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Software · head to head

BlackLine vs Sage 50

BlackLine logo

BlackLine

Software

Finance & accounting automation

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: BlackLine listed on UK G-Cloud 13 at £1,150 to £2,160 per user per year for the public sector, with no free trial offered, per BlackLine's Finance Operations Management Solution pricing document; 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: BlackLine covers Account reconciliation, Sage 50 covers General ledger.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where BlackLine and Sage 50 differ
AttributeBlackLineSage 50
PlatformsWebWindows
Founded20011981

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 BlackLine

  • Account reconciliation
  • Journal entries
  • Task management
  • Variance analysis
  • Financial close
  • SAP
  • Oracle
  • NetSuite

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.

BlackLine

  • Financial closenot Sage 50
  • Reconciliationnot Sage 50
  • Continuous accountingnot Sage 50

Sage 50

  • Desktop accountingnot BlackLine
  • Job costingnot BlackLine
  • Inventory trackingnot BlackLine

Where each one falls short

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

BlackLine

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud 13 at £1,150 to £2,160 per user per year for the public sector, with no free trial offered, per BlackLine's Finance Operations Management Solution pricing document

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

BlackLine

$29/month
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Custom pricing
    • Account reconciliation
    • Task management

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 BlackLine if

  • You need account reconciliation.
  • You also want journal entries.
BlackLine review

Choose Sage 50 if

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

Questions people ask

Is BlackLine or Sage 50 better?
Neither clearly leads. BlackLine 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, BlackLine or Sage 50?
BlackLine starts at $29/month and Sage 50 at $29/month.
Does BlackLine or Sage 50 run on more platforms?
BlackLine runs on Web. Sage 50 runs on Windows.
What is BlackLine best used for?
BlackLine is most often used for financial close, reconciliation, continuous accounting. Of those, financial close and reconciliation are not what Sage 50 is typically brought in for.
What can BlackLine do that Sage 50 cannot?
BlackLine covers Account reconciliation, Journal entries, Task management, Variance analysis. Sage 50 covers General ledger, Invoicing, Inventory management, Job costing.
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