Microsoft Dynamics vs. Salesforce: Comparison 2024 Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Overview
Salesforce’s Sales Hub and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales are similar products that offer most of the CRM features you expect to find in standalone CRM software. We compare these two as the primary CRM offerings from both providers, though other products exist for marketing, customer service and other work management functions.
Salesforce is a highly customizable CRM that teams can configure for almost any business need, while Microsoft Dynamics 365 serves as a centralized place for customer data for teams that already use it.
Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Comparison
In our survey, CRM users cited workflow automation, contact activity tracking and task management as the most important CRM features. We used these insights to guide us as we tested Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365. There are some notable differences between the platforms’ contact and sales pipeline management approaches, but they offer similar sales assistants powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Microsoft Dynamics is also commonly known as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool.
Source: MarketWatch Guides
Features Overview
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 offer very similar feature lists for CRM. However, Salesforce offers more native features for marketing automation. Microsoft Dynamics does not include any email-related features in the Sales product, which puts it at a disadvantage compared to many other CRM platforms. Our Salesforce Review and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Review offer more in-depth analyses of these platforms’ top features.
Salesforce Sales CloudMicrosoft Dynamics 365 SalesMonthly Price Range$20-$500/user$65-$135/userContact Management✅✅Workflow Automation✅✅Lead Management✅✅Lead Scoring✅✅Pipeline Management✅✅Sales Forecasting✅✅Email Marketing Automation✅❌Analytics✅✅AI-Powered Tools✅(Einstein)✅(Copilot AI)Phone Support✅✅Live Chat✅✅ Contact Management
Microsoft Dynamics 356’s contact profiles are well-organized and easy to navigate, following a similar structure to many popular CRM systems. When we tested the platform, the profiles stood out as one of the more user-friendly features. We could add notes and easily edit contact information without searching through settings.
Aside from the contact profiles, Microsoft Dynamics’s approach to the overall contact list is unique. The different Excel-powered charts allowed us to get quick insights into the customer data on the platform. For instance, we could create a drill-down chart of contacts by their city in just a few clicks. While testing the platform, we imagined plenty of use cases for these quick insights and charts.
By comparison, Salesforce keeps its analytics separate from the customer profiles, which is the typical setup for customer data within most CRM platforms. The Salesforce customer profiles display contact information alongside upcoming tasks logged in the platform, related opportunities, deals and any quotes a customer has received. These capabilities make it simple for sales teams to refer to any information they need about a customer.
View of a sample customer profile in Salesforce.
Sales Pipeline Management
Microsoft Dynamics’s approach to the sales pipeline is unique compared to other CRM systems we’ve tested. By default, the platform organizes deals in various charts highlighting the sales funnel stages. Most platforms include a list of open deals or, most often, a Kanban-style view of the different deal stages, with movable deal cards sorted into various boards indicating their status.
This could be a major plus for teams that don’t love a Kanban board. However, for teams looking for streamlined and straightforward opportunity management, it could overcomplicate how team members view the sales process in the platform.
Salesforce’s default configuration for the sales pipeline is a more traditional deal tracking board with the option for a list view. We liked that dragging and dropping the deal cards with automatic deal value calculations at the top of each stage in the pipeline was easy.
Sample view of the Salesforce sales pipeline.
AI-Powered Features
Both Microsoft and Salesforce include AI assistants in their CRM products. Microsoft’s Copilot AI and Salesforce’s Einstein AI are helpful chatbots that users can interact with, similar to ChatGPT. These AI-powered tools also power forecasting, predictive scoring and other advanced features.
Microsoft just rolled out Copilot AI last year, and it is helpful for tasks like generating a summary of an open deal; however, it struggled to understand natural language requests. AI tools across the CRM space are very new, and we expect they will learn and improve over time to help streamline CRM strategies.
Pricing
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce offer similar CRM pricing structures, so comparing their pricing is straightforward. Microsoft’s primary sales product has a lower starting price than Salesforce’s Sales Cloud, and Salesforce has a much more comprehensive price range, with the top Einstein 1 Sales plan costing $500 per user per month.
However, both platforms offer “starter kits” at lower prices with various features across the board. In Salesforce’s case, these are the Starter Suite and Pro Suite, which include top features from the Sales, Marketing and Service Clouds. The Microsoft Dynamics Business Central product is similar, with key features from Dynamics 365 Sales and Service, emphasizing core business functions and finance rather than marketing.
Salesforce Pricing
Our Salesforce Pricing Guide offers a more in-depth look into Salesforce’s pricing structure.
ProductPlanPriceSalesforce Sales CloudProfessional $80/user/month Enterprise $165/user/monthUnlimited$330/user/month Einstein 1 Sales$500/user/month Small Business (Combines Sales, Marketing and Service features) Starter Suite$25/user/monthPro Suite$100/user/month Microsoft Dynamics Pricing ProductPlanPriceMicrosoft Dynamics 365 SalesProfessional $65/user/month Enterprise $95/user/monthPremium$135/user/month Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralEssentials$70/monthPremium$100/month Integrations
Salesforce is difficult to beat when it comes to native integrations, and it’s easy to search for any specific third-party apps you need to connect with the Appexchange marketplace.
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is excellent as part of a Microsoft ecosystem, but connecting it with outside tools is more complicated.Competitor software like Google tools won’t be available, and we were also surprised to see that Zapier integration was not an option for Dynamics 365 in the Microsoft AppSource marketplace. However, both platforms offer an API for developers.
PlatformSalesforce Sales Cloud Microsoft Dynamics 365 SalesGmail✅❌Google Calendar✅❌Mailchimp✅✅Facebook Ads✅✅Zoom✅✅Slack✅✅Sprout Social✅✅Shopify✅✅Stripe✅✅PandaDoc✅✅DocuSign✅✅Five9✅✅Trello✅❌Asana✅❌Zapier✅❌ Customer Support
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 include customer support via live chat and phone. Unlike Microsoft, Salesforce’s advanced support options typically require an upgraded support package. For instance, all Salesforce licenses include the Basic Support package, which consists of the phone and chat options you’d expect. However, for personalized onboarding support or a dedicated Customer Success Manager, teams must choose either the Premier or Enterprise support packages with custom pricing.
Because of this, it can be difficult to estimate your costs if you have specific customer support needs, especially with CRM implementation. Many businesses opt to have outside experts handle implementation and development, another factor to consider in addition to advanced customer support costs.
Who Is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Best For?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes sense for teams that want to use CRM data in the Microsoft products they already use daily. The Dynamics 365 platform integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft software such as Power BI (Business Insights), Outlook and Microsoft Teams. Businesses not already using Microsoft software may find it tricky to connect Microsoft Dynamics 365 to outside apps, which could create challenges with implementation and adoption.
Who Is Salesforce Best For?
Salesforce is best for teams that want complete control over their CRM and are willing to put in the effort for a more intensive implementation process. Salesforce can take time and effort to set up, and it comes with a learning curve, but for teams that can adopt it, it can be a powerhouse CRM tool.
How To Choose a CRM
When we surveyed CRM users, respondents said customization, unique features and customer service were among the most important things they considered when evaluating a potential CRM. We suggest creating a list of the non-negotiable features you know your team needs, which will help you narrow down your list of options. This also enables you to avoid expensive add-ons or higher-tier plans you may not need, keeping things simple and streamlined.
Source: MarketWatch Guides
We also recommend checking if the software has the native integration capabilities you’re looking for or if you’ll need some development support to make the software work with your daily workflow. It’s easy to check for integration capabilities on software providers’ app marketplaces. In this case, you’ll want to check Salesforce AppExchange and Microsoft AppSource.
Beyond this, it’s always a good idea to use free trials to test a product’s ease of use. If you don’t feel your team can handle the learning curve, it’s possible you won’t see as much adoption of the tool.
The Bottom Line
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are powerful CRM software options that can support CRM strategy for businesses of any size. Small businesses and startups should consider solutions like Dynamics 365 Business Central or Salesforce Stater Suite for pared-down feature lists and affordable pricing. Teams looking for a full-service CRM solution should compare Dynamics 365 Sales and the Salesforce Sales Cloud.
After testing these two products, we found that Salesforce stood apart for its integrations and extensive feature set availability. It would work well with other software you may already be using, and its customization options are endless. Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes the most sense if your team already uses other Microsoft software, such as Excel and Teams. It may be a challenge to connect it to outside software, and it’s missing basic marketing automation features for email and other channels.
Frequently Asked Questions Is Microsoft Dynamics or Salesforce better?
Salesforce is better for teams that want full control over their CRM system with many customization options. Microsoft Dynamics is better for current Microsoft users who want to power their work software ecosystem with a central place for organized CRM data.
As for marketing features, Dynamics 365 CRM is missing most marketing functionality. The Salesforce Sales Cloud includes the basics for email and social media marketing automation, and the Marketing Cloud can support even more advanced marketing tasks.
What is the main difference between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics?
The main difference between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 is that Salesforce offers more customization, while Microsoft Dynamics leverages other Microsoft software like Excel and Office 365. Salesforce also provides more seamless integration capabilities with third-party apps.
Who is Salesforce’s biggest competitor?
Salesforce’s biggest competitors are HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics 365, which are big-name comprehensive CRM solutions offering broad feature sets with relatively high pricing.
Who is Microsoft’s biggest competitor?
Microsoft’s biggest CRM competitors are Salesforce and HubSpot, which offer more customization options, user-friendly platforms and nativee marketing features.
Methodology
Customer relationship management (CRM) tools help businesses bring in new customers and nurture current ones. With different businesses come different business goals and CRM needs. So, the MarketWatch Guides team spent over 100 hours evaluating 13 providers to determine who each CRM is best for. We looked at big names, such as Salesforce and monday.com, as well as small providers, including Liondesk and Less Annoying CRM.
We conducted a survey in 2024 of 200 professionals who were currently using CRM or had used CRM within the past year. We analyzed the results of this survey to determine the following rating criteria:
User Experience (15%) Features (30%) Pricing (30%) Customer Support (15%) Reputation and Credibility (10%)
Visit the full CRM methodology page for more details on our rating system.
Why Choose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
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In the rapidly shifting business sector, choosing the right management solution has become a compulsion, as it can make or break your success. However, it is a tough decision owing to the countless options available in the market.
It’s important to select a solution that meets your needs and grows and scales according to your business. This is where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central comes into action. Partnering with a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner can power your business on the road to success. But why should you choose it? So let’s root out the compelling reasons for choosing it.
What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a complete business management solution for small—to medium-sized businesses. It simplifies processes, enhances customer interactions, and empowers data-driven decisions. This cloud-based software merges various functions like finance, sales, service, and operations into a single system, making it easier for you to manage your business efficiently and effectively.
Dynamics 365 Business Central allows you to personalize and extend applications to meet your particular needs. Whether you’re managing your finances, automating supply chains, or enhancing customer experiences, this platform provides the tools you need to thrive in the competitive market.
Advantages of Choosing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Let’s take a look at the multitude of advantages offered by Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Comprehensive Business Management
One of the exceptional features of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is its ability to provide a comprehensive view of your business. Integrating various business processes ensures that every department is working towards achieving the same goals. This approach boosts efficiency and also reduces the risks of errors and miscommunications.
Scalability
Your business requirements expand and grow with your business. Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed to scale accordingly. Whether expanding your product line, entering new markets, or increasing your workforce, this platform is highly flexible and can adapt to your changing requirements. You won’t need to switch to a new system as you grow; instead, you can build on what you already have.
Real-Time Insights
In today’s rapid business environment, having access to real-time data is vital for quick response to market changes. Dynamics 365 Business Central provides up-to-date insights into your business performance, allowing you to make intelligent decisions proactively. This real-time visibility strengthens your business by enabling you to identify trends, spot potential issues, and capitalize on new opportunities.
Seamless Integration with Microsoft Products
Since Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a Microsoft product, it integrates easily with other Microsoft tools like Office 365, Power BI, and Azure. This integration boosts productivity by enabling users to work in a familiar environment. However it is highly recommended to partner with a microsoft dynamics 365 business central partner as it ensures that you get the a smooth and seamless integration.
This integration of Microsoft products reaps immense benefits, for instance, you can export financial reports directly to Excel for further analysis or use Power BI to create interactive dashboards that provide valuable information regarding your business data.
Improved Customer Service
Customer satisfaction is fundamental to business success, and Dynamics 365 Business Central helps you achieve this by providing tools to manage your customer interactions effectively. From tracking sales and service requests to managing customer preferences and purchase history, you can ensure that your customers receive the best service. This enhanced customer relationship management (CRM) can lead to higher customer retention rates and increased sales.
How Can It Benefit Your Business?
Now, despite its numerous benefits, how can Dynamics 365 Business Central specifically benefit your business? Let’s find out how this is possible.
Streamlined Operations
Dynamics 365 Business Central acts like an umbrella. It brings all your business processes under one roof, simplifies operations, and reduces administrative costs. For example, you can automate routine tasks like invoicing and payroll, freeing up your time to focus on long-term goals. This not only boosts efficiency but also reduces operational costs.
Enhanced Decision-Making
With the help of powerful real-time data analytics tools, you can make better and prompt decisions. Whether you’re evaluating a marketing campaign’s performance, assessing your business’s financial health, or planning your next product launch, Dynamics 365 Business Central provides the insights you need to make intelligent choices. This data-driven approach can give you a competitive edge in your industry.
Cost Savings
Implementing an all-in-one business management solution like Dynamics 365 Business Central can lead to massive cost savings. By minimizing the need for multiple disparate systems, you reduce software licensing costs, lower IT maintenance expenses, and minimize the risk of errors. Moreover, since it is a cloud-based platform, it implies that you can save the upfront costs associated with traditional on-premise solutions.
Better Financial Management
Financial management is crucial for every business, and Dynamics 365 Business Central excels in this area. It provides accurate and efficient financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting tools that help you manage your finances. You can easily track expenses, manage cash flow, and ensure compliance with accounting standards. For example, renowned organizations like Fender have successfully organized their financial processes using Dynamics 365 Business Central, improving financial transparency and control.
Real-World Examples and Statistics
Many businesses worldwide have benefited immensely from implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. A salient example is Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world. It successfully implemented Dynamics 365 to improve its operational efficiency and passenger experience. By integrating various systems and processes, Heathrow was able to minimize delays and build customer satisfaction.
Another remarkable example is Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, which used Dynamics 365 Business Central to simplify its supply chain and stock management. This enabled the organization to ensure a steady supply of blood and blood products to hospitals across Australia, ultimately saving more lives.
According to a study by Nucleus Research, businesses that use Dynamics 365 Business Central achieve an average ROI of 162% within three years. This figure highlights the apparent advantages this platform may offer to your business.
Leveraging Expert Support
Partnering with a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner is essential to fully utilize the power of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. These experts offer unparalleled support, from initial setup and customization to ongoing maintenance and training. Their expertise ensures that you get the most out of your investment, allowing you to focus on your core business activities without worrying about the technical aspects of the platform.
A Global Success Story
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central’s flexibility and efficiency have made it a global success. For example, BoConcept, a Danish furniture retailer, implemented Dynamics 365 Business Central to combine its sales, logistics, and financial processes across more than 60 countries. This integration enabled BoConcept to maintain consistency in its operations and customer service worldwide, contributing to its growth and reputation as a leading furniture brand.
Conclusion
In conclusion, choosing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can refine and remodel your business. Its comprehensive features, scalability, real-time insights, easy integration with other Microsoft products, and improved customer service make it a superb choice. By organizing operations, facilitating intelligent decision-making, cutting costs, and improving financial management it offers uncountable benefits that can help you stay ahead in a competitive market.
Partnering with a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner guarantees that you get the most out of this powerful platform. Whether you’re a small business looking to scale or a medium-sized enterprise aiming to optimize operations, Dynamics 365 Business Central provides the tools and support you need for success.
Make the smart choice today and uplift your business to new heights with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central at your side!
Why Choose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Share
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In the rapidly shifting business sector, choosing the right management solution has become a compulsion, as it can make or break your success. However, it is a tough decision owing to the countless options available in the market.
It’s important to select a solution that meets your needs and grows and scales according to your business. This is where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central comes into action. Partnering with a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner can power your business on the road to success. But why should you choose it? So let’s root out the compelling reasons for choosing it.
What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a complete business management solution for small—to medium-sized businesses. It simplifies processes, enhances customer interactions, and empowers data-driven decisions. This cloud-based software merges various functions like finance, sales, service, and operations into a single system, making it easier for you to manage your business efficiently and effectively.
Dynamics 365 Business Central allows you to personalize and extend applications to meet your particular needs. Whether you’re managing your finances, automating supply chains, or enhancing customer experiences, this platform provides the tools you need to thrive in the competitive market.
Advantages of Choosing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Let’s take a look at the multitude of advantages offered by Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Comprehensive Business Management
One of the exceptional features of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is its ability to provide a comprehensive view of your business. Integrating various business processes ensures that every department is working towards achieving the same goals. This approach boosts efficiency and also reduces the risks of errors and miscommunications.
Scalability
Your business requirements expand and grow with your business. Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed to scale accordingly. Whether expanding your product line, entering new markets, or increasing your workforce, this platform is highly flexible and can adapt to your changing requirements. You won’t need to switch to a new system as you grow; instead, you can build on what you already have.
Real-Time Insights
In today’s rapid business environment, having access to real-time data is vital for quick response to market changes. Dynamics 365 Business Central provides up-to-date insights into your business performance, allowing you to make intelligent decisions proactively. This real-time visibility strengthens your business by enabling you to identify trends, spot potential issues, and capitalize on new opportunities.
Seamless Integration with Microsoft Products
Since Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a Microsoft product, it integrates easily with other Microsoft tools like Office 365, Power BI, and Azure. This integration boosts productivity by enabling users to work in a familiar environment. However it is highly recommended to partner with a microsoft dynamics 365 business central partner as it ensures that you get the a smooth and seamless integration.
This integration of Microsoft products reaps immense benefits, for instance, you can export financial reports directly to Excel for further analysis or use Power BI to create interactive dashboards that provide valuable information regarding your business data.
Improved Customer Service
Customer satisfaction is fundamental to business success, and Dynamics 365 Business Central helps you achieve this by providing tools to manage your customer interactions effectively. From tracking sales and service requests to managing customer preferences and purchase history, you can ensure that your customers receive the best service. This enhanced customer relationship management (CRM) can lead to higher customer retention rates and increased sales.
How Can It Benefit Your Business?
Now, despite its numerous benefits, how can Dynamics 365 Business Central specifically benefit your business? Let’s find out how this is possible.
Streamlined Operations
Dynamics 365 Business Central acts like an umbrella. It brings all your business processes under one roof, simplifies operations, and reduces administrative costs. For example, you can automate routine tasks like invoicing and payroll, freeing up your time to focus on long-term goals. This not only boosts efficiency but also reduces operational costs.
Enhanced Decision-Making
With the help of powerful real-time data analytics tools, you can make better and prompt decisions. Whether you’re evaluating a marketing campaign’s performance, assessing your business’s financial health, or planning your next product launch, Dynamics 365 Business Central provides the insights you need to make intelligent choices. This data-driven approach can give you a competitive edge in your industry.
Cost Savings
Implementing an all-in-one business management solution like Dynamics 365 Business Central can lead to massive cost savings. By minimizing the need for multiple disparate systems, you reduce software licensing costs, lower IT maintenance expenses, and minimize the risk of errors. Moreover, since it is a cloud-based platform, it implies that you can save the upfront costs associated with traditional on-premise solutions.
Better Financial Management
Financial management is crucial for every business, and Dynamics 365 Business Central excels in this area. It provides accurate and efficient financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting tools that help you manage your finances. You can easily track expenses, manage cash flow, and ensure compliance with accounting standards. For example, renowned organizations like Fender have successfully organized their financial processes using Dynamics 365 Business Central, improving financial transparency and control.
Real-World Examples and Statistics
Many businesses worldwide have benefited immensely from implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. A salient example is Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world. It successfully implemented Dynamics 365 to improve its operational efficiency and passenger experience. By integrating various systems and processes, Heathrow was able to minimize delays and build customer satisfaction.
Another remarkable example is Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, which used Dynamics 365 Business Central to simplify its supply chain and stock management. This enabled the organization to ensure a steady supply of blood and blood products to hospitals across Australia, ultimately saving more lives.
According to a study by Nucleus Research, businesses that use Dynamics 365 Business Central achieve an average ROI of 162% within three years. This figure highlights the apparent advantages this platform may offer to your business.
Leveraging Expert Support
Partnering with a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner is essential to fully utilize the power of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. These experts offer unparalleled support, from initial setup and customization to ongoing maintenance and training. Their expertise ensures that you get the most out of your investment, allowing you to focus on your core business activities without worrying about the technical aspects of the platform.
A Global Success Story
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central’s flexibility and efficiency have made it a global success. For example, BoConcept, a Danish furniture retailer, implemented Dynamics 365 Business Central to combine its sales, logistics, and financial processes across more than 60 countries. This integration enabled BoConcept to maintain consistency in its operations and customer service worldwide, contributing to its growth and reputation as a leading furniture brand.
Conclusion
In conclusion, choosing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can refine and remodel your business. Its comprehensive features, scalability, real-time insights, easy integration with other Microsoft products, and improved customer service make it a superb choice. By organizing operations, facilitating intelligent decision-making, cutting costs, and improving financial management it offers uncountable benefits that can help you stay ahead in a competitive market.
Partnering with a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner guarantees that you get the most out of this powerful platform. Whether you’re a small business looking to scale or a medium-sized enterprise aiming to optimize operations, Dynamics 365 Business Central provides the tools and support you need for success.
Make the smart choice today and uplift your business to new heights with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central at your side!
Microsoft announces Power BI Premium
Microsoft is expanding its business analytics and intelligence portfolio with the announcement of Power BI Premium. Power BI Premium is an extension of the company’s Power BI solution that provides improved performance for larger data volumes.
“Power BI was first made generally available in July 2015. Since then, Microsoft’s driving vision for Power BI has been to enable users across roles, disciplines and industries to sign up for the service in seconds and get business value by drawing insights from their data within minutes,” Kamal Hathi, general manager at Microsoft, wrote in a post. “Power BI Premium builds on the existing Power BI portfolio with a capacity-based licensing model that increases flexibility for how users access, share and distribute content.”
The new solution features expanded licensing flexibility, improved scale and performance, Power BI apps, extends on-premises capabilities, and provides embedded analytics. The solution also provides the Power BI Reporter Server, an on-premises solution for reporting.
In addition, the company announced it is improving the free Power BI service. Going forward, the service will provide the same functionality of Power BI Pro, but with limitations to sharing and collaboration features. Users will now be able to take advantage of the data sources, workspace storage limits, and higher refresh and streaming rates.
“Just as Power BI Premium simplifies large-scale BI deployments, today we’re also simplifying the distinction between Power BI Pro and the free service. While the free service is intended for personal use and Power BI Pro enables collaboration, we’ve received feedback that functional differences between them have created confusion for users,” Hathi wrote.
More information about Power BI Premium is available here.
Microsoft Dynamics vs. Salesforce: Comparison 2024 Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Overview
Salesforce’s Sales Hub and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales are similar products that offer most of the CRM features you expect to find in standalone CRM software. We compare these two as the primary CRM offerings from both providers, though other products exist for marketing, customer service and other work management functions.
Salesforce is a highly customizable CRM that teams can configure for almost any business need, while Microsoft Dynamics 365 serves as a centralized place for customer data for teams that already use it.
Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Comparison
In our survey, CRM users cited workflow automation, contact activity tracking and task management as the most important CRM features. We used these insights to guide us as we tested Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365. There are some notable differences between the platforms’ contact and sales pipeline management approaches, but they offer similar sales assistants powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Microsoft Dynamics is also commonly known as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool.
Source: MarketWatch Guides
Features Overview
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 offer very similar feature lists for CRM. However, Salesforce offers more native features for marketing automation. Microsoft Dynamics does not include any email-related features in the Sales product, which puts it at a disadvantage compared to many other CRM platforms. Our Salesforce Review and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Review offer more in-depth analyses of these platforms’ top features.
Salesforce Sales CloudMicrosoft Dynamics 365 SalesMonthly Price Range$20-$500/user$65-$135/userContact Management✅✅Workflow Automation✅✅Lead Management✅✅Lead Scoring✅✅Pipeline Management✅✅Sales Forecasting✅✅Email Marketing Automation✅❌Analytics✅✅AI-Powered Tools✅(Einstein)✅(Copilot AI)Phone Support✅✅Live Chat✅✅ Contact Management
Microsoft Dynamics 356’s contact profiles are well-organized and easy to navigate, following a similar structure to many popular CRM systems. When we tested the platform, the profiles stood out as one of the more user-friendly features. We could add notes and easily edit contact information without searching through settings.
Aside from the contact profiles, Microsoft Dynamics’s approach to the overall contact list is unique. The different Excel-powered charts allowed us to get quick insights into the customer data on the platform. For instance, we could create a drill-down chart of contacts by their city in just a few clicks. While testing the platform, we imagined plenty of use cases for these quick insights and charts.
By comparison, Salesforce keeps its analytics separate from the customer profiles, which is the typical setup for customer data within most CRM platforms. The Salesforce customer profiles display contact information alongside upcoming tasks logged in the platform, related opportunities, deals and any quotes a customer has received. These capabilities make it simple for sales teams to refer to any information they need about a customer.
View of a sample customer profile in Salesforce.
Sales Pipeline Management
Microsoft Dynamics’s approach to the sales pipeline is unique compared to other CRM systems we’ve tested. By default, the platform organizes deals in various charts highlighting the sales funnel stages. Most platforms include a list of open deals or, most often, a Kanban-style view of the different deal stages, with movable deal cards sorted into various boards indicating their status.
This could be a major plus for teams that don’t love a Kanban board. However, for teams looking for streamlined and straightforward opportunity management, it could overcomplicate how team members view the sales process in the platform.
Salesforce’s default configuration for the sales pipeline is a more traditional deal tracking board with the option for a list view. We liked that dragging and dropping the deal cards with automatic deal value calculations at the top of each stage in the pipeline was easy.
Sample view of the Salesforce sales pipeline.
AI-Powered Features
Both Microsoft and Salesforce include AI assistants in their CRM products. Microsoft’s Copilot AI and Salesforce’s Einstein AI are helpful chatbots that users can interact with, similar to ChatGPT. These AI-powered tools also power forecasting, predictive scoring and other advanced features.
Microsoft just rolled out Copilot AI last year, and it is helpful for tasks like generating a summary of an open deal; however, it struggled to understand natural language requests. AI tools across the CRM space are very new, and we expect they will learn and improve over time to help streamline CRM strategies.
Pricing
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce offer similar CRM pricing structures, so comparing their pricing is straightforward. Microsoft’s primary sales product has a lower starting price than Salesforce’s Sales Cloud, and Salesforce has a much more comprehensive price range, with the top Einstein 1 Sales plan costing $500 per user per month.
However, both platforms offer “starter kits” at lower prices with various features across the board. In Salesforce’s case, these are the Starter Suite and Pro Suite, which include top features from the Sales, Marketing and Service Clouds. The Microsoft Dynamics Business Central product is similar, with key features from Dynamics 365 Sales and Service, emphasizing core business functions and finance rather than marketing.
Salesforce Pricing
Our Salesforce Pricing Guide offers a more in-depth look into Salesforce’s pricing structure.
ProductPlanPriceSalesforce Sales CloudProfessional $80/user/month Enterprise $165/user/monthUnlimited$330/user/month Einstein 1 Sales$500/user/month Small Business (Combines Sales, Marketing and Service features) Starter Suite$25/user/monthPro Suite$100/user/month Microsoft Dynamics Pricing ProductPlanPriceMicrosoft Dynamics 365 SalesProfessional $65/user/month Enterprise $95/user/monthPremium$135/user/month Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralEssentials$70/monthPremium$100/month Integrations
Salesforce is difficult to beat when it comes to native integrations, and it’s easy to search for any specific third-party apps you need to connect with the Appexchange marketplace.
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is excellent as part of a Microsoft ecosystem, but connecting it with outside tools is more complicated.Competitor software like Google tools won’t be available, and we were also surprised to see that Zapier integration was not an option for Dynamics 365 in the Microsoft AppSource marketplace. However, both platforms offer an API for developers.
PlatformSalesforce Sales Cloud Microsoft Dynamics 365 SalesGmail✅❌Google Calendar✅❌Mailchimp✅✅Facebook Ads✅✅Zoom✅✅Slack✅✅Sprout Social✅✅Shopify✅✅Stripe✅✅PandaDoc✅✅DocuSign✅✅Five9✅✅Trello✅❌Asana✅❌Zapier✅❌ Customer Support
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 include customer support via live chat and phone. Unlike Microsoft, Salesforce’s advanced support options typically require an upgraded support package. For instance, all Salesforce licenses include the Basic Support package, which consists of the phone and chat options you’d expect. However, for personalized onboarding support or a dedicated Customer Success Manager, teams must choose either the Premier or Enterprise support packages with custom pricing.
Because of this, it can be difficult to estimate your costs if you have specific customer support needs, especially with CRM implementation. Many businesses opt to have outside experts handle implementation and development, another factor to consider in addition to advanced customer support costs.
Who Is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Best For?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes sense for teams that want to use CRM data in the Microsoft products they already use daily. The Dynamics 365 platform integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft software such as Power BI (Business Insights), Outlook and Microsoft Teams. Businesses not already using Microsoft software may find it tricky to connect Microsoft Dynamics 365 to outside apps, which could create challenges with implementation and adoption.
Who Is Salesforce Best For?
Salesforce is best for teams that want complete control over their CRM and are willing to put in the effort for a more intensive implementation process. Salesforce can take time and effort to set up, and it comes with a learning curve, but for teams that can adopt it, it can be a powerhouse CRM tool.
How To Choose a CRM
When we surveyed CRM users, respondents said customization, unique features and customer service were among the most important things they considered when evaluating a potential CRM. We suggest creating a list of the non-negotiable features you know your team needs, which will help you narrow down your list of options. This also enables you to avoid expensive add-ons or higher-tier plans you may not need, keeping things simple and streamlined.
Source: MarketWatch Guides
We also recommend checking if the software has the native integration capabilities you’re looking for or if you’ll need some development support to make the software work with your daily workflow. It’s easy to check for integration capabilities on software providers’ app marketplaces. In this case, you’ll want to check Salesforce AppExchange and Microsoft AppSource.
Beyond this, it’s always a good idea to use free trials to test a product’s ease of use. If you don’t feel your team can handle the learning curve, it’s possible you won’t see as much adoption of the tool.
The Bottom Line
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are powerful CRM software options that can support CRM strategy for businesses of any size. Small businesses and startups should consider solutions like Dynamics 365 Business Central or Salesforce Stater Suite for pared-down feature lists and affordable pricing. Teams looking for a full-service CRM solution should compare Dynamics 365 Sales and the Salesforce Sales Cloud.
After testing these two products, we found that Salesforce stood apart for its integrations and extensive feature set availability. It would work well with other software you may already be using, and its customization options are endless. Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes the most sense if your team already uses other Microsoft software, such as Excel and Teams. It may be a challenge to connect it to outside software, and it’s missing basic marketing automation features for email and other channels.
Frequently Asked Questions Is Microsoft Dynamics or Salesforce better?
Salesforce is better for teams that want full control over their CRM system with many customization options. Microsoft Dynamics is better for current Microsoft users who want to power their work software ecosystem with a central place for organized CRM data.
As for marketing features, Dynamics 365 CRM is missing most marketing functionality. The Salesforce Sales Cloud includes the basics for email and social media marketing automation, and the Marketing Cloud can support even more advanced marketing tasks.
What is the main difference between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics?
The main difference between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 is that Salesforce offers more customization, while Microsoft Dynamics leverages other Microsoft software like Excel and Office 365. Salesforce also provides more seamless integration capabilities with third-party apps.
Who is Salesforce’s biggest competitor?
Salesforce’s biggest competitors are HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics 365, which are big-name comprehensive CRM solutions offering broad feature sets with relatively high pricing.
Who is Microsoft’s biggest competitor?
Microsoft’s biggest CRM competitors are Salesforce and HubSpot, which offer more customization options, user-friendly platforms and nativee marketing features.
Methodology
Customer relationship management (CRM) tools help businesses bring in new customers and nurture current ones. With different businesses come different business goals and CRM needs. So, the MarketWatch Guides team spent over 100 hours evaluating 13 providers to determine who each CRM is best for. We looked at big names, such as Salesforce and monday.com, as well as small providers, including Liondesk and Less Annoying CRM.
We conducted a survey in 2024 of 200 professionals who were currently using CRM or had used CRM within the past year. We analyzed the results of this survey to determine the following rating criteria:
User Experience (15%) Features (30%) Pricing (30%) Customer Support (15%) Reputation and Credibility (10%)
Visit the full CRM methodology page for more details on our rating system.
Why enterprise CIOs need to plan for Microsoft gen AI
Enterprises with strong experience in open source may look to open foundation models as an option to reduce costs, but Curran cautions against equating open weight models with the more familiar open source ecosystem. He predicts enterprises will adopt them though, including using them in curated environments provided like Azure.
“I’ve seen a lot of interest in the open source models, but not many in production,” says Boyd, although customers are starting to use small models like Microsoft’s own Phi series. “But it’s largely early days. I haven’t seen mass adoption.”
Beyond simplifying setting up and running open weight models, using them on a platform like Azure has an added benefit: Microsoft’s model content safety service is “on and integrated by default with Azure Open AI Services, but it’s also on by default with all our open source models as well,” he adds.
After the excitement and experimentation of last year, CIOs are more deliberate about how they implement gen AI, making familiar ROI decisions, and often starting with customer support. “It’s a cost most organizations have but don’t like paying for, yet they still want to provide a quality experience,” he says. Reduced call times and escalations are obvious benefits as well.
These more vertical, task specific, integrated gen AI offerings may contribute more than generalist productivity copilots because people won’t need to find uses and then remember to include them in their workflow. But the most popular copilots can perform strongly: Virgin Atlantic, for instance, reports efficiency gains of 14 minutes per day.
But not all copilots necessarily provide the same value. Curran suggests security copilots may not provide significant extra value on top of existing tools in Microsoft Defender, at least without extra training. But the Excel Copilot was a surprise hit at Virgin Atlantic. “People absolutely love that Copilot will automatically tell you if you have data inconsistencies in the way you’re filling out forms,” says Walker. He describes how Copilot can warn if, say, you’re adding a duplicate filter in lower case instead of upper case, and fix it. “It’s like having someone look over your shoulder as you’re doing it.”
The Teams Copilot to summarize meetings and provide next steps is almost universally popular, too. “You get into a room with 15 people and you’re not focusing on who’s taking the minutes or whether you need to be clear enough in allocation and make sure everyone understands what the output is,” says Walker. “You’re focusing on the meeting itself, and you’re more present in the room because you know Copilot is behind you recording and transcribing.”
Even this pre-built Copilot needs preparation before enabling. Multilingual organizations where staff speak in both their native languages and a common language like English or Mandarin will need to monitor quality of transcriptions and translations more carefully. And if recording meetings isn’t already common in the organization, CIOs need to consult with legal and data protection teams on retention, auditing, and deletion policies because of potential issues around discovery.
A data leakage plan helps here too. “As soon as you record something, it becomes a form of data and needs classification and a place in the organization,” Walker says. “But equally, you need to know whether it’s appropriate to create that data in the first place.”
While CIOs need to maintain financial discipline and track usage of gen APIs with the now familiar ‘pay as you go’ model, especially with September budgeting season looming, they also need to play a long game warns Mickey North Rizza, group VP, Enterprise Software at IDC. “It’s going to cost you a lot of money,” she says. “CIOs may complain they’re not getting enough out of it, but the first time you got an iPhone, nobody knew what to do with it.”
Whether used as an assistant, advisor, or an agent, she expects gen AI’s optimized access to information to reduce multi-step business processes to real-time systems with far fewer steps. But experimentation to achieve significant results takes time.
In the meantime, Boyd notes, OpenAI prices have significantly reduced. “In the year and a half since Azure OpenAI Services has been available, ChatGPT 4 has fallen by 12 times while being six times faster,” he says.
Phased deployments aren’t just about cost, security, or compliance concerns, but capturing the right feedback to manage them well and support users properly. Training is key, even when considering gen AI skills in hiring, as is being willing to accept the simplified processes gen AI can produce. Troublingly, there’s a considerable disconnect between what leaders think their employees are ready for with gen AI and what staff feel prepared for.
Forrester found 59% of leaders believe they’ve given staff sufficient training, but only 45% of employees say they’ve had any formal training. The most successful training covers not just staff roles but their workflows. There’s enormous enthusiasm for gen AI but engagement quickly drops off if they don’t have the time to explore it and learn how to get useful results for their work, Wong says.
“If you don’t use the technology to fundamentally rethink processes, and you just layer more AI work over existing processes, you don’t get the best benefit out of it,” he says. “You have to rethink the underlying processes, and have training and ongoing education because these technologies are moving very quickly. The paradox is employees still want it despite the fact it’s hard for them to ingrain generative AI into their work routines, and that in some cases it’s underwhelming based on their expectations.”
CIOs may then want to consider how organizations adopt low code tools, where encouraging bottom up enthusiasm, experimentation, and sharing of growing expertise helps spread usage across the business. Both Microsoft and Virgin Atlantic report good results from structured training that includes time to experiment. Walker refers to “guided play sessions” and users were encouraged to share what worked with their peers. “They can go out as trusted users into the environment and say to people this isn’t scary,” he says.
CIOs should also remember gen AI is just one of many changes organizations are asking staff to absorb. The rate of change enterprise workers are expected to adapt to is up to three times what it was in 2010, Curran warns. “Businesses have not increased their ability to support those changes with the same speed,” he says. Adding resources to support employees through these changes will be as important for succeeding with gen AI as getting the technology right.
That includes IT teams themselves, who need to prepare for gen AI to continue developing at this speed. Vladimirskiy passes on Microsoft’s advice to software partners creating their own gen AI products. “Everyone should have the expectation that by the time you build something, you’re going to have to scrap it and start again,” he says. “The value for companies is maybe not so much the outcome of the product they’re building, but the creation of the expertise within the organization, to be able to leverage it in the future when AI becomes much more capable than it is today.”
Microsoft Dynamics vs. Salesforce: Comparison 2024 Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Overview
Salesforce’s Sales Hub and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales are similar products that offer most of the CRM features you expect to find in standalone CRM software. We compare these two as the primary CRM offerings from both providers, though other products exist for marketing, customer service and other work management functions.
Salesforce is a highly customizable CRM that teams can configure for almost any business need, while Microsoft Dynamics 365 serves as a centralized place for customer data for teams that already use it.
Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Comparison
In our survey, CRM users cited workflow automation, contact activity tracking and task management as the most important CRM features. We used these insights to guide us as we tested Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365. There are some notable differences between the platforms’ contact and sales pipeline management approaches, but they offer similar sales assistants powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Microsoft Dynamics is also commonly known as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool.
Source: MarketWatch Guides
Features Overview
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 offer very similar feature lists for CRM. However, Salesforce offers more native features for marketing automation. Microsoft Dynamics does not include any email-related features in the Sales product, which puts it at a disadvantage compared to many other CRM platforms. Our Salesforce Review and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Review offer more in-depth analyses of these platforms’ top features.
Salesforce Sales CloudMicrosoft Dynamics 365 SalesMonthly Price Range$20-$500/user$65-$135/userContact Management✅✅Workflow Automation✅✅Lead Management✅✅Lead Scoring✅✅Pipeline Management✅✅Sales Forecasting✅✅Email Marketing Automation✅❌Analytics✅✅AI-Powered Tools✅(Einstein)✅(Copilot AI)Phone Support✅✅Live Chat✅✅ Contact Management
Microsoft Dynamics 356’s contact profiles are well-organized and easy to navigate, following a similar structure to many popular CRM systems. When we tested the platform, the profiles stood out as one of the more user-friendly features. We could add notes and easily edit contact information without searching through settings.
Aside from the contact profiles, Microsoft Dynamics’s approach to the overall contact list is unique. The different Excel-powered charts allowed us to get quick insights into the customer data on the platform. For instance, we could create a drill-down chart of contacts by their city in just a few clicks. While testing the platform, we imagined plenty of use cases for these quick insights and charts.
By comparison, Salesforce keeps its analytics separate from the customer profiles, which is the typical setup for customer data within most CRM platforms. The Salesforce customer profiles display contact information alongside upcoming tasks logged in the platform, related opportunities, deals and any quotes a customer has received. These capabilities make it simple for sales teams to refer to any information they need about a customer.
View of a sample customer profile in Salesforce.
Sales Pipeline Management
Microsoft Dynamics’s approach to the sales pipeline is unique compared to other CRM systems we’ve tested. By default, the platform organizes deals in various charts highlighting the sales funnel stages. Most platforms include a list of open deals or, most often, a Kanban-style view of the different deal stages, with movable deal cards sorted into various boards indicating their status.
This could be a major plus for teams that don’t love a Kanban board. However, for teams looking for streamlined and straightforward opportunity management, it could overcomplicate how team members view the sales process in the platform.
Salesforce’s default configuration for the sales pipeline is a more traditional deal tracking board with the option for a list view. We liked that dragging and dropping the deal cards with automatic deal value calculations at the top of each stage in the pipeline was easy.
Sample view of the Salesforce sales pipeline.
AI-Powered Features
Both Microsoft and Salesforce include AI assistants in their CRM products. Microsoft’s Copilot AI and Salesforce’s Einstein AI are helpful chatbots that users can interact with, similar to ChatGPT. These AI-powered tools also power forecasting, predictive scoring and other advanced features.
Microsoft just rolled out Copilot AI last year, and it is helpful for tasks like generating a summary of an open deal; however, it struggled to understand natural language requests. AI tools across the CRM space are very new, and we expect they will learn and improve over time to help streamline CRM strategies.
Pricing
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce offer similar CRM pricing structures, so comparing their pricing is straightforward. Microsoft’s primary sales product has a lower starting price than Salesforce’s Sales Cloud, and Salesforce has a much more comprehensive price range, with the top Einstein 1 Sales plan costing $500 per user per month.
However, both platforms offer “starter kits” at lower prices with various features across the board. In Salesforce’s case, these are the Starter Suite and Pro Suite, which include top features from the Sales, Marketing and Service Clouds. The Microsoft Dynamics Business Central product is similar, with key features from Dynamics 365 Sales and Service, emphasizing core business functions and finance rather than marketing.
Salesforce Pricing
Our Salesforce Pricing Guide offers a more in-depth look into Salesforce’s pricing structure.
ProductPlanPriceSalesforce Sales CloudProfessional $80/user/month Enterprise $165/user/monthUnlimited$330/user/month Einstein 1 Sales$500/user/month Small Business (Combines Sales, Marketing and Service features) Starter Suite$25/user/monthPro Suite$100/user/month Microsoft Dynamics Pricing ProductPlanPriceMicrosoft Dynamics 365 SalesProfessional $65/user/month Enterprise $95/user/monthPremium$135/user/month Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralEssentials$70/monthPremium$100/month Integrations
Salesforce is difficult to beat when it comes to native integrations, and it’s easy to search for any specific third-party apps you need to connect with the Appexchange marketplace.
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is excellent as part of a Microsoft ecosystem, but connecting it with outside tools is more complicated.Competitor software like Google tools won’t be available, and we were also surprised to see that Zapier integration was not an option for Dynamics 365 in the Microsoft AppSource marketplace. However, both platforms offer an API for developers.
PlatformSalesforce Sales Cloud Microsoft Dynamics 365 SalesGmail✅❌Google Calendar✅❌Mailchimp✅✅Facebook Ads✅✅Zoom✅✅Slack✅✅Sprout Social✅✅Shopify✅✅Stripe✅✅PandaDoc✅✅DocuSign✅✅Five9✅✅Trello✅❌Asana✅❌Zapier✅❌ Customer Support
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 include customer support via live chat and phone. Unlike Microsoft, Salesforce’s advanced support options typically require an upgraded support package. For instance, all Salesforce licenses include the Basic Support package, which consists of the phone and chat options you’d expect. However, for personalized onboarding support or a dedicated Customer Success Manager, teams must choose either the Premier or Enterprise support packages with custom pricing.
Because of this, it can be difficult to estimate your costs if you have specific customer support needs, especially with CRM implementation. Many businesses opt to have outside experts handle implementation and development, another factor to consider in addition to advanced customer support costs.
Who Is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Best For?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes sense for teams that want to use CRM data in the Microsoft products they already use daily. The Dynamics 365 platform integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft software such as Power BI (Business Insights), Outlook and Microsoft Teams. Businesses not already using Microsoft software may find it tricky to connect Microsoft Dynamics 365 to outside apps, which could create challenges with implementation and adoption.
Who Is Salesforce Best For?
Salesforce is best for teams that want complete control over their CRM and are willing to put in the effort for a more intensive implementation process. Salesforce can take time and effort to set up, and it comes with a learning curve, but for teams that can adopt it, it can be a powerhouse CRM tool.
How To Choose a CRM
When we surveyed CRM users, respondents said customization, unique features and customer service were among the most important things they considered when evaluating a potential CRM. We suggest creating a list of the non-negotiable features you know your team needs, which will help you narrow down your list of options. This also enables you to avoid expensive add-ons or higher-tier plans you may not need, keeping things simple and streamlined.
Source: MarketWatch Guides
We also recommend checking if the software has the native integration capabilities you’re looking for or if you’ll need some development support to make the software work with your daily workflow. It’s easy to check for integration capabilities on software providers’ app marketplaces. In this case, you’ll want to check Salesforce AppExchange and Microsoft AppSource.
Beyond this, it’s always a good idea to use free trials to test a product’s ease of use. If you don’t feel your team can handle the learning curve, it’s possible you won’t see as much adoption of the tool.
The Bottom Line
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are powerful CRM software options that can support CRM strategy for businesses of any size. Small businesses and startups should consider solutions like Dynamics 365 Business Central or Salesforce Stater Suite for pared-down feature lists and affordable pricing. Teams looking for a full-service CRM solution should compare Dynamics 365 Sales and the Salesforce Sales Cloud.
After testing these two products, we found that Salesforce stood apart for its integrations and extensive feature set availability. It would work well with other software you may already be using, and its customization options are endless. Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes the most sense if your team already uses other Microsoft software, such as Excel and Teams. It may be a challenge to connect it to outside software, and it’s missing basic marketing automation features for email and other channels.
Frequently Asked Questions Is Microsoft Dynamics or Salesforce better?
Salesforce is better for teams that want full control over their CRM system with many customization options. Microsoft Dynamics is better for current Microsoft users who want to power their work software ecosystem with a central place for organized CRM data.
As for marketing features, Dynamics 365 CRM is missing most marketing functionality. The Salesforce Sales Cloud includes the basics for email and social media marketing automation, and the Marketing Cloud can support even more advanced marketing tasks.
What is the main difference between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics?
The main difference between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 is that Salesforce offers more customization, while Microsoft Dynamics leverages other Microsoft software like Excel and Office 365. Salesforce also provides more seamless integration capabilities with third-party apps.
Who is Salesforce’s biggest competitor?
Salesforce’s biggest competitors are HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics 365, which are big-name comprehensive CRM solutions offering broad feature sets with relatively high pricing.
Who is Microsoft’s biggest competitor?
Microsoft’s biggest CRM competitors are Salesforce and HubSpot, which offer more customization options, user-friendly platforms and nativee marketing features.
Methodology
Customer relationship management (CRM) tools help businesses bring in new customers and nurture current ones. With different businesses come different business goals and CRM needs. So, the MarketWatch Guides team spent over 100 hours evaluating 13 providers to determine who each CRM is best for. We looked at big names, such as Salesforce and monday.com, as well as small providers, including Liondesk and Less Annoying CRM.
We conducted a survey in 2024 of 200 professionals who were currently using CRM or had used CRM within the past year. We analyzed the results of this survey to determine the following rating criteria:
User Experience (15%) Features (30%) Pricing (30%) Customer Support (15%) Reputation and Credibility (10%)
Visit the full CRM methodology page for more details on our rating system.
Microsoft Dynamics vs. Salesforce: Comparison 2024 Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Overview
Salesforce’s Sales Hub and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales are similar products that offer most of the CRM features you expect to find in standalone CRM software. We compare these two as the primary CRM offerings from both providers, though other products exist for marketing, customer service and other work management functions.
Salesforce is a highly customizable CRM that teams can configure for almost any business need, while Microsoft Dynamics 365 serves as a centralized place for customer data for teams that already use it.
Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Comparison
In our survey, CRM users cited workflow automation, contact activity tracking and task management as the most important CRM features. We used these insights to guide us as we tested Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365. There are some notable differences between the platforms’ contact and sales pipeline management approaches, but they offer similar sales assistants powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Microsoft Dynamics is also commonly known as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool.
Source: MarketWatch Guides
Features Overview
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 offer very similar feature lists for CRM. However, Salesforce offers more native features for marketing automation. Microsoft Dynamics does not include any email-related features in the Sales product, which puts it at a disadvantage compared to many other CRM platforms. Our Salesforce Review and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Review offer more in-depth analyses of these platforms’ top features.
Salesforce Sales CloudMicrosoft Dynamics 365 SalesMonthly Price Range$20-$500/user$65-$135/userContact Management✅✅Workflow Automation✅✅Lead Management✅✅Lead Scoring✅✅Pipeline Management✅✅Sales Forecasting✅✅Email Marketing Automation✅❌Analytics✅✅AI-Powered Tools✅(Einstein)✅(Copilot AI)Phone Support✅✅Live Chat✅✅ Contact Management
Microsoft Dynamics 356’s contact profiles are well-organized and easy to navigate, following a similar structure to many popular CRM systems. When we tested the platform, the profiles stood out as one of the more user-friendly features. We could add notes and easily edit contact information without searching through settings.
Aside from the contact profiles, Microsoft Dynamics’s approach to the overall contact list is unique. The different Excel-powered charts allowed us to get quick insights into the customer data on the platform. For instance, we could create a drill-down chart of contacts by their city in just a few clicks. While testing the platform, we imagined plenty of use cases for these quick insights and charts.
By comparison, Salesforce keeps its analytics separate from the customer profiles, which is the typical setup for customer data within most CRM platforms. The Salesforce customer profiles display contact information alongside upcoming tasks logged in the platform, related opportunities, deals and any quotes a customer has received. These capabilities make it simple for sales teams to refer to any information they need about a customer.
View of a sample customer profile in Salesforce.
Sales Pipeline Management
Microsoft Dynamics’s approach to the sales pipeline is unique compared to other CRM systems we’ve tested. By default, the platform organizes deals in various charts highlighting the sales funnel stages. Most platforms include a list of open deals or, most often, a Kanban-style view of the different deal stages, with movable deal cards sorted into various boards indicating their status.
This could be a major plus for teams that don’t love a Kanban board. However, for teams looking for streamlined and straightforward opportunity management, it could overcomplicate how team members view the sales process in the platform.
Salesforce’s default configuration for the sales pipeline is a more traditional deal tracking board with the option for a list view. We liked that dragging and dropping the deal cards with automatic deal value calculations at the top of each stage in the pipeline was easy.
Sample view of the Salesforce sales pipeline.
AI-Powered Features
Both Microsoft and Salesforce include AI assistants in their CRM products. Microsoft’s Copilot AI and Salesforce’s Einstein AI are helpful chatbots that users can interact with, similar to ChatGPT. These AI-powered tools also power forecasting, predictive scoring and other advanced features.
Microsoft just rolled out Copilot AI last year, and it is helpful for tasks like generating a summary of an open deal; however, it struggled to understand natural language requests. AI tools across the CRM space are very new, and we expect they will learn and improve over time to help streamline CRM strategies.
Pricing
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce offer similar CRM pricing structures, so comparing their pricing is straightforward. Microsoft’s primary sales product has a lower starting price than Salesforce’s Sales Cloud, and Salesforce has a much more comprehensive price range, with the top Einstein 1 Sales plan costing $500 per user per month.
However, both platforms offer “starter kits” at lower prices with various features across the board. In Salesforce’s case, these are the Starter Suite and Pro Suite, which include top features from the Sales, Marketing and Service Clouds. The Microsoft Dynamics Business Central product is similar, with key features from Dynamics 365 Sales and Service, emphasizing core business functions and finance rather than marketing.
Salesforce Pricing
Our Salesforce Pricing Guide offers a more in-depth look into Salesforce’s pricing structure.
ProductPlanPriceSalesforce Sales CloudProfessional $80/user/month Enterprise $165/user/monthUnlimited$330/user/month Einstein 1 Sales$500/user/month Small Business (Combines Sales, Marketing and Service features) Starter Suite$25/user/monthPro Suite$100/user/month Microsoft Dynamics Pricing ProductPlanPriceMicrosoft Dynamics 365 SalesProfessional $65/user/month Enterprise $95/user/monthPremium$135/user/month Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralEssentials$70/monthPremium$100/month Integrations
Salesforce is difficult to beat when it comes to native integrations, and it’s easy to search for any specific third-party apps you need to connect with the Appexchange marketplace.
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is excellent as part of a Microsoft ecosystem, but connecting it with outside tools is more complicated.Competitor software like Google tools won’t be available, and we were also surprised to see that Zapier integration was not an option for Dynamics 365 in the Microsoft AppSource marketplace. However, both platforms offer an API for developers.
PlatformSalesforce Sales Cloud Microsoft Dynamics 365 SalesGmail✅❌Google Calendar✅❌Mailchimp✅✅Facebook Ads✅✅Zoom✅✅Slack✅✅Sprout Social✅✅Shopify✅✅Stripe✅✅PandaDoc✅✅DocuSign✅✅Five9✅✅Trello✅❌Asana✅❌Zapier✅❌ Customer Support
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 include customer support via live chat and phone. Unlike Microsoft, Salesforce’s advanced support options typically require an upgraded support package. For instance, all Salesforce licenses include the Basic Support package, which consists of the phone and chat options you’d expect. However, for personalized onboarding support or a dedicated Customer Success Manager, teams must choose either the Premier or Enterprise support packages with custom pricing.
Because of this, it can be difficult to estimate your costs if you have specific customer support needs, especially with CRM implementation. Many businesses opt to have outside experts handle implementation and development, another factor to consider in addition to advanced customer support costs.
Who Is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Best For?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes sense for teams that want to use CRM data in the Microsoft products they already use daily. The Dynamics 365 platform integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft software such as Power BI (Business Insights), Outlook and Microsoft Teams. Businesses not already using Microsoft software may find it tricky to connect Microsoft Dynamics 365 to outside apps, which could create challenges with implementation and adoption.
Who Is Salesforce Best For?
Salesforce is best for teams that want complete control over their CRM and are willing to put in the effort for a more intensive implementation process. Salesforce can take time and effort to set up, and it comes with a learning curve, but for teams that can adopt it, it can be a powerhouse CRM tool.
How To Choose a CRM
When we surveyed CRM users, respondents said customization, unique features and customer service were among the most important things they considered when evaluating a potential CRM. We suggest creating a list of the non-negotiable features you know your team needs, which will help you narrow down your list of options. This also enables you to avoid expensive add-ons or higher-tier plans you may not need, keeping things simple and streamlined.
Source: MarketWatch Guides
We also recommend checking if the software has the native integration capabilities you’re looking for or if you’ll need some development support to make the software work with your daily workflow. It’s easy to check for integration capabilities on software providers’ app marketplaces. In this case, you’ll want to check Salesforce AppExchange and Microsoft AppSource.
Beyond this, it’s always a good idea to use free trials to test a product’s ease of use. If you don’t feel your team can handle the learning curve, it’s possible you won’t see as much adoption of the tool.
The Bottom Line
Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are powerful CRM software options that can support CRM strategy for businesses of any size. Small businesses and startups should consider solutions like Dynamics 365 Business Central or Salesforce Stater Suite for pared-down feature lists and affordable pricing. Teams looking for a full-service CRM solution should compare Dynamics 365 Sales and the Salesforce Sales Cloud.
After testing these two products, we found that Salesforce stood apart for its integrations and extensive feature set availability. It would work well with other software you may already be using, and its customization options are endless. Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes the most sense if your team already uses other Microsoft software, such as Excel and Teams. It may be a challenge to connect it to outside software, and it’s missing basic marketing automation features for email and other channels.
Frequently Asked Questions Is Microsoft Dynamics or Salesforce better?
Salesforce is better for teams that want full control over their CRM system with many customization options. Microsoft Dynamics is better for current Microsoft users who want to power their work software ecosystem with a central place for organized CRM data.
As for marketing features, Dynamics 365 CRM is missing most marketing functionality. The Salesforce Sales Cloud includes the basics for email and social media marketing automation, and the Marketing Cloud can support even more advanced marketing tasks.
What is the main difference between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics?
The main difference between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 is that Salesforce offers more customization, while Microsoft Dynamics leverages other Microsoft software like Excel and Office 365. Salesforce also provides more seamless integration capabilities with third-party apps.
Who is Salesforce’s biggest competitor?
Salesforce’s biggest competitors are HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics 365, which are big-name comprehensive CRM solutions offering broad feature sets with relatively high pricing.
Who is Microsoft’s biggest competitor?
Microsoft’s biggest CRM competitors are Salesforce and HubSpot, which offer more customization options, user-friendly platforms and nativee marketing features.
Methodology
Customer relationship management (CRM) tools help businesses bring in new customers and nurture current ones. With different businesses come different business goals and CRM needs. So, the MarketWatch Guides team spent over 100 hours evaluating 13 providers to determine who each CRM is best for. We looked at big names, such as Salesforce and monday.com, as well as small providers, including Liondesk and Less Annoying CRM.
We conducted a survey in 2024 of 200 professionals who were currently using CRM or had used CRM within the past year. We analyzed the results of this survey to determine the following rating criteria:
User Experience (15%) Features (30%) Pricing (30%) Customer Support (15%) Reputation and Credibility (10%)
Visit the full CRM methodology page for more details on our rating system.