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SAP HCM vs Sage People comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
17th
Ranking in Talent Management
25th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
21st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
HR Analytics Software (8th), Talent Acquisition (16th)
SAP HCM
Ranking in Benefits Administration
3rd
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 June 2026, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Sage People is 1.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HCM is 3.6%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP HCM3.6%
Sage People1.7%
Other94.7%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

Ruth Baker - PeerSpot reviewer
HRIS Implementation Consultant at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
A highly scalable product that provides excellent dashboard and reporting features
The initial setup is easy. We need to be technically savvy. We need to have experience with HR systems to be involved in the setups. For someone who's never had an HR system before, it's going to be very overwhelming. The solution has got a lot of functionalities, which is brilliant. It is 90% customizable. We can configure it exactly as we want it. We would definitely need someone with HR systems experience to understand the backend. We can configure the back end as much as we like. We can also do it once we’ve gone live with the system.
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

"The product is really easy to customise and configure, and the automation has enabled us to manage several HR processes at the right time in the correct manner."
"The technical support is astounding and they are one of the best support teams I have had the pleasure to work with."
"The most valuable features of Sage People are the reports that are useful for decision-making and the API that can be integrated well. Additionally, the solution can be accessed from mobile devices onto the cloud."
"We are now able to visualize global team structures, and as we rollout other features, the organization will benefit from an easy to use system and standard processes."
"The report builder and dashboard builder are very, very good."
"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."
"I guess I would say maybe that it is a more robust system."
"It is easy to see all the information we have for a person across two screens, and reports are easy to run, view, amend, and add."
"The most valuable feature is Organizational Management (OM)."
"The technical support is quite good."
"SAP HCM is a powerful program that can greatly benefit organizations with its comprehensive features and integrations."
"Sometimes, employees may have pending requests that need approval, so you should check those and clear any errors to ensure smooth processing."
"The integration between the different models like personnel administration, work management, payroll, and time management are the most valuable and key features."
"We've found that the solution has the capability to scale."
"The feature I like most in SAP HCM is its effectiveness for talent management."
"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."
 

Cons

"There is a mash-up of Visualforce and apex triggers which bear down heavily on the system."
"Within the absence screens, we have it set up to automatically allow up to five days holiday to carry over. If staff members are allowed to carry over, it’s a bit difficult to add it in easily."
"There were a couple of things that we wanted to customize, but we couldn’t do it ourselves."
"Its technical support could have been better."
"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 product lacks several features available in more mature products."
"The automation in Sage People could improve. The solution is the best used for data storage but the automation could be better to have more functionality."
"Its stability could be better."
"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."
"SAP is not a last generation system. Users experience the use of the system as it was in 1998."
"When performing reconciliation, manual entry is sometimes required, and barcode scanning isn't always available."
"It's intuitive, but not as intuitive or user-friendly as it should be. It's 2017, and I should be able to click once and just breeze through it."
"We are not planning to continue to use it at all. We are moving away from it entirely."
"SAP HCM has helped a lot due to the always changing government regulations pertaining to taxation, social security service, and local regulations that change frequently."
"Its reporting feature could have customization options."
"The product's license is very expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its cost is moderate for a multi-group licensing model."
"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."
"I think it's reasonably priced. But in comparison to other systems, I would choose them over Sage People, regardless of their prices."
"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."
"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 price of the solution 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."
"We have to purchase the solution's license to use it."
"Licensing fees are paid yearly."
"We purchase the product's yearly license."
"The product is expensive."
"The solution is a little expensive and we are charged per user for the license. The solution can be paid monthly or annually."
"The pricing is really high."
"For implementation, SAP offers little support unless you buy SAP Safeguarding from SAP Consulting."
"The cost of SAP HCM is high, the license should be reduced. SAP HCM has a lot of hidden costs."
"SAP is extremely expensive. The integration costs and customization costs are also a lot."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise40
 

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

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: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.