Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics: A complete guide

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce are two of the biggest customer relationship management (CRM) tools around.

The platforms have similar functionality, so choosing between them can be challenging.

In this article, we’ll look at the key features of Dynamics 365 and Salesforce to help you understand what they offer and make an informed choice.

What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM (also known as MS Dynamics) helps growing businesses manage data and handle customer interactions. Its cloud-based tools are designed to streamline sales tasks and enhance customer relationship management.

Here’s how a Dynamics 365 Sales interface might look:

The tools in Dynamics 365’s cloud-based suite focus on four main business areas:

1. Sales and marketing. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered tools for lead management and customer relationship building.

2. Service. A customer experience platform with AI-powered tools and insights for salespeople, customer service representatives and field service technicians.

3. Finance. A finance and operations platform with real-time reporting tools and insights for delivering projects on time and within budget.

4. Supply chain. An operational performance suite with built-in AI for forecasting, demand planning and territory management.

Each tool works together, so companies have a single solution to connect every aspect of the business. However, people can use them separately.

Salespeople will use Dynamics 365 Sales (Microsoft’s sales CRM), to manage sales activities. However, enterprise-level organizations may wish to add additional applications to handle operational tasks.

Depending on the plan, Dynamics 365 Sales offers the following features to help users manage their sales efforts:

• Sales force automation to qualify leads, identify opportunities and nurture contacts (core sales features are available on all plans)

• Analytics and reporting tools to track customer data and uncover insights (available on all plans)

• Automation tools to streamline workflows and turn raw data into sales and marketing content (available separately)

• Microsoft Copilot AI to create content, summarize data and get personalized sales recommendations (available on higher-tier plans)

• Integration with other Microsoft applications and third-party tools via the AppSource marketplace (available on all plans)

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator Advanced Plus integration with AI assistance to find customers and build relationships (available on Microsoft Relationship Sales)

• A mobile app to access the platform and manage sales on different devices (available on all plans)

• Security controls to safeguard data in the cloud (available on all plans)

Users can add products to expand the CRM platform’s capabilities, but these will increase a plan’s cost. For example, subscribing to Power Apps Premium (Microsoft’s AI app builder) adds an extra $20.00 per user per month to the bill.

What is Salesforce CRM?

Salesforce CRM is a collection of cloud-based tools to help organizations build and grow customer relationships across marketing, sales, service and e-commerce.

It’s designed for fast-growing companies to store, track and analyze customer information in one place. It also lets users integrate data from any source to give teams a complete picture of customers and prospects.

Here’s how a Salesforce homepage might look:

Like Microsoft Dynamics 365, Salesforce is customizable and scalable. Businesses can start with a single core product and expand as their needs evolve. Its suite includes products for:

• Increasing sales productivity, closing deals and managing leads
  

• Delivering personalized marketing campaigns
  

• Providing customer service and support
  

• Automating tasks to improve operational efficiency

It also has a large AppExchange with thousands of third-party integrations to expand the platform’s capability.

The range of integration possibilities makes this a complex product with a steep learning curve.

Salesforce’s alternative to Dynamics 365 Sales is Sales Cloud (a dedicated sales CRM within the wider platform). Depending on the plan, it offers the following main features:

• Lead management to track sales leads and opportunities and manage contact details (available on all plans)

• Sales forecasting to predict future sales based on key data signals and pipeline metrics (available on higher-paid plans)

• AI Automation to capture and sync email and calendar content (available on all plans)

• Process automation to simplify repetitive tasks (available on higher-paid plans)

• Meeting and email scheduling to improve productivity (available on all plans)

• A mobile app to access the platform and manage sales on any device (available on all plans)

• Integration with Outlook and Gmail, as well as other third-party software via AppExchange (available on all plans)

• Security controls to safeguard data and keep companies compliant with legal regulations (available on all plans)

Sales Cloud has advanced products to boost its capability. However, these will increase monthly costs. For example, adding Einstein for Sales (Salesforce’s generative AI tool) starts at $50 per user per month.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM vs. Salesforce CRM key features

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce offer similar features and pricing. Choosing between them depends on what CRM elements matter the most to your business.

Here’s how the two products compare across six essential features.

1. Lead and pipeline management

Both CRM systems’ basic plans include tools to help track customers’ journeys and convert prospects into customers. However, advanced features like sales forecasting and AI assistance are only available as paid add-ons.

Lead and pipeline management in Microsoft Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 defines leads and opportunities as separate entities that help users manage their sales pipeline and close sales.

• Leads are people who have shown interest in a company’s product or service (e.g., through a website interaction) and are at the beginning of the sales funnel

• Opportunities are a stage ahead in the sales funnel and have more specific information, such as budgets, timelines, products or services

Users can add leads to the platform and use drag-and-drop to place them into different funnel stages. Team leaders can also route opportunities to the right salespeople.

Premium and Enterprise plans offer predictive lead scoring, which ranks leads based on various factors (e.g., industry, budget and activity). When a lead reaches a certain score, it’s automatically turned into an opportunity.

Users can configure lead and opportunity scoring to match sales needs. They can also manually move and delete leads, opportunities and customer details.

For an additional cost, users can expand features with Microsoft Copilot for AI recommendations and content creation.

Lead and pipeline management in Salesforce

Salesforce defines leads and opportunities in the same way as Dynamics 365. It’s also similar in how it uses lead scoring and pipeline management to help identify top sales targets.

Users can drag and drop contacts between sales funnel stages and organize leads for different sales team members. They can also customize sales metrics to meet their aims and get a big-picture view of activity.

Users can upgrade to Salesforce’s AI assistant, Einstein for Sale, for full pipeline automation, including insights, recommendations and generative AI.

The biggest difference between the two platforms in this category is Salesforce’s tools for sales management:

• Partner management tools let larger organizations track outsourced operations (e.g., product resellers) and give third-party salespeople access to customer data

• Performance management tools help sales leaders monitor teams and incentivize achievement with feedback loops and reward and recognition tools

A company’s size, reach and needs will influence which of these tools will be a more suitable CRM.

2. Ease of use

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce are complex tools with many features. Both require users to take time to get up to speed. They may also choose to get help from a platform expert.

Ease of use in Microsoft Dynamics 365

The Dynamics 365 interface mirrors other Microsoft products, giving it a familiar feel for Office 365 or Outlook users.

The design is clutter-free and focuses on essential information. Users can customize the layout without coding using a drag-and-drop editor.

However, even with this functionality, the range of tools means there is a steep learning curve. It may make sense to get help from a Microsoft Partner to optimize your CRM.

Paid add-ons like Power Automate (for automating processes) can simplify tasks to improve ease of use.

Ease of use in Salesforce

Sales Cloud aims to cater to non-tech-savvy users with a clean look, simple navigation and drag-and-drop editing features. However, like Dynamics 365, the range of tools and features can overwhelm new users.

Users might consider help from a Salesforce consulting partner to get up and running.

Trailhead (Salesforce’s library of user courses) also lets people learn independently.

3. AI and automation

Both Dynamics 365 and Salesforce offer a range of AI and automation features, but these vary depending on pricing plan and add-ons.

AI and automation in Microsoft Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 offers core sales force automation features for lead, contact and opportunity management. It also includes tools to streamline repetitive tasks like quote, order and invoice creation.

Advanced sales force automation adds features like sales forecasting and an AI assistant to help sellers track daily actions, but this is only on higher-tier plans.

Dynamics 365’s Power Automate helps automate resource-heavy business processes (e.g., translation or data entry), but this is only available as a licensed product. The same goes for Microsoft Copilot capabilities in Sales, Outlook and Microsoft Teams.

AI and automation in Salesforce

Sales Cloud comes with built-in Einstein Activity Capture on all plans. The tool lets users automatically capture and sync data (e.g., email and calendar data) in real time to eliminate manual activity logging.

Other time-saving tools require a higher-tier plan, like Salesforce’s generative AI tool Einstein Copilot and the Flow Builder point-and-click builder for automating everyday tasks.

4. Analytics and reporting

Tracking and analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs) is critical to improving sales performance. Both platforms feature customizable sales dashboards that allow users to view data in real time and explore the metrics that matter.

Analytics and reporting in Microsoft Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 users can access prebuilt interactive sales dashboards to get insights on sales and team performance quickly.

All plans include the following three options:

Each dashboard lets companies customize, filter and sort data to meet their needs. They can then export data to Microsoft Excel as static or dynamic worksheets or dynamic PivotTables for in-depth analysis.

Dynamics 365 also offers seamless integration with Microsoft Power BI for visualizing data and creating custom sales reports.

Higher-paid plans can automate analysis by using Microsoft Copilot to summarize data and uncover hidden insights.

Analysis and reporting in Salesforce

Salesforce offers free pre-built customizable reports and dashboard templates via its AppExchange. These are designed to give executives, sales managers and salespeople a bird’s eye view of performance, with the ability to drill down into data for actionable insights.

Users can add unique goals and export reports to Excel for further analysis or external reporting.

Advanced reporting features, such as history tracking and cross-filtering to understand how one metric affects another, require a higher-paid plan.

Salesforce also offers Tableau Cloud for preparing, visualizing and sharing data. Plans for this start at $15 per user per month.

5. Customer support

Given the steep learning curve of both platforms, many users will want expert help at some point. Dynamics 365 and Salesforce each have tiered customer support with varying features depending on the plan.

Customer support in Microsoft Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 has a vast product documentation library with tutorials and troubleshooting guides for its various products.

Users can also access the Dynamics 365 Community to find answers and join user groups.

If a problem can’t be solved using these methods, Microsoft offers three levels of support:

• Standard. For businesses with a simple environment or using a full-server partner.

• Professional Direct. For businesses with more complex operations requiring faster response times and expert access.

• Unified Enterprise. For businesses that need comprehensive end-to-end support across various Microsoft products.

Each tier level offers web and phone incident submission and round-the-clock support for high-severity cases (e.g., loss of service). Those who need more in-depth technical support may consider adding a paid plan.

Customer support in Salesforce

For those willing to research and solve problems themselves, Salesforce’s help center has user guides and knowledge articles for all of its products.

Getting specialist help means purchasing a “Success Plan”. The right plan depends on the level of support users need.

• Standard Success Plan. 24/7 technical support and self-guided on-demand resources.

• Premier Success Plan. 24/7 direct access to technical support engineers and tailored guidance from Salesforce experts.

• Signature Success Plan. 24/7 direct access to technical support engineers, a dedicated emergency hotline and a designated Customer Success Manager (CSM).

On the most basic plan, a Standard Success Plan will likely provide an adequate level of support. For complex needs, Premier or Signature are more robust solutions.

6. Pricing

Dynamics 365 and Salesforce require significant investment, especially as a business grows. Many features in both platforms are reserved for higher-paid plans or require additional licenses, which can ramp up the monthly cost.

Salesforce has a more cost-effective plan for basic CRM functionality, but the two are similarly priced across the high-tier options.

Pricing in Microsoft Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 has four pricing plans with varying features for large organizations.

Here’s how plans differ:

Prospective users can test Dynamics 365 Sales for free for 30 days using sample data or their own to get a feel for how it works and whether it’s right for their business.

Pricing in Salesforce

Salesforce has five pricing plans ranging from options aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to global corporations.

Here’s how plans compare:

Companies can try Sales Cloud CRM for free for 30 days using preloaded data or their own. The trial also includes guided user experiences for salespeople, leaders and administrators. Use this to test the platform’s limits.

Which is the best CRM for your business needs?

Dynamics 365 and Salesforce offer similar features and pricing. Both CRMs also require significant resource investment to get the most out of them.

Salesforce might suit users who want to start at a lower pricing point. It’s also the better option for users who need to integrate with other sales, marketing or messaging tools (e.g., Slack or Hubspot).

For users who already use Microsoft Office 365 or Outlook, Dynamics 365 is the more obvious choice for ease of use. They’ll also benefit from its native integration with other products in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Test each platform to see how it works. Get feedback from team members on if it works for them. The right platform should feel comfortable for technical and non-technical users. If not, it may be time to explore other software solutions.

Why Pipedrive’s CRM is a great choice for growing companies

Pipedrive is an excellent choice for companies who want an affordable, user-friendly CRM that can grow with their business.

Sales teams get the essential tools to set up simple sales processes and manage their pipeline.

For example, here’s what Pipedrive’s user-friendly pipeline overview looks like:

Here are some of Pipedrive’s key features:

• Simple user interface for managing sales leads and activities

• User-friendly dashboards and sales reporting, with charts and graphs to visualize performance

• AI and automation features to streamline processes, generate engaging email content and identify high-potential deals

• Robust customization to build a CRM with specific workflows and a focus on your most important data

• A mobile app to manage sales and track performance on the move

• 24/7 customer support via phone and live chat and a Knowledge Base with answers to common questions

Features like these helped Pipedrive win Best CRM Solution at the 2024 Sales and Marketing Technology Awards (aka Sammys).

Forbes Advisor also recognized it for the following awards in 2024:

• Best Simple CRM of 2024

• Best CRM Software For Small Business of 2024

• Best CRM For Financial Advisors of 2024

• Best Mortgage CRM Software of 2024

• Best CRM Software of 2024

A shallow learning curve makes Pipedrive a great alternative to Dynamics 365 or Salesforce for non-technical users. It also stands out from both platforms on price.

Pipedrive offers a free 14-day trial that includes full access to the CRM and premium add-ons. After that, you can choose from five pricing plans. There is a cost-effective option for small businesses and upgrade plans that allow you to grow without a significant increase in cost.

Here’s Pipedrive’s pricing:

Pipedrive’s pricing plans give you everything you need and nothing you don’t. It uses add-ons to enrich your platform with more features as required.

You can add any of the following tools to your CRM without having to upgrade to a new plan:

• LeadBooster to engage leads with a chatbot, live chat, web forms and appointment scheduling

• Web Visitors to understand who visits your website and how they engage so that you can better meet their needs

• Campaigns to create and manage email marketing campaigns with professional templates, drag-and-drop tools and performance reporting

• Smart Docs to send trackable quotes, proposals and contracts and track open documents in real time

• Projects to map out complex products and plan, track and deliver projects in a simple way

You can also scale your CRM with seamless integration to over 400 third-party apps in Pipedrive’s Marketplace.

Final Thoughts

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce offer everything you need to manage customer relationships and work more efficiently. However, both have a steep learning curve and require sizable investment to get the most out of them.

If simplicity and price are high on your list, consider looking elsewhere in the CRM market.

A CRM like Pipedrive has the features to meet your needs while staying user- and budget-friendly. Get started for free.