Best Microsoft CRM tools in 2026 (1+ compared)

Microsoft develops its CRM tools in-house, and Dynamics 365 Sales is the flagship. It belongs to the Dynamics 365 family, which also covers customer service, field service, marketing and finance apps on one data platform. Microsoft builds the CRM on Dataverse and Azure, the same cloud stack behind Power Apps and Microsoft 365. That shared base explains why Outlook, Teams and Excel links feel native rather than bolted on.

Most customers never deal with Microsoft directly. A network of certified partners sells the licences, configures pipelines and migrates data from tools such as Salesforce Sales Cloud or Zoho CRM. Microsoft also owns LinkedIn, and Sales Navigator data shows up inside Dynamics 365 Sales records for account research. Salesforce runs a similar partner model, while HubSpot and Pipedrive mainly sell online with self-service setup.

Microsoft CRM plans differ mainly in how far you can customise and automate Dynamics 365 Sales. Sales Professional is the entry tier at about £60 per user per month. It covers leads, opportunities, quotes, forecasting and Outlook integration, but limits you to 15 custom tables. That cap suits a standard B2B pipeline and stops admins from building a sprawling data model.

Sales Enterprise removes the custom-table limit and adds sales sequences, territory management, predictive lead scoring and more Copilot features. Sales Premium adds conversation intelligence that analyses calls, plus deeper AI forecasting. Each step costs noticeably more per seat, so many firms mix tiers. Account managers sit on Professional while a central sales-ops team runs Enterprise.

Every tier includes unlimited contacts, role-based permissions and single sign-on through Microsoft Entra ID. Storage starts at a 10 GB storage allowance per tenant and grows by a small amount with each licence. Extra capacity, marketing journeys and Microsoft 365 Copilot come as add-ons. Salesforce follows a similar ladder from Starter to Unlimited, while Zoho CRM packs automation into much cheaper tiers.

Microsoft CRM tools and Salesforce both cover full enterprise sales, but Dynamics 365 Sales fits Microsoft 365 companies best and Salesforce is the broader platform. Salesforce Sales Cloud starts at about £20 per user per month on its Starter tier and lets a small team begin cheaply. Microsoft has no comparable small-team entry. At enterprise level, both land in a similar price band once you add AI and extra storage.

Dynamics 365 Sales runs on Dataverse and connects natively to Outlook, Teams, Excel and Power BI. Salesforce runs on its own platform with Flow for automation, Tableau for analytics and Slack for team chat. Each ecosystem works best with its own tools. A company on Teams gets more out of Dynamics, while a Slack-first company gets more out of Salesforce.

Salesforce wins on choice. AppExchange lists thousands of ready-made apps, and the pool of Salesforce admins and consultants is the largest in the CRM market. Microsoft AppSource is smaller for sales add-ons. Power Apps makes up for part of that gap and lets your own staff build missing pieces with low-code tools.

Pick Dynamics 365 Sales if your company already pays for Microsoft 365 E3 or E5, uses Teams for calls and wants CRM data in Excel and Power BI. Pick Salesforce if you need niche industry clouds, a deep app marketplace or a quick start on a small budget. Teams of fewer than ten sellers with no IT support are better served by Pipedrive or HubSpot than by either.

Microsoft CRM tools commonly cost about £50-£70 per user per month, while the Enterprise and Premium tiers of Dynamics 365 Sales cost considerably more per seat. The entry price buys the Professional tier with leads, opportunities, quotes, basic forecasting and unlimited contacts. There is no free plan, so a team of five already pays around £300-£300 a month.

Moving up a tier adds sequences, predictive scoring, territory management and conversation intelligence. Extra Dataverse storage, Microsoft 365 Copilot seats and the separate marketing app are billed on top. Annual commitments are standard. Partner fees for setup and migration also come on top and grow with every custom table, flow and integration you order.

The chart below shows the price distribution of Microsoft CRM tools.

Before choosing a Microsoft CRM tool, you should consider the following factors:

• Right tier: Dynamics 365 Sales comes in Professional and Enterprise tiers. Sales Professional covers leads, opportunities and a standard pipeline, while Sales Enterprise adds forecasting, sequences and deeper customisation. Salesforce splits Sales Cloud in a similar way, so compare the tier gates rather than the headline names.
• Microsoft 365 fit: Dynamics 365 Sales pays off most when your team already works in Outlook and Teams. Emails, meetings and contacts sync into CRM records without a third-party connector. HubSpot and Pipedrive offer Outlook add-ins too, but they stop at the inbox.
• Setup effort: Dynamics 365 Sales runs on the Power Platform and expects real configuration. Most companies bring in a Microsoft partner for the first rollout of forms, views and security roles. Pipedrive or Zoho CRM are usually running within a day without outside help.
• Storage and files: Dynamics 365 Sales starts with about 10 GB of Dataverse storage. Heavy attachment use pushes you to buy extra capacity or link SharePoint for documents. Streak keeps files in Google Drive instead and has no separate CRM storage cap.
• Security and access: Dynamics 365 Sales uses Microsoft Entra ID for single sign-on and role-based security down to field level. That suits IT teams who already manage every user there. Salesforce offers similar controls, but you run its identity setup as a second system.
• AI and automation: Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales summarises opportunities and drafts follow-up emails inside Outlook. Power Automate handles workflows across Teams, SharePoint and hundreds of other apps. Salesforce answers with Einstein and Flow, and the stronger AI features sit in its higher editions.