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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP S/4HANA 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

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 S/4HANA
Ranking in ERP
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
119
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 S/4HANA is 11.9%, down from 16.3% 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.
Deepak Madhavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Implementation simplifies ERP management with comprehensive data integration and visibility
A lot of people would say the pricing. SAP is seen as quite expensive even now. It doesn't work for smaller or medium optimizations. The licensing and pricing could be looked at. In Brownfield migration, the trade-off between greenfield and brownfield means you either keep it clean or match the business requirements. Sometimes, it's not possible to do both. While ValixAPI provides significant support in making those decisions and the SAP consultant is very useful, we are still dependent on past history and how it was originally set up. I wouldn't call that a real disadvantage, yet more accessible consulting would be beneficial. Incorporating all other cloud products, like APO or IPP, into the S/4 house might also help.

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 Microsoft Dynamics NAV is its simplicity of accounting and receiving reports. The solution is similar to Microsoft Excel, and that similarity is good. All the functions of Microsoft Dynamics are user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is cloud accessibility."
"The initial setup is easy - because it stands on Microsoft offerings, it's simple and intuitive to use."
"It's quite useful for our production line, and it's easy to configure to our requirements."
"Dynamics 365 Business Central is mostly used for financial management."
"I am impressed with the tool's user authentication, compatibility , and policies."
"The solution makes everything organized for my organization or enterprise. It makes workflows more than clear."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"I have found the most valuable feature to be the SAP Fiori application."
"The solution provides real-time compliance and auditing"
"I strongly recommend SAP S/4HANA for any industry with companies having more than one hundred employees."
"The most valuable feature is the perfect end-to-end integration."
"S/4HANA is so much faster today than it was before. High performance is one of the best features, but the backbone of S/4HANA is its integration capabilities. They've also shifted to a focus on user experience."
"The finance module is the best thing. It integrates well with other modules, which makes it the best ERP available."
"The solution makes its use and the management of our infrastructure easy."
"The most valuable feature is the inbuilt standards included in SAP that customers can adopt easily. Also offers to customize it based on the specific requirements."
 

Cons

"The solution can improve by having better integration with Microsoft PowerBI and reporting."
"The solution's event management can be improved."
"The configuration packages can be somewhat tiresome at times, and they can be slow when loading data."
"The product should improve work optimization."
"The formulas in Power BI could be simpler. Sometimes, it's difficult to figure them out, but I am part of a lot of communities that work with us, so we help each other."
"The solution could include the retail tool in the native version."
"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."
"As our company grew we had to switch from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to a solution that was suited for larger-sized companies."
"We are missing these standard packages here in Turkey. Every customer has to build their own solutions for regulatory needs, such as sending invoices to the authority."
"Support is a challenge. The effectiveness of the SAP support paradigm depends on particular skills."
"There are certain limitations of the cloud version for customization."
"Small businesses that have a small user base find this solution too expensive."
"The migration to SAP S/4HANA is hard."
"Extensions to SAP S/4HANA have room for improvement, especially in integration with low-code/no-code platforms. Creating these extensions through Fiori transactions is more tedious than customers would like. Although the SAP build process has become more linear, further improvements could provide a huge benefit."
"Lacks ability to easily mass upload which has become a necessity for industry."
"Thi solution can improve the Bill of Materials (BOM) and production planning."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution could be reduced to improve their offering."
"We have an agreement with Microsoft and pricing is okay for us."
"I give the solution a seven out of ten for pricing."
"You have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV has a pay-as-you-use payment model."
"Business Central charges a monthly fee of $70 to $100 per user."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable. We pay monthly for the use of the solution."
"I have some subscription-based customer and a few customers who have perpetual licenses that hosted the application on the cloud."
"There is an annual license for SAP S4HANA."
"The pricing is a five out of ten, with ten being expensive and one being cheap."
"The solution is expensive."
"We're not sure yet. I think it was six figures a year, over 100,000. It has straight-up licensing fees."
"SAP is a costly product in terms of maintenance for an organization who has reached a particular level."
"The product is expensive. On a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest price and ten being the highest, I rate the product price as seven or eight."
"Pricing is one area where S/4HANA has room for improvement. It's too costly for many people. They have come up with"
"SAP S4HANA is expensive and for smaller businesses, it is very difficult for them to have the budget."
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Answers from the Community

AM
May 2, 2023
May 2, 2023
Hello Amit, I am posting this answer on behalf of Gene Hammons, a Director at a small tech services company. He says: "Hey Amit - I believe there are huge price differentials between SAP S/4 HANA and MS D365 Business Central (the new web version of the old Navision code base). In most of our clients evaluating SAP we're comparing that to the D365 Finance & Operations (the new web version ...
2 out of 3 answers
MM
May 2, 2023
Hello Amit,I believe I can safely recommend SAP S/4HANA as a better ERP solution for your organization. Being directly involved in multiple SAP implementation projects, I have seen organizations transform and grow with S/4HANA. The only concern is the cost as I see it because SAP S/4HANA is costly as compared with other products. Another thing that you need to consider is the change in management in your organization. SAP encourages organizations to adopt best practices and in doing so, users are not always facilitated. So how flexible your organization is when it comes to adapting the change is a million-dollar question. Let me know if you need further details and we can specifically discuss accordingly.Regards,Muhammad Tuaha MustafeezSAP Solution Architect & Project Manager
Avigayil Henderson - PeerSpot reviewer
May 2, 2023
Hello Amit, I am posting this answer on behalf of Gene Hammons, a Director at a small tech services company. He says: "Hey Amit - I believe there are huge price differentials between SAP S/4 HANA and MS D365 Business Central (the new web version of the old Navision code base). In most of our clients evaluating SAP we're comparing that to the D365 Finance & Operations (the new web version of the old Axapta code base). Pricing-wise, we'd see $3m for SAP, $1.5m for D365 F&O, and $400k for D365 BC. There is Business One from SAP that would fit in the middle of those Dynamics price points - and it's all relative, a smaller company would cost less, a larger company more - but you see where the competition would play. We do get a lot of calls from companies who have licensed D365 Business Central as part of their Microsoft IT stack and try to implement it themselves. After a couple of years, they start calling around and find out you need a real consulting team to get anywhere - and that's not free. Anyway - the key is who you partner with, make sure they have plenty of experience in your size company, in your industry - and let your business requirements drive the evaluation. The pros and cons of each system are only relevant depending on the requirements of your particular business model - any of these have the ability to be a total nightmare or productivity dream depending on where you try and fit them."
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Educational Organization
35%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

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.
Are there any advantages of SAP S4 HANA over SAP Business One (SAP B1) apart from the cost?
SaP Business One is a complete solution for business management. The software applications are broad, ranging from accounting to project management and human resources. It is very versatile and com...
What needs improvement with SAP S4HANA?
There could be a bit more competitiveness in their licensing and pricing.
What is your primary use case for SAP S4HANA?
It is a great product to be implemented for different industries for my customers. Can it be used globally?
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
SAP S4HANA
 

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
Nestle, O.C. Tanner, Sabre, New York Life Insurance Co., MEMEBOX, Siemens AG.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs. SAP S/4HANA and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.