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BambooHR vs Sage 50

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

All industries

HR software with heart

From
$10/month per employee
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sage 50 logo

Sage 50

Accounting & Finance

Powerful desktop accounting for small businesses

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: BambooHR organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price; 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: BambooHR covers Employee database, Sage 50 covers General ledger.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where BambooHR and Sage 50 differ
AttributeBambooHRSage 50
Starting price$10/month per employee$29/month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWindows
CategoryAll industriesAccounting & Finance
Founded20081981

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 BambooHR

  • Employee database
  • Time-off management
  • Benefits tracking
  • Performance reviews
  • Onboarding
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Mobile access
  • Document management

Only in Sage 50

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

Both cover

  • Microsoft 365

What people use each for

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

BambooHR

  • HR system of record with employee data and documentsnot Sage 50
  • Time off tracking and approvalsnot Sage 50
  • Applicant tracking and onboardingnot Sage 50
  • Performance reviews and 1:1s on the Pro tiernot Sage 50
  • Compensation planning and benchmarking on Elitenot Sage 50

Sage 50

  • Desktop accountingnot BambooHR
  • Job costingnot BambooHR
  • Inventory trackingnot BambooHR

Where each one falls short

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

BambooHR

  • Organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price
  • Per-employee pricing starts at 26 employees, from $10 on Core
  • Performance management, 360 reviews and recognition all require Pro at $17 per employee per month
  • Compensation management, salary benchmarking and advanced analytics are Elite only at $25 per employee per month
  • Compliance training is rationed by tier, at 1 course on Core against 300 on Elite

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

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

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 BambooHR if

  • You need employee database.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want time-off management.
BambooHR review

Choose Sage 50 if

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

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Sage 50 better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Sage 50 at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Sage 50?
BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Sage 50 at $29/month.
Does BambooHR or Sage 50 run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Sage 50 runs on Windows.
What is BambooHR best used for?
BambooHR is most often used for hr system of record with employee data and documents, time off tracking and approvals, applicant tracking and onboarding, performance reviews and 1:1s on the pro tier. Of those, hr system of record with employee data and documents and time off tracking and approvals are not what Sage 50 is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Sage 50 cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Sage 50 covers General ledger, Invoicing, Inventory management, Job costing. Both handle Microsoft 365.
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