Sage People vs Shape Payroll
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
Shape Payroll
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Live Chat
- Knowledge Base
Shape Payroll leads on verified reviews by 0.1 of a point — 4.2 against 4.1 for Sage People.
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 | Shape Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | ||
| Starting priceLowest paid tier, excluding VAT | On request | Free |
| Free version | NoNo | YesYes |
| Free trial | NoNo | YesYes |
| How it rates | ||
| Overall ratingMean of verified Assaylist reviews | 4.1 | 4.2 |
| Verified reviewsVolume is evidence, not a score — this row is not a contest | 298 reviews | 250 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.
- Sage People
- Shape Payroll
| Dimension | Sage People | Shape Payroll | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 4.0 | 4.1 | 0.1 to Shape Payroll |
| Value for money | 4.1 | 4.1 | Level |
| Customer support | 4.0 | 4.1 | 0.1 to Shape 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage People | 46% (138 reviews) | 32% (96 reviews) | 12% (36 reviews) | 7% (21 reviews) | 2% (7 reviews) |
| Shape Payroll | 47% (118 reviews) | 33% (83 reviews) | 11% (27 reviews) | 7% (17 reviews) | 2% (5 reviews) |
Feature by feature
Everything either vendor publishes, split into what separates them and what they share.
- Only Sage People
- 1056%
- Only Shape Payroll
- 844%
18 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
Shape Payroll
8- Automatic legislative updates
- Cloud based
- Employee records
- Free Basic tier
+ 4 more in the table below
| Detail | Sage People | Shape Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Where they differ · 18 | ||
| 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 |
| Automatic legislative updates | NoNo | YesYes |
| Cloud based | NoNo | YesYes |
| Employee records | NoNo | YesYes |
| Free Basic tier | NoNo | YesYes |
| Payslips | NoNo | YesYes |
| Pension auto enrolment | NoNo | YesYes |
| RTI submissions to HMRC | NoNo | YesYes |
| Statutory payments | NoNo | 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 | Sage People | Shape Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Verified against vendor documentation | ||
| RTI-compliant payroll | Not listedNot listed | YesYes |
| Pension auto-enrolment | Not listedNot listed | YesYes |
| UK-based support | Not stated | UK support team |
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
Shape Payroll
Sage People
Contact vendor
- Quoted per organisation
- Multi country HR
- Workforce analytics
Basic
Free
- Free payroll
- RTI submissions
- Auto enrolment
No comparable tier listed
Pro
£5/mo
- Up to 5 employees paid
- £1 per additional employee
- Priority 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 Shape Payroll does not, including built on the salesforce platform.
Choose Shape Payroll if
- There is a free tier you can stay on, which Sage People does not offer.
- It lists 8 features Sage People does not, including automatic legislative updates.
- It covers more of the UK obligations we check — 3 of them against 0.
On verified Assaylist reviews, Shape Payroll currently rates 4.2 against 4.1 for Sage People. That gap is not the whole story: Sage People starts at a quoted price and Shape Payroll at Free, so the right answer depends on the tier you actually need and on which one handles your UK obligations. Read both profiles before you commit, and confirm current pricing on the vendor's own site.
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