consume Speech Foundations credits for speech-to-text and text-to-speech operations.
What Should You Do Next?
Understanding these pricing models is critical for any organization planning a Salesforce AI or data strategy in 2026. Here's our recommended approach:
- Audit your current usage — Understand your existing Data Services Credits consumption and Agentforce conversation volumes
- Model the new economics — Map your usage against the Flex Credits rate card to estimate costs under the new model
- Engage your Salesforce AE — Discuss which of the three buying models best fits your organization
- Consider an implementation partner — A partner like Vantage Point can help you design your Data 360 architecture to optimize credit consumption from day one
Need help navigating Salesforce's new pricing models? Vantage Point has helped over 150 organizations optimize their Salesforce investments across both Salesforce and HubSpot platforms. Contact us to discuss your data and AI strategy.
Resources
- Salesforce Data 360: Flexible Pricing Webinar
- Flex Credits Billable Usage Types for Data 360 (Salesforce Help)
- Agentforce Rates
- Flex Credits Rate Card (PDF)
- Agentforce Conversations Rate Card (PDF)
- Agentforce and Generative AI Usage and Billing (Salesforce Help)
- Reduce Credit Consumption in Data 360 (Salesforce Help)
Updated as of March 2026. Rate card multipliers and tier thresholds are subject to change by Salesforce. Always verify current pricing with your Salesforce account executive or the official rate cards linked above.
