Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Dayforce HCM 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

Dayforce HCM
Ranking in Talent Management
20th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Talent Intelligence (5th)
SAP HCM
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
Benefits Administration (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Dayforce HCM is 2.6%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HCM is 4.5%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP HCM4.5%
Dayforce HCM2.6%
Other92.9%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Noorkah - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Enterprise Financial Systems at City of Columbus
Greatly improved our efficiency with its integrated time and attendance module
Dayforce has given us near to real-time access to time sheets and clockings since it has an integrated time and attendance module. Within six minutes of someone clocking in, we can see them on the timesheets. Dayforce has enabled us to smooth out our payroll system so not everything is happening at the end of the payroll cycle. We can see the impacts during the week and make it a lot more manageable. It's also been helpful for benefits administration with employees being able to file life and work events online. They can access their pay stubs, request leave, change their address, update their direct deposit details, and other things. We've become much more efficient, and much less paper driven.
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

"I have not encountered many bugs, and in the rare instances where problems occurred, Ceridian Dayforce HCM promptly fixed them. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"We have been able to automate many of our manual processes."
"The product has a pretty clean look."
"The initial setup is easy."
"Ceridian Dayforce HCM is a stable product."
"The solution's payroll portion is very streamlined."
"The integrated time clock has provided efficiencies in payroll, as we no longer have to decipher handwritten time sheets and input them into the system."
"We used the solution to do a lot of performance management during the review cycle and it helped us alleviate the administrative burden."
"We have managed to consolidate our payroll for all India operations on this platform."
"The most valuable feature is the Personnel Administration."
"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."
"They provide the most stable and powerful technology in the areas of human resources, information systems, and ERP."
"The platform is simple to use and has a user-friendly dashboard and integration features."
"The master data where most of the reports were run from was the most valuable. We were quite satisfied with this module."
"Customers can create custom infotypes to store any custom data points."
"It has the best data management features."
 

Cons

"I would also like to see some improvement in standard reports. A standard report should be available to pull the required information for Affirmative Action Plans. I do not think I should have to build or create one."
"It would be nice if retro pay calculations were made automatically for salaried payroll, so a calculation and manual entry do not have to be done."
"An area for improvement could be a little more testing before implementing hotfixes to make sure they do not interfere with any active customized products."
"Dayforce has its gaps like every HR system, but nothing comes to mind at the moment."
"I would like to see more built-in forms. This would save a lot of time during the year-end process."
"Customizing the home screen was difficult; I could not remove certain tabs that were irrelevant to our users."
"One area to be improved is the solution's reporting function, which can be cumbersome."
"I would like the solution to improve its customer service communication."
"Responses for enhancements can be slow."
"The talent modules are lacking in HCM, so I would recommend switching to SuccessFactors for talent management, but HCM excels at time management and payroll."
"It was difficult to deploy. There were challenges regarding configurations and implementation. So, we had a lot of issues."
"HCM could improve compatibility, making it more accessible via web applications and graphical interfaces."
"The current platform is quite rigid and not as flexible and end-user friendly as other HR solutions."
"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 solution is rather expensive."
"It would be nice if the solution migrated to S/4HANA."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the solution's pricing a seven on a scale where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive."
"Ceridian continually enhances Dayforce HCM. Some of these enhancements they charge for and some are just straight enhancements with no extra charge."
"We found the setup costs and pricing to be very reasonable."
"In terms of pricing, the product is expensive. However, it is crucial to take into account the manner in which the solution will be utilized and the availability of other alternatives."
"The XOXO program associated with Dayforce allows you to earn credits towards registration and accommodations at their annual Insight Conferences, which can be a real savings to the company when sending employees to the conference."
"Earlier, the price of the product was reasonable. Under present circumstances, the price or cost of the product has been increased."
"Negotiate for everything you want."
"We paid for the implementation costs in the first year with the money that we saved by switching to Dayforce HCM."
"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."
"For implementation, SAP offers little support unless you buy SAP Safeguarding from SAP Consulting."
"Be careful and guard against future changes in licensing."
"The pricing is really high."
"Licensing is pretty complex. SAP does not have a straight forward way of licensing, and it differs from client to client."
"The solution is cheap."
"The pricing is not reasonable at all."
"The pricing depends upon the specific model and number of user accounts included in a bundle."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud HCM solutions are best for your needs.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Non Profit
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise39
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Ceridian Dayforce HCM?
Customizing the home screen was difficult; I could not remove certain tabs that were irrelevant to our users. The search functionality is poor as there's no way for administrators to tag keywords t...
What is your primary use case for Ceridian Dayforce HCM?
We have used Dayforce HCM for our HR functionalities and for the learning module over the last five years. We actually just migrated to a new learning management system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ceridian Dayforce HCM?
The Learning Module add-on to Dayforce HCM was relatively inexpensive per user compared to other LMS’s.
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

Ceridian Dayforce HCM, Ascender Talent Management, Ceridian Ideal
SAP Human Capital Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ACCO Brands
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 Dayforce HCM vs. SAP HCM and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.