Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Airbase vs Workday

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting & Finance

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Workday logo

Workday

All industries

Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Airbase airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.; Workday high implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Workday covers Human capital management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Workday actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Workday differ
AttributeAirbaseWorkday
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidCloud/Web
CategoryAccounting & FinanceAll industries
Founded20172005

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbase

  • Corporate cards
  • Bill payments
  • Expense management
  • Approvals
  • NetSuite
  • Sage Intacct
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero

Only in Workday

  • Human capital management
  • Financial management
  • Planning
  • Analytics
  • Payroll
  • Time tracking
  • Talent management
  • Salesforce

Both cover

  • Procurement
  • Slack

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot Workday
  • Expense reportingnot Workday
  • Vendor paymentsnot Workday

Workday

  • HR managementnot Airbase
  • Financial planningnot Airbase
  • Workforce planningnot Airbase
  • Compliancenot Airbase
  • Analyticsnot Airbase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbase

  • Airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.

Workday

  • High implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
  • Long deployment timelines (12-18 months standard) before ROI
  • Steep per-employee pricing at enterprise scale ($408-504 PEPM)
  • Limited pre-built templates and customization; often requires extensive configuration
  • Requires significant IT and change management resources during implementation

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbase

$29/month
  • StandardFree
    • Corporate cards
    • Expense reports
    • Bill pay
  • Premium$10/month
    • Advanced approvals
    • NetSuite sync
    • Procurement
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom workflows
    • API access
    • Dedicated support

Workday

On request
  • Small Business$undefined/month
    • Core HR
    • Payroll
    • Time tracking
  • Medium Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Full HCM suite
    • Financial management
    • Advanced analytics
  • Large Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Complete platform
    • Custom configurations
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want bill payments.
Airbase review

Choose Workday if

  • You need human capital management.
  • You work on Cloud/Web.
  • You also want financial management.
Workday review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Workday better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Workday at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Workday?
Airbase starts at $29/month and Workday at On request.
Does Airbase or Workday run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Workday runs on Cloud/Web.
What is Airbase best used for?
Airbase is most often used for spend management, expense reporting, vendor payments. Of those, spend management and expense reporting are not what Workday is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Workday cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Approvals. Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Analytics. Both handle Procurement, Slack.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Workday: What is Workday GO and what market is it designed for?

Workday GO is a product designed for small and midsize organizations, bringing together HR and finance solutions with transparent pricing and fast activation in 30 to 60 days. It includes HCM, benefits, payroll, talent, and more at a lower price point than standard Workday.

Source
Workday: What is Workday Skills Cloud and how does it fit into HCM?

Workday Skills Cloud is an intelligent skills foundation built into Workday HCM. It is described as the world's most open intelligent skills foundation and fuels data-driven talent strategies across recruiting, learning, and workforce planning.

Source
Workday: Does Workday include payroll and benefits management?

Yes. Workday HCM includes benefits administration and payroll capabilities as part of its core suite. Global payroll processing is available across multiple countries and tax jurisdictions.

Source
Workday: What is the typical pricing model for Workday HCM?

Workday HCM uses per-employee (PEPM) annual subscription pricing. Companies at scale typically pay $34-42 PEPM. Enterprise organizations with 5,000+ employees typically pay $408-504 per employee annually. Pricing decreases with larger commitments and longer contract terms.

Source
Workday: How long does Workday implementation typically take?

Standard implementations are lengthy, often taking 12-18 months. Workday GO promises faster activation in 30-60 days. Implementation costs typically equal 100-150% of the first year's software subscription fees.

Source
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Related pages

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