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Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs Zendesk comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2025

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
7.1
Microsoft Dynamics CRM enhances operations and efficiency, outweighing high costs with improved sales, automation, and data collection.
Sentiment score
6.7
Zendesk enhances organizational efficiency and productivity, reducing costs despite licensing fees, with varied but significant financial benefits.
I recommend that those considering Microsoft Dynamics CRM conduct an ROI exercise to determine scalability and complex business needs because it is indeed a fantastic tool, especially if Microsoft can provide a better commercial model, which can significantly impact cost-effectiveness.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.6
Microsoft Dynamics CRM service receives mixed reviews; praised for responsiveness but criticized for delays and varying technical expertise.
Sentiment score
6.3
Zendesk excels in responsiveness and issue resolution, though reliance on documentation may delay human support replies.
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.
The technical support provided by Zendesk has been very satisfactory.
Their support team from Zendesk is excellent, similar to what you have in Freshdesk.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers strong scalability and adaptability, despite challenges with customization and costs, enhancing sales and marketing departments.
Sentiment score
7.4
Zendesk scales well for various team sizes; praised for customization, integration, though challenges include data backup and departmental customization.
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.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is scalable; it's easy to scale, but when customizations become extensive, maintainability can become challenging.
Zendesk can scale from very small companies to very large ones.
The scalability of Zendesk is still in the same range as Freshdesk.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is stable and reliable, handling workloads well, with Azure integration enhancing resilience despite occasional peak load issues.
Sentiment score
7.7
Zendesk is stable and reliable, despite occasional outages, making it ideal for small businesses and startups globally.
I would rate it ten out of ten.
There have been instances where issues with Microsoft Azure have affected Dynamics due to the infrastructure layer.
The stability has been quite reliable.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Dynamics CRM needs better integration, user-friendliness, expanded AI, customization, and cost-effective options for small business adaptability.
Zendesk users face challenges with interface clumsiness, slow performance, customization, integration, and pricing, affecting overall usability and efficiency.
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.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM doesn't provide solutions that allow you to transform easily if you have a heterogeneous mix of technologies or if your contact center is on analog and you try to digitize it.
There could be improvements in integration, which can be achieved with APIs or tools like Zapier.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is considered pricey, with flexible licensing but possible high costs for small to medium businesses.
Zendesk pricing varies, perceived as high, but offers value and flexibility; negotiation advised for larger teams to optimize costs.
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.
Although it is a good tool, it is costly.
It is not the cheapest solution nor the most expensive, but it provides value for money.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers customizable, user-friendly features with seamless Microsoft integration, robust security, and enhances customer management and operational efficiency.
Zendesk offers user-friendly integration, robust features, and valuable tools, enhancing efficiency and streamlining customer support processes effectively.
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.
It allows us to handle more support cases with fewer people due to its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.
The benefits I have seen from using Zendesk include faster response times.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Ranking in CRM Customer Engagement Centers
2nd
Ranking in CRM
1st
Ranking in Sales Force Automation
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
Local Government CRM (1st), Marketing Management (2nd)
Zendesk
Ranking in CRM Customer Engagement Centers
6th
Ranking in CRM
18th
Ranking in Sales Force Automation
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (8th), IT Service Management (ITSM) (7th), Reporting (14th), Knowledge Management Software (4th), Community Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the CRM Customer Engagement Centers category, the mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is 19.8%, down from 25.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zendesk is 6.8%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
CRM Customer Engagement Centers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Dynamics CRM19.8%
Zendesk6.8%
Other73.4%
CRM Customer Engagement Centers
 

Featured Reviews

NavinJacob - PeerSpot reviewer
Has enabled seamless integration across platforms while supporting advanced analytics for customer insights
Microsoft Dynamics CRM doesn't provide solutions that allow you to transform easily if you have a heterogeneous mix of technologies or if your contact center is on analog and you try to digitize it. A lot of custom work is needed if you have to integrate heterogeneous technologies with the Microsoft suite, but if you are using the Microsoft suite, then it's quite seamless. Microsoft Dynamics CRM should add commercial models that allow smaller companies to use it because it can get pretty expensive. Better commercial options for smaller implementations may be helpful. There should be commercial options for smaller companies, as the overheads and costs of Dynamics can be quite high.
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, enhancing our workflows.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
21%
Performing Arts
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise11
 

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 Zendesk Support?
I found the user experience with vendors on Zendesk to be straightforward, especially when it comes to understanding and searching for specific tickets. The search and navigation tools are easy to ...
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 money.
What needs improvement with Zendesk Support?
I'm going to piggyback on what I said regarding Freshdesk concerning what could be better in Zendesk: incorporate more AI. I know many CRM tools are already on the way to do that.
 

Also Known As

Dynamics CRM, MS Dynamics CRM
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.
Mailchimp, Tesco, Vimeo, Instacart, Mediaocean, Slack, Uber
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs. Zendesk and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,655 professionals have used our research since 2012.