Skip to main content
Comparison

Ghugi vs Sage Payroll: when you only need
the email step

Sage is the UK payroll incumbent — over 200,000 businesses use it. But many of those businesses don't actually need everything Sage bills them for. Here's the honest comparison so you can pick what fits.

Pick Sage Payroll if…

  • You want a full accounting + payroll suite — Sage bundles accounting, invoicing, payroll, and HMRC submissions in one product family.
  • You're a bookkeeper or accountant managing client payrolls — Sage Bureau Payroll is built for running payroll for many client companies. Industry-standard in UK accounting practices.
  • You're comfortable with per-employee pricing — Sage bills per employee per month — roughly a £5–£10 base plus £2–£6 per employee depending on tier (Essentials to Premium). Predictable as you scale, but it climbs as you grow.
  • You want phone support from a UK help desk — Sage's support team is large, UK-based, and trained on payroll specifically — useful when HMRC throws a curveball.

Pick Ghugi if…

  • You already use Sage Payroll — and want a simpler way to email the payslips it produces — especially if you're on Sage 50 Payroll Desktop which still requires manual distribution.
  • You want DOB-encrypted PDFs by default — Sage can password-protect emailed payslips (using the employee's date of birth or NI number), but it's an opt-in setting you switch on. Ghugi locks every payslip with the recipient's date of birth automatically, by default.
  • You don't actually need full payroll — Your accountant already runs it. You just need to send the PDFs each month — Ghugi turns that 30-minute monthly chore into 2 minutes.
  • You want flat pricing instead of per-employee billing — Ghugi's £15/£39/£89 plans cap by employee count. Sage's per-employee charges scale forever.

Plot twist: many of our customers use both. Sage Payroll (or their accountant’s payroll) calculates the pay, Ghugi sends the payslips.

At a glance

Feature-by-feature comparison. We’ve tried to be fair — call us out on hello@ghugi.com if anything’s wrong.

FeatureGhugiSage Payroll
Full UK payroll calculation (PAYE/NI/RTI)—✓
Submits RTI to HMRC—✓
Employee self-service portal—✓
Pension auto-enrolment workflow—✓
Bulk email payslips to staff✓ Built-inCloud edition only
DOB-encrypted PDF delivery (AES-256)✓Manual per-employee config
Drag-in PDFs from any payroll source✓Locked to Sage output
Custom email templates per organisation✓Limited
Full audit trail of every send✓Partial
Cloud-based, multi-device✓Cloud or Desktop
Pricing modelFlat per-org tiersPer-employee on top of subscription
Starting price (25 employees)£15/mo~£45–65/mo + VAT

When Sage Payroll is the right choice

UK accounting-software incumbent; Sage Business Cloud Payroll (cloud) and Sage 50 Payroll (desktop) bundle payroll with the wider Sage accounting suite.

You want one supplier for accounting + payroll

Sage's central selling point is the unified suite. If you already use Sage Accounts, adding Sage Payroll is a single-supplier decision with shared employee data and shared reports.

You're an accountant with multiple client payrolls

Sage Bureau Payroll is purpose-built for running payroll across 5–500 client companies. Ghugi doesn't compete in that segment.

You need pension auto-enrolment workflows

Sage handles The Pensions Regulator's reporting requirements automatically. Ghugi is delivery-only and doesn't touch pensions.

When Ghugi is the right choice

Ghugi isn’t trying to be Sage Payroll. We do one thing: get your payslip PDFs from “produced” to “in the employee’s inbox” without any portal, login, or manual forwarding.

Your accountant runs Sage Payroll for you

They send you payslip PDFs monthly; you forward each one to staff from Outlook. Ghugi automates the email step with DOB encryption — your accountant doesn't have to change anything.

You use Sage 50 Payroll Desktop

The desktop product still requires manual emailing of payslips. Ghugi replaces that with a 2-minute drag-and-drop and adds an audit trail Sage never had.

You want encryption without configuring it per employee

Sage's password protection on emailed payslips is an opt-in per-employee setting. Ghugi locks every payslip by default with the employee's date of birth — no per-employee toggle.

You want a fixed monthly cost

Sage's per-employee billing means your bill grows with hiring. Ghugi Starter is £15/month for up to 25 employees, period.

Pricing, honestly compared

Here’s what the equivalent setup actually costs each way. They’re not apples-to-apples — Sage Payroll calculates the payroll, Ghugi delivers it — but the totals are real.

Sage Business Cloud Payroll — 25 employees

~£45–65/mo

+ VAT · per-employee-per-month model — roughly £5–£10 base + £2–£6 per employee (Essentials to Premium)

  • Full UK payroll (PAYE/NI/RTI)
  • Employee self-service portal
  • Pension auto-enrolment
  • Per-employee billing

Ghugi Starter — 25 employees

£15/mo

or £150/yr · flat, while Sage's per-employee bill climbs with every hire

  • Bulk email payslips with DOB encryption
  • Works with any payroll source (PDFs)
  • Full audit trail of every send
  • Flat per-org pricing — no per-employee creep
Start free trial — no card required

Common questions

Quick answers to what most Sage Payroll users ask before switching.

Can I use Sage Payroll and Ghugi together?
Yes — and it's the most common setup. Sage runs the payroll calculation and produces payslip PDFs; Ghugi handles encrypted email distribution. You get Sage's HMRC-compliant payroll engine and Ghugi's modern delivery flow.
Will Ghugi work with payslip PDFs from Sage?
Yes. Both Sage Business Cloud Payroll and Sage 50 Payroll export payslip PDFs. Drag the batch into Ghugi, and Ghugi auto-matches each one to the right employee.
Why use Ghugi if Sage Business Cloud Payroll already emails payslips?
Two reasons. First: Sage can password-protect emailed payslips (with the employee's date of birth or NI number), but it's an opt-in setting — Ghugi encrypts everything by default with the employee's date of birth. Second: Sage's email features are cloud-only — if you're on Sage 50 Payroll Desktop you still email manually, which is exactly the problem Ghugi solves.
Is Sage cheaper than Ghugi?
Depends on headcount and what you actually need. Sage Business Cloud Payroll's per-employee pricing is competitive at very low headcount, but Ghugi's flat plans win above ~15 employees, and Ghugi is dramatically cheaper if all you need is delivery (not full payroll calculation).
What about Sage 50 Payroll Desktop?
Sage 50 Payroll is the desktop product (~£200–£500/year). It generates payslip PDFs but leaves email distribution to you. Ghugi is the natural pair — Sage 50 handles the calculation, Ghugi handles the email-out step with encryption and audit.

Stop emailing payslips like it’s 2005.

Start your 30-day free trial. No credit card. No onboarding call. Sending in 10 minutes.

Start free trial

Already using Sage? Keep Sage for payroll. Add Ghugi for encrypted delivery.