Sage HR
by CakeHR • Founded 2012
What is Sage HR?
Get Best Quote for Sage HR
Connect with SaaSrat experts to get the best quote for your business.
You're all set!
A specialist for Sage HR will reach out within 1 business day.
Sage HR Features
Employee database
Leave management
Performance management
Timesheets
Shift scheduling
Expense management
View All 234 Features
Sage HR Pricing Plans
Core Sage HR + Leave Management
- Employee database and Core HR records
- Leave management with automated time-off requests and approvals
- Mobile app for managers and employees (iOS and Android)
- Employee self-service portal
- Manager calendar and team views
- Reports and dashboards
- Single sign-on and SSO support
- Multi-country holiday calendars
- Customizable leave policies
- API access
Performance Add-on
- Performance reviews and 360 feedback
- Goal setting and tracking
- 1:1 meeting notes
- Performance cycles
- Manager and employee review workflows
Timesheets Add-on
- Time tracking and timesheet submission
- Approval workflows
- Project and client time tracking
- Reports and exports
Shift Scheduling Add-on
- Shift scheduling for teams
- Drag-and-drop schedule builder
- Shift swap requests
- Mobile shift visibility
- Open shift requests
Expenses Add-on
- Expense submission and approval workflows
- Receipt capture from mobile
- Mileage tracking
- Multi-currency expenses
- Approval chains
Recruitment Add-on
- Applicant tracking system
- Career site and job posting
- Application review workflows
- Candidate communications
- Interview scheduling
- Offer management
Sage HR Resources
Sage HR Screenshots
Description
Sage HR Field Guide
| Best fit for | Small businesses and growing mid-market organizations (10-250 employees) primarily in the UK, EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and global markets needing an all-in-one HR platform with Core HR and leave management plus modular add-ons (performance, timesheets, shift scheduling, expenses, recruitment) and tight integration with Sage Payroll for combined HR and payroll workflows |
|---|---|
| Industries | Small businesses and growing mid-market organizations across professional services and consulting, technology and software, retail and e-commerce, hospitality, travel and tourism, business services, agencies, non-profit, healthcare and life sciences, education, manufacturing, and other sectors with up to 250 employees needing modular HR with payroll integration |
| Core capability | All-in-one cloud HR platform with Core Sage HR and Leave Management included in the base plan (employee database, leave management with automated time-off requests and approvals, mobile app for managers and employees) plus modular add-ons: Performance management (£2.50 per employee per month), Timesheets (£2.50 per employee per month), Shift scheduling (£2.50 per employee per month), Expenses (£1.25 per employee per month), and Recruitment (£184.45 per month flat). Connected Payroll integration with Sage Payroll and Sage 50 Payroll (HMRC-recognized for UK businesses), self-serve digital payslips and P60s, employee self-service portal, manager and employee mobile apps, 30-day free trial with no payment details required, no long-term contracts, customizable modules that scale with the business |
| Pricing | Core Sage HR + Leave Management starts at £5.00 per employee per month. Optional add-ons: Performance £2.50 per employee per month, Timesheets £2.50 per employee per month, Shift scheduling £2.50 per employee per month, Expenses £1.25 per employee per month, Recruitment £184.45 per month flat fee. Connected Payroll requires an additional Sage Payroll or Sage 50 Payroll subscription. 30-day free trial with no payment details required. Verified at sage.hr/pricing on 2026-06-08. |
| Differentiator | Sage HR is the modular small-business HR product from the Sage Group plc (FTSE 100 listed enterprise software company). Where BambooHR targets SMB-to-mid-market with bundled tier pricing and People HR offers comparable UK SMB coverage, Sage HR positions for businesses already on Sage Payroll or Sage Accounting wanting tight payroll integration plus a modular HR build-up where buyers pay only for the add-ons they need. |
| Headquarters | Sage Group plc is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom with global operations across UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, South Africa, Australia, and Asia. Sage HR (formerly CakeHR) operates as a Sage Group product line serving small businesses and growing mid-market organizations globally with UK and EMEA strength. |
| Customers | Trusted by over 2 million Sage customers worldwide with Sage HR adoption strongest among UK and EMEA small businesses and growing mid-market organizations. Public customer references include Ambassador Cruise Line, BetterSpace, Team Extension, Findasense, Sonarworks, Reiz Tech, and Cleveland Group across travel and hospitality, technology and software, and business services verticals. |
| Mobile | Native iOS and Android mobile apps for managers and employees. Employees request time off, submit timesheets, view payslips and P60s, and access employee directory from mobile. Managers approve requests, view team calendars, run reports, and manage shift scheduling from mobile. Mobile-first design positions Sage HR for small businesses with distributed workforces. |
Where Sage HR Wins
Sage Payroll integration depth. Tight Connected Payroll integration with Sage Payroll and Sage 50 Payroll. UK small businesses already using Sage Payroll get unified HR plus payroll workflows with self-serve digital payslips and P60s. HMRC-recognized payroll software with established UK compliance.
Modular add-on pricing. Buyers start with Core HR + Leave at £5.00/emp/mo and add only the modules they need (Performance £2.50, Timesheets £2.50, Shift scheduling £2.50, Expenses £1.25, Recruitment £184.45 flat). Avoids paying for tiers bundled with features the team won't use.
Mobile-first manager and employee experience. Native iOS and Android apps with full leave management, timesheet submission, payslip access, and team calendar from mobile. Distributed workforces and field teams get the same experience as office-based teams.
30-day free trial without payment details. Buyers can evaluate Sage HR fully for 30 days without entering payment information or committing to a contract. Reduces evaluation friction vs vendors requiring credit card upfront.
Sage Group financial stability. Backed by FTSE 100 Sage Group plc with 40+ years of business software heritage, 2 million customers globally, and long-term roadmap commitment. Small business buyers get enterprise-vendor stability at SMB pricing.
SMB target sweet spot. Designed for businesses with up to 250 employees with feature depth matched to SMB workflows. Avoids enterprise-feature complexity that small businesses don't need but get charged for elsewhere.
Award-winning support and community. Sage Member Masterclass, Community Hub, Sage University training, and software certification programs. Customers get more than software through the broader Sage ecosystem.
Where Sage HR Falls Short
Capped at ~250 employees. Designed for small businesses and growing mid-market up to 250 employees. Mid-market organizations 250-1,000+ employees should evaluate Sage People (the enterprise-tier Sage HCM) or BambooHR, Rippling, or Workday.
Add-on bundling can scale up. Adding Performance + Timesheets + Shift scheduling + Expenses + Recruitment + Connected Payroll quickly raises the effective per-employee cost above the £5 base. Model the full module mix during evaluation; don't compare only the base rate.
Recruitment module flat-priced. Recruitment add-on is £184.45 per month flat (not per-employee), so very small teams adding Recruitment effectively pay a fixed line item that doesn't scale down. Compare against dedicated People HR recruitment tiers if hiring volume is low.
Connected Payroll is a separate subscription. Sage HR doesn't include payroll natively — Sage Payroll or Sage 50 Payroll is a separate subscription. Total cost is HR plus payroll, not bundled into one rate.
Less feature depth in advanced talent management. Performance, learning, and succession planning are present but not as deep as Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or Sage People. Mid-market needing deep talent management evaluate enterprise tier vendors instead.
Who Should Use Sage HR?
Sage HR is the right call when a small business or growing mid-market organization (10-250 employees) needs an all-in-one cloud HR platform with Core HR and leave management plus modular add-ons (performance, timesheets, shift scheduling, expenses, recruitment) and tight integration with Sage Payroll for combined HR plus payroll workflows. Within the HR Software category at SaaSRat (SMB HRIS subcategory), the strongest fits are small businesses and growing mid-market organizations across professional services and consulting, technology and software, retail and e-commerce, hospitality, travel and tourism, business services, agencies, non-profit, healthcare and life sciences, education, manufacturing, and other sectors with up to 250 employees, particularly UK and EMEA businesses already running Sage Payroll or Sage Accounting.
Sage HR is the wrong call for organizations 250+ employees needing enterprise HCM (evaluate Sage People, BambooHR, Rippling, or Workday), for US-only businesses without Sage Payroll dependency (evaluate BambooHR or US-focused HRIS alternatives), and for Indian SMB needing Indian payroll (evaluate Keka or greytHR).
Sage HR Alternatives
BambooHR - SMB-to-mid-market HRIS with bundled tier pricing.
People HR - UK SMB HRIS with strong employee self-service.
Factorial - SMB HRIS popular across EMEA and LATAM.
Zoho People - SMB-to-mid-market HRIS with global tier coverage.
Rippling - HR plus IT plus finance unified platform for scale-ups.
peopleHum - end-to-end HR platform from hiring to retention.
Sage People - Sage Group enterprise-tier HCM for 250+ employees.
What Reddit and LinkedIn Reviewers Say
Discussions on r/humanresources and r/smallbusiness position Sage HR as a UK-strong SMB HR option alongside BambooHR, People HR, Factorial, and Zoho People. Buyers cite modular add-on pricing, Sage Payroll integration depth, and Sage Group stability as differentiators for UK small businesses already running Sage Accounting or Sage Payroll.
LinkedIn discussions among UK and EMEA HR managers highlight Sage HR as the operational answer for small businesses scaling from 10 to 250 employees needing HR plus integrated payroll without enterprise complexity. Customer references like Ambassador Cruise Line, BetterSpace, Team Extension, and Findasense show traction across travel and hospitality, technology and software, and business services verticals.
Final Take on Sage HR
Sage HR is the right call when a small business or growing mid-market organization (10-250 employees) needs an all-in-one cloud HR platform with Core HR and leave management plus modular add-ons (performance, timesheets, shift scheduling, expenses, recruitment), Sage Payroll integration, mobile-first manager and employee experience, and a 30-day free trial without payment details required. Small businesses and growing mid-market organizations across professional services and consulting, technology and software, retail and e-commerce, hospitality, travel and tourism, business services, agencies, non-profit, healthcare and life sciences, education, manufacturing, and other sectors with up to 250 employees, particularly UK and EMEA businesses already running Sage Payroll or Sage Accounting, get the natural fit. The Sage Payroll integration depth, modular add-on pricing, mobile-first manager and employee experience, 30-day free trial without payment details, Sage Group financial stability, SMB target sweet spot, and award-winning support and community combination delivers value enterprise HCM cannot match for small businesses.
For SMB-to-mid-market HRIS with bundled tier pricing, BambooHR. For UK SMB HRIS with strong employee self-service, People HR. For SMB HRIS popular across EMEA and LATAM, Factorial. For SMB-to-mid-market HRIS with global tier coverage, Zoho People. For HR plus IT plus finance unified platform, Rippling. For end-to-end HR platform, peopleHum. For enterprise HCM in the Sage family above 250 employees, Sage People. Sage HR is the modular UK-EMEA small-business HR pick with Sage Payroll integration.
Adjacent reading: Sage HR buyers also evaluate BambooHR for SMB HRIS alternative and HR software tools for broader category context.
Implementation considerations: Small businesses under 50 employees adopt Sage HR in 1-3 weeks using the 30-day free trial, online onboarding, and Sage Community Hub resources. Growing mid-market deployments (50-250 employees) run 3-8 weeks including employee data migration, leave policy configuration, Sage Payroll integration setup, add-on module rollout (Performance, Timesheets, Shift Scheduling, Expenses, Recruitment as needed), mobile app rollout, and manager and employee training. Multi-country deployments add 2-4 weeks for region-specific holiday calendars, leave policies, and currency setup.
Buyer evaluation tips: Start with the 30-day free trial at sage.hr to evaluate Core HR + Leave Management without payment details. Model the full add-on mix (Performance £2.50, Timesheets £2.50, Shift Scheduling £2.50, Expenses £1.25, Recruitment £184.45/mo flat) against your team needs, and factor in Connected Payroll Sage Payroll or Sage 50 Payroll subscription cost for combined HR plus payroll workflows. For UK small businesses already on Sage Payroll or Sage Accounting, Sage HR's payroll integration depth is the key differentiator vs alternatives. Run parallel evaluations against BambooHR and People HR if Sage Payroll dependency is not a fit.
Verified on 2026-06-08 by the SaaSRat Editorial Team. Vendor facts and pricing cross-checked against sage.hr/pricing and current 2026 vendor disclosures. About our methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Sage HR cost in 2026?
What was Sage HR called before?
Does Sage HR include payroll?
Which countries does Sage HR support?
Is Sage HR ISO 27001 certified?
How does Sage HR compare to Breathe?
Does Sage HR have a mobile app?
How long does Sage HR implementation take?
Does Sage HR integrate with Sage accounting products?
Who uses Sage HR?
Find Your Perfect Software
Answer a few quick questions to get matched
You're all set!
A specialist for will reach out within 1 business day with tailored recommendations for your needs.