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SAP HCM vs UKG 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

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
UKG
Ranking in Benefits Administration
5th
Ranking in Talent Management
6th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
124
Ranking in other categories
Employee Scheduling Software (1st), Employee Time Tracking Software (2nd), HR Analytics Software (1st), Talent Acquisition (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of SAP HCM is 15.0%, down from 16.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of UKG is 5.0%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

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…
Lonnie Fluck - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps us establish system front-end and back-end connectivity, but the recruiting features need improvement
I used UKG to track applicants and create job descriptions. We built the electronic onboarding system to be used nationwide and created a path to integrate with the backend The product's most valuable feature is the ability to establish connectivity between the front and the back end,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is Organizational Management (OM)."
"The most valuable feature, in my view, is the level of exceptions or error messages that come back when something goes wrong."
"They have some interesting features in the learning space."
"Recently, the localization versions for different countries were increased, and that added value to the solution."
"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."
"We have features such as ABKRS based on the client's requirement, tariff and TMSTA, and so on."
"SAP HCM has valuable features for analytics data management."
"When you maintain your data in SAP, you can generate any kind of HR report with one click."
"The tool improved employee onboarding efficiency, especially in healthcare, where timely onboarding is crucial. This change directly impacted retention rates positively. It was a massive project that involved various teams working together. It took about a year to revamp the entire process and ensure compliance. However, once implemented, it improved employee satisfaction by saving them two whole days in the onboarding process."
"The setup process is straightforward."
"We use the tool for various functions, including payroll, HR, recruiting, onboarding, and workforce management. We've implemented all these modules across all the clients I've worked with."
"The solution's UI is good. Also, it is very easy to use."
"The product's most valuable feature is the ability to establish connectivity between the front and the back end, particularly the single point of data entry, to minimize mistakes."
"It is much easier to use and the customer service is better than our previous solution."
"The pay policies and approvals are valuable features."
"UKG allows us to customize our home screen so that we can easily monitor important items on a daily basis."
 

Cons

"The breadth of functionality offered by SAP HCM comes at a cost."
"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."
"Reports need to be added on the time management side."
"The product significantly improved our organization by automating many processes, which reduced paperwork and provided clearer, more accurate goals and competencies."
"The speed of technical support can be improved."
"The limitation of HCM compared to new-era human capital management solutions is the cost."
"It is a bit tedious and manual to work with."
"SAP now does the most innovation for the cloud solution and less innovation for the on-premises client."
"I would like to see more functionality in the next release to be able to get hours and dollars per calendar month rather than just by payroll in the Business Intelligence reports."
"Since UKG is a SaaS software, other parts of the application or add-on solutions are not the best in class or very configurable."
"The system is slow sometimes."
"Certainly, the time and attendance and the payroll integration need a lot of work. They are disjointed pieces, and they don't work smoothly together. That's the main drawback."
"The solution could use better reporting with standard reports. We use the Cognos platform in BI for a lot of our reporting. However, they need to have more robust standard reporting available to their user base."
"The tool needs improvement on the configuration side."
"UKG has complex clock-in and clock-out features. It changes things too often, and it feels like the tool is constantly changing things without testing before implementing changes in production. Additionally, it doesn't communicate these changes very well."
"UKG could be a little more flexible in some areas."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"Licensing is pretty complex. SAP does not have a straight forward way of licensing, and it differs from client to client."
"The solution is a little expensive and we are charged per user for the license. The solution can be paid monthly or annually."
"SAP is extremely expensive. The integration costs and customization costs are also a lot."
"We purchase the product's yearly license."
"The pricing is really high."
"The product is expensive."
"While I am unsure of the licensing cost itself, the total cost of implementation and licensing for a company with over 5000 employees would be around 6,00,000. So, there are additional costs beyond licensing."
"The platform is not affordable but also not the most expensive."
"UKG's pricing and licensing model involves ongoing expenses based on the number of employees paid. The initial implementation cost is low when UKG implements it directly. However, when partners handle the implementation, it becomes more expensive since partners don't receive the monthly recurring fees."
"If you're going for the full suite, it can be fairly pricey."
"The pricing depends on the number of licenses we buy."
"I wasn't involved in the pricing part. I'm a user, and I believe it is based on the user count. One thing that is nice about Ultimate is that you can learn how to use the system without additional fees. The learning aspect is the life of a product, and the training was a huge reason why we went with Ultimate. We did have some integration costs. They were a part of the implementation because of the integrations to other systems that we included in our implementation."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Retailer
5%
Educational Organization
90%
Computer Software Company
1%
Healthcare Company
1%
Manufacturing Company
1%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What needs improvement with UKG?
Our company is testing the UKG Ready Mobile App, but there are some glitches. I feel that in the system when you log on to Kronos, UKG Dimensions, and UKG Workforce Central, we have different modul...
What is your primary use case for UKG?
I worked with UKG globally, assisting with its implementation in 59 countries. In my company, we use it for the timekeeping aspect offered, payroll purposes, and other stuff like that. It is used f...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SAP Human Capital Management
UKG Pro, UKG Dimensons, UKG Ready
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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.
Tesla, Marriott, Yamaha, Aramark, Feeding America, Samsung, Sony Music, Dave & Buster's, Revlon
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP HCM vs. UKG and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.