By David Cockrum, Founder & CEO, Vantage Point
| 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 |
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:
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.
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:
Flex Credits power four major categories of functionality:
The following table breaks down exactly how many Flex Credits each operation consumes.
| Usage Type | Production Multiplier | Sandbox Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Action | 20 | 16 |
| Custom Action | 20 | 16 |
| 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.
| 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.
| 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 |
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.
This means the more you use, the less each operation costs. Heavy users can see costs drop to one-fifth of the base rate.
| 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.
Agentforce Conversations are a separate billing unit from Flex Credits. Here's the breakdown:
| 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.
Salesforce has introduced three distinct purchasing models, each designed for different organizational needs:
The consumption-based model described above. Best for organizations that want:
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:
Enterprise-wide agreements that bundle Agentforce and Data 360 capabilities across your organization. Best for organizations that:
Before committing to a credit volume, map your expected Data 360 operations:
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.
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.
Since Unification is the most expensive operation (75,000 credits/million rows at base), consider:
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.
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.
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.
No. Credits must be used before the Order End Date specified on your Order Form. Unused credits expire without rollover.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Understanding these pricing models is critical for any organization planning a Salesforce AI or data strategy in 2026. Here's our recommended approach:
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.
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.