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As a CRO, you understand that the increasingly competitive business landscape rewards organizations that optimize customer relationships. Understanding the Salesforce ecosystem and helping your team leverage its full potential can be pivotal for revenue growth and overall organizational success.

We’ve compiled the following list of Salesforce certifications so that you can decide which modules are most relevant to your business and what it would take for Salesforce professionals to take on a role in the areas of Salesforce Admin, Salesforce Consultant, Salesforce Marketing, and more. Whether you’re looking to help beginners within your organization complete their first certification courses or you’re looking to promote a certified platform developer, this list includes the prerequisites, certification cost information, and practice exams you need to help your team prepare.

When reviewing the study guide for an exam, you’ll see the fundamentals required for the certification along with a practice test with multiple-choice questions to help your team study. If anyone fails their administrator exam, they have three chances to retake the test.

Associate Certifications

Certified Associate

Who it’s for: This is the first certification a new employee can earn on the Salesforce platform.
Level: Entry
Prerequisites: None
Cost: $75

Admin Certifications

Certified Administrator

Who it’s for: This is the entry level Salesforce administrator credential.
Level: Entry
Prerequisites: Six months to a year of experience
Cost: $200

Advanced Administrator

Who it’s for: Administrators with enough experience and motivation can take the step to the next level with the Advanced Administrator certification.
Level: Middle Level
Prerequisites: Salesforce Administrator certification and one to two years experience
Cost: $200

Platform App Builder

Who it’s for: People that want to learn how to create custom applications using Salesforce infrastructure.
Level: Entry
Prerequisites: Three to six months experience
Cost: $200

Designer Certifications

User Experience (UX) Designer

Who it’s for: This mid-level salesforce certification allows people to focus on developing and troubleshooting programs that are customer-focused.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Three months UX design experience
Cost: $200

Strategy Designer

Who it’s for: Strategy designers are more focused on building organizational systems and this path is great for anyone looking to work on B2B projects.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: At least two years experience
Cost: $200

Consultant Certifications

Service Cloud Consultant

Who it’s for: A service cloud consultant has demonstrated the ability to design and roll out Service Cloud functionality.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Administrator
Cost: $200

CPQ Specialist

Who it’s for: The CPQ specialist exhibits proficiency with CPQ implementations and can begin designing and building new projects.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Six months experience
Cost: $200

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Sales Cloud Consultant

Who it’s for: A sales cloud consultant shows similar proficiency as a service cloud consultant, except in the area of Salesforce Cloud functionality. 
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: A Salesforce certification in administration
Cost: $200

Field Service Consultant

Who it’s for: Service cloud consultants can move onto this step if they have an interest in Field Service Lightning applications.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Service cloud consultant and two years experience
Cost: $200

Experience Cloud Consultant

Who it’s for: An Experience Cloud Consultant can design and roll out communities using Experience Cloud infrastructure.
Level: Middle levell
Prerequisites: Administrator and two years experience
Cost: $200

Tableau CRM & Einstein Discovery Consultant

Who it’s for: This certification exam proves that someone is capable of building and managing applications with Tableau CRM and Einstein Discovery.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: One year experience
Cost: $200

Nonprofit Cloud Consultant

Who it’s for: This exam is for those who have acquired experience with the Nonprofit Success Pack and are able to work with Nonprofit Cloud Solutions.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Administrator and two years experience
Cost: $200

Education Cloud Consultant

Who it’s for: This is a career path for someone who has gained experience with the Education Data Architecture after beginning as an administrator.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Administrator and three years experience
Cost: $200

Omnistudio Consultant

Who it’s for: An Omnistudio Consultant has demonstrated expertise with OmniStudio and is capable of using it to design custom solutions to customers’ concerns and help them scale successfully.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Three years experience
Cost: $200

Certified Business Analyst

Who it’s for: A certified business analyst is versed in how to help customers get the most from their Salesforce solutions.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Salesforce certified administrator and two years experience
Cost: $200

Developer Certifications

Platform Developer I

Who it’s for: The Platform Developer I is the entry level position for people pursuing a career in program development.
Level: Entry level
Prerequisites: None
Cost: $200

Platform Developer II

Who it’s for: This Salesforce certification is for platform developers who show advanced skill with the Lightning platform.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Platform Developer I and two years experience
Cost: $200

Javascript Developer I

Who it’s for: For aspiring developers who have an interest in learning how to work with JavaScript.
Level: Entry level
Prerequisites: One year experience
Cost: $200

Industries CPQ Developer

Who it’s for: An Industries CPQ Developer knows how to build applications for Salesforce Communications, Media, and Energy & Utilities Clouds.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: One year experience
Cost: $200

Omnistudio Developer

Who it’s for: This is a certification for someone interested in pursuing application design using OmniStudio architecture.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: One year experience
Cost: $200

Commerce Certifications

B2C Commerce Developer

Who it’s for: This is for anyone who has experience with Storefront Reference Architecture and wants to pursue a career in developing eCommerce solutions.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: One year experience, three months relevant experience
Cost: $200

B2C Commerce Architect

Who it’s for: the certified technical architect who’s experienced with global commerce sites and is familiar with SDLC.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Over five years experience with eCommerce and B2C commerce development
Cost: $400

Salesforce Architect Certifications

Identity and Access Management Architect

Who it’s for: high level architects capable of designing identity management solutions using the Lightning Platform.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Two years securities technology experience and another one year relevant experience
Cost: $400

Sharing and Visibility Architect

Who it’s for: A senior position for those with enhanced abilities creating security and sharing models on the Force.com platform.
Level: Senior level
Prerequisites: Up to five years of experience in relevant areas
Cost: $400

Development Lifecycle and Deployment Architect

Who it’s for: For the Salesforce administrator who has shown mastery of the Lightning Platform and development strategies.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Over five years experience
Cost: $400

Heroku Architect

Who it’s for: A Salesforce certification for those who have extensive experience working with Heroku, team management, and product deployment.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Two years experience
Cost: $400

Integration Architect

Who it’s for: This is for the Salesforce administrator who has earned over four years of experience developing scalable integrations and solutions using the Lightning Platform.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Over four years experience in relevant competencies
Cost: $400

Data Architect

Who it’s for: A data architect is familiar with Customer 360 architecture and how to develop and support applications on the platform.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Over five years of relevant experience
Cost: $400

Application Architect

Who it’s for: An application architect understands most native Salesforce functions and features and how to model a hierarchy.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Platform Developer I, Platform App Builder, Data Architect, and Sharing and Visibility Architect credentials
Cost: Free

System Architect

Who it’s for: A system architect has chosen a career path focused on integrations with off-platform applications and Salesforce modifications.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Platform Developer I, Development Lifecycle and Deployment Designer, Identity and Access Management Designer, and Integration Architecture Designer Salesforce certifications.
Cost: Free

B2C Solution Architect

Who it’s for: A Salesforce-certified architect that specializes in B2C application development, implementation, and support.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Platform App Builder, Integration Architecture Designer, and Marketing Cloud Email Specialist certifications
Cost: $400

B2B Solution Architect

Who it’s for: For architects with extensive experience in the B2B space and relevant expertise with Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Field Service, B2B Commerce, and Revenue Cloud.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Platform App Builder, Platform Developer I, Data Architecture and Management Designer, and Sharing and Visibility Designer certifications.
Cost: $400

Technical Architect

Who it’s for: The holy grail of Salesforce certifications, completing this exam displays mastery of the Salesforce platform and all its applications.
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Application Architect, System Architect and over eight years experience
Cost: $6,000

Marketers

Pardot Specialist

Who it’s for: An entry-level certification for marketers interested in mastering lead generation, lead scoring and routing, and email campaign development.
Level: Entry
Prerequisites: Three months
Cost: $200

Pardot Consultant

Who it’s for: The next step for Pardot specialists who’ve proven their abilities and are ready to take the next leap.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Pardot Specialist and one year experience
Cost: $200

Marketing Cloud Administrator

Who it’s for: An entry-level certification for marketing administrators focused on Marketing Cloud.
Level: Entry level
Prerequisites: Three months experience
Cost: $200

Marketing Cloud Email Specialist

Who it’s for: This is a certification for anyone with extensive experience and success creating and implementing email marketing campaigns with Email Studio.
Level: Middle level
Prerequisites: Six months experience
Cost: $200

Marketing Cloud Consultant

Who it’s for: For marketers who have displayed expertise with Marketing Cloud and an enhanced understanding of marketing automation. 
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Marketing Cloud Administrator and one year experience
Cost: $200

Marketing Cloud Developer

Who it’s for: The top tier certification for marketers who have had success with all Marketing Cloud applications. 
Level: Senior
Prerequisites: Marketing Cloud Email Specialist and one year experience
Cost: $200

Which Certifications Does My Team Need? 

Building the right ecosystem of Salesforce developers depends greatly on what your business needs and where you see yourself heading in the future. It’s important that you’re not expecting anyone in your company to complete a Salesforce certification exam in an area that’s not relevant to your business.

For example, if you need a greater focus on customer relationship management, you should focus on certifications that help you reach your goals with CRM as opposed to training experts in process automation.

You might also like these specialized Salesforce CPQ certification focusing on Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) tools to streamline your sales process.

For more on Salesforce, check out our article 40 Companies that Use Salesforce as their Preferred CRM. Also, stay tuned for more updates by subscribing to our newsletter.

Phil Gray

Philip Gray is the COO of Black and White Zebra and Founding Editor of The RevOps Team. A business renaissance man with his hands in many departmental pies, he is an advocate of centralized data management, holistic planning, and process automation. It's this love for data and all things revenue operations landed him the role as resident big brain for The RevOps Team.

With 10+ years of experience in leadership and operations in industries that include biotechnology, healthcare, logistics, and SaaS, he applies a considerable broad scope of experience in business that lets him see the big picture. An unapologetic buzzword apologist, you can often find him double clicking, drilling down, and unpacking all the things.