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Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs Salesforce Marketing 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 CRM
Ranking in Marketing Management
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
CRM Customer Engagement Centers (1st), CRM (2nd), Local Government CRM (1st), Sales Force Automation (2nd)
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Ranking in Marketing Management
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Social CRM (2nd), Marketing Automation (1st), Social Media Management Solutions (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Marketing Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is 23.7%, up from 22.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 14.9%, down from 20.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Marketing Management
 

Featured Reviews

Rishabh Chhajer - PeerSpot reviewer
Intuitive APIs, customizable design, but dashboards could improve
The most advantageous aspect of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is its periodic updates. Every quarter, Microsoft releases upgrades that address bugs and vulnerabilities. As a company governed by the Reserve Bank of India and SAP security regulations for our stock operations, we conduct periodic reviews of our applications, including Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Whenever we submit an audit report and identify bugs, we reach out to the Microsoft team for assistance. They assure us that the issues will be fixed in the next quarterly release. As a result, we have not experienced any outstanding bugs that have not been recorded or addressed.
SantoshKrishna - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to deploy, stable, and scalable
The encryption and decryption have room for improvement. We need to be confident that the customer's data is secure when shared outside of the organization. I would like to request additional mobile app features that go beyond push notifications. As the mobile development industry continues to advance with new technologies, such as AI components, it is important to consider these advancements when setting up campaigns. Currently, campaigns are scheduled to be sent to customers at a prescribed time, but they may not be relevant to the customer unless they see them as valuable. For example, if I want to run a campaign offering loans, I would need to consider the customer's needs and balance. In the future, I hope Salesforce can incorporate an AI component that utilizes the shared data, rather than just scheduling campaigns.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a stable solution."
"The product is user-friendly."
"The most useful feature that this solution provides is the ability to make dashboards for the business easily as our company is managed using KPIs and metrics."
"The flexible design is highly usable, and I have seen time-saving benefits from using this solution."
"Integration is the best feature of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It integrates quickly across multiple apps and has a lot of APIs available that you can link to. It's very customizable, so we're able to tailor it to a client's needs."
"It is good for sales and service maintenance. It has various integration tools."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM has good integration with the Microsoft Stack of solutions. However, the Salesforce ecosystem is stronger."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the flexibility with Microsoft Office 365."
"We use this solution for reporting, pipeline generation, and forecasting."
"The tool is flexible and helps us with insights and reports. Salesforce Marketing Cloud has improved our organizational functions by creating an environment where clients and internal staff can access information about various solutions. For instance, clients can apply for different projects, and internal staff can approve them based on donor requirements. This simplifies communication between clients, donors, and our company,"
"We haven't had any issues with integration."
"Salesforce is constantly evolving and have a good release cycle."
"The most valuable features of Salesforce are the automation and the ability to create dashboards which provide a wider picture of what is going on."
"It is a great solution. I like its stability, scalability, and performance."
"We use Marketing Cloud for marketing campaigns and engaging customers. It is a business-focused application for a specific area of business, which is acquiring customers."
"The solution is user-friendly."
 

Cons

"I have contacted support. They are able to help but not in the right amount of time. I have had a horrible experience."
"The solution should improve the user experience in the process of creating and activating offers."
"It lacks to provide a more detailed profile of the customer, which would have been better and more useful."
"The options for customizing Microsoft Dynamics CRM are very limited or highly complex."
"There are more people using Salesforce. Therefore, there are more partners, and applications for it, and is easier to use."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM's customer support could be improved as tickets usually take a long time to resolve."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM could improve by being more user-friendly."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM can improve by having integration with Slack. Additionally, the solution is incomplete, and we must use other solutions to fulfill our needs."
"When you use your iPhone or Android phone, Salesforce is not as user-friendly as it could be. That UX needs to be improved."
"The dashboards should be more intuitive, as there are far too many items on them. You're not always sure what you're looking for."
"The UA could be better designed for a mobile connection."
"The general setup and understanding of how to use it can be improved. There should be easier self-service for setting up dashboards. Currently, we have someone setting them up for us. I wish it was easier."
"If you want to use advanced features in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, they are extremely difficult to use."
"They can perhaps simplify the dashboards. In my opinion as an end-user, reports could also be simplified, but it also depends on how your company is set up. It depends on how the processes are set up within your company natively. It is linked to the way you do business. So, it varies."
"There is a lot of room for improvement in Salesforce Marketing Cloud's dashboards and the visualization of information in each journey."
"The cost is always a concern for anyone using a SaaS product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a three-year ELA with all our Microsoft solutions and often we had to do a true-up which was approximately $1,000,000. Additionally, we pay approximately $2,500 a month for support."
"Microsoft often encourages customers to commit to multi-year enterprise-level agreements, such as three or five-year deals with a minimum commitment of, for example, $200,000 dollars. However, in order to acquire more customers, I believe Microsoft should offer this same rate for one-year commitments for customers who want to experience it."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM's price is too high."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM is very affordable if you use the yearly subscription."
"We have to buy a separate license in order to implement the social listening feature."
"I give the price of the solution an eight out of ten."
"The cost depends on a number of factors, so whoever is implementing it will need to take that into consideration before it is done."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an expensive solution. However, most good CRMs are expensive."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud is affordable, considering the significant improvements it brings to our campaign results."
"We did a yearly license. We negotiated and got a great deal. I don't think we would have gotten far with the regular price, but they negotiated, so it was worth that."
"On a scale where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"Its licensing is on an annual basis. Customers are okay with its licensing cost, and they don't find it expensive."
"It's normal pricing."
"My company pays to use this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
60%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
The most valuable features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM are all the filters and possible reports.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
Costing might be a reason for concern. It could be an issue for the organization, or maybe not. It's uncertain.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
I use the solution to manage the lead sales pipeline and enable the marketing department to maintain customer data.
What do you like most about Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Datorama is part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is quite a valuable feature that provides customer analytics.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
In the SMS area, it is not up to the mark, compared to what has been developed for email.
 

Also Known As

Dynamics CRM, MS Dynamics CRM
ExactTarget
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Metro Bank, Nissan, Pandora, Delta, Haynes International, City of London, Trek and many more market leaders.
American Express, Financial Conduct Authority, KPN, Merck KGaA, Peterborough City Council, The Chapar, ADP, Financial Times, Stanley Black & Decker, SureFlap, Western Union, Philips
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.