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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
ERP (3rd), Activity Based Costing Software (2nd)
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Cloud ERP (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 6.3%, down 6.9% compared to last year.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 15.3% mindshare, up 12.5% since last year.
ERP
Cloud 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.
Sajid Farooq - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides seamless integration of different modules in one place
Certain add-ons like quality control, payroll, and HRMS are not part of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud. SAP S/4HANA Cloud doesn't provide a quality control module. SAP S/4HANA Cloud does not have its own payroll and HRMS system. The partners develop their own cloud and integrate with the solution. There are certain modules specific to some industries, and SAP S/4HANA Cloud doesn't deal with those modules. Every partner of SAP S/4HANA Cloud has to develop its own and then integrate and certify with that solution. We can't say that these modules are part of SAP S/4HANA Cloud. There is a little area of improvement that SAP has to opt for particular types of solutions like QC, payroll, and HRMS. The graphics of SAP S/4HANA Cloud are not user-friendly. They don't look like they belong to a branded solution that costs too much. The solution's user interface is not appealing or user-friendly. On a scale from one to ten, where one is bad and ten is good, I rate the solution's user interface a five out of ten. SAP S/4HANA Cloud has built-in reports that are hard-coated. We have to alter or modify built-in reports in different marking segments, but there are no options for that. We have to build complete reports from scratch, and SAP-developed reports are not used in the market. SAP should provide a tool for customizing its developed reports so that there should not be a process of reengineering or reinventing the process.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a scalable solution. There are more than 5,000 end users in my organization."
"NAV covers everything from purchasing and selling items to invoicing. Everything is within NAV, so it's all very neat."
"Dynamics 365 Business Central is mostly used for financial management."
"It's quite useful for our production line, and it's easy to configure to our requirements."
"The solution is easy to use, flexible, and customizable."
"The selling feature is the most valuable."
"The security feature, particularly the encryption, which still builds sensitivity, is one of the most valuable features."
"It's quite reliable, and there's a good local provider who can adapt the solution for tax issues."
"I like the SAP offerings and the standard best practices included in the SAP S/4HANA Cloud version."
"I like S/4HANA's automated features, readymade processes, and user interface. It supports various processes required by large international companies, like logistics, procurement, payments, sales, etc. All of these features were available in previous SAP solutions, but HANA has an updated user interface and improved integration with other systems. The readymade processes make HANA a good option if you're adopting a greenfield approach."
"Managing the server and taking advantage of the services provided by SAP itself is the most valuable feature."
"For supply chain management, we are using WMS. When you go to public cloud, you get a full-fledged EWM."
"The integration is very stable."
"The manufacturing area is a good feature."
"SAP S4HANA Cloud is stable, and its computational power and speed have improved in later versions."
"Both standard and customized integrations work well with no issues."
 

Cons

"I am hoping there is more integration with other platforms, more features, and customization in the next release."
"Customization and costs could be improved."
"The solution is stable, but it could improve."
"There is a need for improvement in consolidation and multi-country master data management."
"The tool needs to work on reporting issues and user interface."
"There is room for improvement in the ability to reverse or correct transactions more easily."
"The stability could always be improved."
"It could be more stable."
"The pricing is high."
"The solution is expensive. That can be an issue for clients."
"The solution could improve by adding a planning model, such as BPC. Additionally, if we need to make changes in the profit center it has to be done manually. It is not connected to the cost center."
"Generally, there's not much noise or many issues, but we sometimes open tickets. These are mainly due to underestimating business needs at the beginning of deployment or sudden changes in the business. For example, when we suddenly open branches in other countries, add many users or the business grows fast, we might need more memory or disk space. We sometimes underestimate our needs from the cloud. This isn't a problem with the cloud or the vendor but more about our estimation. We raise tickets for things like increasing memory, dealing with one-time errors, or issues with space utilization. We might need to increase resources or improve performance."
"Their revolving AI should should be better improved."
"The solution's speed and dashboard could be improved."
"Variant configuration is needed."
"SAP S/4HANA Cloud's customization can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think the pricing is the best; it's cost effective for sure."
"You have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"The tool’s licensing is yearly. The solution is cheaper compared to other ERP products from Oracle or SAP."
"The price of the solution could be reduced to improve their offering."
"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 is reasonable."
"I give the solution a seven out of ten for pricing."
"The per user price of $100 a month is better than competitors."
"S/4HANA is an enterprise solution that many can't afford. You must invest a lot to get the most out of it. It isn't cheap. I rate the price seven out of 10."
"The pricing model can be complicated in certain scenarios."
"I don't remember the specifics about the licensing, but it's scaled and modular. You pay for what you use. It's not a one-size-fits-all license. You have a license for every single module. It's similar to Oracle."
"The licensing process for SAP S/4HANA Cloud has worked well."
"The pricing of SAP S/4HANA Cloud is on the higher side."
"The pricing is competitive with other products at that level in that category."
"The solution's costs have significantly increased, and we have not seen any anticipated cost savings."
"The solution’s pricing is very high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Educational Organization
6%
Construction Company
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.
What do you like most about SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
The manufacturing area is a good feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
SAP S/4HANA Cloud is very expensive, both to purchase and maintain. It's important to evaluate the costs of recruiting and maintaining trained personnel as it's not just a one-time payment yet requ...
What needs improvement with SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
The system is very heavy and requires a lot of resources and a dedicated team. It is costly to maintain, demanding trained professionals, which adds to the expenses. This makes the overall cost ver...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
SAP S4HANA Cloud
 

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
La Trobe University, Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda, Delaware Consulting and Corning Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Microsoft, Oracle and others in ERP. Updated: February 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.