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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Microsoft Dynamics SL 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 September 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is 6.5%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics SL is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP ERP is 17.2%, down from 22.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP ERP17.2%
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central6.5%
Microsoft Dynamics SL0.5%
Other75.8%
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Cirvesh-Daga - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplify and streamline complex business processes, and good integration capabilities but lacks predictive capabilities
An area of improvement could be around automation and predictability. However, I'm sure Microsoft is already thinking about incorporating AI co-pilot features, which should be coming soon. The end person who will be looking at the report is the CFO, and CFO isn't just interested in static reports but in predictive information. Ideally, SL could use data from ERP, and CRM to provide some level of prediction. CoPilot is plugged into Dynamics, it'll be a plus and even a huge selling point over other solutions that are there in the market because now we have a component of AI. We can also give you some level of prediction. Even if it starts with a 15% confidence level, a CFO will take that because it still allows them to increase their bets to a certain extent. So, that's something that I I will look forward to whenever Microsoft introduces it.
Achmad Dimyati - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution can scale."
"The product is customizable so we can tune it according to our requirements."
"Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is extremely stable as it does not rely on our in-house servers."
"One developer is enough to maintain the solution. Microsoft 365 is changing technology. The product is a user-friendly ERP solution."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV is brilliant and it's a different segment when comparing it with Dynamics AX. Dynamics AX is a larger product with much more features and it's aimed at a different segment of the market."
"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."
"Microsoft products are very good in general. This product is flexible, easy to use, intuitive, and has good capabilities."
"The solution's integration between Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange Online is really helpful."
"If I put myself in the customer's shoes, it's easier to use. Reporting would be a very valuable feature."
"The solution has provided a good return on investment by ensuring our financial and operational information is accurate and timely."
"It's pretty easy to set up."
"SAP is more reliable in terms of data quality than other systems."
"The architecture of the solution overall is great. It's great for development, testing, and production. I've worked with solutions where the architecture wasn't as strong and it was a disaster."
"The transactional integration of operations is the best-recommended feature of this product. It provides integration of all operational modules."
"It provides great visibility into the details of enterprise resource planning."
"It has been quite stable so far."
"The power of ABAP Development Tools is the main valuable feature in the SAP ECC system. Every couple of years SAP upgrades ABAP technology significantly, which facilitates developers' work."
"It provides one overview of the capacity planning."
"The system's reliability has supported our day-to-day operations effectively without significant interruptions."
 

Cons

"The initial setup of the solution was quite complex and the troubleshooting involved with that needs to be improved."
"Since it's complex for a layperson user to understand the solution, it would be better if the solution provided some training resources."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV could improve the reporting."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV will be replaced with Office 365 in the future."
"The Power BI integration could be more seamless."
"The reporting tool has room for improvement."
"Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has been buggy in my experience and they should improve in this area. Additionally, there are too many updates. The updates involve a whole bunch of applications as part of the package, such as the Edge browser. The updates are too broad across the whole package of applications."
"There is a book for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central explaining how to use it. But it is not easy to use, and it is not easy to learn."
"An area of improvement could be around automation and predictability."
"The product's primary improvement area would be its batch processing system."
"The licensing of the solution should be adjusted. The policies aren't ideal. They should make it easier to understand. Right now, it's too confusing."
"The warehouse management could be better."
"There are a lot of manual tasks that are used by a lot of people, so it is a very good candidate for RPA."
"Small and medium companies can struggle with the pricing."
"The user interface can be more intuitive and user-friendly by having it be more menu-driven, this would be a large benefit."
"Presently, the solution's interface is not intuitive."
"It could always be cheaper. There is no doubt about it."
"Technical support is an area that is in need of improvement."
"The service could be more user-friendly in the area of transition codes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution could be reduced to improve their offering."
"I would rate the pricing of this solution at three out of five."
"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 solution's cost is reasonable."
"Currently, the product offers a starting price of $70 per user per month, which provides access to the complete ERP engine. It is highly reasonable."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable. We pay monthly for the use of the solution."
"The solution is on the cloud and they provide 50 gigabytes of free space on their Microsoft Drive. The reason for this is that Microsoft is requiring you to upgrade all of your systems to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in order to effectively use the cloud. This means that if you are currently using a different version of Microsoft for a specific purpose that does not require this solution, it can be frustrating to have to spend money to upgrade to this solution just for the purpose of syncing with the cloud. Additionally, even if you do purchase Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, there can still be issues with syncing between the on-premise and cloud clients. This can be especially frustrating as the cloud storage is not free and can be difficult to access even after purchasing."
"If the value proposition is clear for the customer, they won't see it as an expensive solution. A solution becomes expensive when it doesn't do what it promises."
"The licensing costs were reasonable."
"The price of SAP ERP is high, but it is worth the money. The maintenance and support can be expensive. There should be a different price model for businesses that are not as large to be able to afford it."
"The solution is expensive so I rate cost a five out of ten."
"SAP ERP is expensive."
"There are licensing costs."
"SAP ECC is not cheap but I consider it the best system for managing an organization's data and processes."
"The product has high pricing."
"The solution can cost approximately $1 million a year for maintenance for a small-size company and can grow from there. Approximately $1 million is needed for a good-size company."
"The pricing is based on the license per user, which I think makes the solution a bit costly...Basically, the prices of the solution are high, and we don't have that much revenue."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Retailer
7%
No data available
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
7%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise19
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise30
Large Enterprise76
 

Questions from the Community

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?
I don't have specific information about the pricing of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. However, it was very ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
When I started working with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, I was new and didn't know what ERP was or its pu...
What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics SL?
If I put myself in the customer's shoes, it's easier to use. Reporting would be a very valuable feature.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics SL?
The product's primary improvement area would be its batch processing system. Transitioning to a transactional process...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics SL?
Our primary use case for the platform was managing our financial and operational processes across multiple companies....
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 is fine as it is at the moment. It is difficult to comment on improvements for this version. I know HANA has ...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
Dynamics SL, MS Dynamics SL
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
ASAP, Espartec, S.A de C.V., TGLT, Calder‹n Autopartes El_ctricas, GGS Systems, CLEAResult, Shared Spectrum Company, Scope Global Pty Ltd
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: August 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.