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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP ERP vs SAP S/4HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is 6.4%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP ERP is 20.0%, down from 23.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP S/4HANA is 12.9%, down from 16.1% 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.
Deepak Madhavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Implementation simplifies ERP management with comprehensive data integration and visibility
A lot of people would say the pricing. SAP is seen as quite expensive even now. It doesn't work for smaller or medium optimizations. The licensing and pricing could be looked at. In Brownfield migration, the trade-off between greenfield and brownfield means you either keep it clean or match the business requirements. Sometimes, it's not possible to do both. While ValixAPI provides significant support in making those decisions and the SAP consultant is very useful, we are still dependent on past history and how it was originally set up. I wouldn't call that a real disadvantage, yet more accessible consulting would be beneficial. Incorporating all other cloud products, like APO or IPP, into the S/4 house might also help.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its most valuable feature is the user interface."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV's most valuable feature is the integration with other Microsoft solutions."
"It is a scalable solution. There are more than 5,000 end users in my organization."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is the Teams application. I use Teams to share documents amongst my team members, have meetings, and talk to them."
"I have found the flexibility to be very valuable. It's highly flexible, and at least for us, it has been effective. It is also highly functional."
"The vertical covers all aspects of functionality and integrates easily with the existing Office products."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Microsoft products are very good in general. This product is flexible, easy to use, intuitive, and has good capabilities."
"Continuing to use it enabled continuity of business."
"It integrates everything into one process."
"The solution has far more features, processes, and functionalities than we previously had."
"The solution provides a high level of integration."
"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."
"There are many interfaces, so you really can build satellites around it like with other SAP stuff or even third-party stuff."
"The stability and performance are good."
"The most valuable feature is that HANA loads from memory, which means it loads very quickly."
"The in-memory processing capability is most valuable."
"From a technological point of view, the in-memory database is one of the key highlights."
"It's helped with business aspects and improved material planning and RMA processes."
"The system is good and not slow."
"The overall product rating is ten out of ten."
"The functionality of SAP S4HANA is very good when comparing it to others, such as Oracle, Microsoft, and other ERP solutions."
"The infrastructure resources are also effectively used. It is very optimized; used in a very optimized manner."
 

Cons

"It would be nice if the integration process was easier."
"The performance and virtual machine backup is not good with this solution and need improvements."
"Customer service and support are mixed. Sometimes the support is quick, but other times it is very slow."
"Implementing localizations when we use the system for multiple countries can be quite complex."
"The solution can improve by having better integration with Microsoft PowerBI and reporting."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV will be replaced with Office 365 in the future."
"There is room for improvement in the ability to reverse or correct transactions more easily."
"There are some aspects of the solution that is complex."
"I believe there's room for improvement in terms of user experience."
"The initial setup of SAP ERP is complex and it took a lot of time."
"It is very expensive to customize to meet compliance with regulations in some countries."
"Lacks sufficient technical support with slow response times."
"SAP ERP needs to be more innovative when it comes to areas like mobility and the internet."
"Could be more user friendly."
"The solution is quite expensive. They need to work on the pricing to make it more reasonable."
"The system is over-customized."
"Scalability is somewhat of an issue."
"The interface could be improved."
"I have found the solution to be stable but it could improve."
"The licensing of SAP S/4HANA needs to be improved"
"If I can highlight one point that could be improved, when we talk about other ERPs, like Oracle, nowadays these ERPs provide free integration with other ERPs. For example, there is an API for banks integrated into every tool and every product form requires that bank integration in order to give real time data into the ERP. But SAP is charging a lot for that particular bank integration scenario and I think it should be free because other ERPs are providing this feature built in to the ERP. People always ask us about the integration and how much it will cost to go with that solution, so people are thinking about this."
"Extensions to SAP S/4HANA have room for improvement, especially in integration with low-code/no-code platforms. Creating these extensions through Fiori transactions is more tedious than customers would like. Although the SAP build process has become more linear, further improvements could provide a huge benefit."
"The initial setup was kind of complicated."
"It is simple to implement SAP S4HANA. If you are already in this type of environment, then the transition is not very complex. However, if you do not then it can be difficult."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are two types of licenses. One is the essential license in which everything is covered, and the next is the premium. If your company is a manufacturing or service management company, then you can go for the premium license because those two modules are the premium ones. You can manage your manufacturing activities and your service activities."
"$80-$100 per license, per month."
"Its licensing is yearly. In addition to the licensing cost, there is the cost of hosting on Azure."
"I think the pricing is the best; it's cost effective for sure."
"We have a perpetual license to use Microsoft Dynamics NAV."
"I have some subscription-based customer and a few customers who have perpetual licenses that hosted the application on the cloud."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV has a pay-as-you-use payment model."
"There is an annual cost of using Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The cost is approximately 140,000 INR."
"My company makes early payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product. There are no additional costs apart from the charges paid toward the subscription-based license offered by SAP."
"There is a license needed to use this solution."
"The solution is expensive so I rate cost a five out of ten."
"The solution is expensive and is best-suited for large enterprises."
"Licensing can vary, but for educational institutions, there are often favorable conditions."
"SAP is a bit on the costly side, but they also provide support and other things. We are paying for licenses and the use of the cloud."
"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."
"SAP ECC is not cheap but I consider it the best system for managing an organization's data and processes."
"The licensing format is complicated for SAP S/4HANA"
"I don't think any company would find the product expensive"
"It's quite expensive. However, it can be expensive to maintain the solution."
"The tool's price can be reasonable for large organizations, but it might not be suitable for small organizations with a small number of users."
"Licensing costs are not transparent"
"In Nigeria, we have to consider currency conversion rates with the Euro and Dollar that impact the final cost. But I believe that it'll be cheaper in the cloud where SAP has to do the maintenance of the server and more in the long run."
"The price of the solution is reasonable but some modules can be expensive. When comparing SAP S4HANA to other solutions, such as Oracle, it is not expensive."
"The solution's license cost is on the higher side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Retailer
7%
University
6%
Educational Organization
36%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

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 mi...
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 a...
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 ...
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 marketi...
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 ac...
What needs improvement with SAP S4HANA?
There could be a bit more competitiveness in their licensing and pricing.
What is your primary use case for SAP S4HANA?
It is a great product to be implemented for different industries for my customers. Can it be used globally?
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
No data available
SAP S4HANA
 

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.
Nestle, O.C. Tanner, Sabre, New York Life Insurance Co., MEMEBOX, Siemens AG.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Microsoft, Oracle and others in ERP. Updated: April 2025.
849,210 professionals have used our research since 2012.