# External account models and license families

*Experience Cloud Consultant Study Guide · Experience Cloud Basics · Last updated October 24, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/experience-cloud-consultant/experience-cloud-basics/external-account-models-and-license-families*

How every external user anchors to a business account and contact or a person account, how partner accounts differ from customer accounts, and an overview of the license families (Customer Community, Customer Community Plus, Partner Community, Channel Account, External Apps, External Identity), member-based versus login-based, and legacy portal licenses.

- Certification: Salesforce Experience Cloud Consultant
- Exam section: Experience Cloud Basics
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/experience-cloud-consultant

**Official exam objective:**

> Assess the common types of external accounts and how they are used in an Experience.

## What the exam expects

- Choose between a business account with contacts and a person account as the record behind an external user.
- Distinguish a partner account (enabled as partner, Partner Community users) from a customer account (Customer Community or Customer Community Plus users).
- Place each license family by audience, objects and person-account support.
- Explain member-based versus login-based licenses, daily unique logins and the 1:20 provisioning ratio.
- Recognize Channel Account licensing, legacy portal licenses and licenses that belong to users, not sites.

Key terms:
- **Partner account:** a business account enabled as a partner so its contacts can become partner users.
- **Member-based license:** assigned to one user, who can log in as often as they want.
- **Login-based license:** consumes one daily unique login per user per day from a monthly login pool.
- **Channel Account license:** usage counted by partner accounts instead of individual users.

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| External user record | Person account, or contact on a customer or partner business account | [Create Experience Cloud Site Users](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_create_external_users.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Customer user prerequisite | Account owner must be assigned a role | [Create Experience Cloud Site Users](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_create_external_users.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Partner Community and person accounts | Can't be used with person accounts | [Experience Cloud User Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=users_license_types_communities.htm&language=en_US&type=0) |
| Partner-only objects | Leads, Opportunities, Campaigns (with Marketing User) | [Experience Cloud User Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=users_license_types_communities.htm&language=en_US&type=0) |
| Daily unique login | Several logins in a day, or switching sites, consume one login | [Experience Cloud User Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=users_license_types_communities.htm&language=en_US&type=0) |
| Login provisioning ratio | 1:20; 1,000 monthly logins provision 20,000 login licenses | [Experience Cloud User Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=users_license_types_communities.htm&language=en_US&type=0) |
| Login overages | Calculated over 12 months from contract start | [Experience Cloud User Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=users_license_types_communities.htm&language=en_US&type=0) |
| Channel Account | Up to 40 partner users per licensed partner account, pooled | [Experience Cloud User Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=users_license_types_communities.htm&language=en_US&type=0) |
| External account hierarchy | Business accounts only, up to five levels, incompatible with account role optimization | [External Account Hierarchies Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.exp_cloud_setup_ext_acc_hierarchy_settings.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- Why does an external user always need an account record?
- When is a login-based license the better buy?
- Which license can't be used with person accounts?
- Why can existing customer users join a new site without new licenses?

## Sources

- [Experience Cloud User Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=users_license_types_communities.htm&language=en_US&type=0)
- [Create Experience Cloud Site Users](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.networks_create_external_users.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [External Account Hierarchies Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.exp_cloud_setup_ext_acc_hierarchy_settings.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Learn More About Experience Cloud Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=experience.exp_cloud_plan_licenses.htm&language=en_US&type=5)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 8 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Experience Cloud Consultant pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams