How to Cancel Salesforce in 2026 (Escape the Contract + Export Data)

Updated 2026-02-26 · 9 min read

Why Salesforce Is Hard to Leave

• Annual contracts only: No monthly option for most plans — you pay the full year upfront or commit to annual billing
• Auto-renewal clause: Contracts auto-renew 60 days before expiration. If you miss the cancellation window, you owe another full year
• Data lock-in: Years of contacts, opportunities, custom objects, automations, and reports are expensive to migrate
• Integration dependencies: Salesforce connects to your email, calendar, marketing tools, ERP, and support desk. Ripping it out affects everything
• Admin complexity: Your Salesforce setup is usually customized enough that only your admin fully understands it
• Retention team: Salesforce account executives are trained to save accounts with temporary discounts (20-40% off renewal)

Step 1: Find Your Contract End Date

This is critical. Log into Salesforce and go to Setup → Company Information. Look for your contract or subscription details. If you can't find it:

1. Check your email for the original Salesforce order form or MSA (Master Subscription Agreement)
2. Contact your Account Executive — they can tell you the exact renewal date
3. Look for invoices in your accounts payable system
4. Set a calendar reminder 90 days before renewal — you need to give written notice at least 60 days before the contract end date

Step 2: Export All Your Data

Before canceling, export everything. Salesforce makes this possible but not easy:

1. Data Export Service: Setup → Data → Data Export → Export Now (includes all standard and custom objects)
2. Reports: Run each custom report → Export Details → CSV
3. Contacts/Accounts/Opportunities: Use Data Loader (free Salesforce tool) for bulk exports
4. Attachments/Files: Use Data Loader or Salesforce Inspector to download all file attachments
5. Email templates: Export from Setup → Email → Classic Email Templates
6. Dashboards: Screenshot or manually recreate in your new tool (dashboards don't export well)
7. Workflows/Process Builder/Flows: Document every automation — these are the hardest to recreate elsewhere

Step 3: Send Written Cancellation Notice

Salesforce requires written notice at least 30 days before renewal (some contracts say 60 days — check yours). Here's how:

1. Email your Account Executive AND cancellations@salesforce.com
2. Include: company name, contract number, org ID (Setup → Company Information), and effective cancellation date
3. State clearly: "We are providing notice of non-renewal for our Salesforce subscription effective [contract end date]"
4. Request written confirmation of the cancellation
5. CC your company's legal or finance team to create a paper trail

Step 4: Negotiate (Optional but Powerful)

Salesforce will fight to keep you. Use this to your advantage:

• "We're switching to HubSpot" — this triggers their competitive response team. Expect 20-40% discount offers
• Reduce seats: If you can't cancel entirely, reduce to the minimum number of seats needed
• Downgrade editions: Enterprise → Professional saves $85/user/month
• Remove add-ons: CPQ, Pardot, Einstein Analytics, and other add-ons can be dropped independently
• Ask for a short-term renewal: Instead of 12 months, negotiate a 3-6 month extension while you migrate

Step 5: Migrate to an Alternative

The CRM market has exploded with better-value options:

• HubSpot Free CRM: $0/month — contacts, deals, email tracking, forms, live chat. Covers 80% of what most teams use Salesforce for
• Pipedrive ($14/user/month): Sales-focused, intuitive pipeline management, great for smaller teams
• Zoho CRM ($14/user/month): Full-featured with marketing automation, analytics, and AI assistant
• Close CRM ($29/user/month): Built-in calling, SMS, and email sequences — ideal for inside sales teams
• Attio ($0-29/user/month): Modern CRM with relationship intelligence and flexible data modeling
• Folk CRM ($20/user/month): Lightweight CRM that syncs with your email and calendar

Cancellation Script

Common Salesforce Retention Tactics

• "We can offer 25% off your renewal" — Counter: "Our alternative is 80% cheaper even without the discount"
• "Your data migration will take months" — Counter: Most modern CRMs have Salesforce import tools that take days, not months
• "You'll lose your customizations" — Counter: Many Salesforce "customizations" are workarounds for poor UX that newer CRMs handle natively
• "Let me connect you with our Success team" — Counter: "We've made our decision. Please process the non-renewal"
• Silence/delay tactics: If they don't respond within 5 business days, send a follow-up and CC your legal team

After Canceling: Checklist

1. Verify all data exports are complete and readable
2. Disconnect Salesforce integrations (email, calendar, marketing tools, Zapier, etc.)
3. Update any team documentation that references Salesforce
4. Revoke all user access and connected app permissions
5. Cancel any Salesforce AppExchange subscriptions separately
6. Keep export files for at least 12 months in case you need historical data