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ERPNext vs Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

ERPNext
Ranking in ERP
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Ranking in ERP
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Activity Based Costing Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of ERPNext is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is 6.6%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

NagendraCh - PeerSpot reviewer
Installation and integration are areas that are quite easy to manage
With ERPNext, some business challenges will definitely be there. So far, my company has seen that it cannot go for bigger enterprise models, like SAP. With SAP, it is a completely different game, whereas for the SMEs having almost 100 to 500 users, ERPNext can be a good tool. With ERPNext, there can be some challenges in the case of business or routing. The tool is suitable if you have a multi-cloud environment in your company or if there is some company that prefers to be branded as an enterprise business. As there are so many third-party integrations, depending on third-party applications, all those. You know? I mean, you have so many CRM models, but the thing is that with the ERP ERPNext CRM, you can't compare it with Salesforce. For the SME sector, the tool is good. The tool's features are developed for a bigger network. It will take a little bit of time, but as of now, we can see that the tool is good for the SME sector. The tool has not come up with anything for some specific domains, like construction domains. Right now, it is a big challenge to use the tool in the education domain, but right now, the product has resolved it. Many people use the tool since it has a larger network. The tool keeps developing, and it will take time to develop. For the education domain, the tool will have to come up with LMS features and transportation, which make up for small challenges.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a very user-friendly tool that is customizable based on the business environment."
"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...I rate the product's initial setup a nine on a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy."
"The tool covers most of the business requirements that most companies have, especially financial institutions."
"This is readily available and affordable, as well as user-friendly and simple to use in my opinion."
"The solution can scale."
"Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is extremely stable as it does not rely on our in-house servers."
"I like Microsoft Dynamics' simplicity. The interface is excellent, and it's a highly mature product. You can hardly find any bugs in the product."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central are the dashboards, ease of use, and flexibility."
"The solution makes everything organized for my organization or enterprise. It makes workflows more than clear."
"All of the features are valuable, depending on where you implement them. I've done implementations in 60 countries, across 86 different companies and groups, and each company has a different reason for why they want to use it. Every single feature that I've implemented has been successful, and for some companies, where they didn't use the functionality, they have moved to external products or they've integrated into other applications."
 

Cons

"The tool has not come up with anything for some specific domains, like construction domains."
"The look, feel, and color are areas in ERPNext that can be improved."
"The performance and virtual machine backup is not good with this solution and need improvements."
"If Microsoft made some of the security setups a little easier to work with, that would be a significant improvement. The warehouse management features could also use some work. We had to buy third-party software to make NAV's warehouse management and security more usable and functional."
"Some of the control aspects such as auditing can definitely be improved. For example, auditing is not very easy, and the user permissions are complicated."
"The advanced warehouse functionalities are not available and should be improved. The purchase requisition process is also lacking, and more advanced functionalities for intercompany consolidations could be added."
"The initial setup of the solution was quite complex and the troubleshooting involved with that needs to be improved."
"We need to customize more often than we would like."
"The Power BI integration could be more seamless."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central could be reduced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, ERPNext is a cheap product. There are no licensing costs attached to ERPNext since it is an open-source product. You have to pay for the solution's hosting and implementation process."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as a three."
"The on-premises model of Dynamics NAV is very expensive, hence our plan to migrate to Dynamics 365 Business Central, which appears to fit our needs better in terms of pricing. Compared to competitors, the cloud version of Dynamics is in the middle; not too high and not too low."
"Its licensing is yearly. In addition to the licensing cost, there is the cost of hosting on Azure."
"The cost is one of the benefits. If you don't want to go for the full-blown finance and operations, the pricing model is a lot cheaper and has now switched to being based on a per-user subscription. So, if it's on cloud, you now have an expense instead of a large CapEx. If it's on-prem, you obviously still have to continue with the licensing model that they have, but if you compare the features and functionality, in terms of the price that you pay, I find it's better than other products. My answer on the pricing would be slightly different, depending on the country you're in and the return on investment, based on the size of the company. It's well-priced internationally. I think the new model is priced even better because it's now subscription-based and, if you go for cloud, the return on investment is a lot quicker and if it's expense, you can cap it. If you do take the on-prem version, the licensing is still priced as what it used to be, so that would depend on what country you are in."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable."
"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."
"The solution's cost is reasonable."
"The solution is a little bit expensive."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central could improve. It is costly. We are paying for the solution on a monthly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Healthcare Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ERPNext?
It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...I rate the product's initial setup a nine on a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ERPNext?
It is an open-source tool. Some kinds of plug-ins for the tool are available in the marketplace. ERPNext was developed using Python. Plug-ins are available in the marketplace, and users need to buy...
What needs improvement with ERPNext?
With ERPNext, some business challenges will definitely be there. So far, my company has seen that it cannot go for bigger enterprise models, like SAP. With SAP, it is a completely different game, w...
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?
The advanced warehouse functionalities are not available and should be improved. The purchase requisition process is also lacking, and more advanced functionalities for intercompany consolidations ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
Find out what your peers are saying about ERPNext vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.