Sage People vs Personio
Verified ratings, real UK pricing and the compliance detail, weighed side by side — with a written verdict at the end.
Sage People
HR Software
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- United States
- Canada
- Australia
- France
- Germany
- Spain
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
Personio
HR Software
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Ireland
- Spain
- Netherlands
- Phone
- 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 | Sage People | Personio |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | ||
| Starting priceLowest paid tier, excluding VAT | On request | On request |
| Free version | NoNo | NoNo |
| Free trial | NoNo | 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 | 298 reviews | 215 reviews |
How reviewers score them
Across the four dimensions we ask every reviewer about — and, below, the star split each average is built from.
- Sage People
- Personio
| Dimension | Sage People | Personio | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
| Value for money | 4.1 | 4.0 | 0.1 to Sage People |
| Customer support | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage People | 46% (138 reviews) | 32% (96 reviews) | 12% (36 reviews) | 7% (21 reviews) | 2% (7 reviews) |
| Personio | 44% (95 reviews) | 35% (75 reviews) | 14% (30 reviews) | 4% (8 reviews) | 3% (7 reviews) |
Feature by feature
Everything either vendor publishes, split into what separates them and what they share.
- Only Sage People
- 1050%
- Only Personio
- 1050%
20 features listed across both products.
What only one of them does
Sage People
10- Built on the Salesforce platform
- Compensation planning
- Configurable workflows
- Employee lifecycle management
+ 6 more in the table below
Personio
10- Approval workflows
- Document management
- Employee database
- Employee self serve
+ 6 more in the table below
| Detail | Sage People | Personio |
|---|---|---|
| Where they differ · 20 | ||
| Built on the Salesforce platform | YesYes | NoNo |
| Compensation planning | YesYes | NoNo |
| Configurable workflows | YesYes | NoNo |
| Employee lifecycle management | YesYes | NoNo |
| Employee self service | YesYes | NoNo |
| Global reporting | YesYes | NoNo |
| Multi country HR management | YesYes | NoNo |
| Recruitment and onboarding | YesYes | NoNo |
| Talent and performance management | YesYes | NoNo |
| Workforce analytics | YesYes | NoNo |
| Approval workflows | NoNo | YesYes |
| Document management | NoNo | YesYes |
| Employee database | NoNo | YesYes |
| Employee self serve | NoNo | YesYes |
| Multi country HR | NoNo | YesYes |
| Onboarding and offboarding | NoNo | YesYes |
| Performance management | NoNo | YesYes |
| Recruitment and applicant tracking | NoNo | YesYes |
| Reporting and analytics | NoNo | YesYes |
| Time off management | NoNo | YesYes |
A dash means the vendor has not published a feature list — which is not the same as the feature being unavailable.
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.
Sage People
Personio
Sage People
Contact vendor
- Quoted per organisation
- Multi country HR
- Workforce analytics
Personio
Contact vendor
- Quoted per employee
- Full employee lifecycle
- Multi country support
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 Sage People if
- It lists 10 features Personio does not, including built on the salesforce platform.
Choose Personio if
- You can trial it before paying — Sage People lists no free trial.
- It lists 10 features Sage People does not, including approval workflows.
Both serve larger and mid market organisations. Sage People is built on Salesforce and strong for a business already in that ecosystem, while Personio excels at structured process and running the UK alongside other European countries. Choose Sage People for Salesforce alignment, Personio for multi country operation.
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