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PeopleSoft vs SAP SuccessFactors comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.1
PeopleSoft offers cost-efficient ROI, maintained with minimal resources, outperforming costlier systems like Oracle and SAP in user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
5.0
SAP SuccessFactors offers ROI within years by automating HR, though high costs may reduce perceived financial benefits.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.5
PeopleSoft's customer service is satisfactory, but users desire quicker, more detailed support, especially for complex issues and upgrades.
Sentiment score
6.1
SAP SuccessFactors' support experiences vary, with some users satisfied, but others face delays and note limited expertise.
If a customer designs custom applications and encounters issues, PeopleSoft will not provide service for those custom applications.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
PeopleSoft is scalable and adaptable, excelling in performance and integration, though complex applications may pose challenges.
Sentiment score
7.7
SAP SuccessFactors offers scalable solutions with quarterly updates, cloud compatibility, and modular design for diverse organizational needs.
This rating reflects the limitation that custom applications do not receive support.
We have implemented it for 25,000 employees, scaling from 7,000 to 25,000 using the same set of rules, and it was not difficult.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
PeopleSoft is valued for its stability, consistent performance, customization, and quick resolution of rare bugs, despite minor issues.
Sentiment score
7.5
SAP SuccessFactors is highly stable, with occasional updates or custom field issues, but generally surpasses other ERP systems in reliability.
Small issues take maximum one to two hours to resolve, while major issues take up to 12 hours.
I hardly ever encounter any stability issues, as SAP SuccessFactors is very good and stable.
The solution is absolutely stable.
 

Room For Improvement

PeopleSoft needs improvements in mobile UI, technical support, integration capabilities, and customization complexity, while enhancing performance and design.
SAP SuccessFactors needs enhanced analytics, integration, user interfaces, customization, localization, cloud features, AI, and improved documentation.
Professionals are transitioning due to challenges in availability, scalability, and resource allocation.
They should implement soft connectors through a marketplace for virtual learning integration with platforms such as Teams, Cisco, and Webex, rather than relying on hard connectors using APIs.
The change management process during the initial launch was not effectively handled, leading to a poor user experience.
Workforce analytics is still challenging due to customizations. It does not provide flexibility in terms of analytics, and we have to customize extensively.
 

Setup Cost

PeopleSoft's pricing is high and variable, with significant costs for licensing, setup, customization, and ongoing support.
SAP SuccessFactors offers customizable pricing with an annual subscription, though costs vary by company size and additional services.
The licensing cost is not expensive now.
The licensing costs are quite high, which is a typical scenario for such solutions.
 

Valuable Features

PeopleSoft excels in customization, integration, and scalability, offering user-friendly features for HR, finance, payroll, and comprehensive analytics.
SAP SuccessFactors enhances recruitment, provides seamless integration and customization, increasing employee engagement and satisfaction with robust analytics.
It aids me from an auditing perspective, as it's all system-driven, and cannot be altered.
It provides the easiest way to integrate with third-party applications for data exchange between systems.
SAP SuccessFactors has advantages in providing AI-driven initiatives such as candidate screening and matching features within the recruitment module.
The best features of SAP SuccessFactors are workflows, the storyboard, the workforce analytics, and customization in terms of doing those portlets and MDIs, which are much simpler.
Employees can view their goals, performance, ratings, and employee information, which enhances the employee experience.
 

Categories and Ranking

PeopleSoft
Ranking in Talent Management
5th
Ranking in Talent Acquisition
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
ERP (8th), Activity Based Costing Software (4th), Benefits Administration (3rd), Demand Management (2nd)
SAP SuccessFactors
Ranking in Talent Management
1st
Ranking in Talent Acquisition
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Cloud HCM (1st), Global Payroll (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Talent Management category, the mindshare of PeopleSoft is 4.7%, down from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SuccessFactors is 18.3%, down from 20.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Talent Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP SuccessFactors18.3%
PeopleSoft4.7%
Other77.0%
Talent Management
 

Q&A Highlights

SS
Feb 04, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

UshaKatyal - PeerSpot reviewer
A mature solution that needs right implementation
I think PeopleSoft HR is pretty good and very mature. The people who built PeopleSoft now work on Workday. Workday has asked me to join them as an employee a few times, but I don't take anyone's employment because Workday isn't very user-friendly. With PeopleSoft, you can do a lot. Oracle now bundles PeopleSoft and calls it Oracle Cloud, but the programs are the same. Recruiters often don't know this and say you're not qualified if you don't have Oracle Cloud experience. However, Oracle has just put PeopleSoft in the cloud and packaged it as Oracle Cloud. Overall, if the solution is implemented correctly, it runs very smoothly. I think people shouldn't customize it. They should use it as is and try to adapt to it. Many people didn't understand PeopleSoft at first. For example, during COVID, some companies hired offshore people who didn't know what they were doing and messed everything up. You need to know the rules and regulations of the country where you're implementing the tool because every country has different rules for HR, benefits, and payroll. Canadian payroll differs from US payroll, but they're on the same platform in the solution. It's a very mature system, but people prefer newer options like Oracle Cloud. I was also involved with SAP S/4HANA. I don't think it's good for the government sector because government workers are a bit lazy about technical things. I understand S/4HANA because I have a technical background. It has a different structure, while PeopleSoft has more of a file and table structure, which is easier. If the tables are set up wrong, things go wrong. But if you know how to set it up correctly, it runs smoothly, and you can adjust it if needed. The problem is that companies are hiring big consulting firms that want money. They hire offshore people who don't know the country's rules and do programming. If you buy a package and still have to do custom programming, why buy the package at all? These days, I'm doing a lot of business process reengineering for people because they don't know how to implement it correctly. If you implement it right, you can reduce manual work. However, it depends on change management and how senior management handles it. It works fine if you implement the tool on-site or hybrid, not cloud and do it correctly. But in a cloud situation, there are problems. Many countries change their payroll and benefits rules often. With the cloud, you can't easily change things. You have to ask the company to make changes, which costs much money. People who don't want an IT department go for the cloud. But I've seen many companies fail with the cloud. The cloud is just everything packaged together. Your data sits in someone else's cloud, and you must accept whatever they do. Payroll is very sensitive. If payroll is wrong, the whole company suffers. I've worked on the financial and school sides, too. I'm comfortable with the tool if it's implemented correctly. But many companies don't implement it right, which is why they might say it is too much. I did a big project for an oil and gas company. I was a program control manager with 51 people under me. We used Oracle, but Oracle isn't as good as PeopleSoft for payroll. If the solution is implemented correctly, it's fine. But you need the right implementer. Big consulting firms often give wrong information and use inexperienced people. For maintenance, PeopleSoft sends updated rules to new tables at year-end. You compile the new tables and start the new year. But you need to know which changes apply to your country. I talk to many senior PeopleSoft people and always get LinkedIn messages about business opportunities. I now help about 50 clients when they have problems, but I'm not traveling. If you know the HR and payroll business well, you can implement anything - PeopleSoft, Oracle, or S/4HANA. I've done all of these. S/4HANA is more complicated and technical. It's similar to an old software called IDMS. You have to be very technical, and if you don't do it right, it won't work. I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten.
ManujGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved employee satisfaction and streamlined real-time data management
In terms of customizations in specific modules for industry requirements, SAP SuccessFactors is much more generic and does not comply many times with industry requirements as a vertical. In my experience with SuccessFactors' analytics capabilities influencing decision-making, workforce analytics is still challenging due to customizations. It does not provide flexibility in terms of analytics, and we have to customize extensively. For the future of the product, I would like to see more AI implementation, Python integrations, and GPT integrations.
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Answers from the Community

SS
Feb 4, 2020
Feb 4, 2020
Check out our comparison page of Workday vs PeopleSoft vs SAP SuccessFactors: https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/comparisons/peoplesoft_vs_sap-successfactors_vs_workday
2 out of 5 answers
Rivka Alexander - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 2, 2020
Check out our comparison page of Workday vs PeopleSoft vs SAP SuccessFactors: https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/comparisons/peoplesoft_vs_sap-successfactors_vs_workday
it_user585276 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 3, 2020
Workday is excellent for global implementations where you want to have employees from different geographies on the same HCM platform. Workday gives you the comfort of end to end global implementation on the same platform. SAP SuccessFactors has strength in PMS and learning. India payroll is not so strong. PeopleSoft (Oracle HCM) has strength in core HR data management, time and attendance, and recruitment, but their learning module is quite average. I’m sharing my experience based on the evaluation I had conducted two years back.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
10%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise50
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

What are the differences between Oracle HCM Cloud and PeopleSoft?
Although both are solutions to manage HR, their differences make each one suitable for different companies. Oracle Cloud HCM is a platform for connecting all human resource processes in your organ...
What do you like most about PeopleSoft?
I use the reporting feature occasionally to check for potential improvements in timesheets. We have integrated it with Power BI.
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...
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...
What do you like most about SAP SuccessFactors?
The tool is easy to use for performance management. We haven't experienced any issues with SAP SuccessFactors for performance management, which is great. However, since we're still learning to use ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
SuccessFactors
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

BMI Healthcare, Lone Star College System, Jefferson County Public Schools, Griffith University, Los Rios Community College District, Tervita Corporation, INFRA S.A. de C.V., ICF Habitat, Central Washington University, Tech Mahindra Limited, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Stanford Childrens Health
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
Find out what your peers are saying about PeopleSoft vs. SAP SuccessFactors and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,655 professionals have used our research since 2012.