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Dayforce HCM vs Workday comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dayforce HCM
Ranking in Talent Management
8th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Talent Intelligence (3rd)
Workday
Ranking in Talent Management
2nd
Ranking in Cloud HCM
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (1st), Talent Acquisition (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Dayforce HCM is 2.6%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workday is 18.7%, up from 18.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Noorkah - PeerSpot reviewer
Greatly improved our efficiency with its integrated time and attendance module
Dayforce has given us near to real-time access to time sheets and clockings since it has an integrated time and attendance module. Within six minutes of someone clocking in, we can see them on the timesheets. Dayforce has enabled us to smooth out our payroll system so not everything is happening at the end of the payroll cycle. We can see the impacts during the week and make it a lot more manageable. It's also been helpful for benefits administration with employees being able to file life and work events online. They can access their pay stubs, request leave, change their address, update their direct deposit details, and other things. We've become much more efficient, and much less paper driven.
Sarvesh Kumar Jha - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use and provides great flexibility and security
Implementing the solution is generally not easy because it depends on our client's landscape. In the last one and a half years, Workday has started a new implementation approach called launch implementation. This approach allows you, as a client organization, to implement Workday in a shorter amount of time, given that you fulfill certain criteria. It depends on the number of subsidiaries and employees you have and their compensation structure. If it's not too complex, Workday provides its clients with this new approach called launch, where they can quickly onboard with the Workday without many complex requirements. The general implementation for Fortune 500 companies is always complex.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It provides real-time information with great reports."
"Configuring your HR policies and rules is straightforward."
"Our employee benefits enrollment is managed through Ceridian Dayforce, which makes for a limited manual process."
"We like being able to hire from the Dayforce recruiting module straight into Dayforce and having the file feeds go to our benefits vendor."
"Ceridian Dayforce HCM is a stable product."
"Statutory holiday pay is calculated automatically."
"The integrated time clock has provided efficiencies in payroll, as we no longer have to decipher handwritten time sheets and input them into the system."
"Great time and attendance payroll and benefits administration which has improved our efficiency."
"It's easy to set up."
"The payroll and benefits engine is the most valuable Workday solution in my opinion. It is also easy to access."
"The solution is easy to use and provides great flexibility and security."
"I would say that we have definitely seen a return on investment."
"Provides flexibility to integrate with the product. It has several tools, out-of-the-box, for integrations. It delivers pre-built interfaces for specific vendors, pre-built generic integrations to extract or push data into Workday through configuration."
"It is quite user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature of Workday is the ease of use which is overall user-friendly."
"It is fairly easy to set up"
 

Cons

"The reporting could be improved."
"Management and reporting of the GL costing could be improved."
"I would like the solution to improve its customer service communication."
"Dayforce has its gaps like every HR system, but nothing comes to mind at the moment."
"I would like to see more built-in forms. This would save a lot of time during the year-end process."
"Many things are presented as though they will be included with the system but then require costly upgrades."
"The solution's initial setup was difficult. Also, the solution's initial deployment took around six months."
"I would also like to see some improvement in standard reports. A standard report should be available to pull the required information for Affirmative Action Plans. I do not think I should have to build or create one."
"This solution could be made easier to use by continuing to release new improvements."
"I would really like to see a more robust timekeeping solution in Workday. Currently, most organizations are using Kronos for timekeeping and Workday for HR data. They then integrate Workday with Dimensions to manage time-related activities and payroll processing."
"The solution has some features missing when you put them in the test studio or Confluence Studio. I would like the tool’s coding to be easier to understand and automated. Most of the coding these days is automated. Any query given can pull the answer directly which can make the solution easier to understand."
"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."
"The user interface could be better. Everything else was fine."
"They don't have worker payroll in the product. We have to solve our payroll. I hope one day they will be able to have their own localized standard payrolls for all countries."
"The solution should be more user-friendly."
"The solution has to work a lot on financial integrations, material management and CRM modules."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the solution's pricing a seven on a scale where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive."
"Negotiate for everything you want."
"We paid for the implementation costs in the first year with the money that we saved by switching to Dayforce HCM."
"We found the setup costs and pricing to be very reasonable."
"In terms of pricing, the product is expensive. However, it is crucial to take into account the manner in which the solution will be utilized and the availability of other alternatives."
"Ceridian continually enhances Dayforce HCM. Some of these enhancements they charge for and some are just straight enhancements with no extra charge."
"Earlier, the price of the product was reasonable. Under present circumstances, the price or cost of the product has been increased."
"The XOXO program associated with Dayforce allows you to earn credits towards registration and accommodations at their annual Insight Conferences, which can be a real savings to the company when sending employees to the conference."
"It is on a yearly basis."
"Its price is pretty high. It is more expensive than what is offered by other competitors in the market."
"I would rate the solution’s pricing a six out of ten."
"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."
"I rate the product’s pricing a ten out of ten."
"The pricing is good from an HR perspective, although management gets upset after spending $500,000 a year, every year."
"Workday is an expensive solution."
"With a bigger budget, I would recommend SAP."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
54%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Educational Organization
34%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Ceridian Dayforce HCM?
The solution's payroll portion is very streamlined.
What needs improvement with Ceridian Dayforce HCM?
Customizing the home screen was difficult; I could not remove certain tabs that were irrelevant to our users. The search functionality is poor as there's no way for administrators to tag keywords t...
What is your primary use case for Ceridian Dayforce HCM?
We have used Dayforce HCM for our HR functionalities and for the learning module over the last five years. We actually just migrated to a new learning management system.
What are the biggest differences between Workday, Oracle Cloud and SAP SuccessFactors?
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 effi...
What do you like most about Workday?
I like its UI and UX. When we were using Oracle or SAP, the UI/UX wasn't very user-friendly for the employees.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Workday?
If you go with the launch implementation approach, the solution is generally not very expensive. If you want to add more features to your subscription, Workday becomes expensive. The solution is fl...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Ceridian Dayforce HCM, Ascender Talent Management, Ceridian Ideal
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ACCO Brands
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!
Find out what your peers are saying about Dayforce HCM vs. Workday and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
838,533 professionals have used our research since 2012.