Sage HR vs Workday HCM

A detailed comparison of Sage HR and Workday HCM. See how they stack up on features, pricing, and user ratings.

At a Glance

Sage HR Workday HCM
Rating 4.1/5 4.0/5
Starting Price $6/mo N/A
Free Trial Yes No
Free Plan No No
Features 9 9
Best For SMB Enterprise

Sage HR

Cloud HR management solution from Sage offering leave management, shift scheduling, timesheets, performance reviews, and recruitment in a modular, pick-and-choose system.

Rating 4.1/5
Best for SMB
Free trial Yes
Free plan No
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Workday HCM

Enterprise cloud HCM platform covering HR, payroll, talent management, and workforce planning for large organisations with 1,000+ employees.

Rating 4.0/5
Best for Enterprise
Free trial No
Free plan No
Visit Workday HCM →

Feature Comparison

Feature Sage HR Workday HCM
Workflow Automation
Reporting Dashboard
EEO/OFCCP Compliance
GDPR Compliance
API Access
HRIS Integration
Slack Integration
Zapier Integration
Mobile App

Pricing Comparison

Sage HR

Core HR $6/mo
Modules Custom

Workday HCM

Enterprise Custom

Integrations

Both tools integrate with

ADP Azure AD Gmail Google Calendar Google Workspace Microsoft 365 Microsoft Teams Okta OneLogin Outlook

Only Sage HR

Gusto

Only Workday HCM

DocuSign Greenhouse LinkedIn Salesforce

Pros & Cons

Sage HR

Pros

  • +Very affordable per-employee pricing
  • +Clean interface with core HR essentials
  • +Modular — pay only for what you need
  • +Good shift scheduling and leave management

Cons

  • -Payroll not included — need Sage Payroll separately
  • -Less feature-rich than BambooHR or Personio
  • -Limited recruitment functionality
  • -Part of large Sage ecosystem — not always cohesive

Workday HCM

Pros

  • +Industry-leading reporting and analytics engine (Prism Analytics)
  • +True single-platform architecture — HR, payroll, talent all share one database
  • +Continuous product innovation with bi-annual feature releases
  • +Strong security and compliance posture for regulated industries

Cons

  • -No pricing transparency — custom enterprise pricing only
  • -Long implementation timelines (6-12 months typical, can be longer)
  • -Requires dedicated admin resources or implementation partner
  • -Overkill and cost-prohibitive for organisations under 1,000 employees

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Sage HR if:

  • • Your company is SMB size
  • • You want to try before committing (free trial available)
  • • Higher user ratings matter to you (4.1 vs 4.0)
  • • Very affordable per-employee pricing
Try Sage HR Free

Choose Workday HCM if:

  • • Your company is Enterprise size
  • • Industry-leading reporting and analytics engine (Prism Analytics)
Visit Workday HCM

How we evaluate tools

Our ratings combine verified user reviews from G2 and Capterra with hands-on feature analysis. Pricing is checked against official sources. We may earn a commission through affiliate links, but this never influences our rankings or recommendations. Read our full methodology.