Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM 2024 Review: Pricing, Pros and Cons

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a cloud-based business application suite that offers customer relationship management capabilities and enterprise resource planning tools. Formally Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales offers AI-powered sales services and marketing applications. All of these applications are part of Microsoft's large technology stack and can be configured and connected to meet business objectives such as interacting with customers, team members, and prospects.

While it makes sense to add Dynamics 365's full CRM functionality, especially if you're already a Microsoft apps user, it's an expensive tool compared to other popular alternatives. In this review, we cover the pricing tiers and main features that Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales offers, as well as how it compares to more simplified platforms.

Prices

The Microsoft Dynamics 365 free trial and onboarding is competitive and allows for an extended 30-day platform trial and demo experience. Chat with your sales team to resolve any unanswered questions.

For interested buyers, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is divided into the following subscription levels:

• Professional sales: $65 per user per month for the first Dynamics 265 app and $20 per user per month for a subsequent qualifying Dynamics 365 app.
• Sales company: $95 per user per month for the first Dynamics 265 app and $20 per user per month for a subsequent qualifying Dynamics 365 app.
• Sales bonus: $135 per user per month.
• Microsoft related sales: $162 per user per month.

Key features of Microsoft Dynamics 365

Prospect evaluation

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales AI-powered scoring models that assign each contact, project, and opportunity an opportunity score that users can track (Figure A). This tool helps ensure that users focus their efforts on the right customers at the right time. Based on these lead and opportunity scores, deals can be filtered through a prioritized worklist and data visualizations.

Opportunity Summaries

Opportunity summaries are dashboard views within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales that display a variety of key details about any given project (Figure B). Where customers are in the buyer's journey, contact information, timelines, files, and upcoming meetings. These summaries act as a hub for automation capabilities, such as email drafts, emails, or meeting summaries.

Sales sequences

Users can create visual sales sequences that reflect each step of engagement when nurturing leads (Figure C). This feature is great for organizations to track their different lead nurturing strategies, such as cold emailing or calling and what sales reps should do after opening an email. It also provides timelines for when each step in the sales sequence is ideally completed.

Native integrations and automations

The same up-to-date information can be accessed from different Microsoft 365 apps. Users can be in their Outlook account analyzing emails from multiple customers and then open the Dynamics 365 Sales, Copilot for Sales add-in integration (Figure D). Check notes or contact information while minimizing app switching with automatic updates across the suite.

Pros and cons of Microsoft Dynamics 365

Alternatives to Microsoft Dynamics 365

While Microsoft Dynamics 365 is not open source CRM software, it can require extensive configuration of individual applications and features to get a configuration specific to a company's needs. Because of this, there are other major general CRM software, such as HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Zoho CRM, that offer similar core features at a lower cost.

HubSpot

Like Microsoft Dynamics 365, HubSpot is part of a multi-app suite and supports a multitude of native and third-party app integrations. For this reason, both are great options for organizations looking to truly customize their CRM with additional plugins and integrations. Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be expensive, while HubSpot's free tier can support up to 2,500 users, with basic pipeline management and lead scoring making it more cost-effective. HubSpot's conversation intelligence tool also allows reps to use data-backed insights like coaching tips to nurture leads.

SEE: Read our full HubSpot review for a full breakdown of their offerings.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a powerful sales CRM software that offers advanced channel tracking and management tools. Like Microsoft Dynamics 365, Pipedrive has a variety of automations that can follow sales sequences to reduce mundane tasks like sending follow-up emails, scheduling meetings, and more. Both platforms strive to eliminate admin work for reps so there is more time to sell and build relationships. Pipedrive's additional communication tracking feature allows users to filter and sort emails and meeting responses to understand intent and schedule future touchpoints.

SEE: If you want to learn more, head to our full Pipedrive review.

CRM

Zoho CRM is a platform that offers advanced multi-channel marketing and sales intelligence tools. This platform also hosts powerful AI tools, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, that can be used for predictive analytics and lead scoring. Zia, Zoho CRM's AI assistant, takes AI to a new level with advanced search capabilities, business intelligence, and cross-team workload management. Additionally, Zoho CRM's 360-degree customer view allows for a comprehensive view of each customer's contact information, transaction history, and tracked activity.

SEE: Check out our full individual review of Zoho CRM.

Review methodology

I used our internal rubric to rate and review Microsoft Dynamics 365 and its core CRM software offerings. This rubric consists of criteria defined around the most important factors when evaluating overall CRM software. Rely on Microsoft Dynamics 365's own online resources, plus real user comments, ratings, and reviews.

The following is the breakdown of the criteria used to rate Microsoft Dynamics 365:

• Cost: It weighted 25% of the total score.
• Main features: It weighted 25% of the total score.
• Customizations: It weighted 15% of the total score.
• Integrations: It weighted 15% of the total score.
• Easy to use: It weighted 10% of the total score.
• Customer Support: It weighted 10% of the total score.