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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
33rd
Ranking in Talent Management
31st
Ranking in Cloud HCM
28th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
HR Analytics Software (12th), 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
6.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 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 10.2%, down from 17.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP HCM10.2%
Sage People0.8%
Other89.0%
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

"The solution is beneficial overall."
"I guess I would say maybe that it is a more robust system."
"Sage makes all the information accessible, like pulling a file because an employee needs something ASAP. It's all in the system. It's easy to find old reports if I need them for payroll purposes. It might take days to do some of this work by hand."
"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 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."
"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."
"Customers can create custom infotypes to store any custom data points."
"The functions are really important in the product in ReadyNodes."
"SAP HCM is a competitive and comprehensive tool that covers major programs in the enterprise and supports the global process."
"It is a pretty stable solution."
"Sometimes, employees may have pending requests that need approval, so you should check those and clear any errors to ensure smooth processing."
"SAP HCM is a powerful program that can greatly benefit organizations with its comprehensive features and integrations."
"The compliance management functionality is quite good."
"The payroll and time management features are useful."
 

Cons

"The integration with our payroll system could improve. However, it is managed by another company."
"In my opinion, the performance management module of this system could use improvement as it falls behind compared to other specialized performance management platforms."
"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."
"Its technical support could have been better."
"Its stability could be better."
"The user interface is not great."
"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."
"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 organizational structure visualization could be improved in future releases. The solution has a very poor interface."
"It is a bit tedious and manual to work with."
"SAP HCM is costly compared to other ERPs like Microsoft Dynamics or Oracle, and I would rate the cost as one out of ten."
"It takes a long time to apply an update patch to the system."
"The organizational management (OM) side needs improvement due to frequent reorganization which makes it tedious to make all the movement changes and combinations."
"When performing reconciliation, manual entry is sometimes required, and barcode scanning isn't always available."
"The breadth of functionality offered by SAP HCM comes at a cost."
"The setup comes with a set of challenges as well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its cost is moderate for a multi-group licensing model."
"The pricing 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."
"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."
"We have to purchase the solution's license to use it."
"We have an annual license for this solution, and the price depends on the number of users."
"HCM is cheaper than SuccessFactors."
"SAP is extremely expensive. The integration costs and customization costs are also a lot."
"The solution is cheap."
"The product is expensive."
"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."
"The pricing depends upon the specific model and number of user accounts included in a bundle."
"SAP is expensive, but if you're using the product, then the expensive product becomes inexpensive. Considering its performance and features, I find it quite reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise39
 

Questions from the Community

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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: August 2025.
866,088 professionals have used our research since 2012.