Sage Payroll vs IRIS Staffology Payroll
Verified ratings, real UK pricing and the compliance detail, weighed side by side — with a written verdict at the end.
Sage Payroll
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Phone
- Live Chat
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
IRIS Staffology Payroll
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
Evenly matched on verified reviews — 4.0 against 4.1. Price and fit will decide this one, not the score.
The short version
What each one costs and how each one rates, side by side. Only the rows where leading means something are marked; vendor and availability are in the overview above.
| Detail | Sage Payroll | IRIS Staffology Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | ||
| Starting priceLowest paid tier, excluding VAT | £12/mo | £43/mo |
| Free version | NoNo | NoNo |
| Free trial | YesYes | YesYes |
| How it rates | ||
| Overall ratingMean of verified Assaylist reviews | 4.0 | 4.1 |
| Verified reviewsVolume is evidence, not a score — this row is not a contest | 266 reviews | 223 reviews |
Highlighted where one clearly leads. Rows without a highlight are not a contest.
How reviewers score them
Across the four dimensions we ask every reviewer about — and, below, the star split each average is built from.
- Sage Payroll
- IRIS Staffology Payroll
| Dimension | Sage Payroll | IRIS Staffology Payroll | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 4.0 | 3.9 | 0.1 to Sage Payroll |
| Value for money | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.1 to IRIS Staffology Payroll |
| Customer support | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
| Functionality | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.1 to IRIS Staffology Payroll |
What each average is made of
Two products can share an average and not share a reputation. These bars show the star split behind each score.
| Product | 5 star | 4 star | 3 star | 2 star | 1 star |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage Payroll | 41% (110 reviews) | 33% (88 reviews) | 15% (41 reviews) | 7% (19 reviews) | 3% (8 reviews) |
| IRIS Staffology Payroll | 44% (99 reviews) | 32% (71 reviews) | 13% (30 reviews) | 8% (17 reviews) | 3% (6 reviews) |
Feature by feature
Everything either vendor publishes, split into what separates them and what they share.
- Both products
- 16%
- Only Sage Payroll
- 950%
- Only IRIS Staffology Payroll
- 844%
18 features listed across both products.
What only one of them does
Sage Payroll
9- Automated HMRC notices
- Employee records
- Four step pay run
- Holiday and sick leave tracking
+ 5 more in the table below
IRIS Staffology Payroll
8- Automatic enrolment and assessment
- Automatic legislative updates
- Employee self serve payslips
- Multi payroll support
+ 4 more in the table below
Showing 18 of 18 features
| Detail | Sage Payroll | IRIS Staffology Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Where they differ · 17 | ||
| Automated HMRC notices | YesYes | NoNo |
| Employee records | YesYes | NoNo |
| Four step pay run | YesYes | NoNo |
| Holiday and sick leave tracking | YesYes | NoNo |
| Payroll anomaly detection | YesYes | NoNo |
| Pension auto enrolment | YesYes | NoNo |
| Sage Copilot | YesYes | NoNo |
| Scales to 150 employees | YesYes | NoNo |
| Self serve payslips | YesYes | NoNo |
| Automatic enrolment and assessment | NoNo | YesYes |
| Automatic legislative updates | NoNo | YesYes |
| Employee self serve payslips | NoNo | YesYes |
| Multi payroll support | NoNo | YesYes |
| Open API | NoNo | YesYes |
| Payslip based pricing | NoNo | YesYes |
| Pension provider connections | NoNo | YesYes |
| Statutory payments | NoNo | YesYes |
| Where they match · 1 | ||
| RTI submissions to HMRC | YesYes | YesYes |
A dash means the vendor has not published a feature list — which is not the same as the feature being unavailable.
How they handle UK obligations
Checked against the vendor's own documentation or HMRC's published list. A dash means we have not verified it — never that it is missing.
| Detail | Sage Payroll | IRIS Staffology Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Verified against vendor documentation | ||
| RTI-compliant payroll | YesYes | YesYes |
| Pension auto-enrolment | YesYes | YesYes |
| UK-based support | Telephone support from Sage UK | UK support team |
What each tier costs
Both line-ups on one ladder, so the middle tier on one side sits next to the middle tier on the other.
Sage Payroll
IRIS Staffology Payroll
Payroll Essentials
£12/moLower
- 5 employees included
- 4 step pay run
- HMRC compliance and notices
From 1 to 19 payslips
£43/mo
- Up to 19 payslips a month
- RTI submissions
- Automatic enrolment
Payroll Standard
£23/mo
- 5 employees included
- Core HR capabilities
- Enhanced pay run
20 to 50 payslips
Contact vendor
- Additional payslips around £2.15 each
- Quoted on volume
- Everything in the base tier
Payroll Premium
£34/mo
- 5 employees included
- Comprehensive payroll and HR
- For more complex requirements
No comparable tier listed
Rungs are matched by position in each vendor’s own line-up, not by what the tiers include — an entry plan on one side may cover more than the other. Prices exclude VAT unless stated, and per-seat plans are quoted per seat. Always confirm on the vendor’s own site.
Which should you choose?
Two answers, because there are two right ones depending on what you need.
Choose Sage Payroll if
- It costs less to get started — £12/mo against £43/mo.
- It lists 9 features IRIS Staffology Payroll does not, including automated hmrc notices.
Choose IRIS Staffology Payroll if
- It lists 8 features Sage Payroll does not, including automatic enrolment and assessment.
On verified Assaylist reviews, IRIS Staffology Payroll currently rates 4.1 against 4.0 for Sage Payroll. That gap is not the whole story: Sage Payroll starts at £12/mo and IRIS Staffology Payroll at £43/mo, so the right answer depends on the tier you actually need and on which one handles your UK obligations. Read both profiles before you commit, and confirm current pricing on the vendor's own site.
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