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Accela vs Microsoft Dynamics CRM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Accela
Ranking in Local Government CRM
8th
Average Rating
7.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Ranking in Local Government CRM
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
CRM Customer Engagement Centers (2nd), CRM (1st), Marketing Management (2nd), Sales Force Automation (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Local Government CRM category, the mindshare of Accela is 2.6%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is 25.5%, down from 34.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Local Government CRM Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Dynamics CRM25.5%
Accela2.6%
Other71.9%
Local Government CRM
 

Featured Reviews

Sajjad Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
Full Stack Developer - TAMM OS/ Accela at Department of Health Abu Dhabi
A superb platform for low-code development, but needs to improve its pricing and support
It was a customized solution like a VPN. We used some open-source tools and some paid tools. But we mostly had custom-developed tools. As for why we switched from Accela, this is a very important question because that was a legacy system, and it was running for 11 years. Of course, we reached a point where we wanted to scale our applications, and we had a legacy system that could not support scaling and required more time to implement any applications. That was one of the reasons we chose a low-code platform. We evaluated multiple solutions in the market. As part of the bidding, Accela was the lowest with more features.
NavinJacob - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Digital Officer at Cipher7
Has enabled seamless integration across platforms while supporting advanced analytics for customer insights
Microsoft Dynamics CRM doesn't provide solutions that allow you to transform easily if you have a heterogeneous mix of technologies or if your contact center is on analog and you try to digitize it. A lot of custom work is needed if you have to integrate heterogeneous technologies with the Microsoft suite, but if you are using the Microsoft suite, then it's quite seamless. Microsoft Dynamics CRM should add commercial models that allow smaller companies to use it because it can get pretty expensive. Better commercial options for smaller implementations may be helpful. There should be commercial options for smaller companies, as the overheads and costs of Dynamics can be quite high.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can develop features in very little time."
"The Accela's most valuable features are visual inspection and workflow."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM has a very nice UI, and is very easy to use. It's easy to install, has a lot of features, and provides good technical support."
"The solution's return on investment is worth it."
"The way it effectively works with the array of other Microsoft tools, such as Azure, is valuable. It works very well with the use of data linking and things like that. Overall, it is a great overall tool to have an effective understanding of the transactional background of each of our customers."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a stable solution."
"The feature I like best in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is being able to market to segments instead of choosing individual people to market to."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM brings the most value in terms of its ease of implementation."
"The Outlook calendar has been very helpful for us."
"The solution is easy to use and stable. It offers a 360-degree view of your customers. It allows you to track interactions, giving you full visibility into customer habits and behavior"
 

Cons

"I would like to see integration with analytics and the Power BI dashboard."
"The tool's performance becomes slow with usage. Its deployment is also complicated."
"It could be less complicated for smaller organizations."
"Microsoft Dynamics could have better note-taking capabilities. It should have more preset options where you enter notes by clicking a box instead of writing them out."
"The overall price of Microsoft Dynamics CRM could improve."
"I am happy with it. If anything, its interface could be improved."
"The UI and GUI could be improved."
"The manufacturing module could be improved. I would like to see customization in the next release."
"The tool should be micro-services-based. If it's not already implemented, the architecture could be enhanced by transitioning to a microservices-based model. This would allow each module to be managed independently, reducing downtime and enabling teams to work autonomously on specific services."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM's customer support could be improved as tickets usually take a long time to resolve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When we chose Accela, it was affordable. But with new solutions in the market, we can see cheaper ones with the same features."
"The solution is open source and is free. However, it does require a Dynamics 365 subscription."
"Pricing for this software could be cheaper."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an expensive solution. However, most good CRMs are expensive."
"Dynamics CRM's pricing is fair."
"I rate the solution's pricing as a seven out of ten."
"We have deployed the cloud-based version and it is a subscription and the price is based on the number of users using it."
"I give the price of the solution an eight out of ten."
"Microsoft often encourages customers to commit to multi-year enterprise-level agreements, such as three or five-year deals with a minimum commitment of, for example, $200,000 dollars. However, in order to acquire more customers, I believe Microsoft should offer this same rate for one-year commitments for customers who want to experience it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
35%
Pharma/Biotech Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
The most valuable features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM are all the filters and possible reports.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
Microsoft Dynamics CRM doesn't provide solutions that allow you to transform easily if you have a heterogeneous mix of technologies or if your contact center is on analog and you try to digitize it...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
I have been working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for five or six years for various customers. I work with CRM and some amount of Microsoft communication server to integrate it. I focus on the area o...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Dynamics CRM, MS Dynamics CRM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Accela is used by over 1,000 government agencies in the United States and Canada. Some of its customers include the City of Los Angeles, the State of California, and the City of Toronto.
Metro Bank, Nissan, Pandora, Delta, Haynes International, City of London, Trek and many more market leaders.
Find out what your peers are saying about Accela vs. Microsoft Dynamics CRM and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.