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SAP HCM vs SAP SuccessFactors comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
SAP HCM boosts efficiency and decision-making through automation and insights, offering a return in months to years.
Sentiment score
5.0
SAP SuccessFactors offers ROI within years by automating HR, though high costs may reduce perceived financial benefits.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
SAP HCM customer support is praised for quality but needs faster response times and more personalized consultant engagement.
Sentiment score
6.1
SAP SuccessFactors' support experiences vary, with some users satisfied, but others face delays and note limited expertise.
I am totally satisfied with the response time and quality of support.
Not all requests are attended to promptly.
We have our own internal team that supports the deployment process.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
SAP HCM offers seamless scalability and flexibility, efficiently supporting diverse organizations and adapting to evolving demands across sectors.
Sentiment score
7.7
SAP SuccessFactors offers scalable solutions with quarterly updates, cloud compatibility, and modular design for diverse organizational needs.
Currently, we are upgrading from 4.12 to 4.18, and after migrating the DC, our applications run smoothly without any challenges or slowness.
SAP HCM is quite scalable.
We have implemented it for 25,000 employees, scaling from 7,000 to 25,000 using the same set of rules, and it was not difficult.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
SAP HCM is stable and reliable, with cloud versions showing improved stability despite isolated initial issues and configuration challenges.
Sentiment score
7.5
SAP SuccessFactors is highly stable, with occasional updates or custom field issues, but generally surpasses other ERP systems in reliability.
I would rate its stability as nine out of ten.
I would rate the stability of SAP HCM as seven out of ten.
I hardly ever encounter any stability issues, as SAP SuccessFactors is very good and stable.
The solution is absolutely stable.
 

Room For Improvement

SAP HCM faces usability, integration, and customization challenges, with high costs, complex payroll, and limited talent modules compared to competitors.
SAP SuccessFactors needs enhanced analytics, integration, user interfaces, customization, localization, cloud features, AI, and improved documentation.
SAP HCM needs to be more customizable to fit unique organizational processes.
We are able to optimize a lot of processes but there is always room for improvement.
We sometimes face issues in the minor version, requiring us to upgrade to the major version.
The change management process during the initial launch was not effectively handled, leading to a poor user experience.
They should implement soft connectors through a marketplace for virtual learning integration with platforms such as Teams, Cisco, and Webex, rather than relying on hard connectors using APIs.
Workforce analytics is still challenging due to customizations. It does not provide flexibility in terms of analytics, and we have to customize extensively.
 

Setup Cost

SAP HCM's high, complex pricing often hinders small businesses, with hidden costs and compared unfavorably to cheaper alternatives.
SAP SuccessFactors offers customizable pricing with an annual subscription, though costs vary by company size and additional services.
I would rate pricing for SAP as one because the price is high.
SAP HCM is quite expensive, but considering solutions like Oracle, they are similar.
SAP HCM is costly compared to other ERPs like Microsoft Dynamics or Oracle, and I would rate the cost as one out of ten.
The licensing cost is not expensive now.
The licensing costs are quite high, which is a typical scenario for such solutions.
 

Valuable Features

SAP HCM enhances productivity with integration, payroll management, scalability, user-friendly interfaces, and supports global operations efficiently.
SAP SuccessFactors enhances recruitment, provides seamless integration and customization, increasing employee engagement and satisfaction with robust analytics.
When we face challenges and raise tickets, Red Hat provides support within an hour, fixes bugs, and allows us to move to production after resolving issues.
The main benefit SAP HCM provides is that we have all the information in one place; it is basically one centralized system with all the information rather than having multiple systems across the organization.
Capturing all the attendances and absences is a huge task that must be completed before running payroll.
SAP SuccessFactors has advantages in providing AI-driven initiatives such as candidate screening and matching features within the recruitment module.
The best features of SAP SuccessFactors are workflows, the storyboard, the workforce analytics, and customization in terms of doing those portlets and MDIs, which are much simpler.
Employees can view their goals, performance, ratings, and employee information, which enhances the employee experience.
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP HCM
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
Benefits Administration (4th)
SAP SuccessFactors
Ranking in Talent Management
2nd
Ranking in Cloud HCM
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Talent Acquisition (2nd), Global Payroll (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of SAP HCM is 9.9%, down from 17.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SuccessFactors is 19.4%, down from 22.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP SuccessFactors19.4%
SAP HCM9.9%
Other70.7%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

Bijoykrishna Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Centralized system enhances resource and capital management efficiency
The functions in SAP HCM that I have found most valuable include a bundle of resource management as well as capital management, which is also integrated with payroll and other systems. I also use a payroll processing feature in SAP HCM. The talent management tool in SAP HCM is useful, though it does not provide everything; it is not at the level of some other third-party tools for talent management, but we can still use it. SAP HCM supports our organization's global operations with multi-currency capabilities. The main benefit SAP HCM provides is that we have all the information in one place; it is basically one centralized system with all the information rather than having multiple systems across the organization.
ManujGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
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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Answers from the Community

NC
Jan 25, 2024
Jan 25, 2024
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 to simplify the process, giving life back to HR systems so that they can be more modern and flexible, and rely more on the heart of HR – the employee. On the other hand, while SF is technically less ...
See 2 answers
YZ
Sep 6, 2021
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 to simplify the process, giving life back to HR systems so that they can be more modern and flexible, and rely more on the heart of HR – the employee. On the other hand, while SF is technically less complex than SAP HCM, it also has significantly less capability, particularly when it comes to integration with other SAP modules. For example, while SAP's integration between the SAP Project system and the SAP HCM process is robust, SuccessFactors' integration is limited and still in its early stages. In all circumstances, SAP SF represents the future of HR, with a highly promising road map. I believe that if SAP continues to create more features, SF will have greater functionality than SAP HCM in 5 years.
Kseniia Gravis - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 25, 2024
So are you striving to successfully deploy and utilize SAP systems to centralize data, streamline operations, gain real-time insights and achieve business efficiency? SAP applications are the backbone of every business. We also discuss the best SAP implementation process as an ideal solution for such problems: https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/why-outsource-sap/ 
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise39
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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...
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP SuccessFactors?
The licensing cost is not expensive now. It is much more competitive.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SAP Human Capital Management
SuccessFactors
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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.
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
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP HCM vs. SAP SuccessFactors and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.