Salesforce Experience Cloud Licenses

🔹 1. Customer Community

👉 Entry-level license for high-volume, external users.

What it does: Lets customers log in to a portal for basic self-service.
Why it’s used: For communities with thousands/millions of customers, where they mostly need access to FAQs, Cases, and simple data.
Example: A telecom company’s support portal where customers log in to raise service tickets and track case status.
Analogy: Like a helpdesk login – you can ask questions, but you don’t see the whole system.

👉 An upgraded customer license for more advanced collaboration.

What it does: Provides reports, dashboards, and advanced sharing features.
Why it’s used: When customers need more than just cases – e.g., they need to see related records or participate in more complex processes.
Example: A financial services portal where customers log in to view loan applications, upload documents, and see dashboards.
Analogy: Like a bank’s online portal – not just support, but also personal dashboards and services.

👉 Designed for business partners (B2B).

What it does: Gives access to CRM objects like Leads, Opportunities, Campaigns in addition to Cases.
Why it’s used: For resellers, distributors, or brokers who need CRM-level collaboration.
Example: A reseller portal where partners log in to manage leads, track opportunities, and register deals.
Analogy: Like a franchisee dashboard – you’re helping to sell, so you need deeper access.

👉 A “login-only” license for massive user bases.

What it does: Handles authentication (SSO, login), but no deep Salesforce access.
Why it’s used: For millions of users who only need to log in and authenticate.
Example: A university portal where students log in via SSO to access learning apps, but don’t interact with Salesforce data.
Analogy: Like a key card to enter a building, but you can’t open any office doors.

👉 A flexible, modern license for external apps.

What it does: Gives access to a wide range of standard + custom objects, but cheaper than Partner.
Why it’s used: For external users who need more than Cases but don’t need full CRM partner features.
Example: A supplier portal where vendors can log in to check purchase orders, invoices, and deliveries.
Analogy: Like a shared coworking space – you can use many facilities, but not everything the company’s employees have.

👉 For internal employees with light needs.

What it does: Allows employees to access HR/IT portals, not Sales/Service Cloud.
Why it’s used: To give limited Salesforce access to employees without buying full licenses.
Example: An IT service portal where employees log tickets, or an HR portal for leave requests.
Analogy: Like a basic company ID badge – enough for internal services, but not for all offices.

License Type	Best For	Main Features	Example Use Case
Customer Community	Large # of customers	Cases, knowledge, self-service	Telecom customer support portal
Customer Community Plus	Advanced customers	Reports, dashboards, advanced sharing	Banking loan application portal
Partner Community	Business partners	Leads, Opportunities, Campaigns + CRM	Reseller/dealer portal
External Identity	Very large user base (login only)	Authentication, SSO	Citizen login for gov site
External Apps	Flexible external users	Wide object access, custom apps	Supplier/vendor portals
Employee Community	Internal employees	HR/IT cases, limited SF access	Employee helpdesk portal

👉 In short: