Collage vs Factorial (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Factorial grades higher than Collage: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Factorial grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Collage
Canadian HR and payroll software with a built-in HR advice line
Factorial
HR, time, shifts, expenses and IT for small firms, quoted by module
Which one is for you
Pick Collage if
- Fits if you run a Canadian company and want HR and payroll in one
- Works for small teams that want an HR advice line
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you're outside Canada, as it's built around CRA remittances and T4s
- Pricey if you want payroll, which needs the CA$18 tier
- Watch out: the page doesn't say if the per-employee price is monthly or yearly
- Watch out: no free plan or trial
Pick Factorial if
- Fits if your staff work shifts and clock in by QR code or location
- Works for firms that want HR, expenses and company devices in one place
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a full price on the page, as only $8 and up is published
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as no trial is on record
- Pricey if you add lots of modules, since each one is quoted on top
- Watch out: monthly plans bill for everyone on staff at the start of each month
- Watch out: the site gives both 12 and 120 customer countries and doesn't list where payroll works
How we grade them
| 1.8GPACollageWeak | 2.0GPAFactorialFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CCA$14 an employee a month, about US$10, which sits in the dearer quarter of this category, so C. Payroll takes CA$18. | CFactorial starts at $8 a user a month, so a ten-person company pays $80 and up, right on this category's middle. That's for Core, with records, onboarding, payslips and e-signatures; any modules you add are quoted on top. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is listed. It offers a free demo only. | FNo free plan, and the trial links on its pages led to a missing page, so no trial is on record. |
| Features | CHR records and Canadian payroll, but the listing says payroll is on the higher tier and the pages are built around CRA remittances and T4s. | BRecords, documents and e-signatures, time off, clock-ins by location or QR code, shift planning, hiring, reviews, training, expenses and device management. The whole job, with a fair bit more besides. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you'd set it up with your own people data first, so it's an ordinary C. | CNo App Store rating on record, and picking modules with sales, then setting up shifts and policies, takes a while. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with six listed integrations. No mobile or desktop app named. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Google Workspace, Zapier, DATEV, Sage 200, Okta and Power BI. No desktop app. |
| Best for | Canadian HR and payroll | shift-based teams wanting HR and rotas together |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Collage and Factorial. How we grade
Where they differ
- Collage also covers reports, payroll and time clock.
- Factorial also covers time tracking and shift scheduling.
At a glance
| Collage | Factorial | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | CA$14 per employee / month | $8 per user / month and up, by quote |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Collage | Factorial |
| Price read from | collage.co | factorial.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Collage
- Built for Canada: the pricing page lists CRA remittances and T4s, and prices are in Canadian dollars.
- The page does not state a free plan or a free trial; it offers a free demo.
- Payroll is only on the higher HR and Payroll tier.
- The pricing page does not say whether per-employee prices are for monthly or yearly billing.
Factorial
- Only the $8 starting figure is published; the real price comes in a quote that depends on the modules and the headcount.
- Monthly plans bill for the employees present at the start of each month; annual plans bill extra only in months above the agreed count.
- Offices are in Spain, Germany and Mexico; the about page says both 12 and 120 countries for its customers and does not list where payroll works.
- The free-trial links on its pages lead to a missing page, so a trial could not be confirmed.
Key features
Collage
- Employee records and onboarding
- Stores employment history and documents with e-signatures, and runs onboarding and offboarding task lists.
- Time off and timesheets
- Custom leave policies, approvals and balances, with timesheets and geofenced clock-in that feed payroll.
- Recruiting
- An applicant tracking system with a job board, a resume screener and offer letters.
- Payroll
- On the HR and Payroll tier, payroll runs with CRA remittances, pay stubs and T4s.
- HR on Call
- Phone and email access to HR advisers, plus a library of 100+ policy and document templates.
- Performance and surveys
- Review templates, manager and self reviews, engagement surveys and HR analytics.
Factorial
- Core HR and documents
- Every plan has the employee directory, onboarding and offboarding, payslip distribution, bulk document sending, fillable PDFs and legal e-signatures.
- Time off and time tracking
- Unlimited time-off policies and custom absence types, plus clock-ins by geolocation or QR code with overtime compensation.
- Shift planning
- Build shifts in bulk, set rotating patterns or generate them automatically, and share the schedule with staff.
- Recruiting, reviews and training
- Post jobs to several boards with AI CV parsing, run 360-degree performance reviews, track goals and manage training with certificates.
- Expenses, projects and IT
- Read receipts with OCR, route expenses through multi-step approvals, log hours to projects, and manage devices and SaaS licenses.
- One, the AI assistant
- An AI agent that searches and analyzes company data, builds reports and prepares policies, contracts and payroll documents for review.
Plans
Collage
HR PremiumCA$14
per employee / month
Onboarding, employee records, training, engagement surveys, HR analytics, time off, AI recruiting, time tracking, clock-in, performance reviews and expert HR advice.
HR and PayrollCA$18
per employee / month
Everything in HR Premium plus payroll, CRA remittances, pay stubs and T4s, and expense management.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom packages and pricing, quoted on request.
Factorial
Tailored plan$8
per user / month and up
Factorial Core (directory, onboarding, payslip delivery, bulk documents, e-signature) plus the modules chosen. Quoted and sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Collage
- Other savings
10% off to switch or buy Canadian
The pricing page mentions a 10% discount for businesses that switch or buy Canadian, and says volume and nonprofit discounts are available.
Factorial
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Collage or Factorial?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Collage starts at CA$14 per employee / month, and Factorial starts at $8 per user / month and up, by quote.
Which has a free plan, Collage or Factorial?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Collage nor Factorial has a free plan.
Which platforms do Collage and Factorial run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Factorial lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.