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Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs Salesforce Essentials comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.2
Users report substantial ROI from Microsoft Dynamics CRM through better sales, customer retention, and enhanced operational efficiency.
Sentiment score
7.9
Salesforce Essentials offers an efficient, user-friendly platform that accelerates sales, aids teams, and automates processes for quick returns.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.5
Microsoft Dynamics CRM support experiences vary, with praise for responsiveness but concerns about contact difficulty and expertise in complex cases.
Sentiment score
8.0
Salesforce Essentials is praised for fast, efficient support and reliable service uptime, enhancing user satisfaction and operational stability.
I would rate customer support as ten out of ten.
While the support operates within their standard SLA, it can be difficult to speak directly with someone over the phone.
Sometimes the technical support for Microsoft Dynamics CRM is not qualified enough, and in some situations, we know the tool better than they do.
Their service and uptime is phenomenal.
Salesforce Essentials has excellent customer service.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is scalable, integrates widely, adapts to changing needs, but may face integration challenges and cost considerations.
Sentiment score
7.5
Salesforce Essentials is highly scalable, supporting enterprise-level needs with flexibility, although some report connectivity and enhancement dependency issues.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is highly scalable, rated at ten, even fifteen out of ten.
I would give it a ten out of ten for scalability.
It is one of the most scalable systems available.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is stable, reliable, and well-rated, with minor issues addressed through updates, suiting medium to large businesses.
Sentiment score
8.1
Salesforce Essentials offers stable performance, smooth SAP integration, minor bugs, and reliable uptime, ensuring minimal operational disruptions for users.
I would rate it ten out of ten.
Salesforce Essentials has proven stable, with no downtime that affects my work.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Dynamics CRM requires enhancements in usability, customization, integration, cost-effectiveness, automation, and support for small businesses.
Salesforce Essentials needs better integration, intuitive UI, competitive pricing, simplified automation, enhanced connectivity, and improved language support.
More use-case-oriented material should be provided to help users and implementers learn how to do more, faster.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM needs improvement in simplifying the setup and configuration process, which can be relatively complex when we want all features to work properly.
Instead of requiring users to think about system navigation and clicking procedures, they can simply follow a workflow that guides them through the process.
There are other competitors, like Zoho CRM, that offer similar features at a lower cost.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is costly yet valued for comprehensive features, with prices influenced by users, licensing, and deployment type.
Salesforce Essentials is costly, but offers value through flexibility and add-ons, despite complex payment options and operational expenses.
The pricing of Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be complex due to Microsoft's complicated licensing model.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM costs about $110 to $115 per user per month, following a recent price increase.
The cost of running Salesforce Essentials is significant.
The costs associated with Salesforce Essentials are substantial, which is a drawback compared to competitors who offer similar services for less.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers easy customization, integration, and features for enhanced business processes, valued for scalability and cost-effectiveness.
Salesforce Essentials offers cloud deployment, customization, AI, and mobile support, benefiting process optimization and data integration despite high costs.
The backend storage integrates seamlessly with OneDrive, and the solution offers robust security features, including Azure integration, two-factor authentication (2FA), and comprehensive audit trails.
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is its integration with Outlook and other Microsoft products like Microsoft 365, which includes emails, Teams, and SharePoint.
I can also create fields and customize them according to my needs.
It is very customizable to specific needs.
Salesforce Essentials is excellent because it is one of the most flexible CRMs available.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Ranking in CRM
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
CRM Customer Engagement Centers (1st), Local Government CRM (1st), Marketing Management (2nd), Sales Force Automation (1st)
Salesforce Essentials
Ranking in CRM
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the CRM category, the mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is 9.9%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Essentials is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM
 

Featured Reviews

Pawel-Gawronski - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlining resource management and improving project insights with helpful support
The deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is easy because it's a software as a service, which eliminates the need to deploy anything in our data center. It has improved the verification of value streams by mapping projects to products and demonstrating the total cost of ownership. This automation significantly impacts daily operations by reducing the time spent on manual tasks and improving the quality and delivery time.
Srini-Dhanaraj - PeerSpot reviewer
Manages service requests and dispatches engineers to resolve issues
I work from home for a heater manufacturing company. They wanted to move away from their current SAP CRM system to Salesforce. There is a fulfillment process, which involves taking an order, delivering it, and providing service. Salesforce is used to manage the order-taking process. Once an order is taken, the backend system, SAP ERP, handles product manufacturing, delivery, and installation. After installation, the Service Cloud in Salesforce takes over for ongoing service management. Once your order is confirmed, integration with the SAP ERP backend will be seamless. The system takes the sales order from Salesforce and starts processing it for procurement, starting with creating a production order, manufacturing, and then delivery. Once the product is delivered, this information is passed back to Salesforce Service Cloud. In the Service Cloud, a service engineer receives a notification indicating that a product needs to be delivered to a specific location for installation. The engineer then inspects and installs the product at the designated site. SAP ERP manages the product manufacturing and delivery processes. After the product is delivered to the customer, Salesforce Service Cloud takes over. It manages service requests and dispatches engineers to resolve issues reported by customers. Service Cloud captures the information and creates an incident record when a customer reports a product fault. Engineers receive this information and promptly visit the client site to fix the issue. The solution is easy to implement. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
The most valuable features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM are all the filters and possible reports.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
Microsoft Dynamics CRM needs to be improved in the visibility of add-on costs for end users, which can sometimes be tricky. On the reporting side, while there are various tools for reporting, they ...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
I use Microsoft Dynamics CRM in my day-to-day customer management tasks. Our usual use cases for Microsoft Dynamics CRM include task management and sales.
What do you like most about Salesforce Essentials?
Salesforce provides the best they have with the current version. Most of the features we need are already there, and it's very easy to use.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Essentials?
Salesforce Essentials is very expensive, but it delivers exceptional value. It is a good platform to have if you can afford it because it has numerous add-ons and modules. Anything that Salesforce ...
What needs improvement with Salesforce Essentials?
We use a limited number of automated workflows in Salesforce Essentials. The workflows we implement are designed to make sales teams' lives easier when executing certain tasks. Instead of requiring...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics CRM, MS Dynamics CRM
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Metro Bank, Nissan, Pandora, Delta, Haynes International, City of London, Trek and many more market leaders.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs. Salesforce Essentials and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.