Dayforce HCM vs SAP SuccessFactors comparison

Dayforce and SAP are both solutions in the Cloud HCM category. Dayforce is ranked #12 with an average rating of 6.0, while SAP is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.7. Dayforce holds a 2.5% mindshare in CHCM, compared to SAP’s 8.5% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Dayforce users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Dayforce HCM

Read 15 Dayforce HCM reviews

3,490 Views
2,792 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

SAP SuccessFactors

Read 100 SAP SuccessFactors reviews

13,874 Views
9,712 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Dayforce HCM

SAP SuccessFactors

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

SAP SuccessFactors and Dayforce HCM are major competitors in the human capital management software industry. Dayforce HCM appears to have an upper hand in payroll and compliance, while SAP SuccessFactors thrives on modular HR features and integration capabilities.

Features: SAP SuccessFactors provides modular capabilities for talent management, performance, learning, and analytics within the SAP ecosystem. It offers extensive customization, innovative AI, and third-party integrations. Dayforce HCM highlights robust payroll, time and attendance functionalities, strong compliance features, and real-time data processing with integrated time clock and document management capabilities.

Room for Improvement: SAP SuccessFactors could enhance module integration, analytics, and the user interface to increase usability and customization, improve reporting tools, offer faster localization, and accelerate update rollouts. Dayforce HCM might refine its user interface, reporting, and connectivity options, as well as enhance home screen customization and third-party integrations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP SuccessFactors offers deployment in public cloud, on-premises, and private cloud configurations, yet faces variable technical support quality with responsiveness issues. Dayforce HCM is more often an on-premises solution, praised for its dedicated support team that efficiently resolves issues.

Pricing and ROI: SAP SuccessFactors is considered high-cost, with pricing based on modules and users, potentially restrictive for smaller organizations despite flexible subscription models. Some users find value in its features and integrations. Dayforce HCM is seen as more reasonably priced, especially for large enterprises, offering significant ROI within one to two years due to lower implementation costs and built-in efficiencies, while SuccessFactors shows lower perceived ROI because of high transition costs from other systems.

To learn more, read our detailed Dayforce HCM vs. SAP SuccessFactors Report (Updated: May 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Dayforce HCM vs. SAP SuccessFactors

May 2026

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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

Dayforce HCM

Ranking in Talent Management

18th

Ranking in Cloud HCM

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Talent Intelligence (2nd)

SAP SuccessFactors

Ranking in Talent Management

1st

Ranking in Cloud HCM

1st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

100

Ranking in other categories

Talent Acquisition (1st), Global Payroll (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Dayforce HCM is 2.5%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SuccessFactors is 8.5%, down from 20.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud HCM Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SAP SuccessFactors	8.5%
Dayforce HCM	2.5%
Other	89.0%

Cloud HCM

Featured Reviews

TracyBritan

Manager, Learning & Development at Ampersand

Frustrating support and difficult customization prevent optimal use of learning system

Customizing the home screen was difficult; I could not remove certain tabs that were irrelevant to our users. The search functionality is poor as there's no way for administrators to tag keywords to training courses, making it hard for people to find content. Additionally, there is no way to send a direct link to training if someone asks about it. The reporting is subpar; you can only report by course and not by person unless you go into specific Dayforce reports, which do not match the fields in the learning module. The support is also terrible, with slow response times and a lack of useful knowledge-based articles.

Read full review

Saptak Samadder

Assistant Manager at Kashiv Biosciences

HR has gained clear analytics for attrition, goals, and appraisals and manages talent efficiently

SAP SuccessFactors has a low error rate. We had many ad hoc reports that we needed to generate, and it was very easy to do so in SAP SuccessFactors. We also created many in-house reports according to our specific requirements with the help of this tool, which was a really big game changer for us. We did not depend on advanced Excel in those cases. We generated a lot of detailed reports whenever we needed them during emergency cases or board meetings. A lot of usefulness and time were saved in those cases. I will also mention that we conducted a comparative study for some recruitment cases. We had a recruitment model where we were looking for a very niche profile. Since the job profile was really different and rare, we had to depend on analytics to understand and shortlist from a large pool of candidates that we already had in our database. Analytics was really helpful in this situation.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product has a pretty clean look."

"We used the solution to do a lot of performance management during the review cycle and it helped us alleviate the administrative burden."

"The initial setup is easy."

"The fact that the time and attendance system is built into the HRIS is very valuable because, in the past, we had to use two different systems."

"The implementation was through a team assigned to us by Ceridian. They were extremely knowledgeable and it made the implementation go very smoothly."

"We have been able to automate many of our manual processes."

"The integrated time clock has provided efficiencies in payroll, as we no longer have to decipher handwritten time sheets and input them into the system."

"The tool has improved a lot in the area of its mobile application, especially considering its added security features, like single sign-on capabilities."

More Dayforce HCM pros

"The performance management system of SuccessFactors is very valuable."

"The performance goals and learning management solutions are the product's most valuable features."

"It was much easier than the previous system, making things a lot easier and operations much smoother."

"SAP SuccessFactors is 100 percent reliable and one of the biggest in the market."

"The solution is very intuitive. Many of the things we need to do are easily accessible."

"The solution is a very good product, it is very stable, it has lots of great features and lots of support available from SAP."

"It's brought to our organization a big big improvement. We would give it a good rating."

"All of SuccessFactors' features are useful, but there are several modules within SuccessFactors that I find handy. You have Employee Central, which manages employee records within the system. It manages all the information about an employee, including names, addresses, account numbers, positions, org charts, etc. It also handles performance reviews and KPIs for employees within an organization. Then you have succession planning and development as well."

More SAP SuccessFactors pros

Cons

"The reporting could be improved."

"The product they sell you is not the end product. Many things are presented as though they will be included with the system but then require costly upgrades."

"The solution's dashboards and geofencing could be improved."

"Dayforce has its gaps like every HR system, but nothing comes to mind at the moment."

"The solution's initial setup was difficult. Also, the solution's initial deployment took around six months."

"I would like to see more built-in forms, like government issued forms (T2200). This would save a lot of time during the year-end process."

"An area for improvement could be a little more testing before implementing hotfixes to make sure they do not interfere with any active customized products."

"The solution has a lot of glitches."

More Dayforce HCM cons

"SAP SuccessFactors' pricing structure could be improved."

"Employee Central made an incredible improvement, but still is behind the SAP HCM On Prem solution."

"SAP resources are at the high end and anything you want to change or any customization is expensive."

"The integration with Employee Central and Employee Central Payroll needs improvement as the client is still considering on-premises solutions."

"The solution's technical support is weak."

"I think there is room for improvement in user friendliness. In my experience, users are sometimes confused about how to use the solution."

"SuccessFactors is a perfect tool if you use it the way it is meant to be, but if you start building custom sessions and try to use it differently, then it is a total mess."

"Configuration transportation functionality is not available in SuccessFactor."

More SAP SuccessFactors cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We paid for the implementation costs in the first year with the money that we saved by switching to Dayforce HCM."

"We found the setup costs and pricing to be very reasonable."

"The XOXO program associated with Dayforce allows you to earn credits towards registration and accommodations at their annual Insight Conferences, which can be a real savings to the company when sending employees to the conference."

"Earlier, the price of the product was reasonable. Under present circumstances, the price or cost of the product has been increased."

"I rate the solution's pricing a seven on a scale where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive."

"Negotiate for everything you want."

"In terms of pricing, the product is expensive. However, it is crucial to take into account the manner in which the solution will be utilized and the availability of other alternatives."

"Ceridian continually enhances Dayforce HCM. Some of these enhancements they charge for and some are just straight enhancements with no extra charge."

"We don't utilize even half of the licenses because not everyone uses them. With SAP SuccessFactors, though, we're now conducting all our performance evaluations within the system, so I suppose we're making better use of those licenses. As for SAP for employee services and internal benefits processing, we do have licenses for those but don't utilize them."

"The cost of SAP SuccessFactors is reasonable."

"Our costs for the solution are subsidized by our parent company, I am not aware of the exact cost because of this. However, we pay $50,000 annually. If we move to another solution it will be more expensive."

"We have a yearly license. There are no additional costs."

"The licensing fees are based on the number of modules that are being used, and the number of users."

"I don't want to comment on the license cost, to be honest. It could be about $1,000 approximately per customer. However, it's very flexible in terms of the licensing costs depending on the volume and depending on the deal of installation."

"Probably, it is one of the priciest products, and is very costly to put up and maintain but because it is a good solution end to end, people take it."

"For SAP, the product is pricey, both CAPEX and the OPEX. It's something that could be improved."

More SAP SuccessFactors pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	70

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Ceridian Dayforce HCM?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Ceridian Dayforce HCM?

We have used Dayforce HCM for our HR functionalities and for the learning module over the last five years. We actually just migrated to a new learning management system.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ceridian Dayforce HCM?

The Learning Module add-on to Dayforce HCM was relatively inexpensive per user compared to other LMS’s.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

How easy is to maintain Workday, Oracle Cloud, and SuccessFactors?

I implemented Workday in 2024 and without having previous Workday experience, it was very challenging. I spent most of 2025 putting out fires and cleaning up the business processes that came with l...

See all answers

Comparisons

Workday vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 17% of the time

UKG vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle HCM Cloud vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 8% of the time

ADP Workforce Now vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 5% of the time

PeopleSoft vs Dayforce HCM

Compared 4% of the time

More Dayforce HCM Competitors

Workday vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 22% of the time

Oracle HCM Cloud vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 16% of the time

SAP HCM vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 5% of the time

Awardco vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 5% of the time

IBM Kenexa vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 1% of the time

More SAP SuccessFactors Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dayforce HCM

June 2026

Download Dayforce HCM product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP SuccessFactors

May 2026

Download SAP SuccessFactors product report

Also Known As

Ceridian Dayforce HCM, Ascender Talent Management, Ceridian Ideal

SuccessFactors

Overview

Dayforce HCM offers an integrated platform that combines timekeeping, payroll, and benefits management, enhancing HR operations with mobile access and transparent pay details across North America.

Dayforce HCM delivers comprehensive HR, payroll, and talent management tools within a cloud-based solution. It simplifies ACA, FMLA, and COBRA compliance while providing mobile and web access to payroll information. Its reporting capabilities are robust, and it features intuitive content management. The platform enhances efficiency with integrated time and attendance management, meeting payroll needs across Canada and the US. However, areas for improvement include retro pay calculations, user-friendliness, reporting, and customer service. Users also highlight the need for advancements in the Recruiting module, calendar integration, custom forms, and addressing import glitches and additional feature costs.

What are the key features?

Integrated Timekeeping: Streamlines payroll by eliminating manual entries.
Benefits Module: Simplifies management of ACA, FMLA, and COBRA.
Mobile and Web Access: Provides transparency in pay details.
Time and Attendance Integration: Boosts administrative efficiency.
Comprehensive Suite: Reduces reliance on multiple software for HR, payroll, and talent management.

Which benefits and ROI should users consider?

Streamlined Payroll: Efficient for companies operating in Canada and the US.
Robust Reporting: Enhances decision-making with comprehensive data analytics.
Intuitive Content Management: Simplifies HR management processes.

Organizations use Dayforce HCM for managing payroll, benefits administration, recruiting, and performance management, integrating HR functionalities on a cloud platform. Industries appreciate its ability to manage HR tasks efficiently, providing analytics and mobile features essential for handling HR processes and reporting.

Dayforce

SAP SuccessFactors is an AI-powered, cloud-based HR suite supporting over 100 countries, providing real-time insights and integrated solutions across core HR, payroll, talent, learning, analytics, and employee experience.

Trusted by over 10,000 organizations, SAP SuccessFactors elevates people processes, decisions, and experiences by empowering employees. It offers AI-driven tools enhancing self-service, learning, performance, and development, unifying people and skills data to align talents with business goals. The platform ensures compliance with legal updates and speeds up results using HR best practices and a robust partner network. Its modular design, seamless integration, and mobile access stand out, supporting global accessibility and talent management. Role-based permissions and automated compliance offer flexibility and security, catering to diverse industries.

What are the most important features of SAP SuccessFactors?

Performance and Goal Management: Facilitates setting and tracking employee objectives.
Employee Lifecycle Management: Streamlines employee processes from recruitment to exit.
Learning Management: Promotes continuous learning and development.
Real-Time Reporting: Provides instant insights into HR data.

What benefits should users look for in SAP SuccessFactors reviews?

Increased Productivity: AI-driven tools enhance workforce agility.
Talent Alignment: Unifying skills data aligns workforce with business priorities.
Compliance Assurance: Regular updates ensure legal and regulatory adherence.
Global Accessibility: Cloud-based platform supports cross-geography management.

Organizations implement SAP SuccessFactors for Performance Management, Talent Acquisition, Learning, and HR core functions, streamlining recruitment, onboarding, records management, goal setting, and performance evaluation. It extends to time management, compensation, and talent development, integrating across geographies for centralized data management, reporting, and analytics, enhancing HR operations and employee engagement.

SAP

Sample Customers

ACCO Brands

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

Buyer's Guide

Dayforce HCM vs. SAP SuccessFactors

May 2026

Free Report: Dayforce HCM vs. SAP SuccessFactors

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