2 employees
Full product for up to 2 employees. Price includes VAT.
R90/mo
per month
- Automatic legislative updates
- Unlimited companies and users
- Email payslips
- UIF declarations
Sage Business Cloud Payroll vs BrightPay
Verified ratings, feature-by-feature comparison and rand pricing — everything a South African business needs to pick between these two.
Sage Business Cloud Payroll
Online payroll from R90 a month with legislation that updates itself
4,1(238)
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Ratings
Every score, at a glance
Verified user ratings across every dimension — Sage Business Cloud Payroll against BrightPay, nothing weighted.
Dimensions won
0 – 1
Sage Business Cloud Payroll vs BrightPay, across 5 rating dimensions
Widest rating gap
+0,1
BrightPay leads on functionality
Verified reviews
439
238 for Sage Business Cloud Payroll, 201 for BrightPay
Sage Business Cloud Payroll
4,1
238 verified reviews
BrightPay
4,1
201 verified reviews
Ratings by dimension
- Sage Business Cloud Payroll
- BrightPay
Overall
4,1
4,1
Ease of use
4,0
4,0
Value for money
4,1
4,1
Customer service
4,0
4,0
Functionality
4,0
4,1
Share of verified reviews
Who South African reviewers actually write about.
- Sage Business Cloud Payroll (238)
- BrightPay (201)
Cost to get started
Cheapest paid plan, shown per month.
Sage Business Cloud Payroll
R90/mo
BrightPay
Custom pricing
Head to head
Where each one wins
Row by row, with the stronger score highlighted. Straight from verified reviews.
| Sage Business Cloud Payroll | BrightPay | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4,1 | 4,1 |
| Reviews | 238 | 201 |
| Ease of use | 4,0 | 4,0 |
| Value for money | 4,1 | 4,1 |
| Customer service | 4,0 | 4,0 |
| Functionality | 4,0 | 4,1 |
| Starting price | R90/mo | Custom pricing |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
Features
Feature by feature, checked off
Everything each product ships, side by side. No marketing gloss.
| Feature | Sage Business Cloud Payroll | BrightPay |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic PAYE, UIF and SDL updates | ||
| Guided pay run process | ||
| Weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay cycles | ||
| Email payslips | ||
| UIF declarations | ||
| Leave management | ||
| ACB bank payment files | ||
| Real time calculations | ||
| Unlimited companies and users | ||
| Predefined legislative and payroll reports | ||
| UK PAYE against current HMRC rules | ||
| Real Time Information submissions | ||
| Automatic enrolment for workplace pensions | ||
| Statutory sick and parental pay | ||
| Employee self service app | ||
| Client portals for bureaus | ||
| Payslip design and delivery | ||
| CIS for construction clients | ||
| Journal export to accounting software | ||
| Automatic cloud backups |
Pricing
Both price lists, in rand
Every plan from both vendors, priced as South African teams actually pay.
Sage Business Cloud Payroll plans
Try it free
10 employees
Up to 10 employees. Price includes VAT.
R401/mo
per month
- Weekly, fortnightly and monthly cycles
- Leave management
- Real time calculations
25 employees
Up to 25 employees. Price includes VAT.
R951/mo
per month
- Predefined legislative and payroll reports
- ACB payment files
- Integrates with Sage Accounting
50 employees
Up to 50 employees. Larger tiers run to 200 employees at R4,182 per month.
R1 712/mo
per month
- Everything in smaller tiers
- Scales to 200 employees
Straight from the vendor
Get current pricing
These are list prices in rand and vendors adjust them from time to time. Check with Sage for the figure you'll actually pay.
BrightPay plans
Cloud
Priced per employers and employees under management from the 2026/27 tax year. Bureau options for practices.
Calculator based
no card needed
- HMRC RTI filing
- Auto enrolment pensions
- Employee app and portals
- Unlimited client payrolls on bureau licences
- Automatic cloud backup
Straight from the vendor
Get current pricing
These are list prices in rand and vendors adjust them from time to time. Check with Bright for the figure you'll actually pay.
Verdict
Our verdict
Sage Business Cloud Payroll edges this comparison on verified user ratings (4,1 vs 4,1), but the right choice depends on your workflows: BrightPay remains a strong pick where its strengths — HMRC recognised with direct RTI filing and Auto enrolment with major UK pension providers — match your priorities. Shortlist both, take the free trials where offered, and test against a real month of your own data.