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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP ERP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Ranking in ERP
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Activity Based Costing Software (2nd)
SAP ERP
Ranking in ERP
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is 6.5%, up from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP ERP is 19.0%, down from 22.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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.
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

"It's quite reliable, and there's a good local provider who can adapt the solution for tax issues."
"It is easy to use, and it works very well for small-scale companies."
"The customer support is good. The first level of support agent in every case was able to solve the problem very quickly."
"For me, the main strengths of Microsoft Dynamics NAV are that it's user-friendly and light. These are its major wins. I have used other ERPs and their architecture were a little more complex when compared to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV architecture."
"The solution's integrations and interface are very good."
"Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is extremely stable as it does not rely on our in-house servers."
"The solution has good dashboard functionalities and export functionalities."
"The vertical covers all aspects of functionality and integrates easily with the existing Office products."
"It has a lot of integrity of data, and it is fast. All the users feel that they can trust this data. So, data integrity is the most important value of SAP."
"It provides one overview of the capacity planning."
"Overall the solution is very good in the industry."
"This is a robust solution with a lot of control measures."
"The most valuable features of SAP ERP are its stability, industry-specific package, and adaptable configuration."
"The product’s most valuable feature is a centralized system integrating different departments within the organization."
"ERP can help manage all enterprise resources. It brings them together and provides some analytical data to inform management decisions."
"The solution provides a high level of integration."
 

Cons

"The reporting tool has room for improvement."
"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."
"There is a need for improvement in consolidation and multi-country master data management."
"The tool needs to work on reporting issues and user interface."
"The Power BI integration could be more seamless."
"I am hoping there is more integration with other platforms, more features, and customization in the next release."
"The product should improve work optimization."
"They need to improve their processes."
"They need to improve a few processes, including transformation, intelligence, governance, modeling, etc."
"The solution's UI could be better."
"It has a high cost."
"The solution is not ready for the current e-commerce environment."
"It would also help if it were more open, more flexible, with more standard products."
"It was not designed to service all industries."
"Lacks sufficient technical support with slow response times."
"The service could be more user-friendly in the area of transition codes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Business Central charges a monthly fee of $70 to $100 per user."
"The price of the solution could be reduced to improve their offering."
"The first time we tried to buy the newest version, it was expensive."
"I think the pricing is the best; it's cost effective for sure."
"We have a perpetual license to use Microsoft Dynamics NAV."
"In my opinion, the fees are reasonable."
"The solution's license is costly compared to other CRM tools."
"The license changes every year. Sometimes it's for fixed users, and sometimes it's for concurrent users."
"There is a license needed to use this solution."
"This is a costly product."
"I rate SAP ERP's pricing a six or seven out of ten."
"I rate the product's price a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap or affordable, and ten is really expensive. The solution is expensive."
"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."
"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."
"SAP ERP is expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Retailer
7%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 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?
There is a need for improvement in consolidation and multi-country master data management.
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 and drives up the quality of analytics. Rather than spending all of their time co...
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 HR analytics. One feature of SAP ERP that I found most valuable is its use of co...
What needs improvement with SAP ERP?
There is a need for improvement in the business analytics aspect in financial reporting and also in sales and marketing analytics.
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
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
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 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs. SAP ERP and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.