Payroll & Benefits · head to head
Oyster vs Sage 50
Sage 50
Accounting & Finance
Powerful desktop accounting for small businesses
- From
- $29/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Oyster has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Oyster employer of Record is $699 per employee per month, with the discount tied to annual billing; 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: Oyster covers Global Employment, Sage 50 covers General ledger.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Oyster and Sage 50 actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 Oyster
- Global Employment
- Payroll
- Benefits
- Compliance
- Contractor Management
- Time Off
- Expenses
- BambooHR
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.
Oyster
- Hiring employees abroad without setting up a local legal entitynot Sage 50
- Onboarding and paying international contractorsnot Sage 50
- Getting country specific employment compliance advice for distributed teamsnot Sage 50
Sage 50
- Desktop accountingnot Oyster
- Job costingnot Oyster
- Inventory trackingnot Oyster
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Oyster
- Employer of Record is $699 per employee per month, with the discount tied to annual billing
- A refundable deposit is required before an EOR engagement starts
- Contractor management is free for 30 days then $29 per contractor per month
- HR advisory through People Partner Services is billed at $300 per hour on top of the subscription
- A currency conversion fee applies when you pay Oyster in a currency other than the contract currency
- Payments are accepted only by direct debit or wire in USD, EUR, GBP or CAD
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
Oyster
Free- Contractor$29/month
- Contractor Payments
- Compliant Contracts
- Invoicing
- Employee$599/month
- Global Employment
- Payroll
- Benefits
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 Oyster if
- You need global employment.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want payroll.
Questions people ask
- Is Oyster or Sage 50 better?
- Neither clearly leads. Oyster starts at Free and Sage 50 at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Oyster or Sage 50?
- Oyster has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Oyster and $29/month for Sage 50.
- Does Oyster or Sage 50 run on more platforms?
- Oyster runs on Web, Ios, Android. Sage 50 runs on Windows.
- Can I use Oyster for free?
- Yes. Oyster has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sage 50 starts at $29/month.
- What is Oyster best used for?
- Oyster is most often used for hiring employees abroad without setting up a local legal entity, onboarding and paying international contractors, getting country specific employment compliance advice for distributed teams. Of those, hiring employees abroad without setting up a local legal entity and onboarding and paying international contractors are not what Sage 50 is typically brought in for.
- What can Oyster do that Sage 50 cannot?
- Oyster covers Global Employment, Payroll, Benefits, Compliance. Sage 50 covers General ledger, Invoicing, Inventory management, Job costing.
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