DarwinBox vs Sage People comparison

DarwinBox and Sage are both solutions in the Cloud HCM category. DarwinBox is ranked #10 with an average rating of 5.7, while Sage is ranked #28. DarwinBox holds a 3.6% mindshare in CHCM, compared to Sage’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of DarwinBox users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of Sage users who would recommend it.

DarwinBox

Read 4 DarwinBox reviews

1,638 Views
1,327 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Sage People

Read 15 Sage People reviews

699 Views
440 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

DarwinBox

Sage People

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Sage People and DarwinBox are two competing HR management solutions known for offering distinct functionalities tailored to organizational needs. Sage People often has the upper hand in customer satisfaction due to its user-friendly design and efficient processes.

Features: Sage People excels with advanced HR analytics, providing flexible reporting, and strong compliance management. DarwinBox stands out with highly customizable modules and robust mobile app functionality, appealing to companies needing scalable solutions.

Room for Improvement: Sage People could benefit from reducing setup costs and enhancing mobile features for greater accessibility. It may also improve on global recruitment tools. DarwinBox may improve by providing a more streamlined user experience and offering more comprehensive out-of-the-box compliance options. It could also enhance direct customer support services.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sage People is known for straightforward cloud-based implementation with responsive service. DarwinBox offers a flexible deployment model with comprehensive onboarding support. Sage People is noted for quicker setup, while DarwinBox provides thorough custom integration possibilities.

Pricing and ROI: Sage People typically incurs higher setup costs but offers stronger long-term ROI through efficient processes and analytics capabilities. DarwinBox provides cost-effective entry points appealing to a broader range of companies, although achieving significant ROI might require additional expenditures.

To learn more, read our detailed DarwinBox vs. Sage People Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

DarwinBox vs. Sage People

July 2025

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Helped 865,384 peers since 2012

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

DarwinBox

Ranking in Talent Management

12th

Ranking in Cloud HCM

10th

Ranking in HR Analytics Software

6th

Ranking in Talent Acquisition

10th

Average Rating

6.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sage People

Ranking in Talent Management

31st

Ranking in Cloud HCM

28th

Ranking in HR Analytics Software

12th

Ranking in Talent Acquisition

18th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Benefits Administration (33rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of DarwinBox is 3.6%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sage People is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud HCM

Featured Reviews

SHANOOPCHATHOTH PARAMBIL

Program Manager at Intelliswift

Enhancing attendance and leave management but needs better performance customization

Our primary use case for DarwinBox includes managing attendance, payroll-related tasks, and employee appraisal cycles DarwinBox has provided a significant return on investment for our finance team. Managing payroll and attendance manually would require more team members, so using DarwinBox…

Read full review

Spencer Gray

People Advisor at Thomas International

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.

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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 features of the solution are organogram and position-based mapping."

"In our company, we use DarwinBox to maintain the data of our employees and for recruitment purposes."

"The leave-related modules are comprehensive, offering built-in functionalities for optional leaves."

"The solution that we used previously was very complex. As a result, without referring to the manuals and consulting an expert, it was difficult for a newly hired employee to navigate the platform. However, this is not the case with Darwinbox. It has a very intuitive user interface, and anyone can use it and implement it without having to use a guide or a walk through process. It's very simple."

"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."

"The most valuable feature of Sage People is the integration with our payroll system."

"The solution provides the ability to trace back records, is reliable, makes life easy, and is secure."

"The solution is beneficial overall."

"The solution's initial setup was straightforward."

"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."

More Sage People pros

Cons

"Like most software, it has a base version, the vanilla, out-of-the-box version, and customization is required to match it to the unique processes of each company. The Darwinbox team seems to be having difficulty with the customization process. They have to be a little more mature to customize it as per every company's need."

"The solution's API integration with third-party applications should be improved."

"DarwinBox is not a stable solution...DarwinBox is not a scalable solution."

"Customization in performance management is cumbersome."

"Its stability could be 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."

"Its technical support could have been better."

"There were a couple of things that we wanted to customize, but we couldn’t do it ourselves."

"The integration with our payroll system could improve. However, it is managed by another company."

"The user interface is not great."

"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."

"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."

More Sage People cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company makes some yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to DarwinBox."

"Compared with SuccessFactors, there is no major difference in DarwinBox's cost."

"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."

"Its cost is moderate for a multi-group licensing model."

"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."

"I believe we pay licensing on a yearly basis, but I can't comment on the total amount that we pay on licensing."

"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."

"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."

More Sage People pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

20%

Comms Service Provider

15%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about DarwinBox?

The most valuable features of the solution are organogram and position-based mapping.

See all answers

What needs improvement with DarwinBox?

Customization in performance management is cumbersome. Processes like six-month appraisals lack easy configurations, and any significant customization requires working with vendors.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for DarwinBox?

Our primary use case for DarwinBox includes managing attendance, payroll-related tasks, and employee appraisal cycles.

See all answers

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Comparisons

SAP SuccessFactors vs DarwinBox

Compared 22% of the time

ZingHR vs DarwinBox

Compared 15% of the time

PeopleStrong vs DarwinBox

Compared 13% of the time

Workday vs DarwinBox

Compared 8% of the time

Keka Performance vs DarwinBox

Compared 7% of the time

More DarwinBox Competitors

Workday vs Sage People

Compared 41% of the time

Cegid vs Sage People

Compared 33% of the time

SAP SuccessFactors vs Sage People

Compared 26% of the time

More Sage People Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloud HCM

August 2025

Download DarwinBox product report

Buyer's Guide

Sage People

July 2025

Download Sage People product report

Also Known As

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Overview

Darwinbox is a cloud-based, feature-rich human resources management system that emphasizes on usability and data protection. ... The software unifies all your HR processes, enabling you to be on top of your employees' whole lifecycle with a centralized, singular platform.

DarwinBox

Connect teams across borders

Customise communications: Deliver business updates to specific groups and gather feedback with surveys.
Personalise experiences: Create engaging, branded experiences – tailored by group or region.
Connect global teams: Manage your entire workforce, wherever they are. Embed global policies while enforcing local regulations.
Help teams thrive, anywhere: Support wellbeing, provide localised benefits packages, and more.

Get ahead with actionable HR analytics

Make informed decisions: Use People analytics for actionable insights in seconds.
Provide real-time insights: Give up-to-the-minute recommendations so leaders jump on trends and adjust plans.
Customise dashboards: Plan hiring, analyse attrition, manage absence, and more.
Get actionable feedback: Understand the employee experience through surveys, tailored to different groups.

Compete successfully for top talent

Deliver a differentiated, stand-out candidate experience with easy-to-use employer branding themes and options that shows off your culture and company story.
Fill roles faster with skilled talent using our unique, AI-powered, intelligent candidate matching.
Have new employees hit the ground running with seamless remote pre-boarding and onboarding experiences.

Sage

Sample Customers

Myntra, GVK BIO, Bisleri, Times Internet, Delhivery, Aarti

Rocketship Education, Monitise, u-blox, SolarWinds, Mitsubishi, SmartStream, Canonical, Betfair

Buyer's Guide

DarwinBox vs. Sage People

July 2025

Free Report: DarwinBox vs. Sage People

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