Comparison

Sage People vs Breathe HR

A data-driven, side-by-side comparison for UK businesses. Provider data is verified by our research team and every review is moderated before publishing.

Updated 5 July 2026

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Sage People logo
Sage People
4.2(167 reviews)

Starting price

Custom

Breathe HR logo
Breathe HR
4.4(72 reviews)

Starting price

£18/mo

At a glance

Who wins, category by category

Category-by-category winners based on verified user ratings, each scored out of 5.

Sage People logo
vs
Breathe HR logo
4.2
Overall RatingBreathe HR
4.4
3.9
Ease of UseBreathe HR
4.6
3.9
Value for MoneyBreathe HR
4.5
4.0
Customer ServiceBreathe HR
4.5
4.2
FunctionalitySage People
4.1

Analytics

Ratings, visualised

The four dimensions every reviewer rates, shown two ways — bars for side-by-side magnitude, gauges for the head-to-head on each.

Rating by category

Head to head by category

Sage PeopleBreathe HR
Ease of Use3.9/4.6
Value for Money3.9/4.5
Customer Service4.0/4.5
Functionality4.2/4.1
012345

Sentiment

How reviewers feel

Positive (4 to 5 stars), neutral (3 stars) and negative (1 to 2 stars) sentiment across all verified reviews.

Sage People logoSage People
167 reviews
84%

Positive sentiment

  • Positive84%
  • Neutral9%
  • Negative7%
Breathe HR logoBreathe HR
72 reviews
86%

Positive sentiment

  • Positive86%
  • Neutral10%
  • Negative4%

Pricing

Pricing compared

Entry price, free plans and trials at a glance. A lower starting price is not everything, but it is where most UK businesses begin.

Sage People

Available now

Global cloud HR system for mid sized multinationals, built on the Salesforce platform. Core HR, self service, absence, performance, recruiting, compensation and workforce analytics, with UK and US payroll. Quote based pricing.

  • Global employee records
  • Workforce analytics and dashboards
  • Employee self service (WX portal)

Breathe HR

Free trial

UK-built HR platform for SMEs covering holiday booking, absence, documents and performance, with GDPR-friendly data hosting.

£18/ month
  • Holiday & absence management
  • Performance reviews
  • Built for UK SMEs

Features

Full feature comparison

Every data point we track for Sage People and Breathe HR, side by side.

Sage People logoSage People
4.2/5
167 reviews
User ratings
Overall rating
4.2
4.4
Ease of Use
3.9
4.6
Value for Money
3.9
4.5
Customer Service
4.0
4.5
Functionality
4.2
4.1
Pricing & plans
Starting price
Custom
£18/mo
Free trial
Free version
Pricing plans
1
2
Top features
Standout capabilities
  • Global employee records
  • Workforce analytics and dashboards
  • Employee self service (WX portal)
  • Holiday & absence management
  • Performance reviews
  • Built for UK SMEs
Best for
Ideal customer
Global cloud HR system for mid sized multinationals, built on the Salesforce platform. Core HR, self service, absence, performance, recruiting, compensation and workforce analytics, with UK and US payroll. Quote based pricing.
UK-built HR platform for SMEs covering holiday booking, absence, documents and performance, with GDPR-friendly data hosting.

Voices

What real users say

The strongest praise and the most common complaint, pulled from verified reviews of each product.

Sage People logoSage People
K

Katie B.

HR Director, 501-1000 employees

Document management with e signature closed out our filing cabinets for good.

L

Liam L.

Reward Manager, 501-1000 employees

We needed the partner for changes a previous system let us do ourselves.

Breathe HR logoBreathe HR
R

Ross B.

People Lead, 51-200 employees

Great value for a small team.

A

Amara Pople

Founder, 201-500 employees

Too basic on reporting.

Our verdict

Breathe HR leads 4/5

Which should you choose?

On the data we track, Breathe HR leads in 4 of 5 categories. Weigh that against your budget and the features that matter most to your team.