# salesforce-identity

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/ciam/salesforce-identity/
Last updated: 2026-06-19
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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## Overview

Salesforce Identity is the identity layer of the Salesforce platform, providing SSO, customer, and partner identity tied to CRM data and Experience Cloud portals. It is an enterprise CIAM offering only in the sense that it extends identity to the customers and partners who interact with Salesforce-built experiences. It is not a standalone, portable [CIAM](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-ciam/) platform, and its value lives almost entirely inside the Salesforce ecosystem.

## What it is good at

Native integration is the whole point. For organizations already running Salesforce, identity for customer and partner communities ties directly to CRM records, profiles, and portal experiences with no separate integration project. It handles SSO, social login, and MFA for those portals, inherits Salesforce's enterprise trust and compliance posture, and lets one vendor own both the data and the access to it. Administration sits within familiar Salesforce tooling.

## Where it falls short

Value is concentrated inside Salesforce. It is not designed to be a general-purpose identity provider for apps outside the platform, and portability is poor if you ever want to move. Developer experience and deployment flexibility are oriented around the Salesforce model rather than open, code-first workflows, and B2C scale and modern flow design lag behind dedicated CIAM specialists. For non-Salesforce shops it makes little sense.

## Pricing

Bundled and add-on licensing within Salesforce, quote-based and tied to your broader contract. Model the true cost of platform lock-in with the [TCO calculator](https://startwithidentity.com/tools/tco-calculator/).

## Best for, and who should look elsewhere

Choose it if you are a Salesforce customer extending identity to customers and partners through Experience Cloud. Look elsewhere if you are not a Salesforce shop or want a portable, standalone platform. Consider [Auth0](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/ciam/auth0/) for a general-purpose CIAM, [WorkOS](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/ciam/workos/) for B2B enterprise readiness, and [SAP Customer Data Cloud](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/ciam/sap-customer-data-cloud/) for another suite-bound option.

## Bottom line

A natural identity layer for Salesforce customers, and not a reason to choose it as your general-purpose CIAM.