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ADP Workforce Now vs SAP HCM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ADP Workforce Now
Ranking in Benefits Administration
7th
Ranking in Talent Management
18th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
HR Analytics Software (5th)
SAP HCM
Ranking in Benefits Administration
3rd
Ranking in Talent Management
3rd
Ranking in Cloud HCM
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of ADP Workforce Now is 1.9%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HCM is 4.8%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP HCM4.8%
ADP Workforce Now1.9%
Other93.3%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

Vineeth John - PeerSpot reviewer
Director, People & Culture at a agriculture with 201-500 employees
Custom reporting tool with field grabber, easy modules for recruitment and provides numerous options for integration
The complexity is the key challenge with a tool like ADP because it has all the bells and whistles and all the key features you can possibly think of. If it isn't there, there's always a third-party vendor you can integrate that way. But the only issue is that because it's complex, there needs to be some sort of system, at least on the back end, for the admins to understand what leads to what. We expect AI to improve multiple things with HR processes. The most obvious and common one would be the self-service function for employees, like a chatbot to help with FAQs. We are also building an AI tool that can possibly help managers make better talent management decisions. This tool will pull from the performance management tool, the talent profile, and the reports that we generally have to score employees across all different dimensions.
SS
Assistant Manager at Kashiv Biosciences
Centralized global HR data has improved expense control and supports secure employee management
The features of SAP HCM are valued by me as it had a clear idea about what was expected from the user point. The person or the application has a lot of features and it had actually all the information needed from our part. That aspect is nice. Apart from that, the T-codes are really helpful to understand which particular option we need when we put the T-code in the search box. The stability and reliability of SAP HCM product are really nice, very helpful, and secured. It has no point of leakage and is mostly reliable, as most companies and organizations prefer SAP over many tools. As for security, it's already secured from the beginning itself, and that is the only reason our organization relies on it. Since it's very useful at a global scale, it is a very useful tool and is very easy to access and handle.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most interesting feature for me on ADP is the custom reporting tool. It's got something called a field grabber, which makes it so much easier to generate your own custom reports simply by pulling tabs from any feature."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The way that ADP helped us improve our organization is by making the payroll process clean and efficient because if you make a mistake there, you're in big trouble."
"The platform is on a private cloud that is fully secure with no way for hacker penetration."
"The most valuable features are the reporting and benefits piece."
"In my day-to-day work, attendance tracking would be most important. That's because I have a really diverse group of employees, and I have a subset of younger folks who are struggling with their attendance. So, that's the thing that I'm most involved with currently."
"The most valuable feature to me is performance management because we just started using that."
"I feel SAP HCM is very competitive and worth the investment given its capability to integrate modules and provide comprehensive value."
"SAP HCM can handle a large number of employees. We can easily process payrolls and check the arrangements, and the client can also check the performance of the employees. Additionally, it has some advanced features."
"The most valuable feature, in my view, is the level of exceptions or error messages that come back when something goes wrong."
"All of the core processes are very valuable aspects of the solution. These include personnel, administration, organizational structure, and payroll."
"I like the talent, recruitment, and learning features the most."
"The integration provided by SAP between different modules is very good."
"SAP HCM has a good performance."
"We have features such as ABKRS based on the client's requirement, tariff and TMSTA, and so on."
 

Cons

"Its benefits portal could be user-friendly."
"The ease of developing and creating reports could definitely use some improvement."
"The complexity is the key challenge with a tool like ADP ."
"When I'm not working with the implementation team and I'm just talking to customer service or something, they're just not a lot of help. They don't understand how it works. They'll tell you to do something that I know would affect something else. So, it's less about the software and more about just training their folks to a higher level."
"The report functionality is not as good as competitive products."
"I would like to see the payroll side improved and there are a few kinks that need to be worked out."
"Its reporting feature could have customization options."
"When performing reconciliation, manual entry is sometimes required, and barcode scanning isn't always available."
"It is a bit tedious and manual to work with."
"The setup comes with a set of challenges as well."
"SAP HCM's long and tedious transactions can be improved."
"The extensibility of the integration could be improved."
"It would be nice if the solution migrated to S/4HANA."
"SAP HCM has many different channels for communication with the consultants which makes it complex. There are delays when there is a problem."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."
"It is expensive."
"The solution is expensive and everyone complains about the price."
"I give the pricing a seven out of ten."
"The pricing is expensive and I would say it is below average for the value it provides based on the high cost."
"I know some of what we're currently paying. Most customers would say it's too high, but I don't have a comparison to know that."
"The cost of SAP HCM is high, the license should be reduced. SAP HCM has a lot of hidden costs."
"The cost depends on the size of the organization. Compared to others, I'd say Oracle is number one, followed by Workday and SAP HCM."
"The solution is a little expensive and we are charged per user for the license. The solution can be paid monthly or annually."
"We purchase the product's yearly license."
"For implementation, SAP offers little support unless you buy SAP Safeguarding from SAP Consulting."
"I believe HCM is a little expensive, but I don't know the exact price because I'm involved with the sales team. However, I think the price must be reasonable because many organizations are migrating their current ERPs to SAP. It's excellent software, and the price is competitive."
"The pricing is around the middle, at a five out of ten. But it depends on the number of licenses. More licenses mean lower per-user costs. You need to understand how to play the volume game and the growth."
"The pricing is really high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Legal Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise39
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ADP Workforce Now?
The licensing is on the pricer side, given that there aren't a lot of other tools out there that are applicable, we just decided to go ahead with ADP anyway. I would definitely recommend ADP to oth...
What needs improvement with ADP Workforce Now?
The complexity is the key challenge with a tool like ADP because it has all the bells and whistles and all the key features you can possibly think of. If it isn't there, there's always a third-part...
What advice do you have for others considering ADP Workforce Now?
Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. It's got a lot of features. The reason I'm not giving it a full score is largely due to the complexity and the customer service.
What do you like most about SAP HCM?
SAP HCM is the one of the best ERP for an organization with a small to large scale business. It has the most efficient payroll functionality. Regards : SAP HR classes in pune
What do you like most about SAP HCM?
HCM is a very important module that each organization should want to use. It will help any organization to calculate and control the cost of their human resources.
What is better, SAP HCM or SAP SuccessFactors?
When it comes to user experience, SuccessFactors is unquestionably superior, as it provides end users with a new experience and an advanced user interface. Additionally, the entire concept of SF is...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP Human Capital Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lawrence and Schiller, The Children's Center, The Kansas City Royals
City of Cape Town, ADAMA Agricultural Solutions Ltd., TransAlta Corporation, Keolis, PT XL Axiata Tbk, National Football League (NFL), Plan International, Yoh, A Day & Zimmermann Company, China Talent Group (CTG TMO), Umicore S.A., Butterfield Bank, Skrill Group Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about ADP Workforce Now vs. SAP HCM and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.