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All industries · head to head

BambooHR vs Workday

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

All industries

HR software with heart

From
$10/month per employee
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: BambooHR organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price; Workday high implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Workday covers Human capital management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Workday actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Workday differ
AttributeBambooHRWorkday
Starting price$10/month per employeeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiCloud/Web
Founded20082005

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

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 BambooHR

  • Employee database
  • Time-off management
  • Benefits tracking
  • Performance reviews
  • Onboarding
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Mobile access
  • Document management

Only in Workday

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

Both cover

  • Slack
  • LinkedIn
  • ADP
  • SOC2
  • ISO27001
  • GDPR

What people use each for

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

BambooHR

  • HR system of record with employee data and documentsnot Workday
  • Time off tracking and approvalsnot Workday
  • Applicant tracking and onboardingnot Workday
  • Performance reviews and 1:1s on the Pro tiernot Workday
  • Compensation planning and benchmarking on Elitenot Workday

Workday

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

Where each one falls short

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

BambooHR

  • Organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price
  • Per-employee pricing starts at 26 employees, from $10 on Core
  • Performance management, 360 reviews and recognition all require Pro at $17 per employee per month
  • Compensation management, salary benchmarking and advanced analytics are Elite only at $25 per employee per month
  • Compliance training is rationed by tier, at 1 course on Core against 300 on Elite

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

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

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 BambooHR if

  • You need employee database.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want time-off management.
BambooHR 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 BambooHR or Workday better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Workday at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Workday?
BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Workday at On request.
Does BambooHR or Workday run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Workday runs on Cloud/Web.
What is BambooHR best used for?
BambooHR is most often used for hr system of record with employee data and documents, time off tracking and approvals, applicant tracking and onboarding, performance reviews and 1:1s on the pro tier. Of those, hr system of record with employee data and documents and time off tracking and approvals are not what Workday is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Workday cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Analytics. Both handle Slack, LinkedIn, ADP, SOC2.

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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