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

SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central vs UKG comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 10, 2025

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 SuccessFactors Employee...
Ranking in Cloud HCM
15th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
UKG
Ranking in Cloud HCM
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (5th), Talent Management (6th), Employee Scheduling Software (1st), Employee Time Tracking Software (2nd), HR Analytics Software (2nd), Talent Acquisition (6th)
 

Featured Reviews

SP
User-friendly integration capabilities and responsive support enhance operational efficiency
SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central is cloud-based, eliminating the need for any infrastructure with readily available data centers. It is very user-friendly and integrates seamlessly with the Employee Central Payroll and all other talent modules. I have utilized the payroll integration, noting that on-premises payroll is called SAP Payroll, while when taken to the cloud, it is referred to as Employee Central Payroll, which runs on the same server and is configured on on-premises but on a different node. Within the cloud, SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central integrates with Employee Central Payroll via point-to-point applications, which push the master data from Employee Central to Employee Central Payroll, forming the bridge between these two modules.
Talia Jean Paul - PeerSpot reviewer
Affordable but needs to improve its stability
Our company is testing the UKG Ready Mobile App, but there are some glitches. I feel that in the system when you log on to Kronos, UKG Dimensions, and UKG Workforce Central, we have different modules in different versions. With regards to the newer version, I feel the older version, which was UKG Workforce Central, was more user-friendly for the end user as opposed to the newer version, which looks a bit more complicated. When training someone who wants implementations to be done, it would be easier if you could hover above certain things, and it shows you or tells you exactly what it is. There are certain SAP modules that can be audible. If you click on it if someone is being a bit slow with regards to training, the tool will tell you what needs to be done and what needs not to be done by you, but for us, it is fine because we are in the back end with configuration and the administrators. I am talking about the need for improvements in the tool for the benefit of the end users. The explanation on UKG's community consists of training manuals and some of the other stuff that we use, and we send to our supervisors at the site. With the tool in place, catching onto white-collared employees is quicker. The tool is not quick to catch onto certain blue-collared employees in the plant or supervisors who are actually working with machinery and stuff because they are not as computer-centric as white-collared employees. If I could scan the tool across the globe with our site supervisors, there are a few loopholes in the tool. There are some issues with the tool's stability. For me, I would like someone who is building the system in the back end to know if a front-end user can manipulate the system. I am not going to rate the tool's scalability to be high. I would rate the tool's scalability to be at a mediocre level or at something like 50 percent, so there is a lot of room for improvement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"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."
"It enables us to manage the system ourselves. We don't need an additional team to do a lot of maintenance and add the things that we want."
"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 fact that I can see the whole HR information in a single point is valuable. There is a unified view of everything, which is good. Previously, we had many different systems for each part of the information. Now, it is all centralized. It is very good."
"UKG allows us to customize our home screen so that we can easily monitor important items on a daily basis."
"I have found the most valuable feature to be business intelligence and Cognos reporting."
"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."
 

Cons

"SAP can improve RDP and reports by making them more user-friendly, as there are complex processes in understanding and handling them."
"I would like the capability to use UKG as a single platform without the need to alternate between systems."
"One area where UKG could improve is in its ability to understand its own competency and then work hard to improve it."
"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 solution could improve by simplifying it even more core reports, such as more sample reports, more generic reports that you can edit and improve on yourself."
"UKG could be a little more flexible in some areas."
"Certainly, the time and attendance and the payroll integration need a lot of work. They are disjointed pieces, and they don't work smoothly together. That's the main drawback."
"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 navigation on the screen could be better. Sometimes, I have to dig a little bit deep to find what I need. Everything is there. It just needs to be a little bit smoother."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing depends on the number of licenses we buy."
"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."
"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."
"If you're going for the full suite, it can be fairly pricey."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud HCM solutions are best for your needs.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business48
Midsize Enterprise43
Large Enterprise48
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central?
Regarding improvements or additional features for SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, nowadays Generative AI is booming, and AI is integrated within SAP. I am planning to get certified in automati...
What is your primary use case for SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central?
SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central is essentially the master data for an employee. Compared to on-premises, it is simply OM and PA taken to the cloud and becomes the master data for an employee. R...
What advice do you have for others considering SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central?
The solution has helped to streamline organizational payroll processes. I have worked with many clients who used SAP on-premises, as well as clients with legacy systems, necessitating the retrieval...
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...
What advice do you have for others considering UKG?
Publicity is very important for any software. If people aren't aware of UKG, despite its productivity, they won't use it. Expanding the awareness is essential for greater adoption. Overall, I would...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

No data available
UKG Pro, UKG Dimensons, UKG Ready
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Tesla, Marriott, Yamaha, Aramark, Feeding America, Samsung, Sony Music, Dave & Buster's, Revlon
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central vs. UKG and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.