Akrivia HCM vs Salarium: Philippines HR Software Comparison

Salarium built a real reputation in the Philippine market on one specific strength: getting salaries into employees’ hands reliably, including for workers without a bank account. If you’re comparing Akrivia HCM against Salarium, you’re likely weighing that strength against a broader question, whether a payroll-focused Philippine tool still fits a business that has grown past simple disbursement into multi-agency compliance, a full HR suite, or regional operations. 

There’s also a fact worth stating upfront rather than burying in the fine print: multiple market sources in 2026 indicate Salarium’s active development and support status has changed significantly, with some reporting the platform as discontinued or scaled back. Before this comparison goes further, verify directly with Salarium whether the platform is actively maintained, what current support looks like, and whether 2025 and 2026 regulatory updates, including the SSS rate change, have been applied. This comparison treats Salarium’s historical capabilities as the reference point, since that is what most search results and reviews still describe. 

At a glance: Akrivia HCM vs Salarium

Compliance 

Philippine payroll compliance is unforgiving on details. SSS runs at 15% of the monthly salary credit (10% employer, 5% employee), the final rate under RA 11199, with the Monthly Salary Credit ceiling at PHP 35,000 (both in effect since January 2025 and unchanged for 2026). PhilHealth holds at 5% of basic monthly salary, split 2.5% each, with a floor of PHP 10,000 and a ceiling of PHP 100,000. Pag-IBIG remains capped at PHP 400 total per month, based on a PHP 10,000 compensation ceiling, a rule that trips up more payroll systems than any other because non-basic allowances are treated differently in the calculation base. BIR withholding is filed monthly via Form 1601-C, with annual reconciliation through Form 2316 issued to every employee by January 31. 

Akrivia HCM automates all four natively, with contribution tables updating automatically when SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, or BIR issue new circulars, so an HR team never manually applies a rate change mid-cycle. Salarium’s historical strength was in this exact category too, with automated computation of taxes and government contributions built into the core platform. The open question in 2026 is whether that automation is still being maintained against the current rate tables, which is precisely why direct vendor verification matters before shortlisting. 

HR suite breadth

This is where the two platforms diverge most clearly. Akrivia HCM is a unified hire-to-retire system: recruitment with ATS, digital onboarding, core HR, leave and attendance, payroll, performance management, a native LMS, and AI-powered people analytics, all sharing one data model. Attendance feeds into payroll automatically. Performance data connects to compensation planning without a manual export. 

Salarium’s platform was built around payroll, time and attendance, and disbursement, with a lighter HRIS layer for employee files and org charts on top. Performance management, structured recruitment, and learning and development are outside its scope. For a business that only needs to run payroll accurately and pay employees reliably, that focus was never a weakness. For a business that has grown into needing a full employee lifecycle system, it becomes a gap that requires stitching in separate tools. 

Also read: Best HR Software in the Philippines 2026 

Multi-country capability

• Salarium was built for the Philippines specifically, and that focus shows in its statutory depth for the local market. It does not extend natively beyond Philippine borders. A business that opens a second office in Singapore, Malaysia, or elsewhere needs a separate local vendor for that market, creating parallel systems and a monthly reconciliation exercise between them. 

• Akrivia HCM covers the Philippines alongside Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, India, UAE, and the broader GCC and Southeast Asia natively within the same platform, using the same payroll engine and reporting layer. For a Philippine business with regional ambitions, or one already managing a second market, this removes the second-vendor problem entirely rather than deferring it. 

Pricing and support

Salarium historically priced accessibly for Philippine SMEs, with its disbursement infrastructure through SALPay as a genuine differentiator for businesses paying unbanked or underbanked staff. Akrivia HCM does not publish flat SME-tier pricing; its pricing is structured around company size, modules, and markets, positioning it for businesses that have outgrown a payroll-only tool and need the broader suite. 

On support, this is the category most directly affected by the 2026 status question. A platform with an uncertain maintenance status carries real risk during a payroll week, since unresolved support tickets during a compliance deadline are a business risk, not an inconvenience. 

Choose Salarium if

• You have directly verified with Salarium that the platform is actively maintained and currently supported. 

• Your business operates entirely within the Philippines with no regional expansion plans. 

• Flexible disbursement to unbanked or underbanked employees is your primary operational challenge. 

• You need payroll and basic HR records, not a full HR suite. 

Choose Akrivia HCM if

• You need SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and BIR compliance alongside recruitment, performance, and learning in one system. 

• Your business is expanding or already operates in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, UAE, or the broader region. 

• You want AI-powered people analytics rather than basic operational reporting. 

• You need confirmed platform stability and active support for compliance-critical payroll operations. 

Migration note

If you’re moving off Salarium, most Philippine platforms including Akrivia HCM support historical payroll and employee data import from standard export formats. A parallel payroll run during implementation, processing one cycle on both the old and new system side by side, is the standard way to validate that SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and BIR calculations match before full cutover. 

Explore: Global Payroll Software for the Philippines 

Conclusion

The honest comparison here is not really Akrivia versus Salarium on features. It is a unified, actively maintained, regionally scalable platform against a payroll-focused tool whose current status needs direct verification before it belongs on any serious shortlist in 2026. 

If Salarium confirms active support and your business is Philippines-only with straightforward payroll needs, it remains a reasonable choice for that specific profile. If your business needs full HR lifecycle management, regional payroll coverage, or the confidence of a platform with confirmed active development, Akrivia HCM is built for that stage. 

Book a free demo with Akrivia HCM to see how it handles Philippine compliance alongside your regional HR operations. 

FAQs

Is Salarium still active in the Philippines in 2026?
Its status is uncertain. Contact Salarium directly to confirm active maintenance and that 2025 and 2026 regulatory updates have been applied. 

Does Akrivia HCM support salary disbursement to unbanked employees?
Yes, through bank and digital wallet disbursement options, alongside its full payroll and HR suite. 

Can Akrivia HCM handle both Philippine and regional payroll in one system?
Yes. It covers the Philippines natively alongside Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, UAE, and the broader GCC in one platform. 

How long does migrating from Salarium to Akrivia HCM take?
Most Philippine mid-market migrations complete within 8 to 12 weeks, including a parallel payroll run to validate SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG accuracy.