Ava AbbottWorkday, Inc is a software company that offers cloud-based human capital management, payroll, cloud computing, and student administration. Its HCM system streamlines financial management, recruiting, and planning.
The company was founded in 2005 by Aneel Bhusri and Dave Duffield. Based in Pleasanton, California, Workday serves large and medium enterprises globally. In 2021, Workday had 12,500 employees and reported a 19% increase in revenue to $5.14 billion. [1]
Workday is the leading HCM platform with robust features, including global compliance, talent marketplace, workforce scorecard, benefits, and LMS. It integrates with several business systems and apps for finance, HR, talent management, and analytics.
Businesses require a subscription to use Workday Recruiting, Workday Financial Management, Workday Payroll, Workday Learning, and Workday Planning. The company recorded a surge in demand in 2021. Its subscription revenue increased by 22.2% to $1.23 billion. Workday faces stiff competition from SAP Success Factors, Workforce Now, Oracle Cloud HCM, Dayforce, and UKG Pro. [2]
Here is an in-depth analysis of Workday’s top 15 competitors and alternatives:
1. SAP SuccessFactors
Year founded: 2001
Headquarter: San Francisco, California
SAP SuccessFactors is a computer software company owned by SAP SE. The company offers talent management software and cloud-based HCM services. In 2021, its parent company SAP SE had around 110,000 employees in 115 locations globally and reported a 2% increase in revenue to €27.84 billion. Its cloud revenue surged 17% to €9.418bn. [3]
SAP SuccessFactors supports multiple tax systems, currencies, and languages, making it ideal for multinational companies. The HCM Suite caters to has more than 100 million users and 6,400 customers from over one hundred countries.
Both Workday and SAP Success Factors offer attendance management, payroll, and onboarding. SAP SuccessFactors is the top Workday competitor in the HCM industry.
2. ADP Workforce Now
Year founded: 1949
Headquarter: Roseland, New Jersey
ADP is an HCM software and services company that offers Workforce Now. This integrated cloud-based hub streamlines all HR functions. In 2021, ADP had around 58,000 employees and generated $15 billion in revenue. The company made $10.2 billion from employer services and $4.8 billion from its PEO segment. [4]
ADP Workforce Now and Workday offer global compliance, workforce scorecard, audit, and internal controls. Both platforms integrate seamlessly with several business systems and apps for HR, finance and talent management, analytics, benefits, and compensation.
Organizations rely on ADP’s versatile API and solutions to automate payroll management and streamline recruiting and onboarding. ADP Workforce Now is one of the best alternatives to Workday for human resource management.
3. Oracle HCM Cloud
Year founded: 2011
Headquarter: Redwood City, California
Oracle HCM Cloud is a cloud-based human resource management platform offered by Oracle Corporation. The software’s stable release was in Aug 2017. In 2021, Oracle had around 136,000 employees and reported $40.5 billion in revenue. [5]
Oracle HCM Cloud is a cloud-based application suite with a proprietary license. The software is a module of Oracle Fusion Applications, including CRM, HCM, SCM, Project Management, Risk and Compliance, Procurement, Governance, and Financials. Users get all these solutions in a single platform. Oracle also offers.
The Oracle Work-Life Solutions, a high-end work-life module that boosts employee engagement and productivity. This module increases Oracle HCM’s competitive advantage over Workday. Oracle HCM Cloud is one of the top Workday competitors in the HCM segment.
4. Ceridian Dayforce
Year founded: 1992
Headquarter: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Ceridian HCM is an HR software and services company with offices in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Mauritius. Dayforce is Ceridian’s flagship cloud-based HCM platform that provides HR, payroll, benefits, and talent management functionality. In 2021, Ceridian HCM had 5,974 employees and generated $1.02 billion in revenue.
Both Ceridian and Workday operate in the HCM market. Ceridian Dayforce allows organizations to optimize the entire employee lifecycle, from engagement, payroll, and deployment.
The company expects around $1.2 billion in revenue in 2022, with Dayforce bringing over $751 million. Ceridian Dayforce is a worthy alternative to Workday. [6]
5. Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG) Pro
Year founded: 2020
Headquarter: Lowell, Massachusetts, and Weston, Florida
UKG is a multinational tech company that offers workforce management and HRM services. The company is owned by Hellman & Friedman at 50% share and The Blackstone Group at 25%. In 2021, UKG had around 12,000 employees and generated $3.26 billion in revenue.
UKG was born from a historic merger that created one of the leading HCM companies. Its UKG Pro solution competes with Workday.
This platform uses a unique Life-work Technology approach to HR, payroll, and workforce management. Over 50,000 organizations globally rely on UKG Pro to anticipate and adapt to their employees’ needs. UKG is a formidable Workday competitor. [7]
6. BambooHR
Year founded: 2008
Headquarter: Lindon, Utah
BambooHR is an HR SaaS company that offers cloud-based human resource management software (HRMS). The platform helps SMBs streamline benefits administration, payroll and performance management, and onboarding. In mid-2021, BambooHR hired more than 500 new employees. The company now employs over 1,200 people globally. [8]
The main competitive advantage for BambooHR is its robust reporting, benefits management, and expense tracking capabilities. SMBs can purchase Essential or Advantage paid plans to track their performance and manage the entire employment lifecycle, from recruiting to retirement.
Over a million clients and 20,000 companies like Asana, Foursquare, and Reddit use BambooHR. BambooHR is one of the best Workday alternatives for SMBs in the HRMS market.
7. Darwinbox
Year founded: 2015
Headquarter: India
Darwinbox is a leading cloud-based human resources management software. The company offers an integrated HR platform that automates HR processes. In Feb 2022, Darwinbox attained the unicorn status after raising $72 million. [9]
Darwinbox engages and empowers employees while simplifying all HR processes. The platform automates recruitment, payroll, employee engagement, talent management, and analytics. It also allows users to build intuitive workflows and integrate all HR facets. Darwinbox is a worthy Workday competitor.
8. PeopleStrong
Year founded: 2006
Headquarter: Gurugram, India
PeopleStrong is an enterprise HR tech startup that offers a mobile-first talent operating system powered by AI and machine learning. Its cloud-based HR platform caters to large businesses and covers all the aspects of the HR ecosystem. In 2021, PeopleStrong served over 2 million employees.
PeopleStrong recently launched its HR Tech 4.0 platform. This solution extends PeopleStrong’s system to HR SuperApp, allowing organizations to create seamless experiences throughout the employee journey.
In Mar 2022, PeopleStrong acquired the compensation platform PayReview in a cash and stock deal. PayReview will be integrated into PeopleStrong’s HR Tech 4.0 platform, combining work pay and talent compensation. This intuitive solution automates the compensation review and increment process. PeopleStrong is an innovative Workday competitor. [10]
9. Zoho People Plus
Year founded: 1996
Headquarter: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Zoho People Plus is an HR solution from India’s leading software company Zoho. It offers digital HR experiences and allows users to manage the entire employee lifecycle on a single integrated platform. In 2021, Zoho had more than 60 million users and reported a 22.3% increase in revenue to $697 million. [11]
Both Zoho People Plus and Workday offer performance management, HR analytics, process automation, LMS, timesheets, and employee onboarding and database. Zoho allows users to build personal workflows and connect performance tracking with timesheets.
The software also offers employee self-service options, including help desk, time-off and travel requests, and internal collaboration. Zoho People Plus is a worthy alternative to Workday for small and medium-sized businesses.
10. GustoHR
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: San Francisco, California
Gusto is an online HRMS platform that offers cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR functions for SMBs. In 2021, Gusto raised $175 million in a funding round at a valuation of $9.5 billion. The company has around 1,400 employees and generates about $290 million in revenue annually.
GustoHR is one of the most valuable private companies in the HRMS space and ranks 25th on the 2021 Forbes Cloud 100 list. Its platform offers user-friendly tools for report generation and payroll automation. In 2021, GustoHR commenced the IPO process with plans to go public.
Over 200,000 customers rely on GustoHR for expert support, employee onboarding and collaboration, managed time-off, payroll management, and HR advisory on-demand. GustoHR is one of the best alternatives to Workday for small businesses and organizations that use contractors. [12]
11. Epicor HCM
Year founded: 1972
Headquarter: Austin, Texas
Epicor Software is a private company owned by KKR. The company offers software for human capital management, supply chain management, and ERP. In 2021, Epicor had 4,873 employees across 30 locations globally.
Epicor HCM competes against Workday in the human capital management segment. This flexible solution provides self-service HR, enhancing engagement and communication. Candidates can view their job application status.
The software also allows employees to check their benefits, time-off, and other details, measure achievements and take ownership of their professional careers. In 2021, Epicor implemented a no-code solution for detailed personalization and introduced Epicor Virtual Assistant (EVA) to assist users in routine tasks. Epicor HCM is a flexible alternative to Workday. [13]
12. Infor CloudSuite HCM
Year founded: 1998
Headquarter: New York, NY
Infor CloudSuite HCM is a human capital management solution. In Feb 2020, Kock Industries acquired Infor to diversify its portfolio. The company also offers Infor CloudSuite CRM that helps businesses enhance customer engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction. In 2021, Infor had around 17,000 employees and more than 65,000 customers in 175 countries. [14]
Infor CloudSuite HCM is a cloud-based solution that offers talent management and HR functions, including time and workforce management, benefits, payroll, and analytics. Users can leverage its analytics bundle to access BI tools without switching applications.
This feature provides insights into staffing effectiveness and productivity. The platform uses ION middleware and machine learning for automation and allows users to integrate with ERP software on a plug-and-play basis. Infor CloudSuite HCM is one of the most innovative Workday competitors.
13. Monday.com
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: Tel Aviv, Israel
Monday.com offers a cloud-based work operating system for HR, project managers, and other business functions. The platform helps users build custom workflow apps and manage processes and projects. In 2021, Monday.com had around 1,000 employees and more than 100,000 business clients.
Monday.com is a collaborative tool for employees with an easy-to-use customizable interface and templates. The software integrates with the most popular business tools, such as Microsoft Project, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
In Jun 2021, Monday.com went public in a $574 million IPO at a valuation of $7.5 billion. The company sold 3.7 million shares. Monday.com is one of the best alternatives to Workday for project managers. [15]
14. Namely
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: New York, N.Y.
Namely is an HR software and services company that offers payroll, talent management, benefits, onboarding, and compliance. In 2021, Namely generated about $40 million in revenue. The company had around 240 employees after laying off 40% of its workforce in 2020. The HR specialist [16]
Both Namely and Workday simplify and automate HR functions for businesses. However, Namely customizes solutions to users’ needs and caters to SMBs. Around 1,000 customers use Namely’s analytics tools for time tracking, reports, payroll, and benefits administration.
The platform also allows users to track employee performance. Namely is one of the best alternatives to Workday for small and medium-sized businesses.
15. Zenefits
Year founded: 2013
Headquarter: San Francisco, California
Zenefits is an HR software company that simplifies payroll, benefits, and employee onboarding. It was one of the fast-growing firms in Silicon Valley but faded into oblivion after the founder and CEO resigned. In 2021, private-equity firm Francisco Partners took control of Zenefits in a financing deal. [17]
Zenefits is an all-in-one HR solution that offers onboarding, talent and performance management, benefits, time and attendance, and workforce planning functionality. It is suitable for businesses of all sizes.
SMBs can purchase the Essentials plan and upgrade to access additional features. Zenefits is one of the top alternatives to Workday Financial Management.
References & more information
- Greig, J. (2022, Feb 28). Workday reports $5.14 billion in revenue for 2021 and $1.38 billion for Q4. ZDNet
- Great Speculations (2021, Jul 15). Rising Demand Could Help Workday Inc. Stock Regain Recent Highs. Forbes
- McKenna, B. (2022, Jan 27). SAP full-year 2021: Revenue nudges up 1%, cloud growth up 17%. Computer Weekly
- SRD (2022, Jan 11). ADP’s global revenue by segment 2010-2021. Statista
- Liu, S. (2021, Jun 23). Revenue of Oracle 2005-2021. Statista
- Ceridian HCM Inc. (2022, May 4). Ceridian Reports First Quarter 2022 Results. Globe Newswire
- UKG (2022, May 3). UKG Workforce Activity Report: Economy Shows Signs of Stress in Apr. Business Wire
- Bamboo HR LLC (2021, Apr 26). BambooHR to Hire 500 New Employees in 2021. PRNewswire
- JVC Editor (2022, Feb 6). Can Darwinbox Reimagine Human Capital from India to the World? A Junior VC
- Pathak, S. (2022, Mar 9). PeopleStrong acquires PayReview. Entrackr
- Tyagi, G. (2022, Feb 15). Zoho’s profit soars to Rs 1,918 Cr in FY21; revenue crosses Rs 5,200 Cr. Entrackr
- Jeans, D. (2021, Aug 10). Gusto Secures a $10 Billion Valuation Tailwind as its HR Software Sails Toward IPO. Forbes
- ERP Advisors (2021, Aug 1). Epicor Insights 2021: Feedback and Future Outlook. ERP Advisors Org
- Bauer, S. (2021, Jul 13). Infor Announces Harman Heavy Vehicle Specialists as 100th Customer to Go Live on Infor CloudSuite Distribution. PR News
- Crystal, T. (2021, Jun 10). com Jumps in Debut After Raising $574 Million in US IPO. Bloomberg
- Loizos, C. (2021, May 2). Namely, former highflier slashes staff as demand for HR software dries up. TechCrunch
- Feldman, A. (2021, Mar 18). Zenefits does deal with a Private Equity Firm that gives it control. Forbes
- Featured image by Headway
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Brianna Parker
S.K. Gupta
Kevin Johnson
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