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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
31st
Ranking in Talent Management
30th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
28th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
HR Analytics Software (10th), Talent Acquisition (18th)
SAP HCM
Ranking in Benefits Administration
4th
Ranking in Talent Management
3rd
Ranking in Cloud HCM
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Sage People is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HCM is 10.5%, down from 16.9% 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

"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."
"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."
"I guess I would say maybe that it is a more robust system."
"The solution provides the ability to trace back records, is reliable, makes life easy, and is secure."
"The report builder and dashboard builder are very, very good."
"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."
"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."
"The solution's initial setup was straightforward."
"All of the core processes are very valuable aspects of the solution. These include personnel, administration, organizational structure, and payroll."
"The payroll suite is very valuable."
"It is a pretty stable solution."
"The compliance management functionality is quite good."
"Recently, the localization versions for different countries were increased, and that added value to the solution."
"Payroll processing is my favorite HCM feature, and I like all the SuccessFactors talent modules also. SAP is making good progress on enhancements to the features in the SF modules."
"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."
"The payroll and time management features are useful."
 

Cons

"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 user interface is not great."
"Its technical support could have been better."
"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."
"There were a couple of things that we wanted to customize, but we couldn’t do it ourselves."
"Its stability could be better."
"The integration with our payroll system could improve. However, it is managed by another company."
"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."
"The breadth of functionality offered by SAP HCM comes at a cost."
"The customer support from SAP is reasonable, yet I would rate it five out of ten."
"The setup comes with a set of challenges as well."
"SAP HCM's long and tedious transactions can be improved."
"SAP HCM could improve by having more resources and making it more user-friendly. It is complex."
"SAP HCM needs to improve its UI."
"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."
"In my experience, SAP HCM and similar products are very good, but the focus now should be on providing features to encourage employee adoption. For example, accessing pay slips is a task that naturally drives adoption. However, AI tools that can prompt employees at the right time through the right application are needed for actions such as conducting surveys or gathering performance feedback."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"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."
"We have to purchase the solution's license to use it."
"Its cost is moderate for a multi-group licensing model."
"The terms on which you buy licenses might change due to the way they license in a particular product."
"The solution is cheap."
"The pricing is not reasonable at all."
"We purchase the product's yearly license."
"I believe HCM is a little expensive, but I don't know the exact price because I'm involved with the sales team. However, I think the price must be reasonable because many organizations are migrating their current ERPs to SAP. It's excellent software, and the price is competitive."
"For implementation, SAP offers little support unless you buy SAP Safeguarding from SAP Consulting."
"We have an annual license for this solution, and the price depends on the number of users."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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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: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.