SAP SuccessFactors vs Workday comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Mar 6, 2024

We compared SAP SuccessFactors and Workday based on our user's reviews in several parameters.

In summary, SAP SuccessFactors is praised for its comprehensive HR capabilities, customizable reporting, competitive pricing, and strong customer support. On the other hand, Workday is highly valued for its user-friendly interface, extensive reporting capabilities, mobile accessibility, and versatile adaptability. Both platforms have room for improvement in areas such as customization options and UI simplicity. Workday excels in proactive customer service, while SAP SuccessFactors offers robust training resources.

Features: SAP SuccessFactors stands out with its comprehensive HR capabilities, customizable reporting, and strong support resources. In contrast, Workday excels in user-friendly interface, extensive reporting, adaptability to different business needs, and robust security measures.

Pricing and ROI: The setup cost for SAP SuccessFactors is considered affordable and straightforward, with flexible and varied licensing options. On the other hand, Workday offers a positive experience with fair and reasonable pricing, manageable setup costs, and no concerns about licensing., According to user feedback, SAP SuccessFactors delivers significant value to organizations, resulting in positive outcomes. Workday also shows satisfactory or positive ROI based on users' experiences.

Room for Improvement: Users have suggested that SAP SuccessFactors could benefit from enhancements in customization options and user interface simplification. Workday users have expressed a need for more intuitive navigation, better customization options, and enhanced reporting capabilities.

Deployment and customer support: The reviews show that for SAP SuccessFactors, there is a clear distinction between deployment and setup phases, with users mentioning different timeframes for each. On the other hand, for Workday, there is more variability, with some users considering deployment and setup as the same period and others treating them separately., SAP SuccessFactors stands out for exceptional customer service, with prompt and helpful assistance. Users value the support team's knowledge and efficiency. Workday also excels in customer service, with prompt, helpful, and professional support.

The summary above is based on 70 interviews we conducted recently with SAP SuccessFactors and Workday users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.

To learn more, read our detailed SAP SuccessFactors vs. Workday Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"We have found objects like Foundation and MDF most valuable.""The functionality and user friendliness are constantly improving.""The most valuable feature of SAP SuccessFactors is analytics.""Provides an open architecture and an open platform so it can coexist with other systems.""The solution is very intuitive. Many of the things we need to do are easily accessible.""This solution is very user-friendly, and supports 60 plus languages.""The most important feature is the ability to follow up on the yearly performance of the team. It's very good for management to understand how people are performing.""The most valuable features of SAP SuccessFactors are onboarding, recruiting, marketing, and performance."

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"The platform itself is very robust and I generally like the reporting and analytics capability.""It saves a lot of time for onboarding processes.""It stores everything for the employee. It has also been able to store the information that we use for our payroll demand.""It's intuitive, a very usable tool and it's easy to find the data you're looking for.""First time users, understanding accessibility and consolidated data is fairly easy. The solution improves productivity for users and reduces the need to switch between different tools.""In the process of obtaining representative sites in NaviNet, it assists us in facilitating decision-making and taking action.""It is easy to use and straightforward.""There is a lot of scope for customization with this solution"

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Cons
"SAP SuccessFactors functionality doesn't meet the expectation of our end users. There are other solutions that have better functionality, such as Workday, which is one of the top applications. Additionally, the solution could be easier to use.""The reporting tool is not as good as IBM Cognos which is very, very powerful.""We encountered challenges with the tool's integration with third-party applications and deployments.""Forms cannot be edited once submitted.""The integration between the recruitment module and employee central is a big problem.""We have many interruptions and disconnection points into processes, which is why we are looking to another solution. We are not so happy with the system. We believe we have in the market better solution, so we are looking for alternatives but so far the system has been used a lot.""Overall, the documentation could be improved, and I think the learning management module needs to include more capabilities when it comes to matching an organization's particular learning approach.""The back end for the administration and the front end is too overtly complex and it's not aligned with our operations and learning needs."

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"I would be happy if it was faster. Currently, when I try to navigate within the solution itself, it is a bit slow in terms of the page load time. When I click on something, it usually takes time to load. When you click on different icons or areas on the website, it is slow. Even when you navigate between different models, it is a bit slow. I would like to see a bit faster performance and a better user experience.""This solution could be made easier to use by continuing to release new improvements.""There is a lot of complexity in the configuration of this solution.""My opinion is that this solution can improve the overall integrations and add more automation. I think anything that could be on a self-serve basis would work quite well.""It is very unique as compared to other tools in terms of the employee master data and how it is organized. That's why sometimes the information needs to sit in two different systems because, in Workday, it is organized differently. This issue is not related to benefits. It is more or so related to how you categorize employees. I don't think this is a problem that could be solved. Workday is aware of this. It is one of those kinds of situations that you just got to live with.""Workday could improve by adding other features, such as messaging to candidates and other recruiting capabilities that other new-age solutions have.""Analytical tools have needed improvement. Workday has just released Prism Analytics, to replace the current analytical tools, so it’s in the early stages.""The solution has to work a lot on financial integrations, material management and CRM modules."

More Workday Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The licensing fees are based on the number of modules that are being used, and the number of users."
  • "I don't want to comment on the license cost, to be honest. It could be about $1,000 approximately per customer. However, it's very flexible in terms of the licensing costs depending on the volume and depending on the deal of installation."
  • "If you go by best practices and do it right from the outset, the setup won't be a costly endeavor. In terms of setup, there is a lot of flexibility compared to three years ago."
  • "It could be cheaper."
  • "We have a yearly license. There are no additional costs."
  • "SAP SuccessFactors requires an annual subscription."
  • "It is not expensive because it is a complete suite with a module-based cost."
  • "For SAP, the product is pricey, both CAPEX and the OPEX. It's something that could be improved."
  • More SAP SuccessFactors Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "With a bigger budget, I would recommend SAP."
  • "Workday is an expensive solution."
  • "You have the license fee per module, and then you have a kind of annual training fee, which is a kind of add-on. I wouldn't say it is exhaustive; it is minor. Licensing is pretty transparent for most of the part."
  • "The pricing is good from an HR perspective, although management gets upset after spending $500,000 a year, every year."
  • "Its price is pretty high. It is more expensive than what is offered by other competitors in the market."
  • "It has an annual subscription rate, but I'm not sure how it will work."
  • "The pricing for this solution is fairly high. It is not affordable for small and mid-sized companies."
  • "By and large, Workday is expensive. It is based on the headcount. I'd probably rate it a three or four out of five in terms of pricing. It'd be like buying a Mercedes or a high-end car. It's expensive, but there's a specific value that you're getting with additional features and things of that nature. Using that metaphor, Workday probably tends to be more of a luxury. There are others like ADP that can do your payroll, your time off, and other things, but they don't do it as well."
  • More Workday Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Differences between Workday, Oracle Cloud,w and SAP SuccessFactors:w Oracle: "simple interface and deep customization to suit the purpose." SAP: Multiple functionalities that increase process… more »
    Top Answer:When it comes to user experience, SuccessFactors is unquestionably superior, as it provides end users with a new experience and an advanced user interface. Additionally, the entire concept of SF is to… more »
    Top Answer:The tool's most valuable feature is its integration capabilities with on-premise ERPs and other systems.
    Top Answer:We use the platform for tasks, including applying for leaves, communication, and adhering to our organization's policies through efficient goal setting and reviews.
    Top Answer:They could provide a web chatbot feature in the dashboard for Workday.
    Ranking
    1st
    out of 85 in Talent Management
    Views
    18,906
    Comparisons
    12,556
    Reviews
    41
    Average Words per Review
    502
    Rating
    7.7
    2nd
    out of 85 in Talent Management
    Views
    19,377
    Comparisons
    12,133
    Reviews
    26
    Average Words per Review
    398
    Rating
    8.3
    Comparisons
    SAP HCM logo
    Compared 16% of the time.
    Oracle HCM Cloud logo
    Compared 10% of the time.
    PeopleSoft logo
    Compared 10% of the time.
    UKG logo
    Compared 9% of the time.
    Cornerstone Learning logo
    Compared 5% of the time.
    Also Known As
    SuccessFactors
    Learn More
    Overview

    SAP SuccessFactors is a valuable human resource management system (HRMS) solution that streamlines numerous HR tasks and activities, such as payroll, talent management, and people processes, to help make the entire HR process run more smoothly and improve the overall employee experience. It is primarily developed to meet the needs of enterprise-class organizations. SAP SuccessFactors can also help users to boost business processes and achieve desired outcomes.

    SAP SuccessFactors is cloud-based and built as a Software as a Service (SaaS) tool. It can integrate seamlessly with any existing ecosystem. This solution can easily be accessed from any web browser, from any location, with any device.

    SAP Success Factors Key Features

    • Improve core HR and payroll process: SAP SuccessFactors can help users improve productivity by simplifying everyday tasks, streamlining processes across the organization, establishing consistent business practices, and improving the bottom line by reducing risk. SuccessFactors core HR tools include time and attendance, payroll management, document management, and additional core HR services to meet regulatory and compliance needs.

    • Staff planning and HR analytics: SuccessFactors can facilitate an improved DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) environment using intuitive people data measurements. The solution can help create action plans to ensure that hiring goals are met in a timely manner, preventing critical staffing gaps and ensuring that productivity and profitability goals are consistently being achieved.

    • Employee welfare management: SuccessFactors allows users to respond in a timely manner to employee needs and concerns, to better understand employee motivations, to keep employees happy and involved, to specify employee dissatisfiers, and to help improve the overall employee experience. The solution will also facilitate employee performance using an intuitive holistic approach, improve employee benefits, and guide and administer the entire employee career growth. SuccessFactors provides valuable opportunities for employee growth through intuitive individualized learning and career development opportunities. It also rewards and recognizes good performance and provides pathways for successful career growth. The solution will help to attract and retain the best available talent in the marketplace.
    • Succession Planning: The solution can be used to assist with talent sourcing, candidate management, and improving the overall candidate experience to include new hire onboarding, offboarding, and more. SuccessFactors also provides action plans for performance and compensation management, education and career development, talent reviews, leadership planning, and even sales performance management, goal setting, and quotas.

    Reviews from Real Users

    “We are using it for a lot of things: HR, performance management, and learning management. There are a lot of features embedded in SuccessFactors. We recently implemented a learning platform that employs the individual staff to actually manage their own learning. They can do it at their own pace. SuccessFactors allows you to manage your team, have calibration for promotion, and you can generate reports and see how you're doing.” - Alaba O., IT Asset Management Lead at Dangote Industries Limited

    “SuccessFactors Talent Management tools help us in managing the entire employee journey. HR and managers can use the succession and development tool to create career paths and staff development plans. When combined with the learning tool, these development objectives can help employees gain the skills they need to advance their careers within the company.” - Yamen Z., SAP Project Manager at a manufacturing company

    Workday is a cloud-based software solution that specializes in developing applications for capital and finance management applications. The system is built to work in global workforces and is adaptable. The global system ensures that users are up to date and can manage internal career-related information, and everyday business problems like timesheets, payrolls, and time off.

    “A Pioneer in Software-as-a-Service”

    Workday Human Capital Management tool is designed to simplify and streamline your work. It leverages machine learning to adapt capital management to a changing environment.

    The Workday model is based on delivering a single system that uses a single source of data and a single security model to deliver a unique user experience. The system is user-friendly and ensures that employees and management can use it from any and all devices. Workday HCM integrates into a central system that includes financial management, payroll, recruiting, learning, and planning. Managers and employees can provide feedback to one another, too.

    Workday’s features include:

    • Flexible framework that lets you organize your staff according to different criteria. You can group employees by function, hierarchy, or department.
    • Personalized career guidance: Knowledge management and career guidance that can be easily customized for each staff member and also done at scale.
    • Augmented reporting and analytics: Configure, change, update, and publish reports, scorecards, and dashboards. The system centralizes the transactional and analytical data so you can act on the data from anywhere.
    • Compensation tools: Compensatio, payroll, and time tracking are automated and simplified.
    • Workforce planning allows you to uncover and address talent gaps and get visibility of your staff.
    • Mobile-first ensign approach: Users can access all resources from any device, and they are always in sync.
    • Machine learning capabilities enable personalized enterprise experiences and faster business processes.

    Workday smart platform consists of the following modules:

    • Human resource management
    • Business process management
    • Reporting and analytics
    • Benefits administration
    • Compensation management
    • Talent management
    • Survey framework
    • Employee and management self-service

    Reviews from Real Users

    Many organizations choose Workday because it provides an all-in-one modular solution for human capital and finance management. Our users say they like the ease of use for time-off requests, career and development segments, and overall HR management. The records and reporting capabilities are another popular feature.

    "The solution was very good at reconfiguration and customization of their software. It helped us to meet federal regulations," said one user. Another said that the best feature is the optimization of the work day experience with a unified platform that can be applied across different business units. “You will never find a use case that cannot be covered," said a third.

    Sample Customers
    City of Cape Town, ADAMA Agricultural Solutions Ltd., TransAlta Corporation, Keolis, PT XL Axiata Tbk, National Football League (NFL), Plan International, Yoh, A Day & Zimmermann Company, China Talent Group (CTG TMO), Umicore S.A., Butterfield Bank, Skril
    AAA, Allied Global, Avago Technologies Limited, Aviva, Cardinal Health, CareFusion, Chiquita Brands International, Equifax, Flextronics, HP, Life Time Fitness, McKee Foods, MGM Resorts International, Sanofi, ServiceSource International, Symantec, TripAdvisor, Yahoo!
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company26%
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization45%
    Computer Software Company8%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm29%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Hospitality Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization26%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise63%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business11%
    Midsize Enterprise50%
    Large Enterprise40%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise9%
    Large Enterprise65%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise54%
    Buyer's Guide
    SAP SuccessFactors vs. Workday
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about SAP SuccessFactors vs. Workday and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    SAP SuccessFactors is ranked 1st in Talent Management with 90 reviews while Workday is ranked 2nd in Talent Management with 49 reviews. SAP SuccessFactors is rated 7.8, while Workday is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of SAP SuccessFactors writes "Offers many useful modules and integrations, and helps companies adhere to best practices". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Workday writes "The solution's interface is clean, organized, and easy to use ". SAP SuccessFactors is most compared with SAP HCM, Oracle HCM Cloud, PeopleSoft, UKG and Cornerstone Learning, whereas Workday is most compared with SAP HCM, Oracle HCM Cloud, PeopleSoft, UKG and Cornerstone Learning. See our SAP SuccessFactors vs. Workday report.

    See our list of best Talent Management vendors, best Talent Acquisition vendors, and best Cloud HCM vendors.

    We monitor all Talent Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.