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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP S/4HANA Cloud 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

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
ERP (3rd), Activity Based Costing Software (2nd)
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Cloud ERP (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Resource Planning solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 6.5%, up 6.6% compared to last year.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud ERP, holds 18.9% mindshare, up 12.5% since last year.
ERP
Cloud ERP
 

Featured Reviews

StefaanVandesompele - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides end-to-end accounting and finance module at reasonable pricing
365 Business Central integrates with Office 365 to streamline the invoice approval process. This allows businesses to manage and approve invoices efficiently within a unified system. Our organization plans to transition to the Dynamics 365 environment, where various functions will be centralized. We will consolidate everything into one system instead of maintaining multiple databases for each country with local data. Dynamics 365 is fully integrated, which should address many of our challenges when we migrate to this new environment. We look forward to seeing how it performs in practice. The project is progressing well overall, though integrating it with other tools and ensuring Dynamics 365 operates smoothly can be challenging. Dynamics 365 is user-friendly and effective. However, a deeper understanding of its technical capabilities and architecture might be necessary to optimize its use fully. The software landscape is evolving, and achieving the best reporting and functionality with just a click can be complex. A clear vision of what you want to achieve with Dynamics 365 is essential. Proper preparation and configuration are crucial to achieving the desired outcomes. This principle applies not only to Dynamics 365 but to all software packages. Understanding the system's flexibility and adaptability based on your specific business needs is key to its successful implementation. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Sajid Farooq - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides seamless integration of different modules in one place
Certain add-ons like quality control, payroll, and HRMS are not part of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud. SAP S/4HANA Cloud doesn't provide a quality control module. SAP S/4HANA Cloud does not have its own payroll and HRMS system. The partners develop their own cloud and integrate with the solution. There are certain modules specific to some industries, and SAP S/4HANA Cloud doesn't deal with those modules. Every partner of SAP S/4HANA Cloud has to develop its own and then integrate and certify with that solution. We can't say that these modules are part of SAP S/4HANA Cloud. There is a little area of improvement that SAP has to opt for particular types of solutions like QC, payroll, and HRMS. The graphics of SAP S/4HANA Cloud are not user-friendly. They don't look like they belong to a branded solution that costs too much. The solution's user interface is not appealing or user-friendly. On a scale from one to ten, where one is bad and ten is good, I rate the solution's user interface a five out of ten. SAP S/4HANA Cloud has built-in reports that are hard-coated. We have to alter or modify built-in reports in different marking segments, but there are no options for that. We have to build complete reports from scratch, and SAP-developed reports are not used in the market. SAP should provide a tool for customizing its developed reports so that there should not be a process of reengineering or reinventing the process.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft products are very good in general. This product is flexible, easy to use, intuitive, and has good capabilities."
"NAV covers everything from purchasing and selling items to invoicing. Everything is within NAV, so it's all very neat."
"The customer support is good. The first level of support agent in every case was able to solve the problem very quickly."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV's most valuable feature is the integration with other Microsoft solutions."
"Our data is much more manageable than before."
"The solution is easy to use, flexible, and customizable."
"One developer is enough to maintain the solution. Microsoft 365 is changing technology. The product is a user-friendly ERP solution."
"The selling feature is the most valuable."
"Managing the server and taking advantage of the services provided by SAP itself is the most valuable feature."
"The integration between SAP EWM and S4HANA Cloud is seamless."
"What I like the most about SAP S4HANA is how reliable and powerful it is."
"The integration is very stable."
"Performs well and can be used with a wide range of devices."
"The manufacturing area is a good feature."
"S4HANA Cloud is reliable and accurate. Our existing team also has expertise in SAP, so it was simple to migrate to the cloud solution. S4HANA Cloud has advantages because we don't need to maintain the infrastructure, and there aren't any huge upfront costs."
"The product's most valuable features include its real-time data storage and integration capabilities through SAP connectors."
 

Cons

"It would be nice if the integration process was easier."
"I would like to improve the tool’s reporting and coding part."
"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."
"One aspect that could be improved in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is the visibility and accessibility of communication-related features, such as email integration."
"Some of the control aspects such as auditing can definitely be improved. For example, auditing is not very easy, and the user permissions are complicated."
"Customization and costs could be improved."
"There is a need for improvement in consolidation and multi-country master data management."
"The UI is not particularly user-friendly and the CRM could do with some enhancements."
"The proposition by SAP does not match the value realization."
"The pricing is way over any of the other ERPs, and the bank integrations are not perfect. There are a lot of costs for other implementations and integrations with Salesforce and other systems. Rather than being a fully-fledged system on its own like most of the other ERPs, it relies too much on developed integrations by the implementation partner."
"The product can be improved by including a module for after-sales service modules."
"It's a huge software, and they need to make it look less complex and more user friendly. They need to work on user stories and user experiences."
"The system is very heavy and requires a lot of resources and a dedicated team."
"The system is very heavy and requires a lot of resources and a dedicated team. It is costly to maintain, demanding trained professionals, which adds to the expenses."
"Their revolving AI should should be better improved."
"The solution is expensive. That can be an issue for clients."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"The solution's license is costly compared to other CRM tools."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV has a pay-as-you-use payment model."
"The solution is on the cloud and they provide 50 gigabytes of free space on their Microsoft Drive. The reason for this is that Microsoft is requiring you to upgrade all of your systems to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in order to effectively use the cloud. This means that if you are currently using a different version of Microsoft for a specific purpose that does not require this solution, it can be frustrating to have to spend money to upgrade to this solution just for the purpose of syncing with the cloud. Additionally, even if you do purchase Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, there can still be issues with syncing between the on-premise and cloud clients. This can be especially frustrating as the cloud storage is not free and can be difficult to access even after purchasing."
"In my opinion, the fees are reasonable."
"The solution's cost is reasonable."
"I give the solution a seven out of ten for pricing."
"I have some subscription-based customer and a few customers who have perpetual licenses that hosted the application on the cloud."
"The license for S/4HANA is expensive, and the licensing structure is hard to understand. The admin license is something like 500 euros per user. Other ERP solutions allowed you to pick only the modules you need. The SAP ECC version requires you to take all the modules even if you are not using them."
"The pricing model can be complicated in certain scenarios."
"I feel the solution is expensive when it comes to what can be obtained with open source software."
"The solution is affordable."
"The pricing is competitive with other products at that level in that category."
"The solution’s pricing is very high."
"I'm not directly involved in the pricing discussions; it's more of a concern for the finance team."
"The pricing of SAP S/4HANA Cloud is on the higher side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The platform offers a robust and comprehensive cycle for supply chain and inventory management, with features like minimum and maximum settings, dynamic monitoring of inventory levels, and integrat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The pricing for Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable. The value for money is very high.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The advanced warehouse functionalities are not available and should be improved. The purchase requisition process is also lacking, and more advanced functionalities for intercompany consolidations ...
What do you like most about SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
The manufacturing area is a good feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
SAP S/4HANA Cloud is very expensive, both to purchase and maintain. It's important to evaluate the costs of recruiting and maintaining trained personnel as it's not just a one-time payment yet requ...
What needs improvement with SAP S/4HANA Cloud?
The system is very heavy and requires a lot of resources and a dedicated team. It is costly to maintain, demanding trained professionals, which adds to the expenses. This makes the overall cost ver...
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
SAP S4HANA Cloud
 

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
La Trobe University, Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda, Delaware Consulting and Corning Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, Microsoft, Oracle and others in ERP. Updated: May 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.