The affordable Microsoft Dynamics alternative

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is a top-tier enterprise CRM – built for large corporations with complex sales structures, deep Microsoft integrations, and dedicated IT teams. It is extremely powerful, but also extremely expensive (€65–150 per user), highly complex, and requires professional implementation by certified partners. For small businesses, Dynamics 365 Sales is like an aircraft carrier when all you need is a boat. Customermates gives you all essential CRM features at a fraction of the price. Simple, transparent, and ready to use immediately.

Setup & onboarding

Customermates is ready to use in two minutes. No configuration, no IT department, no consultants. The interface is intuitive, clearly structured, and requires no training. You can start working with real customer data immediately.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is not designed for quick starts. Even the Professional version requires extensive setup: Azure integration, Power Platform configuration, security roles, business units, workflows, custom entities, and much more. Implementation takes weeks to months and, in most cases, requires external consultants or certified Microsoft partners. Implementation costs often range from €10,000 to €50,000 or more, depending on complexity. A 30-day trial is available, but you must provide a credit card and navigate a complex registration process. Even in trial mode, the system is overwhelming for small teams without dedicated IT resources.

Pricing & cost model

Customermates costs €12 per user – a transparent fixed price for all features.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is extremely expensive:

Dynamics 365 Sales Professional: €65 per user (since October 2024)

• Basic CRM features, but heavily restricted
• No advanced customization options
• No AI features

Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise: €105 per user (since October 2024, previously €95)

• Advanced customization and automation
• Embedded intelligence, but limited
• Sales Accelerator, lead scoring (restricted)

Dynamics 365 Sales Premium: €150 per user

• Full AI functionality (conversation intelligence, relationship analytics)
• Advanced forecasting
• Complete sales insights suite

A team of just 5 employees pays with Dynamics 365:

• Professional: €325 per month (5 × €65)
• Enterprise: €525 per month (5 × €105)
• Premium: €750 per month (5 × €150)

With Customermates: €60 per month (5 × €12) – all features included.

Additional hidden costs with Dynamics 365:

• Implementation costs (€10,000–€50,000 or more)
• Consultant fees (€100–€250 per hour)
• Microsoft Copilot for Sales (additional €50 per user)
• Power Automate Premium (for advanced workflows: €15 per user)
• Additional storage (€10 per 1 GB)
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator (for Microsoft Relationship Sales)
• Team Member licenses (€8 for read-only access)

License complexity: a nightmare for small businesses

Dynamics 365 has one of the most complex licensing models in the entire software industry:

• User licenses (Professional, Enterprise, Premium)
• Attach licenses (€20 discounted if you already use other D365 apps)
• Team Member licenses (€8 for limited access)
• Device licenses (Enterprise only, if multiple users share a device)
• Microsoft Relationship Sales (bundle with LinkedIn Sales Navigator)
• Copilot for Sales (€50 extra per user)
• Power Platform seeded licenses (limited, often require upgrades)
• Capacity add-ons (storage, API calls)

Even experienced IT administrators struggle to understand this model. Small businesses often need licensing consultants just to figure out which licenses they actually need.

Customermates: One price. All features. Done.

Functional differences

Both systems cover core CRM functions: contacts, deals, pipelines, tasks, email integration. The fundamental difference lies in complexity and target audience.

Dynamics 365 Sales is an enterprise system designed for large corporations with complex requirements: multi-currency support, territory management, hierarchical organizational structures, custom business logic with Power Apps and Power Automate, and deep integration into the entire Microsoft ecosystem (Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, Power BI).

The problem: all this power comes with massive complexity. The user interface is cluttered, navigation is unintuitive, and even simple tasks require multiple clicks through different menu levels. For a small team that just wants to manage leads and track deals, this is complete overkill.

Customermates is built for small businesses: clear, simple workflows, intuitive navigation, and all essential features without unnecessary ballast. You get a CRM that works – not a system you have to manage.

AI features: Copilot & more

Dynamics 365 heavily markets its AI capabilities: Microsoft Copilot for Sales, conversation intelligence, relationship analytics, predictive forecasting. This sounds impressive, but comes with several caveats:

First: most AI features are only available in Sales Premium (€150 per user). The Professional plan offers little to no AI functionality.

Second: Microsoft Copilot for Sales costs an additional €50 per user – on top of already high license costs.

Third: AI features only work well with very large data volumes. For small teams with 100–500 contacts, AI suggestions are often irrelevant or inaccurate.

Customermates avoids AI hype and focuses on clear, reliable processes. No hidden AI costs, no overambitious features that don’t work in practice.

Integration: Microsoft ecosystem vs flexibility

Dynamics 365 Sales is deeply integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem: seamless connections to Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Power BI, and Power Automate. This is great – if you are already fully invested in Microsoft and have the required licenses.

But this integration also creates dependency. You need Microsoft 365 Business licenses (from €12.50 per user extra), Power Automate Premium for advanced workflows (€15 per user extra), and ideally Power BI Pro (€10 per user extra). The “seamless integration” quickly adds up to €40–60 in additional costs per user per month.

Customermates offers open, flexible integrations via n8n. You are not locked into a single ecosystem and can freely choose the tools you want to use.

Data protection & hosting

Customermates hosts exclusively in the EU or Germany and provides full GDPR compliance with true data sovereignty. Your customer data stays in Germany.

Dynamics 365 Sales is hosted on Microsoft Azure, globally distributed. While you can choose EU data centers and the system is GDPR compliant, data control is limited. Microsoft may access your data for maintenance, support, and AI training (unless explicitly excluded). For companies with strict data protection requirements, this is problematic.

Support & maintenance

Dynamics 365 offers professional enterprise support – but only at an additional cost. Standard support is included, but faster response times and dedicated support channels require Premier Support or Unified Support (starting at €1,000 per month and up).

In addition, Microsoft automatically rolls out updates twice a year (Wave 1 and Wave 2). These updates can break workflows, require rework of custom code, and introduce new bugs. You need a dedicated IT team or external consultants to manage these updates.

Customermates provides clear, reliable support for all users – with no hidden premium support fees. Updates are backward-compatible and do not break existing workflows.

Which system is right for whom?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is right for you if:

• You are a large enterprise with 100+ employees
• You have dedicated IT teams and Dynamics 365 administrators
• You are already fully invested in Microsoft (Office 365, Azure, Power Platform)
• You have complex, global sales structures
• You have budget for licenses (€65–150 per user), implementation (€10,000–€50,000), and ongoing maintenance
• You need highly specialized, industry-specific CRM features

Customermates is right for you if:

• You are a small business or startup
• You want to be productive immediately without months of implementation
• You have a limited budget (€12 instead of €65–150)
• You do not want to maintain an IT department or hire external consultants