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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP ERP 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 ERP
Ranking in ERP
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
104
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 ERP is 20.2%, down from 22.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP
 

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.
Srinivasan Kuppuswamy - PeerSpot reviewer
The amazing, robust framework with unlimited scalability earns its #1 status
The solution is not ready for the current e-commerce environment. Its was built for large enterprises who need to predictably optimize their human, material, and financial resources. ERP has evolved and businesses are changing. There are not many large corporations. Most are small enterprises with the capabilities of large enterprises through networking and platform integration. Some companies promote products but get things done with other enterprises as a network. Companies do not want to create new capacity but want to leverage existing capacity with innovative products. They do not want to spend resources on duplicating capacity or facilities. I do not think any ERP product is ready to support this environment so ERPs as a whole might end up being used for back-office functions only. It is not easy to evolve an ERP product because its intent is to integrate functions and processes within an organization. Whereas, in the new business model, processes are not limited to one's own enterprise but cut across different enterprises. There is no enterprise solution as this point in time for the current e-commerce environment so companies must integrate with many solutions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as CRM."
"The tool covers most of the business requirements that most companies have, especially financial institutions."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is its ease of use, data customization, and smooth integration."
"For me, the main strengths of Microsoft Dynamics NAV are that it's user-friendly and light. These are its major wins. I have used other ERPs and their architecture were a little more complex when compared to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV architecture."
"Its most valuable feature is the user interface."
"We are getting more features after switching to Microsoft 365."
"The initial setup is easy."
"It's quite useful for our production line, and it's easy to configure to our requirements."
"The product’s most valuable feature is a centralized system integrating different departments within the organization."
"This is a robust and feature-rich solution."
"SAP ERP's interface is pretty easy nowadays, as it has evolved over time and has been made as user-friendly as a person would like it."
"I like the solution’s features in finance, supply chain, sales, and distribution."
"The most valuable features of SAP ERP are its stability, industry-specific package, and adaptable configuration."
"Their tech support is always good."
"From a long-term perspective, I can say that the solution can offer a return on investment, but it may take around three to four years for our company to experience it."
"We like that we have real-time dashboard views."
 

Cons

"I would like to have more frequent updates."
"In Thailand, the support here could be better. The process to get an answer is too long."
"The stability could always be improved."
"There is room for improvement in the ability to reverse or correct transactions more easily."
"The initial setup of the solution was quite complex and the troubleshooting involved with that needs to be improved."
"There is room for improvement in terms of compatibility."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV will be replaced with Office 365 in the future."
"As our company grew we had to switch from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to a solution that was suited for larger-sized companies."
"It has a high cost."
"If big companies are going for SAP and they would like to install it, they should know that it still needs time. Implementation will cost a lot of money."
"Technical support could be better."
"The problem with SAP is that whenever there is a modification, or if a new field needs to be added, they charge tens of thousands, hundreds, or even two hundred thousand dollars. That is not anything in which I am really interested. For instance, consider a single-use case. I have to enter the root causes for a certain operation or failure. That option does not exist anywhere in SAP, not in manufacturing, not in logistics, not in anything. It is completely missing. The root cause analysis is very common across industries, yet SAP does not offer this option. A line field or a metaparticle, for example, was delayed. If you have the choice to input the warehouse operator or if the person who submitted the document has the opportunity to enter, this has been postponed for N, X, Y, or Z reasons."
"I do not have any notes for improvements."
"The solution is quite expensive. They need to work on the pricing to make it more reasonable."
"There is room for improvement in the integration of the solution, especially in the payroll area."
"In general, a user should attend training before they can use this platform. There's definitely a learning curve. As a new user or employee, there may be some difficulty with onboarding."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its licensing is yearly. In addition to the licensing cost, there is the cost of hosting on Azure."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable."
"The solution is on the cloud and they provide 50 gigabytes of free space on their Microsoft Drive. The reason for this is that Microsoft is requiring you to upgrade all of your systems to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in order to effectively use the cloud. This means that if you are currently using a different version of Microsoft for a specific purpose that does not require this solution, it can be frustrating to have to spend money to upgrade to this solution just for the purpose of syncing with the cloud. Additionally, even if you do purchase Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, there can still be issues with syncing between the on-premise and cloud clients. This can be especially frustrating as the cloud storage is not free and can be difficult to access even after purchasing."
"The per user price of $100 a month is better than competitors."
"You have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central could improve. It is costly. We are paying for the solution on a monthly basis."
"The price of the solution could be reduced to improve their offering."
"There is a license needed to use this solution."
"The pricing is based on the license per user, which I think makes the solution a bit costly...Basically, the prices of the solution are high, and we don't have that much revenue."
"There is an annual subscription for the use of SAP ERP."
"The solution is expensive and is best-suited for large enterprises."
"The solution can cost approximately $1 million a year for maintenance for a small-size company and can grow from there. Approximately $1 million is needed for a good-size company."
"It is less expensive than its competitors."
"This is a costly product."
"We pay annually for the use of this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Retailer
6%
University
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.
Is Anaplan better than SAP ERP?
There are different aspects of both Anaplan and SAP ERP that I like and dislike. Anaplan improves forecast accuracy and drives up the quality of analytics. Rather than spending all of their time co...
What do you like most about SAP ERP?
The solution has made the most significant impact on our human resources function, specifically in HR operations and HR analytics. One feature of SAP ERP that I found most valuable is its use of co...
What needs improvement with SAP ERP?
There is a need for improvement in the business analytics aspect in financial reporting and also in sales and marketing analytics.
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
No data available
 

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
B&G Manufacturing, Unilever, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town, Bhopal Municipal, Corporation (BMC), adidas Group, Butcher & Packer Supply Company, Franklin Valve L.P., Evoshield, Prime Meats, a Norsan Group company, EMC Corporation, Varian Medical Systems Inc., FC Bayern Mªnchen AG, AkzoNobel Chemicals B.V., T¾V Rheinland, Pacific Drilling S.A., Fire & Rescue New South Wales, University of Amsterdam, Pa_alon S.A.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs. SAP ERP and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.