Made for South African buyers. Every price in rand, read from the vendor.
In depth review
Sage Group plc · Payroll software
Online payroll with every feature in every package, priced by how many people you employ, from R97 a month including VAT.
Sage Payroll is the small business cloud payroll product from Sage. Its pricing page prices by 22 employee bands, from 1 to 2 employees at R97 a month to 176 to 200 at R4 475, and R22.37 per employee above 200, all including VAT. Every package carries every feature, with unlimited companies and users, and it handles PAYE, UIF and SDL, ACB payment files, leave under the BCEA, and the EMP201, EMP501 and IRP5 returns.
Starting price
R97 a month
Including VAT, 1 to 2 employees
Price bands
22
From 1 to 2 up to 176 to 200, then per employee
Ten employees
R430 a month
The 6 to 10 band, including VAT
Fifty employees
R1 832 a month
The 41 to 50 band, R36.64 each at the top
Over 200 employees
R22.37 each
Per employee a month, including VAT
Companies and users
Unlimited
On every band
Free trial
30 days
A demo company, no credit card
Pay cycles
3
Monthly, fortnightly and weekly
Figures marked as a vendor's own are that vendor's claims about itself and are not tested here.
Every plan Sage Payroll lists, in rand, with a button to Sage Group plc's own pricing page.
Priced in bands by number of employees
First band, 1 to 2 employees
R97
a month including VAT
Top band, 176 to 200 employees
R4 475
a month including VAT
Above 200 employees
R22.37
per employee a month including VAT
22 bands in all, and every feature is in every band. The calculator below prices your own headcount, and the chart shows every band.
Sage Payroll lists 1 priced plan: 1 to 2 employees at R97. Every figure is shown in rand.
The vendor states a VAT basis, so both footings are known: 1 to 2 employees is R97 including VAT, R84.35 excluding VAT. A business registered for VAT claims the VAT back, so the figure excluding VAT is its real cost.
Every feature is in every package. Unlimited companies and users. The review lists the price of every band.
Read from sage.com/en-za/sage-business-cloud/payroll on 11 October 2026.
A plan priced per user or per employee shows the price of one. Both VAT footings are shown where the vendor states its basis.
| Employees | A month | Per employee at the top |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | R97 | R48.50 |
| 3 to 5 | R224 | R44.80 |
| 6 to 10 | R430 | R43 |
| 11 to 15 | R641 | R42.73 |
| 16 to 20 | R816 | R40.80 |
| 21 to 25 | R1 018 | R40.72 |
| 26 to 30 | R1 161 | R38.70 |
| 31 to 40 | R1 549 | R38.73 |
| 41 to 50 | R1 832 | R36.64 |
| 51 to 60 | R2 199 | R36.65 |
| 61 to 70 | R2 421 | R34.59 |
| 71 to 80 | R2 769 | R34.61 |
| 81 to 90 | R2 931 | R32.57 |
| 91 to 100 | R3 225 | R32.25 |
| 101 to 110 | R3 355 | R30.50 |
| 111 to 120 | R3 421 | R28.51 |
| 121 to 130 | R3 706 | R28.51 |
| 131 to 140 | R3 838 | R27.41 |
| 141 to 150 | R3 970 | R26.47 |
| 151 to 175 | R4 273 | R24.42 |
| 176 to 200 | R4 475 | R22.38 |
| More than 200 | R22.37 x employees | R22.37 |
Pick a plan, your team size and any extras. It adds Sage Payroll's own prices in rand and shows the month and the year, with VAT in and out where the vendor states its basis.
Band: 6 to 10 employees
R430
a month including VAT
R430
a month including VAT
Each step is a band. Including VAT.
| Employees | Your bill a month |
|---|---|
| 2 | R97 |
| 5 | R224 |
| 10 | R430 |
| 20 | R816 |
| 30 | R1 161 |
| 50 | R1 832 |
| 75 | R2 769 |
| 100 | R3 225 |
| 150 | R3 970 |
| 200 | R4 475 |
Opens Sage Group plc's own page in a new tab. Nothing is bought on this site.
From R97 /mo incl VAT
Starting prices of the priced products in the same category, cheapest first. This is a price sort, not a ranking: the cheapest product is not the best one, and some are priced per user, some per month and some excluding VAT.
Bar lengths use a square root scale, so a very high price does not flatten the rest. The figures are exact.
The middle starting price of the paid products here is R60.
Price on request, so not charted: PaySoft, PaySpace, Sage Pastel Payroll.
A dot is one plan. Free plans and plans on request have no price to place. A per user price is the price of one user.
3 official videos from SageGroupZA on YouTube. Software Register did not make or edit them. They are the vendor's own account of the product, so read them beside the prices and limits on this page.
How to create your first pay run
How to, 4:54, published 29 June 2023. From the SageGroupZA channel on YouTube.Made for South Africa
A video loads from YouTube only when you press play. The still picture before that comes from YouTube's image servers.
Sage describes Sage Payroll as intuitive online payroll for start ups and small businesses, with automatic updates, and sells it in bands by the number of employees. Sage says every package carries every feature, so the only thing that changes the price is your headcount.
It is a payroll product, not a full HR system. For leave, performance, shifts and recruitment alongside it, look at Sage HR, and for payroll with HR built in, Sage's newer Payroll Advanced.
The list is the same on every band.
Sage names the monthly employer declaration (EMP201), the interim and annual employer reconciliation (EMP501), the tax certificates (IRP5) and the UIF declaration to the Department of Labour as covered. Payroll reporting also includes financial, leave, employee, company and audit reports.
The product covers PAYE, UIF and SDL calculations, bonuses, travel allowances, commissions, overtime, medical aid and retirement funds, and independent contractors and labour brokers.
The price rises with each band, but not as fast as headcount does. Two employees cost R97 a month, or R48.50 each. A business of ten pays R430, which is R43 each. At fifty employees it is R1 832, about R36.64 each, and at two hundred R4 475, about R22.38 each. Past 200 Sage charges R22.37 for every employee.
The charts above show every band. Both the monthly figure and the price per head at the top of the band are included, with a table of every figure underneath.
Sage's payroll pricing page offers a monthly and an annual view. The headline reads from R1 080 a year including VAT, which is R90 a month, but when you switch the table to annual the 1 to 2 employee band shows R1 164, which is twelve times R97. The two figures do not agree, so ask Sage which applies to you and get it in writing before you buy for a year.
Sage also sells a bundle of Accounting Standard plus Payroll, which it says is bought on an annual subscription only.
The feature list reads like a South African compliance checklist, and it is: this is a product Sage South Africa builds, sells and supports for South African employers. Support comes through online chat, a help centre, how to videos and the Sage Community Hub. Sage cites an ISO 27001 certification for information security.
Sage's South African customers quoted on its pages include Newscafe, whose HR manager says Sage Payroll lets her manage leave and track staff.
It is a payroll product, not a full HR system, so recruitment and performance sit elsewhere. For a very small team the price per head is the highest on the scale, and the two yearly figures on the pricing page should be settled with Sage before you commit.
Against SimplePay, Sage Payroll publishes a band table and connects to Sage Accounting, while SimplePay quotes per employee excluding VAT and connects to Xero and QuickBooks. Sage's prices include VAT and SimplePay's do not, so put them on the same footing before comparing.
Strengths
Limits
Best for
Think twice if
In short
A solid, compliance first payroll for a small employer, especially one on Sage Accounting. Check your exact band in the table, settle the yearly price with Sage in writing, and take the 30 day demo with your own employees.
Start where the vendor sells it, and keep this page open beside you for the limits.
From R97 /mo incl VAT
The 6 to 10 employee band is R430 a month including VAT, which is R43 per employee. The 11 to 15 band is R641.
Sage prices above 200 employees at R22.37 per employee a month including VAT. At 250 employees that is R5 592.50.
Sage says every feature is in every package, with unlimited companies and users. The price depends only on the number of employees.
Sage lists the EMP201, EMP501 and IRP5 returns and the UIF declaration as covered. Its community hub documents how the IRP5 file is imported into SARS e@syFile, where the EMP501 is completed and submitted.
Yes. Sage offers a demo company free for 30 days, with no credit card, and you can cancel at any time.
Sage Payroll starts at R97 a month including VAT. It lists 1 priced plan, from R97 to R97.
Yes. Sage Group plc quotes its rand prices including VAT. Taking the 15 percent out of the first paid plan leaves R84.35.
Yes: Sage Payroll offers a free trial.
Sage Payroll's own page lists these: EMP201, EMP501, IRP5, UIF, SDL, BCEA leave. Ask the vendor to show the step that reaches SARS in a trial, because preparing a return and submitting it are different jobs.
Sage South Africa's cloud payroll, priced in rand including VAT and built around PAYE, UIF, SDL, EMP201, EMP501 and IRP5.
On this register the closest are PaySoft, PaySpace, Sage Pastel Payroll, SimplePay. Each has its own page, and the compare tool sets any two side by side.
South African guides that help you weigh Sage Payroll: what the rules ask, what to test and what to put in writing.
From payslip to EMP501
Payroll is the one kind of business software where a mistake reaches your staff and SARS in the same month. These are the checks that matter in South Africa, from the payslip to the EMP501.
Read the guideDue by the 7th of every month
EMP201
South African payroll produces a chain of statutory documents. A mistake in one link costs penalties in the next.
Read the guideThe day the EMP201 is due, every month
7th
VAT, payroll, provisional tax and the annual returns each have their own rhythm. One page showing what falls when, and what your software should do about it.
Read the guideEvery price and fact on this page was read from Sage Group plc's own pages, researched on 11 October 2026. A figure the vendor states about itself is marked as the vendor's. This review gives no score and no rank, and a vendor cannot pay to change it. Read how the register works.
Something wrong on this page? Suggest a correction, with a link to the vendor's page that shows it.
Sage Payroll is priced as above. Go to the vendor to buy or to ask, or compare it with another product first.
From R97 /mo incl VAT
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Sage Payroll
From R97 /mo incl VAT
