Key takeaways
- Sales Cloud manages leads, opportunities, forecasts and the sales process; Service Cloud manages cases, support channels and customer service.
- Both share the same core platform, accounts and contacts, so they work together naturally.
- At the time of writing both clouds share the same edition tiers and list prices, from Starter Suite at $25 to Unlimited at $350 per user per month.
- Start with the cloud that addresses your biggest revenue or customer risk.
Salesforce is a family of products built on one platform. The two most widely used are Sales Cloud and Service Cloud. Many companies eventually use both, but most start with one. Here is how to decide.
What Sales Cloud does
- Lead management, assignment and conversion.
- Opportunity management with stages, products and quotes.
- Forecasting and pipeline reporting.
- Activity tracking, email integration and sales productivity tools.
- Territory and team management in higher editions.
What Service Cloud does
- Case management with queues, assignment rules and escalations.
- Omni-channel routing of cases, chats and messages to available agents.
- Service level agreements with entitlements and milestones.
- Knowledge base for agents and self-service.
- Channels such as email-to-case, web forms, messaging and voice integrations.
Pricing at a glance
| Edition | List price per user/month (annual) |
|---|---|
| Starter Suite | $25 |
| Pro Suite | $100 |
| Enterprise | $175 |
| Unlimited | $350 |
Sales Cloud and Service Cloud share these list prices at the time of writing. Users who need both clouds require appropriate licenses; Salesforce also offers bundles. Confirm current pricing with Salesforce.
How to decide which comes first
| If your biggest problem is… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Lost leads, unclear pipeline, unreliable forecasts | Sales Cloud |
| Slow responses, lost emails, unhappy customers | Service Cloud |
| Renewals and account management after the sale | Often Service Cloud or Sales Cloud with account management features |
| Both, with limited budget | The one tied to the larger revenue risk |
Using both together
Because both clouds share accounts and contacts, sales can see open cases before a renewal call, and service can see what a customer bought and their account manager. Users who only need to view or work on some records may not need full licenses for both clouds, so design licensing carefully.
Common mistakes
- Using opportunities to track support issues, or cases to track deals.
- Buying Service Cloud licenses for every salesperson who only views cases occasionally, or the reverse.
- Launching both at once without the capacity to train and support two teams.
We implement both clouds and help clients sequence them sensibly; see our implementation services.
A worked example
A software company with a growing support backlog and a small sales team chose Service Cloud first: email-to-case, queues, entitlements and a knowledge base cut response times quickly. A year later it added Sales Cloud for renewals and expansion. Because both clouds share accounts and contacts, account managers immediately saw open cases and satisfaction history before renewal calls.
Licensing tips
- List what each group of users actually needs to do, not just which records they view.
- Ask Salesforce about bundles if many users need both clouds.
- Review license usage quarterly and reassign unused licenses.
Frequently asked questions
Can Sales Cloud handle customer support?
Basic case management exists across editions, but Service Cloud adds routing, entitlements, knowledge and channels that support teams need at scale.
Do salespeople need Service Cloud licenses to see cases?
It depends on what they need to do. Viewing related cases may be possible with appropriate permissions; working cases typically requires Service Cloud licenses. Check licensing details with Salesforce.
Is there a bundle of both clouds?
Salesforce offers bundled editions and suites that combine capabilities; availability and pricing change, so check current options.
