Software · head to head
Breathe HR vs Workday

Workday
Software
Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Breathe HR pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50; Workday high implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
- They diverge on capability: Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Workday covers Human capital management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Breathe HR and Workday actually diverge.
| Attribute | Breathe HR | Workday |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | £13/month | On request |
| Pricing model | subscription | quote |
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android | Cloud/Web |
| Founded | 2012 | 2005 |
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Breathe HR
- Employee Database
- Absence Management
- Document Storage
- HR Reporting
- Performance Management
- Training
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft 365
Only in Workday
- Human capital management
- Financial management
- Planning
- Analytics
- Payroll
- Time tracking
- Talent management
- Procurement
Both cover
- Slack
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Breathe HR
- Holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a UK small businessnot Workday
- Storing HR documents, contracts and e-signaturesnot Workday
- Performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teamsnot Workday
Workday
- HR managementnot Breathe HR
- Financial planningnot Breathe HR
- Workforce planningnot Breathe HR
- Compliancenot Breathe HR
- Analyticsnot Breathe HR
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Breathe HR
- Pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50
- Plans are capped by band up to 151 to 200 people, so it is not sold to organisations above that range on the published ladder
- The free trial is 14 days
- Health and safety, e-learning and other modules are sold as add-ons on top of the core HR plan
- Pricing is quoted in pounds and the product is marketed to UK SMEs
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
Breathe HR
£13/month- Core$13/month
- Employee Database
- Absence Management
- Documents
- People Management$18/month
- All Core features
- Performance
- Goals
Workday
On request- Small Business$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 Breathe HR if
- You need employee database.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want absence management.
Choose Workday if
- You need human capital management.
- You work on Cloud/Web.
- You also want financial management.
Questions people ask
- Is Breathe HR or Workday better?
- Neither clearly leads. Breathe HR starts at £13/month and Workday at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Breathe HR or Workday?
- Breathe HR starts at £13/month and Workday at On request.
- Does Breathe HR or Workday run on more platforms?
- Breathe HR runs on Web, Ios, Android. Workday runs on Cloud/Web.
- What is Breathe HR best used for?
- Breathe HR is most often used for holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business, storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures, performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teams. Of those, holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business and storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures are not what Workday is typically brought in for.
- What can Breathe HR do that Workday cannot?
- Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting. Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Analytics. Both handle 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.
SourceWorkday: 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.
SourceWorkday: 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.
SourceWorkday: 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.
SourceWorkday: 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.
SourceRelated pages
Keep looking
Other head to heads
- Breathe HR vs BambooHR
- Breathe HR vs Culture Amp
- Breathe HR vs Freshteam
- Breathe HR vs TINYpulse
- Breathe HR vs Zoho People
- Breathe HR vs 15Five
- Breathe HR vs Bonusly
- Breathe HR vs CharlieHR
- Breathe HR vs Kudos
- Breathe HR vs Lattice
- Breathe HR vs Personio
- Breathe HR vs Achievers
- Breathe HR vs Darwinbox
- Breathe HR vs Employment Hero
- Breathe HR vs greytHR
- Breathe HR vs HiBob
- Breathe HR vs Homebase
- Workday vs BambooHR
- Workday vs Culture Amp
- Workday vs Freshteam
- Workday vs TINYpulse
- Workday vs Zoho People
- Workday vs 15Five
- Workday vs Bonusly
- Workday vs CharlieHR
- Workday vs Kudos
- Workday vs Lattice
- Workday vs Personio
- Workday vs Achievers
- Workday vs Darwinbox
- Workday vs Employment Hero
- Workday vs greytHR
- Workday vs HiBob
- Workday vs Homebase

