SAP SuccessFactors vs Sage People comparison

Sage and SAP are both solutions in the Cloud HCM category. Sage is ranked #26, while SAP is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.7. Sage holds a 0.9% mindshare in CHCM, compared to SAP’s 16.5% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of Sage users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Sage People

Read 15 Sage People reviews

795 Views
429 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

SAP SuccessFactors

Read 99 SAP SuccessFactors reviews

8,847 Views
6,635 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Sage People

SAP SuccessFactors

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

SAP SuccessFactors and Sage People compete in the Human Resources Management Systems (HRMS) market. SAP SuccessFactors seems to have the upper hand in enterprise functionality with its AI integration, while Sage People offers robust reporting and flexible pricing favorable for mid-sized enterprises.

Features: SAP SuccessFactors offers comprehensive coverage of the employee lifecycle with modularity and integration capabilities. Its predictive analytics and AI enhance functionality for enterprises, and it integrates with third-party applications. Sage People provides customizable reporting, mobile access, and seamless financial system integration, focusing on data storage and reporting.

Room for Improvement: SAP SuccessFactors requires better analytics, integration, and role-based permissions systems, alongside more intuitive user experiences. Sage People could improve customization, stability, and performance management, with enhancements needed in automation capabilities and user interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP SuccessFactors mainly operates on the public cloud, necessitating direct support for complex processes, with some users experiencing bureaucratic support. Sage People, on both public and private clouds, is regarded for efficient support, though speed could improve, experiencing fewer escalations than SAP SuccessFactors.

Pricing and ROI: SAP SuccessFactors is higher priced, suitable for large organizations, with user and module-based pricing offering potential ROI through HR process automation. Sage People offers flexible licensing as a more economical option for small to mid-sized enterprises, aligning with market standards for better ROI while streamlining HR functions.

To learn more, read our detailed SAP SuccessFactors vs. Sage People Report (Updated: October 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SAP SuccessFactors vs. Sage People

October 2025

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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

Sage People

Ranking in Talent Management

28th

Ranking in Cloud HCM

26th

Ranking in Talent Acquisition

16th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Benefits Administration (30th), HR Analytics Software (11th)

SAP SuccessFactors

Ranking in Talent Management

1st

Ranking in Cloud HCM

1st

Ranking in Talent Acquisition

2nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Global Payroll (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Sage People is 0.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SuccessFactors is 16.5%, down from 22.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud HCM Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SAP SuccessFactors	16.5%
Sage People	0.9%
Other	82.6%

Cloud HCM

Featured Reviews

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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ManujGupta

Chief Executive Officer at Orane Consulting Pvt Ltd

Has improved employee satisfaction and streamlined real-time data management

In terms of customizations in specific modules for industry requirements, SAP SuccessFactors is much more generic and does not comply many times with industry requirements as a vertical. In my experience with SuccessFactors' analytics capabilities influencing decision-making, workforce analytics is still challenging due to customizations. It does not provide flexibility in terms of analytics, and we have to customize extensively. For the future of the product, I would like to see more AI implementation, Python integrations, and GPT integrations.

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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

"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 solution's initial setup was straightforward."

"The solution is beneficial overall."

"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."

"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 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."

More Sage People pros

"SAP SuccessFactors is one of the most robust platforms in the world today. For a unique global company, they need a platform that is compliant, such as GDP compliant in Europe. The solution delivers high quality in their core HR IS system which is called Employee Central. The system is one of the strongest and sturdiest modules that are in existence in the world."

"SuccessFactors' best features are talent management and HR Analytics."

"The tool has a unique talent management platform."

"SAP SuccessFactors is stable, we have not found any bugs or glitches."

"We have found objects like Foundation and MDF most valuable."

"HR and managers can use the onboarding tool to help new employees prepare for their first day on the job, which can help them acclimate to the company culture and reduce anxiety."

"The cloud security and the correct features for payroll calculations, once issues are resolved, are valuable aspects of this product."

"What I like most about SAP SuccessFactors are its recruiting and compensation features."

More SAP SuccessFactors pros

Cons

"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."

"Its stability could be better."

"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 user interface is not great."

"The budget module does not work. Sage People need to maybe make it more user-friendly."

"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."

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

More Sage People cons

"The GUI needs to be enhanced to be in line with the latest and complete version of the solution."

"he user interface could be improved."

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

"The organization is planning to move to Darwinbox from SAP SuccessFactors, primarily due to pricing considerations."

"User experience for this solution needs to be improved."

"The tool is not very nimble or customizable."

"Also, it would be helpful if they could improve its ability to localize the product to Nigeria."

"There is an area of improvement in integrating SuccessFactors with different platforms."

More SAP SuccessFactors cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"I think it's reasonably priced. But in comparison to other systems, I would choose them over Sage People, regardless of their prices."

"We have to purchase the solution's license to use it."

More Sage People pricing and cost advice

"The pricing for SuccessFactors is ridiculously high, and there are costs in addition to the license fee for some features."

"So now, SAP charges me 300 Euros for 14,000 employees. I still have to pay 2,000 euros because I'm using SAP on-prem."

"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 price of the solution is highly expensive."

"I think the pricing is a little better than most solutions out there. There are reasonable prices when it comes to some of the modules such as the Payroll module, and for the remaining modules I believe the pricing is fair in comparison to the rest of the market."

"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."

"This is a more costly solution than comparable products, and training is not available in the open-market, so this has to be purchased separately from the vendor."

"It could be cheaper."

More SAP SuccessFactors pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

16%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	69

Questions from the Community

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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...

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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...

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What do you like most about SAP SuccessFactors?

The tool is easy to use for performance management. We haven't experienced any issues with SAP SuccessFactors for performance management, which is great. However, since we're still learning to use ...

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Comparisons

PeopleSoft vs Sage People

Compared 28% of the time

Workday vs Sage People

Compared 26% of the time

Cegid vs Sage People

Compared 24% of the time

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Workday vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 24% of the time

Oracle HCM Cloud vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 15% of the time

SAP HCM vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 14% of the time

PeopleSoft vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 6% of the time

Awardco vs SAP SuccessFactors

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Sage People

October 2025

Download Sage People product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP SuccessFactors

October 2025

Download SAP SuccessFactors product report

Also Known As

Fairsail

SuccessFactors

Overview

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

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

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, Skril

Buyer's Guide

SAP SuccessFactors vs. Sage People

October 2025

Free Report: SAP SuccessFactors vs. Sage People

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