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Cornerstone HR Suite 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

Cornerstone HR Suite
Ranking in Talent Management
52nd
Ranking in Cloud HCM
31st
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
HR Analytics Software (10th)
SAP HCM
Ranking in Talent Management
3rd
Ranking in Cloud HCM
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Cornerstone HR Suite is 0.8%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HCM is 5.4%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP HCM5.4%
Cornerstone HR Suite0.8%
Other93.8%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

AM
Manager, BO Transformation at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
A easy-to-use solution for onboarding and training that needs to let its users locate information easily
The most concerning point about these applications is that they offer cloud solutions, and everything goes and works well. But they are not committed or involved in the connection activity. We need to run those applications on the cloud. Since we are a company, We have a lot of information on on-premise platforms. So they are not responsible for building any connection, interconnection, or interface between those legacy systems. And most of the time, the company must consider the proposed plans in making the interfaces. And building the interfaces is something we need to do on our own, and it's separate from the solution. I rate this solution a seven out of ten.
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

"Cornerstone is easy to use...Cornerstone is used for playing training courses and short videos based on company requirements."
"The flexibility and the fact that it covers all different HR modules is the most valuable aspect of Cornerstone. They did organically built, so all modules are integrated with the same way of managing the configuration, contextualization, availability, and reporting across all of the modules."
"The advantage of choosing Cornerstone HR Suite is that if a company does not have an existing tool and plans to adopt automation, then there is a chance to gain from implementing this solution."
"When you maintain your data in SAP, you can generate any kind of HR report with one click."
"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."
"All our employee data, like performance and payroll, is managed through SAP HCM."
"Customers can create custom infotypes to store any custom data points."
"They have some interesting features in the learning space."
"We have managed to consolidate our payroll for all India operations on this platform."
"SAP HCM is a competitive and comprehensive tool that covers major programs in the enterprise and supports the global process."
"The payroll suite is very valuable."
 

Cons

"We're using different tools like tracking systems, exploring workforce management, and also using payroll, which is another tool, so we need to know where exactly the information is present. This feature needs improvement in the next release."
"The solution's interface is really, really old and requires improvements...Cornerstone should use newer technologies to improve its UI, UX, and content."
"The recruitment module can be improved and also the general reporting can be improved."
"The limitation of HCM compared to new-era human capital management solutions is the cost."
"The implementation of the solution can be a bit difficult. They should make it easier. If it could be as simple as the SuccessFactors implementation that would be ideal."
"There's still room for improvement. We need end-to-end systems. Only the HR team uses HCM, but employees don't have access to their data. With Employee Central, employees can see their ratings, increment cycles, and other details, making things more transparent."
"It would be nice if the solution migrated to S/4HANA."
"The product significantly improved our organization by automating many processes, which reduced paperwork and provided clearer, more accurate goals and competencies."
"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."
"It needs a lot of end user training as it is not intuitive at all."
"I would say the speed of SAP HCM tool might need some optimization."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product can be considered as not being on the high-end side of the price spectrum, as many other products are much more expensive. However, it cannot be said that it is cheap either."
"The solution is cheap."
"The terms on which you buy licenses might change due to the way they license in a particular product."
"The pricing depends upon the specific model and number of user accounts included in a bundle."
"The pricing is not reasonable at all."
"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."
"Licensing is pretty complex. SAP does not have a straight forward way of licensing, and it differs from client to client."
"The product is expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise39
 

Questions from the Community

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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

Wendys, RSM, Nestle, New Belgium
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 Cornerstone HR Suite vs. SAP HCM and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.