Salesforce has redefined how businesses engage with customers. As a powerful CRM platform, it houses critical data, from lead records to case histories. However, with this advantage comes a pressing challenge: managing Salesforce data storage costs effectively. Organizations are generating more information than ever before. If you’re noticing increasing Salesforce storage costs, you’re not alone.
In such cases, without a smart strategy, companies may end up paying substantial recurring fees or struggling with a sluggish Salesforce environment. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Salesforce storage, its costs, and how to manage your data more efficiently.
The Salesforce Storage Model: An Overview
Salesforce offers two types of storage:
- Data Storage: Covers records like Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, Cases, and custom object data.
- File Storage: Includes attachments, files, content from Salesforce CRM Content, and documents.
Each Salesforce edition — Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, or Performance — comes with a baseline data and file storage limit. For instance, the Enterprise Edition typically includes 10 GB of data storage per org, plus additional storage per user license.
However, as companies grow, so does their Salesforce data footprint. Marketing campaigns, customer support interactions, case resolutions, and third-party integrations all add layers of information daily. Before long, businesses find themselves approaching or exceeding their storage limits and often turning toward additional storage.
Understanding Salesforce Data Storage Pricing
When an organization crosses the standard storage threshold, Salesforce offers additional storage, but at a premium.
Salesforce Additional Storage Costs:
Approximately $125 per month for 500MB of extra data storage.
File storage is often less expensive, but data storage, crucial for operations, carries a much higher price tag.
This pricing structure may seem manageable initially. However, when data volumes double or triple year-over-year, businesses find themselves spending thousands annually, often without a clear data management strategy in place.
Important Note:
Storage costs are recurring. As your business grows, your need for storage will only increase, which will add to more Salesforce Storage Pricing.
How to Check If You Are Out of Storage
Salesforce makes it easy to monitor your storage usage:
- Navigate to Setup.
- Search for Storage Usage.
- Review the breakdown under Data Storage and File Storage.
You’ll see a detailed view of which objects consume the most space. If you’re above 85% usage, it’s time to take proactive action. If you’re already at 95%, you’ll start receiving Salesforce warning notifications.
Why Enterprises are Choosing DataArchiva for their Salesforce Data Archival Needs?
Causes of Data Growth in Salesforce
Several factors contribute to unexpected data volume growth:
- Business Expansion: More customers, leads, and opportunities generate more data.
- High Customer Service Activity: Case histories, emails, and customer interactions accumulate fast.
- Marketing Initiatives: Campaign member records, events, and digital marketing activities produce vast amounts of data.
- Third-party App Integrations: Apps from AppExchange or custom integrations add their own records.
- Inefficient Data Management: Lack of regular cleanups and no archiving strategy leads to data bloat.
Unchecked, these factors accelerate storage consumption, catching many businesses off guard.
What to Do If You Run Out of Storage
When you hit the storage limit, Salesforce restricts new record creation and alerts administrators. At this point, you have a few options:
Data Deletion
Manually delete old records. However, this approach is risky — you may lose valuable historical information needed for compliance, auditing, or customer service.
Purchase Additional Storage
Buy extra storage space from Salesforce at the going rates. This is quick but comes with recurring costs.
Data Archiving
Move older or less frequently accessed data to an alternative storage system while keeping it accessible when needed.
Of these options, archiving is emerging as the most sustainable and intelligent solution.
The Real Cost of Buying Extra Storage
As of 2025, Salesforce charges around $125 per month for 500 MB of additional data storage. File storage is priced somewhat lower but is rarely the bottleneck.
Let’s put this in perspective:
An additional 5 GB of data would cost about $1,250 per month, or $15,000 per year, which isn’t scalable.
As your business grows, these costs compound over time.
Moreover, paying for more storage doesn’t solve performance issues. A bloated Salesforce database slows down user queries, report generation, and API integrations, creating operational inefficiencies alongside financial costs.
One option to reduce Salesforce’s Additional Storage Costs is to search for a trusted data archiving partner that offloads your Salesforce data to an external storage, keeps it accessible, and offers long-term compliance benefits.
Move Your Unused Data from the Salesforce App Externally using DataArchiva
Smart Alternatives: Why Salesforce Data Archiving Matters
- Massive Cost Savings: Archived data moves to low-cost storage platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Salesforce Big Objects), reducing reliance on expensive Salesforce storage.
- Improved Performance: By keeping your active Salesforce org lean, your CRM operations — searches, reporting, and dashboard loading — become much faster.
- Compliance and Retention: Instead of deleting valuable historical data, you can retain it safely for audit or legal needs.
- Seamless Accessibility: Good archiving solutions allow users to search, view, and restore archived records without disrupting day-to-day operations.
Build a Future-proof Data Archiving Strategy in Salesforce with DataArchiva
In short, archiving tackles both storage costs and system performance simultaneously.
Why Choose DataArchiva for Your Salesforce Data Management?
DataArchiva stands out as a market leader in Salesforce data management and archiving solutions.
Here’s why businesses trust DataArchiva:
- Flexible Storage Options: Archive data either natively within Salesforce (using Big Objects) or off-platform into external cloud or on-premise databases.
- Automated Data Lifecycle Management: Define rules once and let archiving happen automatically without manual intervention.
- Seamless User Experience: Access archived records directly from Salesforce without leaving the platform.
- Security & Compliance: End-to-end encryption and support for industry-specific compliance needs (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR).
- Proven ROI: Organizations save up to 85% on storage costs within the first year of implementation.
Instead of just surviving Salesforce storage growth, DataArchiva empowers businesses to thrive with predictable costs and scalable infrastructure. Check us out on AppExchange.
Final Thoughts
Salesforce’s CRM capabilities are unmatched, but data growth and storage costs can turn an asset into a liability if not managed properly.
Simply buying more storage is a short-term fix that leads to long-term budget strain. A smarter approach involves proactively archiving your Salesforce data, improving system performance, meeting compliance obligations, and cutting costs dramatically.
Contact DataArchiva today for a personalized demo!
FAQs
When your Salesforce org reaches its data storage limit, you'll receive warning alerts and may face restrictions on record creation until you free up space or purchase more storage.
Additional Salesforce data storage typically costs $125 per month for every 500 MB. These charges are recurring and can accumulate significantly as your organization grows.
Yes! Archiving allows you to move older, inactive data to a lower-cost storage platform without deleting it, ensuring compliance, accessibility, and cost-efficiency.
DataArchiva provides advanced Salesforce data archiving solutions that automate the archiving process, reduce primary storage usage, maintain data accessibility, and help organizations save on storage costs by up to 85%.
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