Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Accela vs Microsoft Dynamics CRM 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

Accela
Ranking in Local Government CRM
5th
Average Rating
7.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Ranking in Local Government CRM
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
CRM Customer Engagement Centers (1st), CRM (2nd), Marketing Management (2nd), Sales Force Automation (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Local Government CRM category, the mindshare of Accela is 2.9%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is 33.0%, down from 34.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Local Government CRM
 

Featured Reviews

Sajjad Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
A superb platform for low-code development, but needs to improve its pricing and support
It was a customized solution like a VPN. We used some open-source tools and some paid tools. But we mostly had custom-developed tools. As for why we switched from Accela, this is a very important question because that was a legacy system, and it was running for 11 years. Of course, we reached a point where we wanted to scale our applications, and we had a legacy system that could not support scaling and required more time to implement any applications. That was one of the reasons we chose a low-code platform. We evaluated multiple solutions in the market. As part of the bidding, Accela was the lowest with more features.
Pawel-Gawronski - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlining resource management and improving project insights with helpful support
The deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is easy because it's a software as a service, which eliminates the need to deploy anything in our data center. It has improved the verification of value streams by mapping projects to products and demonstrating the total cost of ownership. This automation significantly impacts daily operations by reducing the time spent on manual tasks and improving the quality and delivery time.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The Accela's most valuable features are visual inspection and workflow."
"We can develop features in very little time."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the campaign feature."
"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."
"One of the most useful features is we can configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM in the way that we need. This is configurable."
"The most valuable feature in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is funneling."
"It's a good solution for enterprise-level companies."
"It ensures that there's continuity, and you don't have to start asking the customer about what happened. From CRM, you can easily see all the interactions and events in the record and take it from there."
"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 most valuable features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM are all the filters and possible reports."
 

Cons

"I would like to see integration with analytics and the Power BI dashboard."
"The tool's performance becomes slow with usage. Its deployment is also complicated."
"The main issue with Microsoft Dynamics CRM is that its GUI isn't very attractive. Overall, the solution has the same functionalities as other CRMs such as Salesforce, but Salesforce is much simpler to use. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is complicated to use, and this is another area for improvement. It was also more difficult to set up the solution, so its setup could still be improved. What I'd like to see in the next version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a cleaner user interface because currently, it looks messy to me. Salesforce CRM has a better, more simplified user interface that makes it easier for you to get what you need, while in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you have to put in a lot of effort to get things done."
"The mobile side of the product doesn't look that great right now."
"Sometimes Microsoft's support can be difficult to contact, and it can take a while to get a response to a ticket."
"The overall price of Microsoft Dynamics CRM could improve."
"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."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM would be far superior if it had an analytical dashboard and AI-based systems."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM could improve by making it easier to export data to SharePoint because most of our customers use SharePoint. They have to log into a Microsoft environment platform from their SharePoint for access should be made easier. Additionally, if the customer portal was enhanced for it to be customized it would be a benefit."
"Overall, the solution could be made to be more user friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When we chose Accela, it was affordable. But with new solutions in the market, we can see cheaper ones with the same features."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an expensive solution."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM is slightly cheaper than Salesforce today. Pricing for the solution is pretty aggressive in the market."
"The cost depends on a number of factors, so whoever is implementing it will need to take that into consideration before it is done."
"The annual license for Microsoft Dynamics CRM could be reduced, it is expensive."
"The cost could be cheaper. I would rate them 3 out of 5."
"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."
"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."
"Pricing for this software could be cheaper."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Local Government CRM solutions are best for your needs.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
39%
Pharma/Biotech Company
12%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Accela?
The Accela's most valuable features are visual inspection and workflow.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Accela?
When we chose Accela, it was affordable. But with new solutions in the market, we can see cheaper ones with the same features. Previously, Accela was on-premises, and we faced infrastructure costs ...
What needs improvement with Accela?
The tool's performance becomes slow with usage. Its deployment is also complicated.
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?
Microsoft Dynamics CRM needs improvement in simplifying the setup and configuration process, which can be relatively complex when we want all features to work properly. It is one area where the com...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
We use Microsoft Dynamics CRM ( /products/microsoft-dynamics-crm-reviews ) for opportunity management and a traditional CRM approach for managing customer and client relationships. Although we have...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Dynamics CRM, MS Dynamics CRM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Accela is used by over 1,000 government agencies in the United States and Canada. Some of its customers include the City of Los Angeles, the State of California, and the City of Toronto.
Metro Bank, Nissan, Pandora, Delta, Haynes International, City of London, Trek and many more market leaders.
Find out what your peers are saying about Accela vs. Microsoft Dynamics CRM and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.