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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
14th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
12th
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
4th
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 October 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of ADP Workforce Now is 1.6%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HCM is 9.6%, down from 16.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP HCM9.6%
ADP Workforce Now1.6%
Other88.8%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

Vineeth John - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Bijoykrishna Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Centralized system enhances resource and capital management efficiency
The functions in SAP HCM that I have found most valuable include a bundle of resource management as well as capital management, which is also integrated with payroll and other systems. I also use a payroll processing feature in SAP HCM. The talent management tool in SAP HCM is useful, though it does not provide everything; it is not at the level of some other third-party tools for talent management, but we can still use it. SAP HCM supports our organization's global operations with multi-currency capabilities. The main benefit SAP HCM provides is that we have all the information in one place; it is basically one centralized system with all the information rather than having multiple systems across the organization.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The most valuable features are the reporting and benefits piece."
"The platform is on a private cloud that is fully secure with no way for hacker penetration."
"The most valuable feature to me is performance management because we just started using that."
"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 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."
"The compliance management functionality is quite good."
"Payroll is always the central area the tool focuses on. It needs to ensure things are flowing, employees are paid on time, and there are no issues related to location, pay, or hiring. SAP HCM helps observe all the work, from hiring to paying paychecks every month. It's a system that depends on the data you input. You don't want to work with bad data and expect miracles. If the data isn't clean, it's more work."
"The functions are really important in the product in ReadyNodes."
"All our employee data, like performance and payroll, is managed through SAP HCM."
"Recently, the localization versions for different countries were increased, and that added value to the solution."
"I think HCM was the most stable for me...It is a very scalable product."
"We are satisfied with the reporting by SAP HCM."
"The platform is simple to use and has a user-friendly dashboard and integration features."
 

Cons

"The ease of developing and creating reports could definitely use some improvement."
"The complexity is the key challenge with a tool like ADP ."
"Its benefits portal could be user-friendly."
"The report functionality is not as good as competitive products."
"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."
"I would like to see the payroll side improved and there are a few kinks that need to be worked out."
"The solution is rather expensive."
"I would like it to move more towards a single data space, a single data source. SAP as a platform relies on multiple data sources because traditionally, it's been bolted together by the acquisition of other products rather than a single database. That's why there are lots of points of failure and lots of required points of integration. They need a single integration point."
"The limitation of HCM compared to new-era human capital management solutions is the cost."
"What can be improved in SAP HCM depends on the industry it serves. The system's navigation could be simplified for users. The flow and integration between parts, like core HR, payroll, and recruiting, must be communicated properly. Users should focus on how doing things correctly from the start will improve things in the long run rather than feeling overwhelmed by tasks."
"The organizational management (OM) side needs improvement due to frequent reorganization which makes it tedious to make all the movement changes and combinations."
"It was difficult to deploy. There were challenges regarding configurations and implementation. So, we had a lot of issues."
"SAP HCM needs to improve its UI."
"There are already success factors for the cloud solution which cannot be integrated into S/4 HANA."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive and everyone complains about the price."
"The pricing is expensive and I would say it is below average for the value it provides based on the high cost."
"It is expensive."
"I give the pricing a seven out of ten."
"The solution is expensive."
"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."
"For implementation, SAP offers little support unless you buy SAP Safeguarding from SAP Consulting."
"Licensing is pretty complex. SAP does not have a straight forward way of licensing, and it differs from client to client."
"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."
"We have an annual license for this solution, and the price depends on the number of users."
"The product is expensive."
"The terms on which you buy licenses might change due to the way they license in a particular product."
"Be careful and guard against future changes in licensing."
"In my view, this product is a waste of money for SMB because there are much better products available and licensing is an issue."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
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...
 

Comparisons

 

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: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.