Detailed data-tracking to inform business decisions is what the sales teams of today need. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software powered by AI and data-driven analytics is now essential to any business size.
With CRM software, salespeople and customer service agents can spare more time to build human connections and avoid hours of hackling for data entry tasks.
There are two giants of the CRM software industry – Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Both are heavily investing in their solutions to help businesses make an impact.
Both enterprise-grade software vendors have long histories and are known for their innovative contributions to the CRM field. Dynamics CRM from Microsoft is preferred by most companies in the world, while Salesforce has been a successful player since the dot com era.
With any of these two CRMs, businesses get a set of comprehensive CRM software solutions with lead ranking, sales tracking, customer case management, sales insights, and more.
In today’s ultimate comparison of Microsoft Dynamics vs Salesforce, let’s delve into the features, pricing, pros, and cons of each platform.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 vs Salesforce CRM: A Quick Overview with A Comparison Table
When it comes to interface design, Salesforce boasts a “sleek and modern” look, while Microsoft Dynamics 365 has a proven classic appearance.
Both CRM platforms have a range of powerful features, and capabilities to tackle any business decision and use cases. And choosing any one of them depends on the specific needs of a business.
For your understanding, Salesforce may seem a better fit for smaller or newer businesses, but Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be the better choice for business owners who would like to see their products grow alongside their day-to-day operations.
See the comparison table:
| Product/Features | Microsoft Dynamics CRM | Salesforce |
| Pricing | Starts at USD 50 per user per month | From USD 25 per user per month |
| Deployment | On-premises, Cloud, or Hybrid | Purely Cloud |
| FREE Trial | Yes – without a credit card | Yes – without a credit card |
| Usability | Easy Learning Curve with little help | Difficult |
| Contact Management | Yes | Yes |
| Sales Forecasting | Yes | Yes |
| Lead Management | Yes | Yes |
| Email Marketing | Yes | Yes |
| Sales Forecasting | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in Automation | Yes | Yes |
| Reporting | Yes | Yes |
| E-Commerce Integrations | Add-ons & third-party solutions | Add-ons |
| Customer Support | Yes | Yes |
| Sales Performance Management | No | Yes |
Data Source: TechRepublic and Forbes
Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM: Why Pick It?
The name Microsoft is a synonym for trust. The same goes for its products and services. Hence, there’s no issue with the reliability of Dynamics 365 CRM Platform.
Previously released as Dynamics CRM with the arduous work of top five tech leaders, this CRM application is now popular as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales.
See Dynamics CRM breakdown chart by industry and by Country:
Data Source: AppsRunTheWorld
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales comes under the umbrella of Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, which includes other CRM modules like Field Service, and Marketing, Customer Service.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales has a classic, yet intuitive user interface (UI) suitable for businesses of all sizes, especially for enterprises looking to outsmart their product.
Businesses can seamlessly integrate D365 Sales with other Microsoft productivity apps, such as OneDrive, Excel, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Loops, and Microsoft Power BI.
Dynamics CRM is particularly useful for smaller or younger businesses that don’t require extensive customization.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Cloud-based deployment
- Native integration with Microsoft Office suite and other Microsoft Business Applications in Dynamics 365
- Built-in AI for smart selling and CRM intelligence
- Secure to use because of the Microsoft Azure Security
- Offers easy customization, regular updates, high security, and minimal maintenance
- Comparatively less costly than Salesforce
- Includes a pool of add-ons
- Available for on-premises, cloud, and hybrid deployments
- Excellent for Customer Voice Responses, Customer Insights, Marketing, and order management
Cons
- The steep learning curve
- Not suitable for smaller businesses
- Added cost for data storage
Pricing Model
Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers various sales and customer service plans, including add-ons like Sana Commerce for Business Central if your business has a dedicated eCommerce arm. Apart from that, companies also get dedicated automatic updates, and excellent security maintenance support with no added costs.
Most pricing plans for Dynamics CRM are discounted to USD 20 per user/month, if the user already has one Dynamics 365 Product.
The Sales Professional plan will need USD 65 per user/month, and provide extensive sales execution services, full reporting and analysis, and some customization (if any).
And the Sales Enterprise plan costs USD 95 per user/month and adds knowledge management, gamification, contextual insights, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Moreover, the Sales Premium plan costs USD 135 per user/month and offers fully customizable solutions and deeper sales insights. Whereas the Professional customer service plan costs USD 50 per user/month, with unlimited named users, case and knowledge management, and mobile service.
Important: All plans are fully integrated with Microsoft products such as Outlook, Excel, and OneNote.
Sales Professional: For beginners, Dynamics 365 Sales Professional costs USD 65 per user/month, and is billed annually. However, if you already have a subscription for Dynamics 365 products, the cost is reduced to USD 20 per user/month, and is also billed annually.
Note: This plan offers core sales automation capabilities.
Sales Enterprise: Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise costs USD 95 per user/month for a first-time user, and is billed annually. If the user has already subscribed to Dynamics 365 products, the cost comes down to USD 20 per user/month billed annually.
Note: This plan provides businesses with industry-leading sales, automation, contextual insights, and advanced CRM customization options.
Sales Premium: At USD 135 per user/month billed annually, Dynamics 365 Sales Premium adds prebuilt, customizable sales intelligence solutions specifically designed for salespeople and their admins like sales managers.
Customer Service Professional: For a beginner, Dynamics 365 Customer Service Professional costs USD 50 per user/month, and is billed annually. Again, if you already have a subscription for Dynamics 365 products, the cost is brought down to USD 20 per user/month billed annually.
Note: This pricing plan offers core customer service capabilities.
Customer Service Enterprise: Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise costs $95 per user/month for newbies, and is billed annually. If the user has already subscribed to Dynamics 365 products, the cost becomes USD 20 per user/month, and is billed annually.
Note: This Dynamics 365 CRM plan offers more advanced customer service features and capabilities. Get in touch with your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partner for more details.
Salesforce: Why Pick It?
It is always a clever move to consider your specific business needs and use cases before making an investment not only in CRM software but in every decision you make. While both platforms offer a range of features and capabilities, there are key differences that could make one more suitable for a particular business than the other.
Salesforce is a Silicon Valley success. It is a leading CRM platform that has been developed over the past decade to meet the needs of a wide range of industries.
The sleek and modern interface of Salesforce, along with its comprehensive features and tools, make it a popular choice for businesses looking to automate their sales processes.
Salesforce is particularly well-suited to larger, established businesses that need a highly customizable solution. With thousands of integrations available and 24*7*365 support, this CRM provides businesses with valuable insights, lead scoring and management, and advanced reporting capabilities.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Extensive customization options
- Integrates with thousands of other platforms
- Generates powerful and comprehensive reports
Cons
- Less affordable than Dynamics CRM
- Available only for cloud deployment
- Costly subscriptions
- Much more complicated for inexperienced users and experts alike
- Can be time-consuming to customize and maintain
Pricing Model
Salesforce offers four plans: Essentials (USD 25/month/user) for managing the entire sales cycle, Professional (USD 75/month/user) for pipeline and forecast management, Enterprise (USD 150/month/user) for API and automation control.
There is another plan known as Unlimited (USD 300/month/user) for AI features and 24*7*365 support.
Note: Businesses can also integrate add-ons and build custom apps within the Salesforce system.
Essentials: At USD 25 per user/month (billed annually), the Essentials plan includes account, contact, lead, and opportunity management, and integrates with Gmail or Outlook seamlessly.
Professional: At USD 75 per user/month (billed annually), the Professional plan includes everything in Essentials and adds pipeline and forecast management.
Enterprise: At USD 150 per user/month (billed annually), the Enterprise plan includes everything in Professional and adds workflow and approval automation.
Unlimited: At USD 300 per user/month (billed annually), the Unlimited plan includes everything in Enterprise and adds sales engagement, sales insight, and 24*7*365 support.
Thus, choosing between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 depends on business size, complexity, use cases, goals, and features. By carefully evaluating these factors, businesses can choose the best CRM platform. If you need support, you can talk to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Implementation Partner like Dynamics Square for more details.
FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
Q – 1: Which is better, Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics?
Both Salesforce vs Microsoft Dynamics 365 come with pros and cons. For instance, Salesforce has a more expensive 3rd-party apps’ ecosystem compared to MS Dynamics CRM (since many add-ons are available for FREE). Plus, Dynamics 365 offers more affordable, value-for-money pricing models for long-term customers.
Connect with your Microsoft Gold Partner for comprehensive details.
Q – 2: What is the difference between MS Dynamics and Salesforce?
With Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce, businesses get cloud deployment options and capabilities. This allows CRM teams to access data on-the-go.
However, Salesforce is built for pure cloud deployment, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers cloud, on-premises, and hybrid options for its deployment.
Note: For some organizations, a purely cloud-based choice can only be the way to go.
Q – 3: Does Dynamics CRM cost less than Salesforce?
Salesforce’s Sales Cloud license is more affordable than Microsoft Dynamics 365’s license for sales professionals, with prices starting at $25 and $65 per user/month, respectively. However, if your business is of small to medium size, it’s recommended to go for Dynamics CRM.
Q – 4: Can Dynamics 365 beat Salesforce?
Salesforce has long been a leader in the CRM industry, but Microsoft is like a new kid around the block and has recently surpassed them in the traditional sales software category, according to a Forrester Wave report. This is a significant achievement for Microsoft and its trusted Microsoft Dynamics Partner, Dynamics Square.
Q – 5: Is Dynamics CRM in demand?
As more organizations adopt Dynamics 365 cloud apps for business process improvements, demand for Dynamics 365 professionals will surge, creating significant opportunities for administrators, developers, and consultants.
Q – 6: Is Microsoft Dynamics outdated?
Microsoft has already stopped continued support for the Dynamics 365 (Preview) app for Windows since June 20, 2022. However, users can still access Dynamics 365 apps on Power Apps for Windows, which offers the same features and capabilities.
Q – 7: What is the future of MS Dynamics CRM?
Upcoming plans for Dynamics CRM include improved integration of sales and marketing data models for Pharma and enhanced communication with relevant data exchange APIs. The growth of cloud capabilities is expected to result in the emergence of new data models across various industries.
Q – 8: Is MS Dynamics a Paas or SaaS?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model.
The popular examples of SaaS include Dynamics CRM, Office 365 and Dropbox.
Q – 9: Which company uses Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
There are several companies using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for CRM. They include:
- BP, UK’s Oil, Gas and Chemicals organization with 65900 employees, revenue-generation of $205.06 bn
- Ford Motor Company, a United States based Automotive organization with 183000 employees and revenues of $136.34 bn
- Cargill, Inc., a United States based Consumer Packaged Goods organization with 155000 employees and revenues of $134.40 bn (about $410 per person in the US),
- Schwarz Group, a German Retail organization with 550000 employees (about half the population of Maine) and revenues of $129.00 bn (equivalent to $400 for every citizen in the US),
- Centene Corporation, a United States based Insurance organization with 72500 employees and revenues of $125.98 bn
And many others:
Data Source: AppsRunTheWorld
Contact your Dynamics CRM partner like Dynamics Square for a complete, verified Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution.
Bottom Line
There’s no doubt in saying that Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are top competitors in the CRM software industry. With well-designed, intuitive platforms that integrate with many third-party apps and their own CRM solutions, both are preferred by businesses across industries.
However, for smaller enterprises, it is recommended to deploy Salesforce due to its lower starting price and broad integrations. Whereas larger, established businesses (small to medium-sized) that already use Microsoft Office, Dynamics 365 Sales and its colleagues can be a better fit. Also, the learning curve for unpracticed users is quite similar.
