No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Microsoft Dynamics SL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Ranking in ERP
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
Activity Based Costing Software (2nd)
Microsoft Dynamics SL
Ranking in ERP
30th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the ERP category, the mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is 3.1%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics SL is 1.1%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central3.1%
Microsoft Dynamics SL1.1%
Other95.8%
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

BN
VP Sales at Zelite Solution
Streamlined sales pipeline has improved daily task tracking and clarified client follow-ups
The best features Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers for me is that this software makes my life very easy, as I have a complete snapshot of my pipeline and a complete snapshot of my daily activities, where I can see what the status of my leads is, where I am standing in terms of closure, and the aging of my opportunities, which tells me how much time there is in the opportunity. Out of all those things I mentioned, the pipeline view and day-to-day activities feel the most valuable to me in my day-to-day work. There are AI-driven insights through Copilot, which is worth mentioning. Email communication and everything I receive is tracked with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, and the best feature is that I can access everything on my mobile, so I do not have to open my laptop and the application every time. It helps me with my sales forecasting also, and predictive analysis is one of the best features for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. We have more insights and more clarity about our sales, our pipeline, where we are standing, and we have more clarity on our leads. Becoming a process-centric organization helps us a lot to keep us accountable, so Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has made our life easy in terms of sales.
Cirvesh-Daga - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at T-Systems International GmbH
Simplify and streamline complex business processes, and good integration capabilities but lacks predictive capabilities
An area of improvement could be around automation and predictability. However, I'm sure Microsoft is already thinking about incorporating AI co-pilot features, which should be coming soon. The end person who will be looking at the report is the CFO, and CFO isn't just interested in static reports but in predictive information. Ideally, SL could use data from ERP, and CRM to provide some level of prediction. CoPilot is plugged into Dynamics, it'll be a plus and even a huge selling point over other solutions that are there in the market because now we have a component of AI. We can also give you some level of prediction. Even if it starts with a 15% confidence level, a CFO will take that because it still allows them to increase their bets to a certain extent. So, that's something that I I will look forward to whenever Microsoft introduces it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We like the manufacturing and case management modules."
"The most valuable features of Business Central for me are its seamless integration with Power BI and the ability to create customized reports."
"The solution is the most stable business ERP available, and changes in development, processes, and integrated apps do not affect the stability."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics NAV is its simplicity of accounting and receiving reports. The solution is similar to Microsoft Excel, and that similarity is good. All the functions of Microsoft Dynamics are user-friendly."
"The solution has good dashboard functionalities and export functionalities."
"One developer is enough to maintain the solution. Microsoft 365 is changing technology. The product is a user-friendly ERP solution."
"Ease of use, extremely flexible, and cost effective, it is well targeted for small and medium size businesses."
"The solution can scale."
"The solution has provided a good return on investment by ensuring our financial and operational information is accurate and timely."
"It's pretty easy to set up."
"The solution has many helpful features, the stability is very good, its performance is reliable, the solution is extremely useful for e-commerce companies, the compliance has been very useful, the solution is quite stable, the scalability is good, and it is pretty easy to set up."
"If I put myself in the customer's shoes, it's easier to use. Reporting would be a very valuable feature."
 

Cons

"The security and user levels fields can be improved further so that it is not too tedious for end-user to map and set up."
"The initial setup of the solution was quite complex and the troubleshooting involved with that needs to be improved."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV will be replaced with Office 365 in the future."
"There are some aspects of the solution that is complex."
"Customization and costs could be improved."
"There is room for improvement in the ability to reverse or correct transactions more easily."
"If Microsoft made some of the security setups a little easier to work with, that would be a significant improvement. The warehouse management features could also use some work. We had to buy third-party software to make NAV's warehouse management and security more usable and functional."
"Planning a budget for initial implementation can be underestimated due to unforeseen issues."
"An area of improvement could be around automation and predictability."
"The licensing of the solution should be adjusted; the policies aren't ideal and they should make it easier to understand because right now it's too confusing."
"The product's primary improvement area would be its batch processing system."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"We have an agreement with Microsoft and pricing is okay for us."
"The tool’s licensing is yearly. The solution is cheaper compared to other ERP products from Oracle or SAP."
"The solution is a little bit expensive."
"There is an annual cost of using Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The cost is approximately 140,000 INR."
"I give the solution a seven out of ten for pricing."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable. We pay monthly for the use of the solution."
"The licensing costs were reasonable."
"If the value proposition is clear for the customer, they won't see it as an expensive solution. A solution becomes expensive when it doesn't do what it promises."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which ERP solutions are best for your needs.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business42
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise19
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Is it advisable to purchase Dynamics CRM in addition to NAV 2016?
Short answer: depends on your sales needs. NAV 2016’s built-in CRM is very basic. It’s fine for simple contact management and basic sales tracking, but it lacks: Proper pipeline management Adva...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
Microsoft Dynamics NAV pricing can vary significantly depending on the number of users, deployment model, customizations, and implementation scope. In my experience, the software license is only pa...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The only thing that could be improved is integration with WhatsApp, which I can see for Microsoft that it has to be available, and that becomes a challenge sometimes. Everything else is perfect.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
Dynamics SL, MS Dynamics SL
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
ASAP, Espartec, S.A de C.V., TGLT, Calder‹n Autopartes El_ctricas, GGS Systems, CLEAResult, Shared Spectrum Company, Scope Global Pty Ltd
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs. Microsoft Dynamics SL and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.