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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
ERP (3rd), Activity Based Costing Software (1st)
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Cloud ERP (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 6.6%, up 6.5% compared to last year.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 16.9% mindshare, up 12.3% since last year.
ERP
Cloud 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.
Ramesh Pampana - PeerSpot reviewer
Extensive real-time analytics and superior support enhance decision making but continued product evolution impacts existing investments
Improvement is needed, and they need to slow down. When I say slow down, they need to do more validation. Things are going rapidly and changing fast. For example, they moved from SAP SRM product to SAP CLM. They bought IBM CLM and marketed it as SAP CLM. Shortly after, they bought SAP Ariba and discontinued the SAP CLM product. Now they state that SAP SRM is outdated and has reached sunset. The challenge is that if a customer has already deployed the entire solution on-premises, it becomes difficult to immediately convert to the new product and manage new license costs. From a consulting perspective, it appears that SAP's biggest competitor is itself, as they sometimes discontinue their own products to promote new ones.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 integration with Microsoft's AI capabilities."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV is good for smaller-sized companies."
"The solution's integration between Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange Online is really helpful."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is cloud accessibility."
"The value for money is very high as it fits the business well."
"It's quite reliable, and there's a good local provider who can adapt the solution for tax issues."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The guidance SAP offers for implementing the product is clear and the online resources are great."
"SAP S/4HANA Cloud provides easy database access."
"The solution links everything and allows us to integrate into our entire supply chain."
"It was easy to implement."
"Speed has improved and getting analytical reports has been simplified."
"Both standard and customized integrations work well with no issues."
"SAP is an extremely powerful ERP. In my past company, we used it on a massive large scale, and it was amazing."
"The implementation time was approximately 155 to 160 days, which is faster than Oracle implementation."
 

Cons

"The tool needs to work on reporting issues and user interface."
"One aspect that could be improved in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is the visibility and accessibility of communication-related features, such as email integration."
"They need to improve their processes."
"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."
"Since it's complex for a layperson user to understand the solution, it would be better if the solution provided some training resources."
"The stability could always be improved."
"Implementing localizations when we use the system for multiple countries can be quite complex."
"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."
"There have been some pain points in moving from SAP to S/4HANA, but the company seems to be staying on top of those issues."
"Generally, there's not much noise or many issues, but we sometimes open tickets. These are mainly due to underestimating business needs at the beginning of deployment or sudden changes in the business. For example, when we suddenly open branches in other countries, add many users or the business grows fast, we might need more memory or disk space. We sometimes underestimate our needs from the cloud. This isn't a problem with the cloud or the vendor but more about our estimation. We raise tickets for things like increasing memory, dealing with one-time errors, or issues with space utilization. We might need to increase resources or improve performance."
"The initial setup can be complex, depending on the environment."
"Their revolving AI should should be better improved."
"SAP S/4HANA Cloud's customization can be improved."
"The implementation time for S/4HANA Cloud could be reduced."
"Difficult to install and difficult to test. Testing needs to be improved. Scalability of this solution also needs improvement."
"The solution's speed and dashboard could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"$80-$100 per license, per month."
"Business Central charges a monthly fee of $70 to $100 per user."
"The solution's cost is reasonable."
"NAV might be a little pricey for a small or medium-sized company, but all the solutions out there are."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV has a pay-as-you-use payment model."
"Its licensing is yearly. In addition to the licensing cost, there is the cost of hosting on Azure."
"The deployment cost us $70,000 and we pay around $18,000 annually for support, which we find to be expensive."
"The price of SAP S/4HANA Cloud is expensive. However, the benefits are good. We did not purchase any upgrades."
"I feel the solution is expensive when it comes to what can be obtained with open source software."
"Pricing wise, SAP S4HANA Cloud is very expensive. The licensing cost can be 100,000 euros per year, depending on the number of users in your company."
"The tool's pricing is reasonable."
"SAP S/4 Hana isn't cheap, but its value depends on how much you can leverage from it. It's not just about the system but how well your people are trained to use it and adapt to derive benefits."
"The licensing process for SAP S/4HANA Cloud has worked well."
"The pricing is competitive with other products at that level in that category."
"S/4HANA is an enterprise solution that many can't afford. You must invest a lot to get the most out of it. It isn't cheap. I rate the price seven out of 10."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
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?
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 ...
What do you like most about SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
The manufacturing area is a good feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
SAP S/4HANA Cloud is very expensive, both to purchase and maintain. It's important to evaluate the costs of recruiting and maintaining trained personnel as it's not just a one-time payment yet requ...
What needs improvement with SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
While SAP S/4HANA Cloud offers numerous functional benefits and powerful integration capabilities, there remain certain usability and operational challenges—particularly within the Fiori applicatio...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
SAP S4HANA Cloud
 

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
La Trobe University, Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda, Delaware Consulting and Corning Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Microsoft, Infor and others in ERP. Updated: May 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.