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Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs Salesforce Service Cloud vs Zendesk 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Dynamics CRM yields strong ROI through integration, upgrades, improved sales, data insights, but ROI varies by usage.
Sentiment score
7.5
Salesforce Service Cloud offers high ROI with improved service efficiency, though success varies by company size and careful planning is needed.
Sentiment score
7.3
Zendesk offers cost efficiency and improved productivity, with ROI influenced by alignment with operational needs and process integration.
Salesforce Service Cloud requires significant maintenance effort to see ROI.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Dynamics CRM's support is generally satisfactory, but response times vary, and premium support offers better responsiveness.
Sentiment score
7.2
Salesforce Service Cloud offers responsive support, though some recommend premium options due to occasional delays and level one frustrations.
Sentiment score
7.0
Zendesk receives praise for responsiveness and ease of use, but some users desire better chat features and human interaction.
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.
Unless you have premium support, assistance is restricted.
The technical support provided by Zendesk has been very satisfactory.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is scalable and adaptable, popular among medium to large companies, but smaller ones may need customization.
Sentiment score
8.2
Salesforce Service Cloud excels in scalability, integration, and customization, appealing to businesses of various sizes despite governor limits.
Sentiment score
7.5
Zendesk is praised for scalability and customization, although some face initial setup challenges and structural integration issues.
I would give it a ten out of ten for scalability.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is highly scalable, rated at ten, even fifteen out of ten.
Nobody can compete with Salesforce Service Cloud's scalability.
Zendesk can scale from very small companies to very large ones.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is praised for stability and reliability, with minimal issues often due to external factors like network downtime.
Sentiment score
8.2
Salesforce Service Cloud is highly stable and reliable, with swift issue resolution and minimal integration challenges, supporting customizations effectively.
Sentiment score
7.9
Zendesk is stable with minimal downtimes, reliable performance, occasional minor issues, and high reliability ratings, especially for smaller businesses.
I would rate it ten out of ten.
We rarely encounter stability issues with Salesforce Service Cloud, although when they occur, they cause significant disruption.
The stability has been quite reliable.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Dynamics CRM needs better usability, third-party integrations, mobile customization, and enhanced reporting, dashboard, and automation features.
Salesforce Service Cloud users seek enhancements in email integration, UI speed, AI features, pricing, and system integration.
Zendesk faces challenges with data management, flexibility, integration, user-friendliness, and customer communication, while users are dissatisfied with support and pricing.
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.
Salesforce Service Cloud should focus on simplification.
The pricing of Salesforce Service Cloud is expensive compared to other solutions like our current SAP CRM, which is much cheaper.
There could be improvements in integration, which can be achieved with APIs or tools like Zapier.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Dynamics CRM pricing ranges from $50-$115 per user/month, with complexity and customization affecting costs and affordability.
Salesforce Service Cloud offers flexible pricing that can be expensive; negotiation can help optimize costs for enterprises.
Enterprise buyers find Zendesk's pricing high but valuable, with costs varying by agent count and business needs for tailored solutions.
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.
Salesforce Service Cloud is expensive.
The approximate licensing costs for Salesforce Service Cloud are around three hundred dollars a year per user.
It is not the cheapest solution nor the most expensive, but it provides value for money.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers customizable features, seamless Microsoft integration, and robust automation, enhancing efficiency in sales and customer management.
Salesforce Service Cloud excels in integration, automation, and customization, enhancing efficiency and user experience with robust features.
Zendesk offers user-friendly ticket management, seamless integrations, multi-channel support, and robust security for efficient and productive customer service.
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 CRM is very fast, which is the most important aspect, and it's very handy.
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.
Salesforce Service Cloud offers pre-built packages that are best in class.
Salesforce Service Cloud improved our organization with its mobile capabilities.
It allows us to handle more support cases with fewer people due to its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the CRM Customer Engagement Centers category, the mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is 24.7%, down from 25.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Service Cloud is 18.1%, up from 15.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zendesk is 7.1%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Customer Engagement Centers
 

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.
ChanchalSaxena - PeerSpot reviewer
High scalability with good plugins and excellent customer visibility
The solution should improve: 1. Reports & dashboard - The product should be capable of delivering complex reports as per company requirements without the need for a Tableau license. 2. Einstein has limited capabilities, and it suggests the analysis by predefined algorithms - but in a practical scenario, businesses need to ask real-time questions, and AI products should be capable of delivering the exact answers. Generic answers may not be effective.
JohanSkibdahl - PeerSpot reviewer
Automating customer support with advanced AI capabilities and seamless communication
Zendesk has been invaluable in automating communications such as email and phone calls. It allows us to handle more support cases with fewer people due to its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities. This intelligent tool can manage complex queries before users even realize they are interacting with a non-human. Additionally, we have integrated Zendesk with Datto and Klaviyo ( /products/klaviyo-reviews ), enhancing our workflows.
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858,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
9%
Computer Software Company
24%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

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 improvement in simplifying the setup and configuration process, which can be relatively ...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
We use Microsoft Dynamics CRM ( /products/microsoft-dynamics-crm-reviews ) for opportunity management and a tradition...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Service Cloud?
The approximate licensing costs for Salesforce Service Cloud are around three hundred dollars a year per user.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Service Cloud?
The pricing of Salesforce Service Cloud is expensive compared to other solutions like our current SAP CRM ( /products...
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Service Cloud?
I used Salesforce Service Cloud ( /products/salesforce-service-cloud-reviews ) for our sales agents to track visits, ...
What do you like most about Zendesk Support?
I found the user experience with vendors on Zendesk to be straightforward, especially when it comes to understanding ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zendesk Support?
Zendesk's pricing is reasonable. It is not the cheapest solution nor the most expensive, but it provides value for mo...
What needs improvement with Zendesk Support?
There could be improvements in integration, which can be achieved with APIs or tools like Zapier ( /products/zapier-r...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics CRM, MS Dynamics CRM
Service Cloud
Zendesk Support, Zendesk Guide, Zendesk Sell
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Metro Bank, Nissan, Pandora, Delta, Haynes International, City of London, Trek and many more market leaders.
Stanley Black & Decker, Coca-Cola, Activision, Wells Fargo, Spotify, Aldo, Philips, The Red Cross, Blue Shield of California, Sprouts Farmers Market, Direct Energy Solar, Inspirato, Kiva
Mailchimp, Tesco, Vimeo, Instacart, Mediaocean, Slack, Uber
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Salesforce, ServiceNow and others in CRM Customer Engagement Centers. Updated: June 2025.
858,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.