Head to head
Sage HR vs BambooHR
Both products assessed against the same checklist, with ratings drawn from 444 verified reviews.
- Rating gap
- 0.1
- Reviews behind this
- 444
- Monthly price gap
- R46
- Features they share
- 2
Side by side
How they compare
Ratings computed from published reviews, and the specifications that change what a product costs to run. The washed column is the higher rated of the two.
| Compared on | Sage Group plc | Higher rated overall |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers say | ||
| Overall rating | 4.2 | 4.3, higher |
| Ease of use | 4.1 | 4.2, higher |
| Value for money | 4.0 | 4.1, higher |
| Customer service | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Functionality | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Verified reviews | 246 | 198 |
| What it costs | ||
| Starting price | R55per month, from | US$9per month, from |
| VAT basis | Excl VAT | Excl VAT |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Published plans | 4 | 2 |
| Vendor and support | ||
| Vendor | Sage Group plc | BambooHR LLC |
| Founded | 2012 | 2008 |
| Support channels | Email, Live chat, Knowledge base, Onboarding support | Email, Telephone, Knowledge base, Implementation support |
| Integrations listed | 7 | 7 |
| Local bank feeds | 0 | 0 |
The local yardstick
South African compliance
Amber marks a gap rather than a feature. This is usually where the decision is actually made.
Sage HR
- BCEA leave entitlements
- Employment Equity reporting support
- POPIA operator agreement
- Role based access to personal information
- Data hosted outside South Africa
BambooHR
- BCEA leave requires manual policy configuration
- Employment Equity reporting by custom report
- POPIA operator agreement
- Data hosted in the United States
- Role based access controls
What they cost
Pricing, compared properly
Check the VAT basis on each. Vendors are not consistent, and the difference is 15%.
Sage HR
Listed excluding VAT
- R55/mo
Core HR and LeavePopular
Per employee
- R40/mo
Performance
Per employee
- R40/mo
Shift scheduling
Per employee
- R45/mo
Recruitment
Per employee
Priced per employee per month per module, excluding VAT. Price the full module set you expect to need before comparing against bundled competitors.
BambooHR
Listed excluding VAT
- US$9/mo
Core
Per employee, minimum charge applies
- US$15/mo
ProPopular
Per employee, minimum charge applies
Billed in US dollars per employee per month on an annual commitment, with a minimum monthly charge. BCEA leave rules must be configured rather than selected.
Capability
The full feature matrix
Every feature either product offers, and whether the other one has it.
| Compared on | Sage Group plc | Higher rated overall |
|---|---|---|
| 25 features across both products | ||
| 360 degree feedback | Included | Not included |
| Advanced reporting and analytics | Not included | Included |
| Applicant tracking | Not included | Included |
| BCEA compliant leave accrual | Included | Not included |
| Clock in and clock out | Included | Not included |
| Configurable time off policies | Not included | Included |
| Document storage and e signature | Not included | Included |
| Employee database | Not included | Included |
| Employee database and documents | Included | Not included |
| Employee self service | Included | Included |
| Employee wellbeing surveys | Not included | Included |
| Expense claims | Included | Not included |
| Leave requests and approvals | Included | Not included |
| Mobile app for iOS and Android | Not included | Included |
| Onboarding and offboarding workflows | Not included | Included |
| Onboarding checklists | Included | Not included |
| Open API | Not included | Included |
| Org chart | Included | Included |
| Performance management | Not included | Included |
| Performance reviews and goals | Included | Not included |
| Public holiday handling | Included | Not included |
| Recruitment and applicant tracking | Included | Not included |
| Reporting and headcount analytics | Included | Not included |
| Shift scheduling | Included | Not included |
| Timesheets | Included | Not included |
Our verdict
Which one you should buy
We name a winner. Listing differences and leaving the decision to the reader is not a verdict.
BambooHR is the better product. Sage HR is the better purchase for most South African employers, and the reason is leave.
Sage HR models BCEA leave correctly out of the box: annual leave accruing at the statutory rate, sick leave on the three year cycle, family responsibility leave as its own entitlement. BambooHR can be configured to do all of that and does not ship that way, so someone who understands the Act has to build it and then test it. That is an afternoon with a consultant, or a persistent low grade problem without one.
Sage HR is also billed in rand and priced per module, so a business that only needs leave management pays for leave management.
BambooHR wins on onboarding workflows, reporting and the everyday employee experience, and it has a minimum monthly charge that makes it expensive below about twenty five employees. Above fifty staff, hiring at pace, with HR experience as a stated priority, it is worth the difference.
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