HREvio vs Sage HR: an honest 2026 comparison for SMBs

We build HREvio, so read this knowing who wrote it. Sage HR and HREvio both cover SMB core HR, so here is an honest split of where each one leads.

The short version: Sage HR is part of a large accounting and payroll group, priced per employee and split into modules, which suits teams already living in the Sage world. HREvio is flat-priced core HR built EU-first, which suits teams that want one predictable bill and less to configure.

The pricing difference

Sage HR prices per employee per module, around $5.50/employee/month for a module, with no free tier and a 30-day trial. Because it is per head, the bill rises every time you hire, and adding modules multiplies it: a 25-person team runs roughly $138/month, a 100-person team around $550/month for a single module, more if you turn several on.

HREvio is flat and covers core HR in one price. EUR 29/month up to 25 employees, EUR 49 up to 100, EUR 99 up to 250. Hiring inside a plan does not change the bill, and there are no separately-metered modules.

Sage HR figures based on its published per-employee pricing (~$5.50/employee/month per module, no free tier, 30-day trial), for a single module; multiple modules cost more. USD as published; verify current pricing on sage.com. HREvio prices exclude VAT; annual billing saves ~17%.

The gap widens as you grow. At 25 people Sage HR is a few times HREvio; by 100-250 people the per-head model has multiplied while HREvio is still flat, which is exactly where flat pricing wins by the widest margin.

What Sage HR has that HREvio doesn't

Sage is a large, established vendor, so this list is real. Here it is without hedging.

• Native ties to Sage's own accounting and payroll products, if you already run Sage
• A performance-management module (reviews, goals, 1:1s) - a lightweight version is on our roadmap
• Shift scheduling and timesheets as add-on modules
• Expense management as an add-on module
• A longer track record and a large support organisation behind it

If you already run Sage for accounting or payroll, or you want performance, scheduling, and expenses in one modular suite, Sage HR is a sensible fit. This page will still be here if the per-employee, per-module bill stops making sense.

What HREvio does, and does well

Core HR that a 5-100 person company actually uses every week:

• Employee directory with profiles, manager hierarchy, and an activity log of every change
• Vacation and sick leave: requests, approvals, balances, accrual, carryover, and a full per-employee ledger
• A team absence calendar plus public holidays for 48 countries, imported automatically
• Compensation history with effective dating; salary amounts encrypted at rest
• Roles and permissions (25 granular permissions), audit trail across the system
• Self-serve billing by card, upgrade or cancel in-app, no sales call at any point
• Interface in English, Ukrainian, Polish, and German

GDPR isn't a checkbox here. Hosting is on Hetzner in the EU, the data processing agreement is part of signup rather than a separate sales artifact, salary data is encrypted at rest, and the audit log masks encrypted fields automatically. We process EU employee data, so we built the product the way we'd want our own data handled.

Who should pick which

Pick Sage HR if you already use Sage for accounting or payroll, or you need performance, scheduling, and expenses in one modular suite and the per-employee price fits your budget.

Pick HREvio if you want core HR (people, leave, compensation, audit) done well at a flat price that does not climb as you hire, with EU hosting and GDPR handled by default.

Switching from Sage HR

Start a trial, bring your employee list, and set starting leave balances with the built-in onboarding workflow, so mid-year balances carry over correctly.

The trial is 30 days, full Standard features, no credit card. After it ends your data goes read-only, and we send reminders before anything changes state. Nothing is deleted without warning and time to act.

Frequently asked questions