SimplePay is the value pick for straightforward UK payroll, especially under around fifty staff, thanks to honest per payslip pricing, fast support and a setup that takes minutes rather than days. PaySpace costs more, but earns it with multi country compliance, deeper HR functionality and reporting built for finance teams that need to reconcile payroll against budgets rather than just get people paid. Choose SimplePay if your payroll is entirely UK and you want the simplest possible experience. Choose PaySpace if you employ staff in more than one African country or need HR depth beyond payroll alone.
PaySpace
3.8
SimplePay
4.4
Comparison
PaySpace vs SimplePay
A data-driven, side-by-side comparison for UK businesses. Provider data is verified by our research team and every review is moderated before publishing.
Updated 4 July 2026
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At a glance
Who wins, category by category
Category-by-category winners based on verified user ratings, each scored out of 5.
PaySpace
SimplePay
3.8
Overall RatingSimplePay
4.4
3.5
Ease of UseSimplePay
4.5
3.7
Value for MoneySimplePay
4.4
3.4
Customer ServiceSimplePay
4.5
4.1
FunctionalityPaySpace
3.9
Analytics
Ratings, visualised
The four dimensions every reviewer rates, shown two ways — bars for side-by-side magnitude, gauges for the head-to-head on each.
Rating by category
Head to head by category
PaySpaceSimplePay
Ease of Use3.5/4.5
Value for Money3.7/4.4
Customer Service3.4/4.5
Functionality4.1/3.9
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Sentiment
How reviewers feel
Positive (4 to 5 stars), neutral (3 stars) and negative (1 to 2 stars) sentiment across all verified reviews.
PaySpace65%
Positive sentiment
- Positive65%
- Neutral16%
- Negative19%
SimplePay87%
Positive sentiment
- Positive87%
- Neutral10%
- Negative3%
Pricing
Pricing compared
Entry price, free plans and trials at a glance. A lower starting price is not everything, but it is where most UK businesses begin.
PaySpace
Free trialUK cloud payroll with native HMRC RTI integration, multi-country compliance and employee self-service.
£6/ user/month
- HMRC compliance
- Employee self-service
- Multi-country payroll
SimplePay
Free trialStraightforward SA payroll with automatic tax calculations, HMRC filing season exports and a clean interface.
£5/ user/month
- Automatic tax calculations
- P60 generation
- Accounting integrations
Features
Full feature comparison
Every data point we track for PaySpace and SimplePay, side by side.
Head to head
Verified data & user ratings
User ratings
Overall rating
3.8
4.4
Ease of Use
3.5
4.5
Value for Money
3.7
4.4
Customer Service
3.4
4.5
Functionality
4.1
3.9
Pricing & plans
Starting price
£6/user/month
£5/user/month
Free trial
Free version
Pricing plans
2
1
Top features
Standout capabilities
- HMRC compliance
- Employee self-service
- Multi-country payroll
- Automatic tax calculations
- P60 generation
- Accounting integrations
Best for
Ideal customer
UK cloud payroll with native HMRC RTI integration, multi-country compliance and employee self-service.
Straightforward SA payroll with automatic tax calculations, HMRC filing season exports and a clean interface.
Voices
What real users say
The strongest praise and the most common complaint, pulled from verified reviews of each product.
PaySpaceK
Katlego Naidoo
Managing Director, 11-50 employees
“Reporting is strong once you get the hang of it. I can pull a full cost to company breakdown in a minute or two.”
R
Refilwe H.
Financial Manager, 501-1000 employees
“It is not friendly for someone without a payroll background at all.”
SimplePayF
Fatima Fourie
Financial Manager, 501-1000 employees
“It is genuinely simple to use. I am not a payroll person and I had our staff loaded and paid on day one.”
P
Priya D.
Office Manager, 501-1000 employees
“The reporting is a bit basic if you want to slice the numbers finely.”