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SAP HCM vs Sage People 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

Sage People
Ranking in Benefits Administration
9th
Ranking in Talent Management
10th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
10th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
HR Analytics Software (6th), Talent Acquisition (6th)
SAP HCM
Ranking in Benefits Administration
3rd
Ranking in Talent Management
3rd
Ranking in Cloud HCM
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Sage People is 0.6%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HCM is 13.1%, down from 17.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

Spencer Gray - PeerSpot reviewer
Highly customizable, robust, and access to helpful online community
In my opinion, the performance management module of this system could use improvement as it falls behind compared to other specialized performance management platforms. While I understand that this system is not solely focused on performance management and is more of a generalist solution, it still lacks the capabilities and features that you can find in other specialized platforms. If we were to switch to a provider solely focused on performance management, we would have access to a wider range of features and capabilities that are not currently available in this system. Sage People offers a wide range of functions that meet most requirements. However, there is still room for improvement. One feature that I would like to see added is the ability to detect and address any failures in the custom processes or functions built within the system. I would like to see a tool that can automatically sense and identify any issues in the system. Currently, when something goes wrong, it's not always immediately obvious and requires a lot of manual troubleshooting. It would be helpful if there was an error message that clearly explained why the system is failing. This would speed up the investigation process and make it ten times faster.
Renelia Villanueva - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient payroll processing with comprehensive attendance management
I am currently heading the payroll benefits and HRIS team here in Manila. We are using SAP HCM on-premises, and we implemented SuccessFactors focusing on Employee Central and GMPM SAP HCM has helped a lot due to the always changing government regulations pertaining to taxation, social security…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The report builder and dashboard builder are very, very good."
"Sage makes all the information accessible, like pulling a file because an employee needs something ASAP. It's all in the system. It's easy to find old reports if I need them for payroll purposes. It might take days to do some of this work by hand."
"The solution provides the ability to trace back records, is reliable, makes life easy, and is secure."
"The solution is beneficial overall."
"The reporting features are also very valuable because, on top of 300+ reports available on the system, you can also customize quite a number of reports."
"I guess I would say maybe that it is a more robust system."
"Without a doubt, the most valuable aspect of this solution is the reports, as it offers endless possibilities for report customization. You can easily build any report you can imagine with this system."
"Compared to the other system that we were using, I think Sage is more friendly. As an administrator, Sage's dashboard is visually friendly and many tasks are easier to accomplish. Another feature that we've liked since we started using Sage is the reporting. With the other system, we needed to configure a lot of things manually when it came to reporting, but with Sage the reporting tasks are much simpler."
"We are satisfied with the reporting by SAP HCM."
"The most valuable feature is the Personnel Administration."
"The platform is simple to use and has a user-friendly dashboard and integration features."
"Scalability is excellent, and I would rate it ten out of ten."
"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."
"SAP HCM is a powerful program that can greatly benefit organizations with its comprehensive features and integrations."
"SAP HCM has valuable features for analytics data management."
"I feel SAP HCM is very competitive and worth the investment given its capability to integrate modules and provide comprehensive value."
 

Cons

"In my opinion, the performance management module of this system could use improvement as it falls behind compared to other specialized performance management platforms."
"The budget module does not work. Sage People need to maybe make it more user-friendly."
"There were a couple of things that we wanted to customize, but we couldn’t do it ourselves."
"The user interface is not great."
"Right now, Sage doesn't seem to have what we are looking for when it comes to managing HR tickets. In my previous experiences with other HR software, we had to buy another solution to obtain this functionality, and it would be a great feature for Sage to consider adding. For an HR system, Sage would do very well to include it."
"The integration with our payroll system could improve. However, it is managed by another company."
"Its technical support could have been better."
"If Sage People were to become a fully cloud-based solution, it could lead to significant improvements. With the COVID pandemic highlighting the benefits of remote work, a complete shift to cloud-based functionality would be a welcome development for users."
"System usability is a challenge."
"SAP HCM could improve by having more resources and making it more user-friendly. It is complex."
"Managing changes in applications can be challenging since it complicates testing and unit testing, resulting in longer testing phases. This time-consuming process often leaves little room for actual work."
"The solution is rather expensive."
"The breadth of functionality offered by SAP HCM comes at a cost."
"This solution needs to be more configurable and user-friendly."
"SAP HCM needs to improve its UI."
"It needs a lot of end user training as it is not intuitive at all."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is reasonable."
"I believe we pay licensing on a yearly basis, but I can't comment on the total amount that we pay on licensing."
"Its cost is moderate for a multi-group licensing model."
"We have to purchase the solution's license to use it."
"The cost of Sage People varies depending on the financial resources of the organization. While it may be affordable for middle-level companies, it may be more challenging for young companies to bear the cost."
"From an SME standpoint, I wouldn't necessarily describe it as expensive. However, for the average startup, it may not be affordable since our current annual expenditure on the system, which supports approximately 210-220 users, amounts to approximately £15,000 to £18,000."
"I think it's reasonably priced. But in comparison to other systems, I would choose them over Sage People, regardless of their prices."
"There is other software on the market that can do similar functions to Sage People that could be better in price. Some solution allows you to do your payroll processes by month or by the process. Small companies could benefit by using another solution."
"The solution is cheap."
"The cost of SAP HCM is high, the license should be reduced. SAP HCM has a lot of hidden costs."
"In my view, this product is a waste of money for SMB because there are much better products available and licensing is an issue."
"The pricing depends upon the specific model and number of user accounts included in a bundle."
"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 cost depends on the size of the organization. Compared to others, I'd say Oracle is number one, followed by Workday and SAP HCM."
"SAP is expensive, but if you're using the product, then the expensive product becomes inexpensive. Considering its performance and features, I find it quite reasonable."
"Licensing is pretty complex. SAP does not have a straight forward way of licensing, and it differs from client to client."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Sage People?
The report builder and dashboard builder are very, very good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sage People?
The product is definitely not cheap. However, it's probably not uber-expensive. It is definitely on the higher end. Companies must understand that the more modules they choose, the more expensive t...
What needs improvement with Sage People?
There were a couple of things that we wanted to customize, but we couldn’t do it ourselves. So, we had to do another project that cost us. The product must improve how absence works.
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

Fairsail
SAP Human Capital Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Rocketship Education, Monitise, u-blox, SolarWinds, Mitsubishi, SmartStream, Canonical, Betfair
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 SAP HCM vs. Sage People and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.