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 Payroll Professional vs Sage Business Cloud Payroll
Verified ratings, feature-by-feature comparison and rand pricing — everything a South African business needs to pick between these two.
Sage Payroll Professional
The payroll most established South African employers still call Sage VIP
4,1(58)
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 Payroll Professional against Sage Business Cloud Payroll, nothing weighted.
Dimensions won
2 – 1
Sage Payroll Professional vs Sage Business Cloud Payroll, across 5 rating dimensions
Widest rating gap
+0,2
Sage Payroll Professional leads on ease of use
Verified reviews
296
58 for Sage Payroll Professional, 238 for Sage Business Cloud Payroll
Sage Payroll Professional
4,1
58 verified reviews
Sage Business Cloud Payroll
4,1
238 verified reviews
Ratings by dimension
- Sage Payroll Professional
- Sage Business Cloud Payroll
Overall
4,1
4,1
Ease of use
4,2
4,0
Value for money
4,0
4,1
Customer service
4,0
4,0
Functionality
4,1
4,0
Share of verified reviews
Who South African reviewers actually write about.
- Sage Payroll Professional (58)
- Sage Business Cloud Payroll (238)
Cost to get started
Cheapest paid plan, shown per month.
Sage Payroll Professional
Custom pricing
Sage Business Cloud Payroll
R90/mo
Head to head
Where each one wins
Row by row, with the stronger score highlighted. Straight from verified reviews.
| Sage Payroll Professional | Sage Business Cloud Payroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4,1 | 4,1 |
| Reviews | 58 | 238 |
| Ease of use | 4,2 | 4,0 |
| Value for money | 4,0 | 4,1 |
| Customer service | 4,0 | 4,0 |
| Functionality | 4,1 | 4,0 |
| Starting price | Custom pricing | R90/mo |
| Free trial | No | Yes |
Features
Feature by feature, checked off
Everything each product ships, side by side. No marketing gloss.
| Feature | Sage Payroll Professional | Sage Business Cloud Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| PAYE, UIF and SDL calculations at current rates | ||
| EMP201 and EMP501 statutory reporting | ||
| IRP5 and IT3(a) certificate generation | ||
| e@syFile and ACB bank file exports | ||
| Employment Tax Incentive automation | ||
| Multiple pay frequencies and companies | ||
| Retrospective and pro rata calculations | ||
| Leave and loan management | ||
| Custom payslip and report layouts | ||
| General ledger integration with Sage accounting | ||
| 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 |
Pricing
Both price lists, in rand
Every plan from both vendors, priced as South African teams actually pay.
Sage Payroll Professional plans
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.
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: Sage Payroll Professional remains a strong pick where its strengths — Full SARS statutory compliance maintained automatically and e@syFile exports for EMP501 reconciliation season — match your priorities. Shortlist both, take the free trials where offered, and test against a real month of your own data.