Dayforce HCM vs SAP SuccessFactors comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Dayforce and SAP are both solutions in the Cloud HCM category. Dayforce is ranked #11, while SAP is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.5. Dayforce holds a 2.4% mindshare in CHCM, compared to SAP’s 8.9% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Dayforce users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Dayforce HCM

Read 15 Dayforce HCM reviews

4,988 Views
3,891 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

SAP SuccessFactors

Read 99 SAP SuccessFactors reviews

18,778 Views
13,145 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Dayforce HCM

SAP SuccessFactors

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

SAP SuccessFactors and Dayforce HCM are major competitors in the human capital management software industry. Dayforce HCM appears to have an upper hand in payroll and compliance, while SAP SuccessFactors thrives on modular HR features and integration capabilities.

Features: SAP SuccessFactors provides modular capabilities for talent management, performance, learning, and analytics within the SAP ecosystem. It offers extensive customization, innovative AI, and third-party integrations. Dayforce HCM highlights robust payroll, time and attendance functionalities, strong compliance features, and real-time data processing with integrated time clock and document management capabilities.

Room for Improvement: SAP SuccessFactors could enhance module integration, analytics, and the user interface to increase usability and customization, improve reporting tools, offer faster localization, and accelerate update rollouts. Dayforce HCM might refine its user interface, reporting, and connectivity options, as well as enhance home screen customization and third-party integrations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP SuccessFactors offers deployment in public cloud, on-premises, and private cloud configurations, yet faces variable technical support quality with responsiveness issues. Dayforce HCM is more often an on-premises solution, praised for its dedicated support team that efficiently resolves issues.

Pricing and ROI: SAP SuccessFactors is considered high-cost, with pricing based on modules and users, potentially restrictive for smaller organizations despite flexible subscription models. Some users find value in its features and integrations. Dayforce HCM is seen as more reasonably priced, especially for large enterprises, offering significant ROI within one to two years due to lower implementation costs and built-in efficiencies, while SuccessFactors shows lower perceived ROI because of high transition costs from other systems.

To learn more, read our detailed Dayforce HCM vs. SAP SuccessFactors Report (Updated: October 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Dayforce HCM vs. SAP SuccessFactors

October 2026

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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

19th

Ranking in Cloud HCM

11th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Talent Intelligence (12th)

SAP SuccessFactors

Ranking in Talent Management

1st

Ranking in Cloud HCM

2nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Talent Acquisition (2nd), Global Payroll (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Dayforce HCM is 2.4%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SuccessFactors is 8.9%, down from 16.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud HCM Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SAP SuccessFactors	8.9%
Dayforce HCM	2.4%
Other	88.7%

Cloud HCM

Featured Reviews

Thomas Noorkah

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.

Read full review

Saptak Samadder

Assistant Manager at Kashiv Biosciences

HR has gained clear analytics for attrition, goals, and appraisals and manages talent efficiently

SAP SuccessFactors has a low error rate. We had many ad hoc reports that we needed to generate, and it was very easy to do so in SAP SuccessFactors. We also created many in-house reports according to our specific requirements with the help of this tool, which was a really big game changer for us. We did not depend on advanced Excel in those cases. We generated a lot of detailed reports whenever we needed them during emergency cases or board meetings. A lot of usefulness and time were saved in those cases. I will also mention that we conducted a comparative study for some recruitment cases. We had a recruitment model where we were looking for a very niche profile. Since the job profile was really different and rare, we had to depend on analytics to understand and shortlist from a large pool of candidates that we already had in our database. Analytics was really helpful in this situation.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool has improved a lot in the area of its mobile application, especially considering its added security features, like single sign-on capabilities."

"The solution's payroll portion is very streamlined."

"The time capture from time cards to charging to projects has greatly improved because it is now all automated and flows into the GL very easily."

"Dayforce has transformed how we operate by saving us time, paper, accuracy, money, and the employee/supervisor experience."

"Employees like being able to see what entitlements/balances that they have for their time away."

"Ceridian Dayforce HCM is a stable product."

"The fact that the time and attendance system is built into the HRIS is very valuable because, in the past, we had to use two different systems."

"The implementation was through a team assigned to us by Ceridian. They were extremely knowledgeable and it made the implementation go very smoothly."

More Dayforce HCM pros

"It is a very stable solution."

"It covers all the everyday functions of the employee life cycle."

"I love SAP, and I like SuccessFactors...I think most users prefer SuccessFactors as they become more comfortable with it."

"The UX in SAP SuccessFactors is good."

"It is a scalable solution."

"We use the cloud version to maintain all the employee records, payroll, etc., and we use everything that comes with the HR suite."

"SAP SuccessFactors forms a key tool to our Employee Engagement pillar extensively leveraged by our HR function across the Group."

"You will probably see an ROI after a year or two. It's great for auditing and there's a lot of reporting built-in so that you can really focus on processes."

More SAP SuccessFactors pros

Cons

"Our current software program offers a home page with important company documents and a place for company announcements. Unfortunately, Ceridian Dayfoce does not offer this."

"The solution's initial setup was difficult. Also, the solution's initial deployment took around six months."

"One area to be improved is the solution's reporting function, which can be cumbersome."

"The solution's dashboards and geofencing could be improved."

"Dayforce has its gaps like every HR system, but nothing comes to mind at the moment."

"The reporting could be improved."

"The product they sell you is not the end product. Many things are presented as though they will be included with the system but then require costly upgrades."

"I would like to continue to see improvements in the Recruiting module. I would like to see this module interact with Calendars, such as Outlook, etc."

More Dayforce HCM cons

"The technology is changing quickly and the solution requires support but it's not forthcoming."

"There's room for improvement in SAP SuccessFactors, particularly in terms of innovation. I'd like more flexibility in its functionality and more customization. In terms of what additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of the product, it depends on the module because you have various modules in SAP SuccessFactors, so it's easier to go module by module and understand what features you have in each module. The product has a lot of features coming up, but the product being more mobile, or having mobile features would be nice."

"SuccessFactors is a perfect tool if you use it the way it is meant to be, but if you start building custom sessions and try to use it differently, then it is a total mess."

"To explain one feature that I would like to see in SuccessFactors, I must describe a similar feature as seen in Oracle. In Oracle, there's a feature called Workforce Prediction, and with this feature, we can predict some of the behaviors of any employee. For example, the software can attempt to predict whether the employee might resign in future, or perhaps if they will start to perform better. This is something that is missing in SuccessFactors."

"The data management part can be improved in terms of how you can manage data from the HR admin's or HR team's perspective."

"SAP SuccessFactors functionality doesn't meet the expectation of our end users. There are other solutions that have better functionality, such as Workday, which is one of the top applications. Additionally, the solution could be easier to use."

"There's room for improvement in SAP SuccessFactors, particularly in terms of innovation. I'd like more flexibility in its functionality and more customization."

"The SAP SuccessFactors integration with old versions can improve. We are using an older finance module but we are having migration issues."

More SAP SuccessFactors cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Earlier, the price of the product was reasonable. Under present circumstances, the price or cost of the product has been increased."

"We found the setup costs and pricing to be very reasonable."

"I rate the solution's pricing a seven on a scale where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive."

"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."

"Ceridian continually enhances Dayforce HCM. Some of these enhancements they charge for and some are just straight enhancements with no extra charge."

"Negotiate for everything you want."

"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."

"We paid for the implementation costs in the first year with the money that we saved by switching to Dayforce HCM."

"We have a yearly license. There are no additional costs."

"I have raised change requests for some modules within SuccessFactors. For example, when you're using Recruiting Management, there's a feature called Interview Central you can use to reach the candidates you're interviewing. I wanted to add a writing assessment when I select the competency on that platform. It varies from consultant to consultant, depending on what module they use."

"I think the pricing is a little better than most solutions out there. There are reasonable prices when it comes to some of the modules such as the Payroll module, and for the remaining modules I believe the pricing is fair in comparison to the rest of the market."

"Our costs for the solution are subsidized by our parent company, I am not aware of the exact cost because of this. However, we pay $50,000 annually. If we move to another solution it will be more expensive."

"For SAP, the product is pricey, both CAPEX and the OPEX. It's something that could be improved."

"It is not cheap, but it is reasonable."

"It is not expensive because it is a complete suite with a module-based cost."

"The pricing for SuccessFactors is ridiculously high, and there are costs in addition to the license fee for some features."

More SAP SuccessFactors pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

14%

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

Outsourcing Company

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Outsourcing Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	70

Questions from the Community

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What are the biggest differences between Workday, Oracle Cloud and SAP SuccessFactors?

Differences between Workday, Oracle Cloud,w and SAP SuccessFactors:w Oracle: "simple interface and deep customization to suit the purpose." SAP: Multiple functionalities that increase process effi...

See all answers

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...

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How easy is to maintain Workday, Oracle Cloud, and SuccessFactors?

I implemented Workday in 2024 and without having previous Workday experience, it was very challenging. I spent most of 2025 putting out fires and cleaning up the business processes that came with l...

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Comparisons

Workday HCM vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 17% of the time

UKG vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle HCM Cloud vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 8% of the time

PeopleSoft vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 3% of the time

ADP Workforce Now vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 3% of the time

More Dayforce HCM Competitors

Workday HCM vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 24% of the time

Oracle HCM Cloud vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 20% of the time

UKG vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 6% of the time

SAP HCM vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 3% of the time

PeopleStrong vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 2% of the time

More SAP SuccessFactors Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dayforce HCM

November 2026

Download Dayforce HCM product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP SuccessFactors

October 2026

Download SAP SuccessFactors product report

Also Known As

Ceridian Dayforce HCM, Ascender Talent Management, Ceridian Ideal

SuccessFactors

Overview

Dayforce HCM offers an integrated platform that combines timekeeping, payroll, and benefits management, enhancing HR operations with mobile access and transparent pay details across North America.

Dayforce HCM delivers comprehensive HR, payroll, and talent management tools within a cloud-based solution. It simplifies ACA, FMLA, and COBRA compliance while providing mobile and web access to payroll information. Its reporting capabilities are robust, and it features intuitive content management. The platform enhances efficiency with integrated time and attendance management, meeting payroll needs across Canada and the US. However, areas for improvement include retro pay calculations, user-friendliness, reporting, and customer service. Users also highlight the need for advancements in the Recruiting module, calendar integration, custom forms, and addressing import glitches and additional feature costs.

What are the key features?

Integrated Timekeeping: Streamlines payroll by eliminating manual entries.
Benefits Module: Simplifies management of ACA, FMLA, and COBRA.
Mobile and Web Access: Provides transparency in pay details.
Time and Attendance Integration: Boosts administrative efficiency.
Comprehensive Suite: Reduces reliance on multiple software for HR, payroll, and talent management.

Which benefits and ROI should users consider?

Streamlined Payroll: Efficient for companies operating in Canada and the US.
Robust Reporting: Enhances decision-making with comprehensive data analytics.
Intuitive Content Management: Simplifies HR management processes.

Organizations use Dayforce HCM for managing payroll, benefits administration, recruiting, and performance management, integrating HR functionalities on a cloud platform. Industries appreciate its ability to manage HR tasks efficiently, providing analytics and mobile features essential for handling HR processes and reporting.

Dayforce

SAP SuccessFactors is an AI-powered, cloud-based HR suite supporting over 100 countries, providing real-time insights and integrated solutions across core HR, payroll, talent, learning, analytics, and employee experience.

Trusted by over 10,000 organizations, SAP SuccessFactors elevates people processes, decisions, and experiences by empowering employees. It offers AI-driven tools enhancing self-service, learning, performance, and development, unifying people and skills data to align talents with business goals. The platform ensures compliance with legal updates and speeds up results using HR best practices and a robust partner network. Its modular design, seamless integration, and mobile access stand out, supporting global accessibility and talent management. Role-based permissions and automated compliance offer flexibility and security, catering to diverse industries.

What are the most important features of SAP SuccessFactors?

Performance and Goal Management: Facilitates setting and tracking employee objectives.
Employee Lifecycle Management: Streamlines employee processes from recruitment to exit.
Learning Management: Promotes continuous learning and development.
Real-Time Reporting: Provides instant insights into HR data.

What benefits should users look for in SAP SuccessFactors reviews?

Increased Productivity: AI-driven tools enhance workforce agility.
Talent Alignment: Unifying skills data aligns workforce with business priorities.
Compliance Assurance: Regular updates ensure legal and regulatory adherence.
Global Accessibility: Cloud-based platform supports cross-geography management.

Organizations implement SAP SuccessFactors for Performance Management, Talent Acquisition, Learning, and HR core functions, streamlining recruitment, onboarding, records management, goal setting, and performance evaluation. It extends to time management, compensation, and talent development, integrating across geographies for centralized data management, reporting, and analytics, enhancing HR operations and employee engagement.

SAP

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, Skril

Buyer's Guide

Dayforce HCM vs. SAP SuccessFactors

October 2026

Free Report: Dayforce HCM vs. SAP SuccessFactors

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