After 15+ years working with Salesforce globally, here's a pattern I see everywhere: companies treat AppExchange like Netflix – subscribe to 15 tools, use 3 actively.
The annual cost? €25K-€100K across "forgotten" apps. Here's the 5 culprits I cut first (and the questions that reveal if you can too).
App #1: The reporting tool "because native reports suck"
Cost: €10K-€30K/year
Reality: 80% of "complex reports" = wrong page layouts
Ask: "Show me your top 5 reports. Can we build these in native?"
Kill if: Usage <20 reports/month
App #2: Email tracking/sync (Gmail/Outlook)
Cost: €5K-€15K/year
Reality: Einstein Activity Capture does 90% free
Test: Enable Einstein for 30 days. Compare coverage.
Kill if: <50% emails tracked
App #3: Form builder (instead of native web-to-lead)
Cost: €8K-€20K/year
Reality: Native forms + Flow Builder = same conversion
Ask: "What do these forms do that Setup can't?"
App #4: Document generation (DocuSign, Drawloop)
Cost: €15K+/year
Reality: Salesforce CPQ + native templates often enough
Kill if: <100 docs/month generated
App #5: Custom dashboards (Gong, Clari alternatives)
Cost: €20K-€50K/year
Reality: Most "AI insights" = basic Einstein + good filters
Test: Pause 30 days. Track pipeline impact.
Your 30-minute AppExchange cleanup
- Setup → AppExchange Usage (shows installs + last used)
- Flag anything "last used >90 days"
- Ask owners: "What breaks if cancelled?"
- Trial native alternatives 30 days
- Cancel 2-3 lowest usage
Typical savings: €18K-€45K first year.
The "usage justification" rule
Every app must answer YES to 2 questions:
- "Does native Salesforce do 80% of this?"
- "Are >20 users monthly active?"
No = cancel candidate.
Let me audit your AppExchange spend
Share your top 3 expensive apps. I'll rank them "keep/kill/test" based on your use case.