Breathe HR vs Sage HR:
Price the package your team will keep.
Compare employee bands with per-employee pricing, then check performance, recruitment, trial terms and existing payroll entitlements.
Count employees.
Then define the retained modules.
Shortlist Breathe for its employee-band core HR package, including performance management. Shortlist Sage HR when its Core HR and Leave Management package and optional modules match the brief, especially if an existing Sage payroll arrangement affects your entitlement. Compare the actual workflow and written total; an employee count, an HR-administrator count and a payroll bundle are different buying units.
Seven differences that change the shortlist
| Buying question | Breathe HR | Sage HR |
|---|---|---|
| Base pricing unit | A monthly core fee per business within an employee band. | Standalone Core HR + Leave Management has a per-employee monthly headline. |
| HR operators | Included HR-user permissions vary by employee band; extra permissions are a separate option. | Confirm the required operators and module access in the proposed account. |
| Performance work | Performance management is part of core HR; test the required review process. | Performance is an optional standalone module. |
| Hiring | Recruitment tracking is an optional paid module. | Recruitment is an optional module with a published flat monthly headline. |
| Time work | Time logs and the separate Rota, Time & Attendance module need distinct scope checks. | Timesheets and Shift Scheduling are distinct optional modules. |
| Existing payroll | Scope the receiving payroll provider and integration separately from the HR base. | Check the exact standalone, Sage Payroll or Sage 50 Payroll arrangement before adding HR modules. |
| Trial boundary | Public new-account trial covers core and add-ons for 14 days without a card. | Public new-account trial ends automatically after 30 days; extra-module trials on an existing subscription follow separate billing rules. |
Four worked buying briefs
These are hypothetical scenarios with explicit assumptions. They do not establish equal capabilities, measured usability or a negotiated price.
| Employees | Breathe core / month, excl. VAT | Sage standalone £5 headline × employees | What the figures exclude |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Micro / £24 | £5 × 10 = £50 | Tax/quote confirmation; payroll, extras and implementation |
| 11 | Starter / £44 | £5 × 11 = £55 | Tax/quote confirmation; payroll, extras and implementation |
| 20 | Starter / £44 | £5 × 20 = £100 | Tax/quote confirmation; payroll, extras and implementation |
| 21 | Regular / £99 | £5 × 21 = £105 | Tax/quote confirmation; payroll, extras and implementation |
Ten employees and one HR operator
What does the base headline illustrate?
Breathe HR: Micro core: £24 per month excluding VAT.
Sage HR: Ten times the UK product-page £5 headline: £50 per month; confirm the actual tax basis and quote.
One unchanged month, core scope only. Do not interpret the numerical gap as verified savings or identical features.
The eleventh employee joins
Does one extra employee change the plan?
Breathe HR: Eleven employees use Starter: £44 per month excluding VAT.
Sage HR: Eleven times the £5 standalone headline gives £55 before the actual tax/quote check.
Breathe moves bands at this boundary. Recheck operator allowances, added modules and the effective date of any real change.
Twenty employees need formal performance reviews
Is performance in the retained proposal?
Breathe HR: Starter core remains £44 per month excluding VAT; the documented performance workflow still needs evaluation.
Sage HR: The main UK page lists Performance at £2.50 per employee/month in addition to core. Quote the selected employees and full scope.
This example does not assume that the two performance processes are interchangeable. Have the same reviewer assess the same fictional review steps.
Twenty-one employees already have Sage payroll
Should you buy a second standalone HR package?
Breathe HR: Regular core is £99 per month excluding VAT before any other required service.
Sage HR: Standalone headline arithmetic is £105; first inspect the existing payroll package and included HR entitlement.
Neither £105 nor an older Essentials feature description replaces the actual current bundle. Keep included capabilities and any incremental purchase separate.
A band fee and a per-employee headline change differently
The examples use Breathe’s monthly core bands and the £5 per-employee Core HR + Leave Management headline on Sage’s main UK product page, reviewed on 17 October 2026. Breathe states that its fees exclude VAT. The Sage headline section reviewed does not make its tax basis explicit, so confirm it in the written quote before comparing payable totals.
Our four core calculations hold the headcount and selected base scope fixed for one month. They omit implementation, payroll, optional modules, discounts and any extra HR permissions. A twelve-month budget should retain the billing arrangement: twelve unchanged monthly payments are different from a prepaid annual offer.
There is also a source discrepancy worth resolving before purchase: Sage’s separate UK pricing simulator displays £4.60 for Core HR + Leave Management, while its main UK product page displays £5. We use the main product-page headline for the illustration and do not mix the differing simulator rates into a current package total. Ask which rate and tax basis apply to your proposal.
Breathe monthly pricing ↗ · Sage HR UK product and module prices ↗ · Sage UK simulator: different displayed rates ↗
Price performance, hiring and time work as separate requirements
Breathe’s matrix includes performance work in core HR and prices recruitment and rota/attendance separately. The standalone Sage offer prices Performance, Timesheets and Shift Scheduling as optional modules. Start with the required outcome rather than treating every tool called performance or time tracking as the same process.
For the twenty-person review brief, define an objective, employee input, manager review, approval and the final permitted record. Ask each vendor which retained configuration supports those steps and who is included in the module charge. Leave missing capabilities unassessed until there is evidence.
For hiring, prepare one fictional vacancy and one fictional applicant, then specify the move into an employee record. Confirm application history, reviewer access, export and the actual module fee. A flat recruitment headline and a per-employee base fee count different things; multiplying every module by headcount would produce a false budget.
Breathe included features and optional modules ↗ · Sage standalone module units ↗
Check an existing Sage payroll entitlement before adding standalone HR
Sage’s setup guide separates standalone HR, Sage 50 Payroll Online Services and Sage Payroll-linked HR Essentials. It also notes that Sage 50 People Package customers already have Core HR included. Identify the exact subscribed product and entitlement before starting another module purchase.
The current Sage Payroll offer has its own tiers with HR capabilities. Its payroll fees are not the standalone Sage HR £5 employee headline. Do not assume that an older Essentials comparison describes every current payroll tier, or that access to payslips proves all HR modules are included.
Write two lists: work already covered by the retained payroll package, and work that would require an additional module or replacement. Review a fictional employee correction from its authorised source through the intended HR/payroll handover, including the reconciliation owner. This is a proposed check; no employee record or pay run was operated for this article.
Sage setup paths and included Core HR exception ↗ · Current Sage Payroll packages with HR features ↗
An initial free trial and an extra-module trial can end differently
Sage’s UK product page advertises a new-account thirty-day trial with no card that ends automatically. Its add/remove-modules support guide describes a different situation: on an existing Sage HR subscription, a trialled additional module is added and billed after its thirty days unless deselected and saved before the deadline. Record which route you are actually using.
The same module guide says removal revokes access immediately and changes the monthly price. Agree the required export and review before changing a real subscribed module. This article does not start, stop, buy or cancel any trial or subscription.
For either vendor, make a simple trial record with the start date, retained plan, selected modules, expiry, billing owner and required decision. A demonstration of all features is useful only when you can identify the subset your ongoing quote includes.
Sage additional-module trial and removal rules ↗ · Sage initial thirty-day offer ↗ · Breathe initial fourteen-day offer ↗
Use the same small access and handover brief
Use harmless fictional identifiers E01 for a person, R01 for a review and D01 for a document. Specify the intended employee, line-manager, HR and finance readers. Ask which role can view, edit and export each item; those are separate permissions to assess.
Breathe’s permission guide says Micro and Starter HR users already have salary access; from Regular upwards HR and Finance are separate. Confirm the intended separation in the actual quoted plan. Do not grant a broad role just to make a missing button visible.
For the final handover, reconcile the people record, review and document independently. Keep the selected module, field scope and missing evidence with the notes. These proposed exercises do not establish a completed product trial, migration result, usability score or compliance outcome.
Questions before you choose
Is Breathe HR or Sage HR cheaper for a small UK business?
The required package determines the comparison. Breathe uses employee-band core fees; standalone Sage HR publishes a per-employee headline. Confirm modules, HR operators, tax basis, billing terms and any existing payroll entitlement before comparing payable totals.
What happens to Breathe HR pricing at eleven employees?
The reviewed monthly core fee moves from Micro at £24 for up to ten employees to Starter at £44 for eleven to twenty, excluding VAT. HR-user allowances and paid modules remain separate scope checks.
Does Sage HR include performance management in its base price?
The reviewed standalone UK offer lists Core HR + Leave Management as the base, with Performance an optional module at a £2.50 per-employee monthly headline. An existing payroll bundle needs its own entitlement check.
Is Sage HR included with my Sage Payroll subscription?
Check the exact payroll product and tier. Sage documents different setup paths and a Core HR entitlement for Sage 50 People Package customers; its current Payroll tiers also have HR capabilities. Payslip access alone does not establish every standalone HR module.
Will I be billed when a Sage HR trial ends?
It depends on the route. The initial public thirty-day no-card offer ends automatically. The support guide says an additional-module trial on an existing HR subscription is added and billed after thirty days unless deselected and saved before its deadline.
Why does Sage HR show both £5 and £4.60 per employee?
The main UK product page reviewed shows £5 for Core HR + Leave Management, while a separate official UK simulator displays £4.60. These pages do not settle which rate applies to every proposal. Confirm the current package, tax basis and written total.
Are the worked prices complete Breathe and Sage HR quotes?
No. They illustrate one fixed month of core headline arithmetic. The examples do not price implementation, payroll, other modules, discounts or every required permission, and do not prove equivalent features or savings.
Turn the comparison into your own evaluation
Use the same criteria and priorities for both products, keep unknowns unassessed and record the plan and evidence behind your ratings.
Build a Breathe HR vs Sage HR scorecard →Keep the assumptions with the figures
Use the date, billing cycle, units and limits with each example. Check current account terms before purchasing. Unverified prices and model costs stay unpriced.
Download the buying examples as JSON ↓Share the comparison
Use these examples when discussing the shortlist with your team.