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Infor M3 vs Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of Infor M3 is 5.2%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is 6.7%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP ERP is 18.5%, down from 22.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Pravinkumar Bhandare - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution is a reliable, stable, and cost-saving ERP
Different countries have different finance practices, but I believe they need to fine-tune their practices to match industry standards. Practices vary from country to country, for example, in India, it is different than in the US. Sometimes, clients require alternate processes that are not standard, but they claim that these are the standard practices in their industry. At those times, we feel that the option required is not available with the solution. This is not the case only for Infor M3. Other ERPs also have the same problem. We can't mold the ERP to fit the customer's requirements. There are some standards in place because many screens and programs are integrated into the finance process. We can't make modifications to fit the client's requirements. The customer needs specific screens for different users, so if that program is in place, we have one planning tool in Infor M3. Planners need to know all things related to manufacturing, purchase, and sales in order to make decisions about planning. In one of my clients, I came across the requirement that they were asking for user authority in the planning tool. This is not the case though, because all planners need to know all things. However, on the manufacturing side, we can say that the person who is working with machine operations only needs to know machine-related information and doesn't need knowledge of products or sales. That standard industry is available, so we can give access to the user as per their needs. If the maintenance people are there, we can give them limited access, but if the planner is there, we need to give them all access according to industry standards. However, this requirement from the client side is not possible with the standard Infor software, but Infor can consider implementing it if the need is larger for many customers.
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.
Srinivasan Kuppuswamy - PeerSpot reviewer
The amazing, robust framework with unlimited scalability earns its #1 status
The solution is not ready for the current e-commerce environment. Its was built for large enterprises who need to predictably optimize their human, material, and financial resources. ERP has evolved and businesses are changing. There are not many large corporations. Most are small enterprises with the capabilities of large enterprises through networking and platform integration. Some companies promote products but get things done with other enterprises as a network. Companies do not want to create new capacity but want to leverage existing capacity with innovative products. They do not want to spend resources on duplicating capacity or facilities. I do not think any ERP product is ready to support this environment so ERPs as a whole might end up being used for back-office functions only. It is not easy to evolve an ERP product because its intent is to integrate functions and processes within an organization. Whereas, in the new business model, processes are not limited to one's own enterprise but cut across different enterprises. There is no enterprise solution as this point in time for the current e-commerce environment so companies must integrate with many solutions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Infor comes up with different tools every year, and they are all compatible with Infor M3, which makes it a more reliable and trustworthy tool. The integration is very smooth."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the Infor GL tool that allows us to do our application support and development."
"The most valuable feature of Infor M3 is the level of detail it has about the different manufacturing processes compared to other ERP solutions. Other ERP solutions provide the same level of integration as Infor M3, but Infor M3 specializes in several functions, such as planning and manufacturing."
"M3 has several useful features for managing supply chains, production, and customer orders. It's an excellent system that helps me meet all my requirements for fixed costs."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is highly customizable."
"Infor M3 has tailor-made packages for each and every industry."
"provides all modules, supply chain, HR - it's good for management."
"Infor M3 has ready-made processes, which provide the best workflows."
"Dynamics 365 Business Central is mostly used for financial management."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Microsoft Dynamic 365 has everything we need, like Teams, Outlook, Excel, etc. I do a lot of data visualization, so I work a lot with Power BI. I bring in tables from Oracle and use Power Bi to manipulate and visualize the data. I handle all the stats and track everything that goes in and out of the company. We use all the modules, but I work primarily with Power BI, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. They are all equally important and work together."
"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."
"Microsoft products are very good in general. This product is flexible, easy to use, intuitive, and has good capabilities."
"The product is customizable so we can tune it according to our requirements."
"Our data is much more manageable than before."
"I am impressed with the tool's user authentication, compatibility , and policies."
"I have found all the modules related to finance valuable, such as account management and HR. The entire suite is very useful."
"Everyone who uses SAP ERP has benefited from the functionality."
"The system's reliability has supported our day-to-day operations effectively without significant interruptions."
"Their tech support is always good."
"Continuing to use it enabled continuity of business."
"The product connects to every software."
"Stability-wise, SAP ERP is the best product among others."
"It is a comprehensive and robust solution. It can provide lots of functional features."
 

Cons

"Here in Infor M3, you have certain limitations where the main components cannot be modified—you must work around or use bolt-ons."
"It would be great if Infor added some new workflows in the finance module. I'd also like to see better integration with third-party applications."
"We can't make modifications to fit the client's requirements."
"The implementation could be simplified, it's complex."
"The product's technical support has certain shortcomings. Sometimes, my company doesn't get a proper response from their end."
"The solution is stable but not agile."
"Infor should create one product to handle the whole business. At present, they make ERP systems for each type of business, and then sell additional features. I would like to have one system handing all organizations or all the business in deep ways and not have to buy additional features."
"Its initial setup was probably complex, but it is a very good system."
"The stability could always be improved."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central could be reduced."
"The solution could include the retail tool in the native version."
"The UI is not particularly user-friendly and the CRM could do with some enhancements."
"There is room for improvement in the ability to reverse or correct transactions more easily."
"I would like to improve the tool’s reporting and coding part."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV could improve the reporting."
"The reporting tool has room for improvement."
"I do not have any notes for improvements."
"SAP is more expensive than some of its competitors."
"The problem with SAP is that whenever there is a modification, or if a new field needs to be added, they charge tens of thousands, hundreds, or even two hundred thousand dollars. That is not anything in which I am really interested. For instance, consider a single-use case. I have to enter the root causes for a certain operation or failure. That option does not exist anywhere in SAP, not in manufacturing, not in logistics, not in anything. It is completely missing. The root cause analysis is very common across industries, yet SAP does not offer this option. A line field or a metaparticle, for example, was delayed. If you have the choice to input the warehouse operator or if the person who submitted the document has the opportunity to enter, this has been postponed for N, X, Y, or Z reasons."
"It could be more flexible, and the company should be able to adapt the system. Not the other way around. It's very rigid and difficult to change. Reporting could also be better."
"Presently, the solution's interface is not intuitive."
"In the next release, I would like to see more technical integration for directly designed solutions on behalf of the selling process so that you can design solutions and not have to use ten or more other tools to get the solution for selling."
"Technical support could be better."
"Although you can use SAP as a Warehouse Management System, and you don’t need any other program for that purpose, it is not enough as a Transportation Management System. You need another program which is integrated with SAP."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I'm not part of the team that manages Infor M3 pricing, but it depends on the client, integration, ship-out, and training levels. You get the price from the solution provider, but it would be best to discuss it because nothing is set in stone regarding pricing."
"There is a yearly licensing cost. The price is based on the modules you need. There are several modules, such as HR module, accounting module, sales module, scheduling module, etc., and the price will vary depending on the number of modules you choose. The customers always say that it's very expensive. It can cost a lot of money if your organization is huge. It's not implemented in a lot of organizations in my country because it's too expensive."
"If you compare Infor M3 to SAP, Infor M3 is less expensive than SAP, but if you compare Infor M3 to Dynamics 365, Infor M3 is more expensive. It also depends on the model that you buy. It depends on whether you have the complete package or whether you have separate models."
"The cost is between $50 and $100 per user annually."
"The tool’s licensing is yearly."
"Infor M3 is a tier-two product and is cheaper than tier-one products such as SAP and Oracle. However, it is more expensive than some other tier-two products. The licensing cost is dependent on the number of users. Also, if you purchase other tools from Infor as a package, then there may be other discounts offered."
"We have an agreement with Microsoft and pricing is okay for us."
"The solution is a little bit expensive."
"In my opinion, the fees are reasonable."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"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 per user price of $100 a month is better than competitors."
"The license changes every year. Sometimes it's for fixed users, and sometimes it's for concurrent users."
"There is an annual cost of using Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The cost is approximately 140,000 INR."
"Licensing can vary, but for educational institutions, there are often favorable conditions."
"My company makes early payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product. There are no additional costs apart from the charges paid toward the subscription-based license offered by SAP."
"This is a costly product."
"When you have a solution that is stable, reliable, and has a high performance as this solution, the price is going to be expensive. However, when you evaluate the service you are paying for the cost is quite reasonable for this solution."
"The licensing costs are slightly on the higher side. They need to make it more competitive."
"SAP is a bit on the costly side, but they also provide support and other things. We are paying for licenses and the use of the cloud."
"The on-premises licensing model comes with annual maintenance whereas the cloud-based licensing model is a yearly subscription. The tool’s pricing is normal and not expensive."
"It could always be cheaper. They don't have a very easy model of licensing, but large entities would get the upper hand in negotiating the license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Wholesaler/Distributor
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Retailer
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
7%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Infor M3?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What needs improvement with Infor M3?
Some customers expect more out-of-box reports, and in some areas, they should provide more reports. However, Infor ha...
What is your primary use case for Infor M3?
Infor M3 is specifically dominant in fashion, food and beverages, and chemicals manufacturing; it works into micro-ve...
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 mi...
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 ...
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 could improve by integrating additional components such as digital signatures and barcoding. Having such feat...
 

Also Known As

Infor Lawson M3, Lawson M3
Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Grosfillex, High Five Sportswear, L_derach, OTK Group, PHS Group, Propper International, Red Wing Shoe Company, Reynolds Catering Supplies, Saudi Diesel, Sheetz, Zeppelin, Zodiac Aerospace
Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
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, Microsoft, Infor and others in ERP. Updated: July 2025.
864,574 professionals have used our research since 2012.