SFCC — really $200k+/yr?

Yes, and often higher. Salesforce Commerce Cloud (formerly Demandware) is multi-tenant SaaS priced as a percent of GMV (typically 1–3%) with a contractual minimum that lands around $200k/yr at the smallest tier and scales fast.

Concrete bands I’ve seen quoted (or paid by clients):

• $10M–$25M GMV: ~$200k/yr minimum + variable component
• $25M–$100M GMV: $300k–$500k/yr
• $100M+ GMV: $500k–$1M+/yr

What you get:

• Multi-tenant SaaS on AWS with 99.99% SLA
• SFRA framework (server-side rendered Express + JS)
• Einstein AI personalisation, recommendations, predictive sort
• Salesforce ecosystem integration (Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Sales Cloud, Order Management)
• Mandatory certified SI partner relationship

What earns it:

• You’re already on Salesforce Service Cloud / Marketing Cloud and the data integration is the strategy
• You’re a tier-1 enterprise needing 99.99% uptime SLA with contractual penalties
• You’re a CPG / luxury / retail brand at $100M+ GMV where the SI partner ecosystem matters more than license cost

What kills the deal:

• You’re below $25M GMV — license-as-percent-of-GMV math destroys margin at this tier
• You’re not on the Salesforce ecosystem — you’re paying for integrations you won’t use
• You need deep customisation outside SFRA — the customisation ceiling is real

If the calculator is showing SFCC as “best fit” for you, you’re probably already on Salesforce. If not, double-check the inputs.