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Epicor ERP vs Microsoft Dynamics AX vs SAP ERP 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.6
Epicor ERP's ROI varies, enhancing efficiency and financial management for some, but providing no returns for others.
Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Dynamics AX boosts productivity and efficiency, offering customizable solutions with significant ROI, despite challenges in precise measurement.
Sentiment score
3.8
SAP ERP enhances efficiency and saves time, offering varied ROI timelines through improved inventory management, accountability, and automation.
It continued to make the company lean and more profitable by providing tools to manage business operations better, such as production scheduling, finance, and estimating products.
President at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
We have saved the equivalent of three or four man-days a week across the business.
Enterprise Software Professional at Accelalpha Inc.
With increased visibility, there is a substantial opportunity for return on investment.
Business Wac Application Support Lead at Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company
SAP ERP did provide value for money.
CIO at Vortella
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Epicor ERP support is average, with slow issue resolution and communication challenges, but accessible management is a positive aspect.
Sentiment score
4.1
Microsoft Dynamics AX support is praised for availability but criticized for costly, slow handling of complex issues and customizations.
Sentiment score
6.8
Users find SAP ERP customer service satisfactory, appreciating quick responses but suggesting improvements in knowledge and technical efficiency.
Epicor's support is strong with extensive self-help options.
President at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The issue with support is in terms of response time as well as quality.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
When issues are raised to customer support, they direct us to work with the partner.
Senior Manager Group Ict at Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Co. B. S. C. (c)
Microsoft has really good documentation, and they are known for that.
Senior System Analyst at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
SAP technical support is very good.
Consultant at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
It was very quick, and we didn't have many tickets, but every time any issues arose, they were very quickly resolved.
CIO at Vortella
It is not easy to justify something as high priority unless the system is completely down.
IT Service Management Team Lead at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.9
Epicor ERP suits small to mid-sized businesses but may need upgrades for larger, complex organizations and extensive operations.
Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Dynamics AX offers scalability, especially in the cloud, but older versions struggle with complex setups for larger clients.
Sentiment score
7.1
SAP ERP is praised for scalability by large companies, supporting growth and integration, despite initial challenges.
Epicor ERP scales extremely well, allowing for multi-company and multi-plant operations.
President at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
If the organization is complex or large, Epicor ERP is not going to fit in.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The system is adapting to our growing needs, but some requirements necessitate upgrading Epicor ERP to meet current needs, which represents an additional expense for us.
Business Wac Application Support Lead at Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company
There are these things called AOS nodes where if you have more users and performance decreases, you can add more servers to the cluster.
Senior System Analyst at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It struggles with scalability when you need to manage financial reporting or setup for multiple companies.
Business Analyst at Kpmhealth.com
Microsoft Dynamics AX already has multiple functions for sales, inventory, HR, finance, and supply chain.
Senior Sales Support Supervisor at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
It is scalable when moving from one version to another or adding additional components like warehouse management.
Consultant at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
The scalability of SAP ERP is excellent.
IT Service Management Team Lead at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Epicor ERP's stability has improved in recent versions, though early versions and upgrades sometimes cause issues for users.
Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Dynamics AX is generally stable, though stability varies with infrastructure and updates, with mixed user ratings.
Sentiment score
8.2
SAP ERP is stable and reliable, with minimal issues, satisfactory performance, and regular updates enhancing its reputation.
Issues arise during upgrades and patch applications, leading to huge downtimes and temporary instability.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Epicor ERP has experienced multiple crashes and performance drops multiple times.
Senior Manager Group Ict at Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Co. B. S. C. (c)
I have not had any major issues with stability.
Senior System Analyst at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
If you do the maintenance and have your own people, it could be stable, but it means a lot of work.
Head of Controlling and IT at Melinda
Production processes would be on hold without stability, so it is quite important that the software is very stable.
CIO at Vortella
Stability-wise, SAP ERP is the best product among others.
Consultant at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Epicor ERP struggles with complex interfaces, inefficient modules, lacking international tools, and needs improvements in automation, support, and localization.
Microsoft Dynamics AX requires greater efficiency, improved user interface, better integration, and more flexible, scalable, and localized features.
SAP ERP needs modernization with improved UI/UX, cost reduction, easier integration, and better support for smaller businesses.
There's extensive customization required for Epicor ERP, and the standard process is not suitable.
Senior Manager Group Ict at Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Co. B. S. C. (c)
In the production planning area, Epicor ERP cannot handle complex planning situations, which for this organization became very complex, requiring a lot of customizations.
IT Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The cost management and product costing should be enhanced, along with issues in the manufacturing process.
Business Wac Application Support Lead at Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company
It is no longer supported from a security perspective, so it is not getting updated.
Senior System Analyst at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Microsoft Dynamics AX lacks the concept of month-end closing, which is essential for tight control over financial periods.
Business Analyst at Kpmhealth.com
Most companies working with AX currently transforming to D365, upgrading their ERP systems, which are more enhanced and have additional features such as dashboards.
Senior Sales Support Supervisor at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
SAP ERP could improve by integrating additional components such as digital signatures and barcoding.
Consultant at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
SAP recently implemented Databricks, and they started investing significantly in the analytic environment.
IT Service Management Team Lead at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
I believe that SAP ERP needs to include AI functionality now, as I think it would be a significant change that could improve and enhance the product.
Manager at Innatech
 

Setup Cost

Epicor ERP costs $110,000 initially with $9,000 annually, offering flexible licensing but may face high setup costs and overruns.
Microsoft Dynamics AX has high initial costs, with variable regional pricing, but cloud options may offer savings.
SAP ERP offers comprehensive features but is costly, particularly for SMEs, with high licensing and implementation expenses.
While the exact current licensing costs are confidential, it is approximately 50% of Oracle's cost.
Senior Manager Group Ict at Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Co. B. S. C. (c)
We are satisfied with the pricing and anticipate savings of seventeen percent across the organization.
Enterprise Software Professional at Accelalpha Inc.
Epicor ERP is value-conscious in pricing, offering more compared to competitors.
President at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Acquiring a developer license for customization is expensive, costing over one hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars.
Business Analyst at Kpmhealth.com
Small and medium companies can struggle with the pricing.
CIO at Vortella
The pricing for SAP ERP is medium but slightly on the higher side.
Consultant at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Epicor ERP enhances operational efficiency with user-friendly customization, robust integration, real-time analytics, and comprehensive process management.
Microsoft Dynamics AX offers comprehensive ERP solutions with strong security, seamless integration, and efficient support for finance, supply chain, and sales.
SAP ERP provides integrated, customizable modules with real-time data, ideal for large enterprises needing scalability, security, and efficiency.
The real-time analytics support decision-making by using dashboards to manage insights for roles throughout the company, including production, finance, sales, and purchasing.
President at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The most significant features of Epicor ERP for our business process are quality control and supply chain management.
Enterprise Software Professional at Accelalpha Inc.
If you're doing a project management module, it is linked with finance. Unless finance is implemented, this module cannot be completed.
Senior Manager Group Ict at Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Co. B. S. C. (c)
There are many levels of security and permissions for each user to monitor and access specific data relative to their functions.
Senior Sales Support Supervisor at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
I have not had any major issue with stability.
Senior System Analyst at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics AX is its full integration with Excel, allowing for cut and paste functionality between Excel and the system.
Business Analyst at Kpmhealth.com
The consistent integrations and real-time data analytics in SAP ERP significantly enhance the decision-making process by facilitating follow-ups and action points.
Consultant at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
SAP ERP has impacted our organization positively because it is highly customizable to build any process we have in our companies and to write programs.
CIO at Vortella
SAP ERP is particularly strong in manufacturing, from production planning to plant maintenance, then Material Management itself, and managing warehouse management and inventory control.
IT Service Management Team Lead at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the ERP category, the mindshare of Epicor ERP is 3.0%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics AX is 3.2%, down from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP ERP is 11.2%, down from 20.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP ERP11.2%
Microsoft Dynamics AX3.2%
Epicor ERP3.0%
Other82.6%
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Khalid Jalal - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager Group Ict at Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Co. B. S. C. (c)
Requires extensive customization and fails to meet manufacturing needs
My overall experience with Epicor ERP is extremely bad. I just finished a call with the team, and the experience is really unsatisfactory. I will not recommend it to anyone. There's extensive customization required for Epicor ERP, and the standard process is not suitable. Though it is meant for manufacturing, it is not performing the manufacturing job effectively. Regarding the installation process, the implementation is not the problem as the installation is fine. The issue lies with configuration. Although it's supposed to be configurable, it requires customization for everything we need to do. When comparing to JD Edwards and in-house applications, a process that takes one minute in those systems takes ten minutes in Epicor ERP because users have to navigate through different screens constantly. If a user forgets to switch to one screen, the process remains incomplete, making end-user training extremely difficult. There's no automation and workflow feature that can be used without customization. Everything requires changes, making it similar to developing a new platform from scratch. Initially, we anticipated some benefits from using Epicor ERP, but based on the current outcome, it has been completely unsuccessful. The main issue is that everything requires customization rather than configuration. Unless they change their whole approach from customization to configuration, this product should not be used anywhere.
reviewer2765214 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Sales Support Supervisor at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has required ongoing support and modernization but effectively manages core operations and complex workflows
Microsoft Dynamics AX is a very strong ERP system, applicable for customizations to help companies and organizations streamline their processes. The specific feature I find most valuable about Microsoft Dynamics AX is the applicable permissions. There are many levels of security and permissions for each user to monitor and access specific data relative to their functions. Additionally, the linkage and transition between exploring and moving from window to window, from function to function is valuable. The impact of Microsoft Dynamics AX on managing financial processes is significant. It's a very important element for financial departments as it represents all transactions, references, and records. The adjustments and availability to create more than one virtual company allow large companies, which combined represent one group of companies, to connect and streamline their financials and operations.
Achmad Dimyati - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Service Management Team Lead at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Long-term adaptation and evolution meets changing technology trends
SAP ERP is not really real-time. We use the HANA database which is supposed to be memory data in memory, but we are still not very happy. It is supposed to be real-time and come very quickly, but in reality, it still takes time to run. That is why we use BW of SAP, Business Objects, and now we have moved to the Analytic Cloud where we start using predictive AI. SAP recently implemented Databricks, and they started investing significantly in the analytic environment. SAP ERP has been left behind as they moved to S/4HANA with the HANA database. They restructured the whole table structure of SAP ERP, introduced simple finance, simple logistics, and moved HR to SuccessFactors. They have the BTP layer where they manage everything from integration to master data management. The challenge with SAP is that they move very fast to different products and buy different products. It requires significant investment and many skills to catch up because all of these have different sets of technology. The fundamental has changed differently. It is not monolithic anymore but different products under one name, SAP. You have to buy it model by model for additional models. Products such as SuccessFactors, Ariba for procure to pay, Concur for travel, and Facility Management use totally different technology. They try to integrate with each other, but it remains a challenge for SAP to make them have the same management, technology, and operational approach.
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Comparison Review

it_user110085 - PeerSpot reviewer
General Manager with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 1, 2015
SAP All in One vs. Oracle E-Business Suite vs. Microsoft Axapta
We put together an ERP evaluation for 3 proposed solutions. The top 3 packages considered for detailed evaluation – SAP All in One, Oracle E-Business Suite, Microsoft Axapta. The Key Criteria used for Evaluation are as follows: A. Functional Fit to meet current Business Requirements B…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
20%
Computer Software Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
University
5%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Retailer
6%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
7%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise77
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Epicor ERP?
My experience with Epicor ERP pricing is that it is fairly priced, targeting more mid-size and small organizations. H...
What needs improvement with Epicor ERP?
I see a few areas that can be improved. The localization is not good; for local taxes and statutory compliances, manu...
What is your primary use case for Epicor ERP?
My clients are using Epicor ERP for all their operations. They are a mid-size or small-sized manufacturing company, a...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics AX?
I don't know if Microsoft Dynamics AX is still receiving official technical support from Microsoft. I can see most co...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics AX?
I'm using Microsoft Dynamics AX to process and monitor the sales process from end-to-end, starting from placing order...
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?
SAP ERP logged out in slightly less time than expected. Updates to the SAP UI would be useful.
 

Also Known As

Epicor SaaS ERP
Dynamics AX, Axapta, MS Dynamics AX
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
ConQuaestor, D & H Distributing, Sunny Queen, Mesa Associates, Britax Childcare, Ibema, Arafa, Sabo S.p.A.
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 SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and others in ERP. Updated: January 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.