Sage 50 Payroll
QuickBooks Payroll
Comparison
Sage 50 Payroll vs QuickBooks Payroll
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 5 July 2026
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Starting price
£10/mo
Starting price
US$50/mo
At a glance
Who wins, category by category
Category-by-category winners based on verified user ratings, each scored out of 5.
Sage 50 Payroll
QuickBooks Payroll
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
Sentiment
How reviewers feel
Positive (4 to 5 stars), neutral (3 stars) and negative (1 to 2 stars) sentiment across all verified reviews.
Sage 50 PayrollPositive sentiment
- Positive76%
- Neutral6%
- Negative18%
QuickBooks PayrollPositive sentiment
- Positive79%
- Neutral14%
- Negative7%
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.
Sage 50 Payroll
£10/month
QuickBooks Payroll
US$50/month
Prices are shown in each vendor's billing currency and aren't directly comparable — check the live exchange rate before deciding.
Sage 50 Payroll
Free trialDesktop payroll software for UK businesses, HMRC recognised with RTI submissions, pension auto enrolment, statutory payments and detailed reporting, priced by number of employees. Pairs with Sage 50 Accounts.
- HMRC recognised RTI submissions
- Pension auto enrolment
- Detailed payroll reporting
QuickBooks Payroll
Free trialCloud payroll from Intuit that runs inside QuickBooks, with automated tax calculation and filing, direct deposit, employee self service and full service tax penalty protection on the higher tiers.
- Automatic tax filing and payment
- QuickBooks accounting integration
- Direct deposit
Features
Full feature comparison
Every data point we track for Sage 50 Payroll and QuickBooks Payroll, side by side.
Head to head
Verified data & user ratings
- HMRC recognised RTI submissions
- Pension auto enrolment
- Detailed payroll reporting
- Automatic tax filing and payment
- QuickBooks accounting integration
- Direct deposit
Voices
What real users say
The strongest praise and the most common complaint, pulled from verified reviews of each product.
Sage 50 PayrollAngela R.
Office Manager, 201-500 employees
“Compliance has been rock solid for years.”
Imran Threlfall
Director, 201-500 employees
“Support was slow on the issues that mattered.”
QuickBooks PayrollDanielle Barrington
Bookkeeper, 11-50 employees
“The QuickBooks accounting integration means zero double entry.”
Jessica N.
Bookkeeper, 2-10 employees
“HR tools are basic.”
Our verdict
QuickBooks Payroll leads 5/5Which should you choose?
On the data we track, QuickBooks Payroll leads in 5 of 5 categories. Weigh that against your budget and the features that matter most to your team.