Deel HR vs Sage HR — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Deel HR starts at $5/mo. Sage HR starts at $5.5/mo. Deel HR is $0.5/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Sage HR.
Deel's standalone HRIS — worker profiles, org chart, time off, time and attendance, job architecture and compliance from $5 per employee per month, rising to $19 for performance reviews, OKRs, learning and engagement surveys, and $29 for pay bands, compensation cycles, headcount planning and cost forecasting. The cheapest entry point into Deel by a wide margin, and the one most often compared against BambooHR and HiBob. Sibling products: Deel Payroll, Deel EOR, Deel US PEO, Deel Contractor Management and Deel IT.
Sage HR (formerly CakeHR) is Sage's cloud HR platform for SMBs. Core HR ~$5.50/employee/mo; add-on modules (Leave, Performance, Timesheets, Shift Scheduling, Recruitment, Expenses) priced separately per employee. 30-day free trial. UK-headquartered.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Deel HR monthly | Deel HR annual | Sage HR monthly | Sage HR annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid | Core / + Expenses | $5 | $5 | $1.5 | $1.5 |
| Mid tier 1 | ATS add-on / + Performance | $10 | $10 | $3 | $3 |
| Mid tier 2 | Advanced / + Shift Scheduling | $19 | $19 | $3 | $3 |
| Mid tier 3 | — / + Timesheets | — | — | $3 | $3 |
| Mid tier 4 | — / Core HR + Leave Management | — | — | $5.5 | $5.5 |
| Mid tier 5 | — / + HR Advice Essentials | — | — | $100 | $100 |
| Pro / power | Elite / + Recruitment | $29 | $29 | $200 | $200 |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Deel HR is worth it if… Deel HR at $5/employee/mo is aggressively cheap for a modern HRIS, and the obvious move if you already run anything else on Deel — the data is already there. The $19 Advanced tier is where performance and learning arrive; $29 Elite is really a compensation-planning product aimed at finance.
Sage HR is worth it if… Sage HR is ideal for UK/EU small-to-mid businesses (5-200 employees) that want modular HR without US-heavy pricing tiers.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Deel HR over Sage HR if…
Choose Deel HR if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $5/mo).
- You match the profile Deel HR is built for: Deel HR at $5/employee/mo is aggressively cheap for a modern HRIS, and the obvious move if you already run anything else on Deel — the data is already there.
- You need a general-purpose hr & people option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Sage HR if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $5.5/mo).
- You match the profile Sage HR is built for: ideal for UK/EU small-to-mid businesses (5-200 employees) that want modular HR without US-heavy pricing tiers.
- You need a general-purpose hr & people option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Deel HR | Sage HR | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No |
| Entry price | $5/mo | $5.5/mo |
| Enterprise available | No | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Seat | Per Seat |
| Verification | Checked September 23, 2026 | Verified August 18, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 27, 2026. Tracked daily.