Microsoft Dynamics 365 Vs Salesforce – Comparisons (2025)

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One of the long-standing rivalries in business applications is Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM vs Salesforce, a leading CRM provider. Both of these are very hard to differentiate, they are similar in price, target type, user interface, and experience.

If you’re already using Teams or Outlook, Dynamics 365 can feel like a natural go-to system. It integrates smoothly with these tools, saving you time and helping your team get up to speed quickly. Plus, you can customize it to match your business processes, making it easier for everyone to work the way they prefer.

On the other hand, Salesforce is known for its flexibility. It offers a wide range of add-ons through its AppExchange which allows you to find the right tools to suit your needs.

Ultimately, consider what your team requires. Are you looking for something that integrates well with Microsoft tools, or do you want a more customizable option with plenty of integrations? Evaluating these factors will help you find the CRM that best supports your business.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM vs Salesforce – A Comprehensive Comparison

Parameter ...
... Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM Salesforce CRM

Pricing Mid to high-end High-end

Works best for Medium to enterprise Medium to enterprise

Reporting/Analytics Yes Yes

Accounts/Contacts Yes Yes

Lead Management Yes Yes

Sales Forecasting Yes Yes

Case Management Yes Yes

Marketing Automation Requires add-on Requires add-on

Social CRM Yes Yes

Territory Management Yes Yes

Sales Performance Management No Yes

Customer Self-Service Portal Yes Yes

App Marketplace Yes Yes

Conferencing/IM Yes Yes

Partner Management No Yes

Email Interoperability Yes Yes

Custom Workflows Yes Yes

Time Tracking No Yes

Cloud Platform Yes Yes

Onsite Available Yes No

Native Mobile App(s) Yes Yes

API Web services API SOAP API

Data Governance No Yes

What are the Similarities Between Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM vs Salesforce?

When it comes to core features, Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM Solution and Salesforce are quite similar. Both platforms can handle essential tasks like managing contacts and accounts, providing social customer service, field service, territory management, and sales forecasting. This overlap likely comes from the fact that both companies are well aware of each other’s offerings and strive to outdo one another.

Each system also has its own app marketplace, where you can find thousands of additional tools to enhance your CRM experience or tailor it to your specific industry. Since both are mainly offered as software-as-a-service (SaaS), they can easily scale up or down based on your needs and business size. While they can accommodate businesses of all sizes, they’re often favored by larger or fast-growing companies.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM vs Salesforce: What Are the Differences?

PlatformSalesforce was built from the ground up to be a cloud-based CRM. This makes it a great choice if you’re looking to store data on a remote server and use browser-based or mobile-ready software. However, it might not be the best option if you’d prefer to own the license and host the software on your own servers.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers more flexibility when it comes to customization and deployment. While their Sales and Service modules are fully cloud-based, other parts of the Dynamics 365 suite, like Finance and Operations, offer optional on-premises versions. In recent years, Microsoft has shifted most of its offerings to the cloud, as more businesses rely on cloud hosting and fewer need on-premises servers.

Integrations and FlexibilitySalesforce is often considered the leader in integration. With over 2,600 apps available in the Salesforce AppExchange, including tools for marketing and custom solutions, Salesforce offers a wide range of options to build out your CRM and streamline your business operations. Their partner program and connected platforms make it easy to build custom solutions.

On the other hand, Microsoft’s AppSource has been investing heavily in app connections and is catching up to Salesforce’s offerings. Dynamics 365 also benefits from its deep integration with Microsoft tools like Power BI and PowerApps, which allow teams to turn their data into custom apps. If your business is already using Microsoft software, this integration can be a big plus.

While Salesforce does integrate with many Microsoft apps, the native connections in Dynamics 365 might be more beneficial for your team, especially if you're already using Microsoft products. However, Salesforce excels in connecting with a wide variety of third-party apps.

Features

The 2015 update to Microsoft Dynamics CRM raised the bar in several key areas, especially automation. With its AI-powered features, Dynamics 365 helps sales teams better understand their customers, optimize communication, and monitor social channels more effectively. Since Microsoft owns LinkedIn, they’ve also enhanced social selling features to connect directly with the business platform.

That said, Salesforce still has some features that Dynamics 365 lacks, such as sales performance management, partner management, and data governance tools. Depending on the size of your company and your specific needs, these missing features might or might not be a deal-breaker.

For example, data governance tools help with cleaning and organizing your contact and sales records. This is especially useful if you gather data from multiple sources, like web forms, call centers, and e-commerce. While Microsoft offers governance through Azure, it may be more complicated to set up.

Partner management is useful for large organizations with outsourced operations or regional partners. It helps track third-party operations and gives agents access to system content and customer data.

Performance management helps sales teams track KPIs, reward achievements, and offer feedback—features that are built into Salesforce but not as integrated in Dynamics 365.

Artificial and Automated Intelligence

AI and automation are standout features in both Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM vs Salesforce.

Microsoft’s AI tools are integrated into Dynamics 365’s Sales and Service modules, offering things like natural language processing and intelligent sales predictions. As these tools become more advanced, they’re expected to expand across more Microsoft products.

Salesforce, on the other hand, uses Einstein AI, which analyzes a company’s sales habits and suggests improvements. When applied to service and marketing tools, Einstein can also provide automated responses to customer queries or help guide marketing strategies. The catch? Einstein is an add-on, which means it comes with additional costs.

Choosing Between Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM vs Salesforce

When it comes to choosing between Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce, there’s no clear winner—both platforms offer top-notch features, a scalable setup, and user-friendly interfaces. Plus, you can customize your CRM with various modules and add-ons from their app stores.

For more information visit https://www.stridelysolutions.com/services/enterprise-application/microsoft/dynamics-365/