Sphera vs Cority subscription fees, pricing and three-year cost compared

The short answer: neither Sphera nor Cority publishes a US price, but both file price lists on the UK government's G-Cloud 14 marketplace, and those lists show two different fee models. Sphera charges per module in bundles of at least 250 users: a core Health and Safety module is £31,000 a year at 250 users, with setup starting at £45,000 per core module. Cority charges per module plus per user: single Safety Cloud modules are £12,443 to £34,650 a year in 2026, administrators £2,350.85 each, and implementation £10,000 to £200,000, on a three-year term. Neither list covers carbon accounting, which both sell by quote.

This comparison is for a US EHS director, controller or procurement lead with Sphera and Cority on the same shortlist, or a renewal from one and a pitch from the other, who wants to compare the fee structures before the quotes arrive. The figures come from each vendor's own pricing document on the UK Digital Marketplace (Cority's dated January 15, 2026, Sphera's May 1, 2024) and from Cority's pricing page on cority.com, all read in October 2026. They are UK public-sector list prices in pounds, excluding VAT. A US quote will be in dollars and negotiated, but the structure of the bill is the same, and the structure is what decides which one costs more for your company.

Sphera vs Cority subscription fees side by side

Sphera and Cority published subscription fees for health and safety modules (UK G-Cloud 14, pounds, excluding VAT)

Fee line	SpheraCloud Health and Safety	Cority Safety Cloud (2026)
Main module, per year	£31,000 per core module at 250 users, £56,000 at 500, £68,000 at 1,000	£12,443 to £34,650 per module, users charged separately
Smaller modules, per year	£9,000 per standard module at 250 users, £16,000 at 500, £19,000 at 1,000	Chemical Inventory £5,250; myCority mobile £7,875
Packaged option	Action Item Management and Analytics included with the first core module	Safety Essentials package £27,862 a year
How users are counted	Bundles of named users per module, 250 minimum; over 1,000 by quote	Administrators £2,350.85 each; power users £979.50 to £401.22 each; employee portal users £0.63 to £0.79 each
Setup or implementation	Starts at £45,000 per core module, set by configuration design	£53,582 fixed for Safety Essentials; £10,000 to £200,000 by size for other modules
Discounts	Volume discount on the whole configuration at order time	20% off the module total for two or more modules
Adding later	Add-ons at then-current marginal price; earlier purchases not re-priced	Standard model grows with users and modules plus annual uplift
Term and increases	Not stated on the list	Initial three-year term; list prices rise about 5% a year

How Sphera prices its subscription

Sphera prices by module and by user bundle. You must buy at least one core module (Incident Management, Management of Change, Audits or Risk Assessment), and each module is licensed for a bundle of named users starting at 250. A core module costs £31,000 a year at 250 users, £56,000 at 500 and £68,000 at 1,000. Standard modules such as Training Management, Policy Management, Data Collection, Contractor Safety Management and Hazards cost £9,000, £16,000 or £19,000 on the same bands. Setup is a one-time fee per module that "starts at 45,000" pounds for a core module and depends on the configuration you want.

Two terms are worth noticing. Sphera applies volume discounting to the whole configuration at the time of order, and when you add modules later they are priced at the then-current marginal rate, with the discount applying only to the new purchase. In practice that rewards buying everything you expect to need on day one, which is the opposite of how most companies want to roll out a platform.

How Cority prices its subscription

Cority prices by module plus by user type, with a separate implementation project. Its pricing page describes a recurring subscription "committed over an initial three-year term" and two subscription models: Standard, which "grows as users and modules are added, alongside an annual uplift", and Enterprise, "a fixed fee covering the required modules and integrations, licensed for all employees". On the UK list a single Safety Cloud module costs £12,443 to £34,650 a year in 2026, and buying two or more modules takes 20% off the module total.

The user model is where Cority differs most. Only administrators and power users carry meaningful fees. Employees, managers and HR who report through a portal are licensed at well under a pound each a year, so a site with 900 staff who log incidents costs about £700 in employee licences. The full breakdown, with the implementation tiers and what the yearly increase does to a three-year contract, is on our Cority pricing page.

Which is cheaper, Sphera or Cority?

On the published lists, Cority is usually cheaper for one module and a small team of administrators, and Sphera can be competitive when hundreds of named users need full access. Take one incident management module. On Sphera that is £31,000 a year at the 250-user minimum plus setup from £45,000, so at least £76,000 in year one. On Cority the Incident Management licence is £16,590, three administrators (the first is free) add £4,701.70 and 20 power users £12,537.80, about £33,800 a year, plus implementation sized from £10,000 to £200,000.

The comparison turns on two numbers you already know: how many people need real access, and how many modules you will buy in the first year. If 250 or more people need full access to each module, Sphera's bundle stops looking expensive, because Cority's power-user fees add up. If most people only submit records, Cority's portal pricing is hard to beat. Model both against your own headcount before the first call, and when you book the demos, put them in the same week with the same scope document so the quotes are comparable; a shared calendar link from a scheduling tool for business teams keeps both vendors on one timetable.

Sphera vs Cority pricing for carbon accounting

Neither vendor puts its carbon product on a public price list. Sphera's sustainability line runs on Managed LCA Content, the life cycle database formerly sold as GaBi with roughly 20,000 datasets, and it is quoted as an enterprise program. Cority's Sustainability Cloud covers Scope 1 to 3 "using built-in emission factors", supplier data collection and reporting for frameworks including CDP, GRI, SASB and CSRD, and it is quoted like the rest of CorityOne. Expect both to follow their safety models: a module licence, user licences and a setup or implementation project, with consultants available on top.

That matters because the carbon inventory is often the reason the shortlist exists. If the trigger is a first SB 253 report (Scope 1 and 2, due November 10, 2026), a CDP response or a customer asking for Scope 1, 2 and 3, the work is turning a year of activity data and supplier invoices into an evidenced inventory, and that does not require an EHS platform. Our carbon accounting software does that from the accounts payable export at published prices: Ledger $2,340, Compliance $7,740, Assurance $23,400 and Enterprise $41,880 a year, monthly or annual, with no multi-year term.

What drives the total cost over three years

• The term. Cority commits the subscription over an initial three years and its list rises about 5% a year, so a £34,000 first year is roughly £107,000 across the term. Sphera's list does not state a term; ask for it in writing.
• Setup versus implementation. Sphera's setup starts at £45,000 per core module; Cority's runs £10,000 to £200,000 by size, or £53,582 fixed for Safety Essentials. A second module can double the one-time cost on Sphera.
• Growth. Sphera prices later add-ons at the marginal rate without re-pricing what you bought. Cority's Standard model grows with users and modules; its Enterprise model fixes the fee for all employees.
• Services. Cority bills extra work at GBP 190 an hour on the UK list, or sells prepaid Advantage Program hours from £4,552 a year. Sphera publishes a separate SFIA rate card for services.
• Carbon on top. If carbon is added to either platform later, it is another module, another set of users and another project.

How to compare Sphera and Cority quotes

1. Send both vendors the same scope. Modules, sites, user counts by type and the first-year go-live date, in one document.
2. Ask for every line separately. Module licence, users, setup or implementation, services and the annual increase. Both public lists prove the vendors price this way.
3. Use the UK lists as anchors. Neither is your price, but a US quote far above the published structure needs a reason.
4. Price year two now. Get the cost of the second module and the next user band in writing before you sign the first.
5. Cap the uplift and fix the term. Agree the yearly increase for the full initial term and the first renewal.
6. Split carbon out if it is the deadline. Price the inventory separately; it may be faster and cheaper outside the EHS platform.

For the full product comparison rather than the fees, read Enablon vs Cority vs Sphera carbon accounting software. The vendor pages are Cority carbon accounting alternatives and Sphera carbon accounting alternatives, and how these quotes compare with the rest of the category is on carbon accounting software cost. Our own plans are on the pricing page with no sales call required.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Sphera cost?

Sphera does not publish a US price. Its UK G-Cloud 14 list prices a SpheraCloud Health and Safety core module at £31,000 a year for 250 users, £56,000 for 500 and £68,000 for 1,000, with standard modules from £9,000 and one-time setup starting at £45,000 per core module. Carbon and LCA products are quoted separately.

How much does Cority cost?

Cority quotes every customer. Its UK G-Cloud 14 list shows single Safety Cloud modules at £12,443 to £34,650 a year in 2026, administrators at £2,350.85 each, and implementation from £10,000 to £200,000. The subscription runs over an initial three-year term with an annual uplift of about 5% on the list.

Is Sphera more expensive than Cority?

For one module and a small admin team, yes on the published lists: Sphera starts at £31,000 a year plus setup from £45,000, while a comparable Cority module with users is about £34,000 a year plus implementation from £10,000. With hundreds of named full users per module, the gap narrows or reverses.

Do Sphera and Cority charge per user?

Both do, differently. Sphera licenses each module for a bundle of named users, starting at 250. Cority charges per administrator and power user, and licenses employees who only use the portal for well under a pound each a year.