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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP Business One comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Ranking in ERP
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Activity Based Costing Software (2nd)
SAP Business One
Ranking in ERP
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is 6.3%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Business One is 4.0%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP
 

Q&A Highlights

SP
Sep 06, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

StefaanVandesompele - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides end-to-end accounting and finance module at reasonable pricing
365 Business Central integrates with Office 365 to streamline the invoice approval process. This allows businesses to manage and approve invoices efficiently within a unified system. Our organization plans to transition to the Dynamics 365 environment, where various functions will be centralized. We will consolidate everything into one system instead of maintaining multiple databases for each country with local data. Dynamics 365 is fully integrated, which should address many of our challenges when we migrate to this new environment. We look forward to seeing how it performs in practice. The project is progressing well overall, though integrating it with other tools and ensuring Dynamics 365 operates smoothly can be challenging. Dynamics 365 is user-friendly and effective. However, a deeper understanding of its technical capabilities and architecture might be necessary to optimize its use fully. The software landscape is evolving, and achieving the best reporting and functionality with just a click can be complex. A clear vision of what you want to achieve with Dynamics 365 is essential. Proper preparation and configuration are crucial to achieving the desired outcomes. This principle applies not only to Dynamics 365 but to all software packages. Understanding the system's flexibility and adaptability based on your specific business needs is key to its successful implementation. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Madhava Pemmaraju - PeerSpot reviewer
Many features are standardized, which reduces the need for customization but lacks solutions for some use cases
SAP Business One is primarily used for small to medium businesses in the MSMB market. It helps run the packaged enterprise solution for customers who cannot afford a full-fledged SAP S4HANA solution. It is used for standard finance, warehouse, and supply chain processes One of the biggest…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Microsoft Dynamics NAV is good for smaller-sized companies."
"It is a scalable solution. There are more than 5,000 end users in my organization."
"Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is extremely stable as it does not rely on our in-house servers."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The vertical covers all aspects of functionality and integrates easily with the existing Office products."
"All of the features are valuable, depending on where you implement them. I've done implementations in 60 countries, across 86 different companies and groups, and each company has a different reason for why they want to use it. Every single feature that I've implemented has been successful, and for some companies, where they didn't use the functionality, they have moved to external products or they've integrated into other applications."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV is brilliant and it's a different segment when comparing it with Dynamics AX. Dynamics AX is a larger product with much more features and it's aimed at a different segment of the market."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics NAV is its simplicity of accounting and receiving reports. The solution is similar to Microsoft Excel, and that similarity is good. All the functions of Microsoft Dynamics are user-friendly."
"The documentation part and the user manuals provided by SAP are quite comprehensive."
"The most valuable feature of SAP Business One is all the functionality of the modules together. It is a full-featured solution."
"The relationship map is very useful for us."
"The most valuable feature of SAP Business One is its user-friendly and useful business module."
"The most valuable feature of SAP Business One is the price and reputation of the vendor. The solution is widely accepted around the world."
"So there are a lot of features included with the ERP system."
"I like analytics, dashboard, and KPIs a lot. It is very helpful when I need to check balances and financial statements."
"The most valuable features of the solution are reporting, a dashboard, customized reports, and third-party integration."
 

Cons

"I work in Pakistan, and many people want desktop solutions. They don't want to work on the cloud. They want a strictly on-premises solution."
"Any request that had come from the website had to go through an e-form which was then plugged into Microsoft Dynamics NAV. There was no direct data capture. That was the pain point, where clients had to build e-forms, and that caused delays in transactions and getting information."
"There is room for improvement in terms of compatibility."
"For a big company like us with millions of transactions, the scalability isn't enough."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central could be reduced."
"As our company grew we had to switch from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to a solution that was suited for larger-sized companies."
"I would like a more modular and user-friendly interface."
"The performance and virtual machine backup is not good with this solution and need improvements."
"I would love to have more reporting capabilities. It should have an embedded BI engine. Currently, I have to maintain an additional system for BI."
"SAP Business One could be improved if SAP creates one platform to integrate different solutions, particularly having a multi-company concept rather than having different databases. The solution could be similar to SAP S/4 Hana and the SAP Business ByDesign concept."
"There are a lot of good improvements coming out in every version. They release a new version every quarter, with all new up-and-coming things on each one. However, it might be lacking specifications for the specific verticals. However, SAP Business One is a generic tool. It's very widely used, and I understand why it's not into each vertical. There are solution partners available out there to give it those extra areas of what it needs, but this is depending on what kind of business you run."
"SAP Business One lacks solutions for some specific use cases, particularly in HR functions and production planning, which require a lot of customization."
"There are limitations around integrations."
"Business One's production module has room for improvement."
"SAP Business One would be a great product if more customization is available."
"There are improvements needed. However, they provide improvements over time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a perpetual license to use Microsoft Dynamics NAV."
"The deployment cost us $70,000 and we pay around $18,000 annually for support, which we find to be expensive."
"NAV might be a little pricey for a small or medium-sized company, but all the solutions out there are."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable."
"The first time we tried to buy the newest version, it was expensive."
"The cost is one of the benefits. If you don't want to go for the full-blown finance and operations, the pricing model is a lot cheaper and has now switched to being based on a per-user subscription. So, if it's on cloud, you now have an expense instead of a large CapEx. If it's on-prem, you obviously still have to continue with the licensing model that they have, but if you compare the features and functionality, in terms of the price that you pay, I find it's better than other products. My answer on the pricing would be slightly different, depending on the country you're in and the return on investment, based on the size of the company. It's well-priced internationally. I think the new model is priced even better because it's now subscription-based and, if you go for cloud, the return on investment is a lot quicker and if it's expense, you can cap it. If you do take the on-prem version, the licensing is still priced as what it used to be, so that would depend on what country you are in."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"The on-premises model of Dynamics NAV is very expensive, hence our plan to migrate to Dynamics 365 Business Central, which appears to fit our needs better in terms of pricing. Compared to competitors, the cloud version of Dynamics is in the middle; not too high and not too low."
"We pay annually. It is around 800 a month."
"I rate the price of SAP Business One a seven out of ten."
"Business One is reasonable considering the functionality."
"I rate the solution's pricing a six or seven out of ten since it is expensive."
"The price of SAP Business One is not expensive for the features and the benefits it provides."
"I would rate Business One's pricing five out of five."
"If you are in the US or Canadian the costs of SAP Business One could vary per license, it can be anywhere between $2,000 tor $5,000."
"The price of SAP Business One is not comparable to other solutions. SAP is a well-known brand, and its price is on the higher side. However, if the solution offers the right fit for an organization the price is not a major concern for those who choose to use it."
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Answers from the Community

SP
Sep 6, 2023
Sep 6, 2023
Both are not the right fit for Manufacturing company because these 2 solutions are built for small and medium size enterprises mainly for accounting purpose but not for operations. They need modules like Production planning & Scheduling, Quality management, adv' inventory optimization, Shoop floor control, Supplier management, Adv' warehouse, Inbound and outbound logistics and so on. Regar...
2 out of 5 answers
Atul Goyal - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 13, 2022
Look at e10x-ERP (educe10x.com). Built natively for the cloud, connects using a browser, and no need for hefty hardware installations, etc. e10x-ERP is focused on SMB manufacturing companies and has a suite of modules that will fit your requirements. The modules include attendance and payroll which most other ERPs do not offer as standard. Also, integrated with WhatsApp Business (for auto reports, auto messages to customers, suppliers, etc), email, trigger, and event-based reports, integrated with GST (ASP). 
Dinesh Parashar - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 14, 2022
 I think you should first look at Dynamics BC. We have provided consulting services to your company and knows in-and-out of your processes. Ranthosh knows me very well. You can reach out to me at 9811359356
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Educational Organization
6%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The platform offers a robust and comprehensive cycle for supply chain and inventory management, with features like minimum and maximum settings, dynamic monitoring of inventory levels, and integrat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The pricing for Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable. The value for money is very high.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
There is a need for improvement in consolidation and multi-country master data management.
Are there any advantages of SAP S4 HANA over SAP Business One (SAP B1) apart from the cost?
SaP Business One is a complete solution for business management. The software applications are broad, ranging from accounting to project management and human resources. It is very versatile and com...
What do you like most about SAP Business One?
It's user-friendly and comes with comprehensive manuals. So, it is easy to learn to use SAP Business One
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Business One?
The pricing model of SAP Business One is average. It is neither too good nor too bad, and there is room for more flexibility in pricing.
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
Business One
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
Ego Pharmaceuticals Pty. Ltd
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs. SAP Business One and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
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