IRIS Staffology Payroll vs Sage 50 Payroll
Verified ratings, real UK pricing and the compliance detail, weighed side by side — with a written verdict at the end.
IRIS Staffology Payroll
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
Sage 50 Payroll
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Phone
- Live Chat
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
Evenly matched on verified reviews — 4.1 against 4.1. Price and fit will decide this one, not the score.
The short version
What each one costs and how each one rates, side by side. Only the rows where leading means something are marked; vendor and availability are in the overview above.
| Detail | IRIS Staffology Payroll | Sage 50 Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | ||
| Starting priceLowest paid tier, excluding VAT | £43/mo | £41/mo |
| Free version | NoNo | NoNo |
| Free trial | YesYes | YesYes |
| How it rates | ||
| Overall ratingMean of verified Assaylist reviews | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| Verified reviewsVolume is evidence, not a score — this row is not a contest | 223 reviews | 218 reviews |
Highlighted where one clearly leads. Rows without a highlight are not a contest.
How reviewers score them
Across the four dimensions we ask every reviewer about — and, below, the star split each average is built from.
- IRIS Staffology Payroll
- Sage 50 Payroll
| Dimension | IRIS Staffology Payroll | Sage 50 Payroll | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.1 to Sage 50 Payroll |
| Value for money | 4.0 | 3.9 | 0.1 to IRIS Staffology Payroll |
| Customer support | 4.0 | 3.9 | 0.1 to IRIS Staffology Payroll |
| Functionality | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
What each average is made of
Two products can share an average and not share a reputation. These bars show the star split behind each score.
| Product | 5 star | 4 star | 3 star | 2 star | 1 star |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRIS Staffology Payroll | 44% (99 reviews) | 32% (71 reviews) | 13% (30 reviews) | 8% (17 reviews) | 3% (6 reviews) |
| Sage 50 Payroll | 40% (87 reviews) | 38% (82 reviews) | 15% (32 reviews) | 6% (12 reviews) | 2% (5 reviews) |
Feature by feature
Everything either vendor publishes, split into what separates them and what they share.
- Both products
- 212%
- Only IRIS Staffology Payroll
- 741%
- Only Sage 50 Payroll
- 847%
17 features listed across both products.
What only one of them does
IRIS Staffology Payroll
7- Automatic enrolment and assessment
- Automatic legislative updates
- Employee self serve payslips
- Multi payroll support
+ 3 more in the table below
Sage 50 Payroll
8- Attachment of earnings orders
- Cloud connectivity
- Detailed payroll reporting
- Employee self service payslips
+ 4 more in the table below
Showing 17 of 17 features
| Detail | IRIS Staffology Payroll | Sage 50 Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Where they differ · 15 | ||
| Automatic enrolment and assessment | YesYes | NoNo |
| Automatic legislative updates | YesYes | NoNo |
| Employee self serve payslips | YesYes | NoNo |
| Multi payroll support | YesYes | NoNo |
| Open API | YesYes | NoNo |
| Payslip based pricing | YesYes | NoNo |
| Pension provider connections | YesYes | NoNo |
| Attachment of earnings orders | NoNo | YesYes |
| Cloud connectivity | NoNo | YesYes |
| Detailed payroll reporting | NoNo | YesYes |
| Employee self service payslips | NoNo | YesYes |
| Multiple pay frequencies | NoNo | YesYes |
| No limit on employee numbers | NoNo | YesYes |
| Pay run rollback and corrections | NoNo | YesYes |
| Pension auto enrolment and assessment | NoNo | YesYes |
| Where they match · 2 | ||
| RTI submissions to HMRC | YesYes | YesYes |
| Statutory payments | YesYes | YesYes |
A dash means the vendor has not published a feature list — which is not the same as the feature being unavailable.
How they handle UK obligations
Checked against the vendor's own documentation or HMRC's published list. A dash means we have not verified it — never that it is missing.
| Detail | IRIS Staffology Payroll | Sage 50 Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Verified against vendor documentation | ||
| RTI-compliant payroll | YesYes | YesYes |
| Pension auto-enrolment | YesYes | YesYes |
| UK-based support | UK support team | Telephone support from Sage UK |
What each tier costs
Both line-ups on one ladder, so the middle tier on one side sits next to the middle tier on the other.
IRIS Staffology Payroll
Sage 50 Payroll
From 1 to 19 payslips
£43/mo
- Up to 19 payslips a month
- RTI submissions
- Automatic enrolment
Up to 15 employees
£41/moLower
- RTI submissions
- Pension auto enrolment
- Statutory payments
20 to 50 payslips
Contact vendor
- Additional payslips around £2.15 each
- Quoted on volume
- Everything in the base tier
Up to 25 employees
£56.50/mo
- Everything in the 15 employee band
- Higher headcount
No comparable tier listed
Up to 50 employees
£108.50/mo
- Everything in the 25 employee band
- Higher headcount
Rungs are matched by position in each vendor’s own line-up, not by what the tiers include — an entry plan on one side may cover more than the other. Prices exclude VAT unless stated, and per-seat plans are quoted per seat. Always confirm on the vendor’s own site.
Which should you choose?
Two answers, because there are two right ones depending on what you need.
Choose IRIS Staffology Payroll if
- It lists 7 features Sage 50 Payroll does not, including automatic enrolment and assessment.
Choose Sage 50 Payroll if
- It costs less to get started — £41/mo against £43/mo.
- It lists 8 features IRIS Staffology Payroll does not, including attachment of earnings orders.
Sage 50 Payroll prices by headcount band while IRIS Staffology prices by payslip volume, so the cheaper option depends on your payroll shape. Staffology also offers a strong API for embedding payroll. Businesses with variable headcounts may prefer Staffology, stable payrolls the predictability of Sage 50 Payroll.
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