Softwr

Software · head to head

ADP vs Sage 50

ADP logo

ADP

Software

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sage 50 logo

Sage 50

Software

Powerful desktop accounting for small businesses

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ADP no pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken; Sage 50 sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Sage 50 covers General ledger.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Sage 50 actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Sage 50 differ
AttributeADPSage 50
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows
Founded19491981

Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ADP

  • Payroll
  • Tax services
  • HR management
  • Time & attendance
  • Benefits administration
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Oracle

Only in Sage 50

  • General ledger
  • Invoicing
  • Inventory management
  • Job costing
  • Budgeting
  • Microsoft 365
  • Salesforce
  • Local encryption

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ADP

  • Payroll processing and tax filingnot Sage 50
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Sage 50
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Sage 50
  • Benefits administrationnot Sage 50
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Sage 50

Sage 50

  • Desktop accountingnot ADP
  • Job costingnot ADP
  • Inventory trackingnot ADP

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ADP

  • No pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken
  • Split into three separate products by company size, RUN for 1 to 49 employees, Workforce Now for 50 and above, and Lyric HCM for enterprise, so growing across a threshold means changing product rather than plan

Sage 50

  • Sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

$29/month
  • Essential$79/month
    • Payroll
    • Tax filing
    • Direct deposit
  • Enhanced$139/month
    • HR tools
    • Background checks
    • Job posting

Sage 50

$29/month
  • Pro Accounting$50/month
    • Core accounting
    • 1 user
    • Basic reports
  • Premium Accounting$85/month
    • 5 users
    • Job costing
    • Inventory

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

  • You need payroll.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tax services.
ADP review

Choose Sage 50 if

  • You need general ledger.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want invoicing.
Sage 50 review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Sage 50 better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Sage 50 at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Sage 50?
ADP starts at $29/month and Sage 50 at $29/month.
Does ADP or Sage 50 run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Sage 50 runs on Windows.
What is ADP best used for?
ADP is most often used for payroll processing and tax filing, hr administration and employee records, time and attendance tracking, benefits administration. Of those, payroll processing and tax filing and hr administration and employee records are not what Sage 50 is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Sage 50 cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Sage 50 covers General ledger, Invoicing, Inventory management, Job costing.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on ADP

More on Sage 50

Keep looking

Other head to heads