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SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central vs Sage People comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 22, 2026

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 Cloud HCM
19th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (17th), Talent Management (24th), HR Analytics Software (8th), Talent Acquisition (16th)
SAP SuccessFactors Employee...
Ranking in Cloud HCM
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
3.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Sage People is 1.7%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central is 1.0%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central1.0%
Sage People1.7%
Other97.3%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

Spencer Gray - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
SajidFarooq - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Comprehensive payroll and reporting have improved HR insights but still require reduced duplication
There are some activities that we perform in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and similar activities that we must also perform in Employee Central Payroll. If information has been entered in Employee Central, why is there a need to add the same information in another module of SAP SuccessFactors? This duplication of activities is a concern we have faced. One thing is opened in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, and the same activity must be performed in Employee Central Payroll as well. If the product is the same and contains two to three modules, why does SAP require us to perform duplication of work under the same product? The pricing is very high. There is significant competition in the market, and we face challenges in selling the product due to the high prices that SAP is offering. SAP needs to reconsider their pricing strategy.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is really easy to customise and configure, and the automation has enabled us to manage several HR processes at the right time in the correct manner."
"The solution provides the ability to trace back records, is reliable, makes life easy, and is secure."
"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."
"I guess I would say maybe that it is a more robust system."
"The technical support is astounding and they are one of the best support teams I have had the pleasure to work with."
"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."
"The report builder and dashboard builder are very, very good."
"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."
"SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central is cloud-based, eliminating the need for any infrastructure with readily available data centers, and it is very user-friendly and integrates seamlessly with the Employee Central Payroll and all other talent modules."
"With just a single click, you can retrieve comprehensive information about an employee, such as their current profile, where they work, how many organizations they have changed, their years of experience, and their capacities and capabilities."
"I find SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central to be user-friendly, with a good UI, accessible through Fiori, making it easy to navigate without using T-codes."
 

Cons

"In comparison with other HRIS reporting tools (like Discoverer / OBIEE for Oracle, Business Objects, Crystal Reports etc. which I have used extensively for over 10 years), I think that Fairsail’s reports functionality is quite limited and only available for Administrator profiles."
"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 budget module does not work. Sage People need to maybe make it more user-friendly."
"Within the absence screens, we have it set up to automatically allow up to five days holiday to carry over. If staff members are allowed to carry over, it’s a bit difficult to add it in easily."
"Its technical support could have been better."
"Its stability could be better."
"There is a mash-up of Visualforce and apex triggers which bear down heavily on the system."
"There are some activities that we perform in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and similar activities that we must also perform in Employee Central Payroll. If information has been entered in Employee Central, why is there a need to add the same information in another module of SAP SuccessFactors?"
"SAP can improve RDP and reports by making them more user-friendly, as there are complex processes in understanding and handling them."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its cost is moderate for a multi-group licensing model."
"We have to purchase the solution's license to use it."
"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."
"I think it's reasonably priced. But in comparison to other systems, I would choose them over Sage People, regardless of their prices."
"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."
"The pricing is reasonable."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
15%
Construction Company
15%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Insurance Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise6
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What needs improvement with SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central?
There are some activities that we perform in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and similar activities that we must also perform in Employee Central Payroll. If information has been entered in Emp...
What is your primary use case for SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central?
SAP Business One targets small to medium-sized enterprises, while SAP Cloud ERP targets large enterprises. There is a clear difference between the target markets for these two products. I am curren...
What advice do you have for others considering SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central?
SAP Cloud ERP, previously called Grow with SAP, had its name changed last year in 2025. It is a complete SaaS model ERP with more modules included, such as sales, purchase, production, after-sales ...
 

Also Known As

Fairsail
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Rocketship Education, Monitise, u-blox, SolarWinds, Mitsubishi, SmartStream, Canonical, Betfair
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central vs. Sage People and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.