Salesforce donates 10 licenses to eligible nonprofits, and that is a generous start.
Then the board asks the real question. What will Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud pricing look like in year two, with 25 users, a donor portal and a migration from spreadsheets?
Here is the full budget, line by line, for UK and US charities. It is the same budgeting conversation we have every week through our Salesforce for charities work in the UK and our Salesforce for nonprofits work in the US.
What is Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud is Salesforce's CRM built for charities and nonprofits, covering fundraising, donors, programs, grants, volunteers and outcomes on one platform. Salesforce now also markets it as Agentforce Nonprofit, with AI agents built in, while the pricing page still lists the editions under the Nonprofit Cloud name.
It is the successor to the Nonprofit Success Pack, or NPSP. NPSP is a set of managed packages installed on top of Sales Cloud, and it remains fully supported, but it has not received new features since Nonprofit Cloud launched in March 2023. Nonprofit Cloud is built natively on the platform, which is where Salesforce now puts its investment for the sector.
What you get for free through Power of Us
Through the Power of Us program, an eligible nonprofit receives 10 Enterprise Edition licenses at no cost. Organisations choose between the Nonprofit Cloud bundle and the Sales and Service Cloud bundle. That is a real gift to the sector, and for many small charities it covers the whole team.
- In the US, eligibility usually means 501(c)(3) status, confirmed with an IRS determination letter
- In the UK, it means registration with the relevant charity regulator, such as the Charity Commission for England and Wales
- Public schools and school districts go through a separate education program rather than Power of Us
You apply through the Salesforce nonprofit site with your registration documents. Approval usually takes from a few days to about two weeks, so it is worth starting before you choose a partner.
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud pricing after the free licenses
From the 11th user onwards, each license is paid, at nonprofit prices that are well below standard Salesforce list prices. As published on the Salesforce nonprofit pricing page, billed annually per user per month.
| Edition | Price per user per month | Typical fit |
|---|---|---|
| Sales and Service Core | $70 | Most charities, fundraising and programs |
| Sales and Service Advanced | $125 | Larger teams needing more automation and analytics |
| Sales Max | $285 | Major gifts teams with advanced sales tools |
| Service Max | $285 | Large service delivery and contact centres |
UK charities should note that Salesforce does not publish Nonprofit Cloud prices in GBP online. UK pricing is quoted in a conversation with Salesforce, so ask for it in writing before the budget goes to the board.
The costs nobody puts in the first budget
Licenses are the easy line. These are the ones that surprise finance directors in month three.
Three example budgets
These are estimates for year one, using Salesforce's published nonprofit prices and our own public package prices. Your quote will depend on scope, but the shape of the budget rarely changes.
A small charity with 10 users
Everyone works on donated licenses, so licenses cost nothing. A fixed price foundation setup costs $5,000 to $9,000 in the US or £3,000 to £5,000 in the UK, including email and calendar integration and migration of up to a few thousand records. Year one lands around $5,000 to $9,000.
A mid size nonprofit with 25 users
Ten users are donated and 15 are paid Core licenses, which is about $12,600 a year. An operations package with campaigns, grants and one or two integrations costs $12,000 to $20,000 in the US or £8,000 to £14,000 in the UK. Add a monthly support plan from $1,000 a month and year one comes to roughly $37,000 to $45,000.
A national charity with 60 or more users
Fifty paid Core licenses cost about $42,000 a year, more if some teams need Advanced. A project like our recent national charity build starts at a fixed price from $15,000, with portals and several integrations quoted on top. With a 40 hour support plan at $1,280 a month, year one starts around $72,000.
For a real example of what that last budget buys, read how a UK charity cut its funder reports from three days to an afternoon.
How to keep the bill under control
- Start with the one report funders ask for most. Build what that report needs first, and phase everything else
- Use every donated license. Give the 10 free seats to the people who live in the system daily and use cheaper options for occasional users
- Phase integrations. Connect the payment or fundraising platform first and leave nice to have connections for phase two
- Review license usage once a year. Remove seats from people who left or never log in before the renewal date
If you already run Salesforce and suspect you are paying for more than you use, a Salesforce health check includes a license usage review. 🔍
Get a fixed price estimate
Tell us how many people use the system, where your data lives today and what your funders ask for. We come back with a fixed price and a timeline.
- Nonprofit Cloud or NPSP setup
- Data migration and deduplication
- Funder ready reports and dashboards
Common questions
Is Salesforce free for nonprofits?
Partly. Eligible nonprofits receive 10 Enterprise Edition licenses at no cost through the Power of Us program. Additional users, implementation, integrations and support are paid, so most charities still budget for setup in year one.
How much does Nonprofit Cloud cost per user?
After the 10 donated licenses, Salesforce lists Nonprofit Cloud Sales and Service Core at $70 per user per month and Advanced at $125, billed annually. Sales Max and Service Max are $285. UK prices in GBP are quoted directly by Salesforce.
What is the difference between NPSP and Nonprofit Cloud?
NPSP is a set of managed packages on top of Sales Cloud. It is still supported but no longer gets new features. Nonprofit Cloud is built natively on the platform and is where Salesforce adds new nonprofit features and AI agents.
How long does implementation take?
A focused setup for a small charity usually takes three to four weeks. A setup with campaigns, grants and integrations takes six to eight weeks, and larger national projects run on a tailored timeline.
The licenses are the easy part of the budget, and the setup is where a charity either saves money for years or keeps paying for workarounds.
