Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

SAP HCM vs UKG 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

SAP HCM
Ranking in Benefits Administration
3rd
Ranking in Talent Management
3rd
Ranking in Cloud HCM
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
UKG
Ranking in Benefits Administration
4th
Ranking in Talent Management
5th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Employee Scheduling Software (1st), Employee Time Tracking Software (3rd), HR Analytics Software (1st), Talent Acquisition (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of SAP HCM is 12.0%, down from 17.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of UKG is 5.5%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

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…
Lonnie Fluck - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps us establish system front-end and back-end connectivity, but the recruiting features need improvement
I used UKG to track applicants and create job descriptions. We built the electronic onboarding system to be used nationwide and created a path to integrate with the backend The product's most valuable feature is the ability to establish connectivity between the front and the back end,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"All our employee data, like performance and payroll, is managed through SAP HCM."
"The setup was straightforward."
"Payroll is always the central area the tool focuses on. It needs to ensure things are flowing, employees are paid on time, and there are no issues related to location, pay, or hiring. SAP HCM helps observe all the work, from hiring to paying paychecks every month. It's a system that depends on the data you input. You don't want to work with bad data and expect miracles. If the data isn't clean, it's more work."
"Customers can create custom infotypes to store any custom data points."
"I like the talent, recruitment, and learning features the most."
"The integration between the different models like personnel administration, work management, payroll, and time management are the most valuable and key features."
"I think HCM was the most stable for me...It is a very scalable product."
"It has the best data management features."
"The most valuable feature is being able to get time management reports which break out reclassified jobs and departments to separate areas of the company. This allows for better tracking of hours spent in certain jobs and where more hours may be needed."
"The solution has improved our organization by helping us cut hours and lessen our labor force. It saved us probably over $100,000 in just the last couple of years."
"The employee self-service feature is most valuable. This is the restaurant industry, and they have a mobile app that allows employees to go in and manage their data. So, employees can manage direct deposit accounts, emergency contacts, and other things in the app. That's definitely the biggest benefit."
"The product's most valuable feature is the ability to establish connectivity between the front and the back end, particularly the single point of data entry, to minimize mistakes."
"UKG allows us to customize our home screen so that we can easily monitor important items on a daily basis."
"The solution's employee experience is pretty good."
"We use the tool for various functions, including payroll, HR, recruiting, onboarding, and workforce management. We've implemented all these modules across all the clients I've worked with."
"The tool improved employee onboarding efficiency, especially in healthcare, where timely onboarding is crucial. This change directly impacted retention rates positively. It was a massive project that involved various teams working together. It took about a year to revamp the entire process and ensure compliance. However, once implemented, it improved employee satisfaction by saving them two whole days in the onboarding process."
 

Cons

"We find some challenges in the integration between SAP HCM and SAP SuccessFactors."
"HCM could improve compatibility, making it more accessible via web applications and graphical interfaces."
"The setup comes with a set of challenges as well."
"The implementation of the solution can be a bit difficult. They should make it easier. If it could be as simple as the SuccessFactors implementation that would be ideal."
"It would be very helpful for our company if a new version was released with the ability to contain all of the things that we have newly introduced in our company."
"It is a bit tedious and manual to work with."
"The solution is rather expensive."
"SAP HCM could improve by having more resources and making it more user-friendly. It is complex."
"I would like to see more functionality in the next release to be able to get hours and dollars per calendar month rather than just by payroll in the Business Intelligence reports."
"The tool needs improvement on the configuration side."
"The product's integration features need improvement."
"UKG could be a little more flexible in some areas."
"The platform's features need enhancement while being used as a recruiting tool."
"Since UKG is a SaaS software, other parts of the application or add-on solutions are not the best in class or very configurable."
"The system is slow sometimes."
"The solution could use better reporting with standard reports. We use the Cognos platform in BI for a lot of our reporting. However, they need to have more robust standard reporting available to their user base."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is a little expensive and we are charged per user for the license. The solution can be paid monthly or annually."
"Licensing fees are paid yearly."
"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."
"In my view, this product is a waste of money for SMB because there are much better products available and licensing is an issue."
"Be careful and guard against future changes in licensing."
"We have an annual license for this solution, and the price depends on the number of users."
"You pay per license. There not any costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"The pricing is really high."
"I wasn't involved in the pricing part. I'm a user, and I believe it is based on the user count. One thing that is nice about Ultimate is that you can learn how to use the system without additional fees. The learning aspect is the life of a product, and the training was a huge reason why we went with Ultimate. We did have some integration costs. They were a part of the implementation because of the integrations to other systems that we included in our implementation."
"If you're going for the full suite, it can be fairly pricey."
"While I am unsure of the licensing cost itself, the total cost of implementation and licensing for a company with over 5000 employees would be around 6,00,000. So, there are additional costs beyond licensing."
"The platform is not affordable but also not the most expensive."
"UKG's pricing and licensing model involves ongoing expenses based on the number of employees paid. The initial implementation cost is low when UKG implements it directly. However, when partners handle the implementation, it becomes more expensive since partners don't receive the monthly recurring fees."
"The pricing depends on the number of licenses we buy."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud HCM solutions are best for your needs.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Retailer
5%
Educational Organization
86%
Computer Software Company
1%
Healthcare Company
1%
Manufacturing Company
1%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 needs improvement with UKG?
UKG needs more publicity. It is a productive ERP ( /categories/erp ) application, but many people in the IT market are not aware of it. Greater awareness could increase its adoption.
What is your primary use case for UKG?
I worked for a healthcare organization and a university. Most organizations use UKG ( /products/ukg-reviews ) to track employee timesheets, capturing accurate swipe-in and swipe-out data. UKG ( /pr...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SAP Human Capital Management
UKG Pro, UKG Dimensons, UKG Ready
 

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.
Tesla, Marriott, Yamaha, Aramark, Feeding America, Samsung, Sony Music, Dave & Buster's, Revlon
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP HCM vs. UKG and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.