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RSA Archer vs Workiva Wdesk comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

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

RSA Archer
Ranking in GRC
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
IT Governance (1st), IT Vendor Risk Management (4th)
Workiva Wdesk
Ranking in GRC
9th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (11th), Financial Close Software (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the GRC category, the mindshare of RSA Archer is 5.6%, down from 16.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workiva Wdesk is 3.2%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
RSA Archer5.6%
Workiva Wdesk3.2%
Other91.2%
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

CJ
Information Security Specialist at Dubai Health Authority
Centralized management strengthens compliance with good look and feel
From my perspective as a customer and end user, Archer has an impressive look and feel, but the most adaptive feature is its ease of configuration which helps to enhance our process according to our maturity. It's more about our organization getting centralized with an integrated approach that focuses on risk governance and compliance. When can provide a detailed dashboards to management with the details of risks from top-down or bottom-up prioritizing actions based on its criticality or necessity. This allows us to show end users and management where the issues lie and effectively demonstrate accountability and visibility in compliance.
reviewer2510292 - PeerSpot reviewer
Corporate ESG Analyst at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Has cross-functional connectivity but improvement is needed in script encoding
The tool's deployment is quick. Once the program is set up, you're ready to collect data and connect it to your report. The deployment team's size depends on the size of the company and how many different data providers you're utilizing. Some companies have one person doing everything, while others have a huge team. We're on the latter end of it, with many people involved. One great thing about the platform is that everything is consolidated in one place, providing a single resource for everyone. This is a benefit. The maintenance of the solution depends on the experience of the person managing the company's program. The company might have a contractor handling the back end and software management if they're low-level and only analyzing the data. However, if you have someone experienced with software and script encoding, that person might be the analyst and managing the program. Generally, most people are just analysts and not managing the software. There's an opportunity for improvement in user management of their software, and I hope they address this gap before the year ends.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"RSA Archer is a valuable tool because it can manage the end-to-end functioning of any enterprise GRC module, such as compliance and risk management or business continuity plans and the entire BCM module."
"RSA Archer allows you to implement government risk compliance and acts as a mechanism to ensure that the compliance policies and standards are met."
"The helpful features of RSA Archer include providing an integrated overview of the landscape in the company, which leads the user to use the same inventory and other components, sharing the same set of references and objects we are working on."
"It has the best workload management features."
"First of all, we have gained time back that was previously wasted in management meetings."
"RSA is a very rich application. I like its adaptive suggestion, where based on your users and the class of data, it can actually recommend you the proper control to choose. For example, we have been using PCI DSS as an NIST. So based on application feedback, it will provide you with a suggestion on which control objective needs to be set. Based on that, you can make a decision—you don't need to take the suggestion, but you can customize that particular provided suggestion. RSA Archer's workflow is also good, in terms of process automation."
"I like how Archer requires very little programming ability. A person with minimum coding experience can configure the necessary fields in Archer. It's more of a drag-and-drop solution."
"Overall, I would give it a nine out of ten."
"It helps you to maintain a backup of your data, including the connectivity with the tables, which provides a user-friendly way to handle and access your files."
"Workiva Wdesk is pretty good in terms of getting the data from the system, automating the reporting schedules...It has a very good integration with ERP tools."
"The collaboration within the platform is valuable."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to easily upload and update financial results, creating a dynamic data sheet."
"The cross-functionality between connectivity, whether through API connections between different software platforms or the connection of data collection to the actual written ESG report, is highly valuable. The connectivity of all these aspects significantly aids in data assurance, which I consider a bonus."
"Workiva Wdesk has a flow diagram that is standardized, making it easy for people to file documents on ECDAs, which are in HTML format."
"It makes the compliance process more efficient and more effective."
 

Cons

"It would be useful for customers if COBIT 2019 could be translated into different languages."
"The technology's a little outdated."
"Solution could use more inbuilt applications."
"The product is expensive."
"The solution as a whole could be simplified."
"Archer's performance could be improved - older versions can be very slow, and the application crashes from time to time."
"Compared to other GRC tools, RSA Archer is a little complex in the sense that even users need to have some knowledge of the tool."
"We've noticed recently with the advanced workflow jobs that we're receiving some errors. It's a showstopper for us and it's clear that some kind of development support is needed."
"The most critical issue is the need to shift between uppercase and lowercase."
"One area where Workiva Wdesk could improve is by ensuring that its cloud-based system is fully compatible with the most current versions of PowerPoint and Excel."
"The speed must be improved."
"The tool's script encoding needs to be updated to make it more user-friendly and less of a manual process when changes are made to a company's program. Those changes happen frequently due to mandatory or voluntary reporting requirements, leading to lost linkage connections that must be manually reset each time a change is made. This aspect is not functional now, and I see it as an opportunity for improvement."
"With this product, it's more about the integrated data model where you can have a one-to-many/many-to-one relationship between your policies and processes, risks, and controls. They need to showcase how you can put those pieces together."
"At this point, I don't see a compelling reason to invest in Workiva. It may be necessary for compliance and controlling the version of SCC, but not everyone needs its high-end capabilities."
"Regarding the solution, reporting has certain areas that can be considered for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"RSA Archer's price is justifiable and not as expensive, compared to ServiceNow. I have heard that the licensing for ServiceNow is much more expensive. I'm unaware whether there are any additional costs after licensing fees."
"The pricing is okay. The licensing costs are very reasonable; it is very affordable to us."
"The initial purchase is cheap. You pay a nominal price to start then renew the license annually. You also must buy a license for each module. I'm not too fond of that aspect of the licensing model. You buy the elephant and then spend more money to feed the elephant."
"The price of the solution is very affordable."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"It is not expensive. It is reasonable. We only pay for the licensing."
"The license is costly for the solution, but the remaining set up and maintenance is quite cheaper."
"I am not 100% familiar with that, especially with their new model. I just know that the way they've licensed per user to scale is good."
"Our clients in Asia think that the solution is too expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
While it provides benefits in terms of security, the pricing is a bit higher than customers typically expect. It would be helpful if RSA Archer had the capability for two-way integration because, i...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
Regarding the compliance, risk, and governance tools, I am comfortable discussing the tools in the GRC category. The specific module from ServiceNow is the ServiceNow Compliance, Risk, and Governan...
What advice do you have for others considering RSA Archer?
I have been in touch with about three companies who use RSA Archer actively in the compliance area. These companies use RSA Archer for nearly all purposes, including governance, internal risk, and ...
What needs improvement with Workiva Wdesk?
The tool's script encoding needs to be updated to make it more user-friendly and less of a manual process when changes are made to a company's program. Those changes happen frequently due to mandat...
What advice do you have for others considering Workiva Wdesk?
I've been working with the tool's script encoding departments and top management to address gaps in their script encoding. They are working towards closing these gaps to ensure we can continue usin...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Archer
Wdesk
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
Noodles Company, eBay, Winnebago, American Assets Trust, AmericanEnterprise, Calpian, Capstone Infrastructure, Cascades, Circor International, Coeur Mining, Davey, Dr Pepper Snapple
Find out what your peers are saying about RSA Archer vs. Workiva Wdesk and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.