Sage Payroll: promo switched from 90% off/5mo to 3 months free
What happened
Between the Mar 30, 2026 and Jun 22, 2026 captures of Sage's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: Promotional offer changed from 90% off for 5 months to 3 months free (100% off) on Payroll Essentials ($23.50), Standard ($31), and Premium ($37); base prices unchanged. In detail: Promotional offer changed from 90% off for 5 months to 3 months free (100% off) across Payroll Essentials, Standard and Premium plans; base prices unchanged ($23.50/$31/$37). Pulse files it as a pricing change (discount change) with a neutral direction. Pulse's latest capture (Aug 31, 2026) lists Payroll Premium at CAD 18, Payroll Essentials at $24.5, Payroll Standard at $32, Performance at CAD 4.25 and Shift planning at CAD 4.25.
It lands 92 days after Sage's previous change, "Sage Slashes Introductory Discount Duration from 10 Months to 5" (Apr 3, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "Sage Adjusts Promotional Offer: Now 75% Off for 12 Months, Down from 100% Off for 2 Months" (Q3 2025), "Sage Implements Significant 17% Price Increase for Payroll Essentials per Employee" (Q2 2025) and "Sage Raises Payroll Premium Cost to $16.50 per Employee/Month Amid Other Pricing Changes" (Q4 2024). Sage has been tracked since 2024-10-01.
In the same window Xero, Microsoft, Freshbooks and SAP SE also changed their Finance & Accounting pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Payroll Essentials · DiscountChanged90% off for 5 months3 months free
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll Essentials | Discount | 90% off for 5 months | 3 months free | Changed |
Values as written on Sage's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Sage's pricing page (sage.com) from Mar 30, 2026 and Jun 22, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where "90% off for 5 months" becomes "3 months free".
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The two full-page captures with this change marked up are free with an account.
Sage, pricing history
Full history- Aug 24, 2026increaseSage: Payroll per-employee overage price increase ($3.50→$4.50 + more)
- Aug 11, 2026packagingSage Payroll: free-trial promo cut from 2 months to 1 month
- Jul 6, 2026increaseSage hikes Payroll prices across all plans, trims free trial to 2 months
- Jul 4, 2026packagingSage Payroll: promo switched from 90% off/5mo to 3 months free · this change
- Apr 3, 2026packagingSage Slashes Introductory Discount Duration from 10 Months to 5
- Q3 2025packagingSage Adjusts Promotional Offer: Now 75% Off for 12 Months, Down from 100% Off for 2 Months
- Q2 2025packagingSage Implements Significant 17% Price Increase for Payroll Essentials per Employee
- Q4 2024increaseSage Raises Payroll Premium Cost to $16.50 per Employee/Month Amid Other Pricing Changes
- Q3 2024packagingSage Introduces New Payroll Plans and Offers 75% Off for 6 Months
- Q2 2024packagingSage Introduces 2 Months Free Promotion, Enhancing Value Over Previous 50% Off Offer
Across Finance & Accounting in the same window
All Finance & Accounting changes- XeroJul 4Xero boosts intro discount to 90% off, slashing promo prices for 6 months
- MicrosoftJul 3Dynamics 365 Sales: 3 new AI agents added (Opportunity, Research, Close)
- FreshbooksJun 29Freshbooks doubles free trial to 6 months, launches $40 Payroll
- SAP SEJun 2SAP SE scraps HCM pricing plans, replaces with generic ERP quote page
Questions about this change
Did Sage raise prices in June 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Mar 30, 2026 and Jun 22, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a pricing change: discount change.
What changed on Sage's pricing page between Mar 30, 2026 and Jun 22, 2026?
Payroll Essentials discount: 90% off for 5 months → 3 months free, changed. Pulse compared the captures it took on Mar 30, 2026 and Jun 22, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Sage change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 0 other pricing-page changes for Sage in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Sage Slashes Introductory Discount Duration from 10 Months to 5" on Apr 3, 2026; Sage has been tracked since 2024-10-01.