HR & Recruiting · head to head
Culture Amp vs Workday

Culture Amp
HR & Recruiting
Build a better workplace with employee experience data
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -

Workday
All industries
Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Culture Amp no price is published, and cost depends on employee count, product chosen and service tier; Workday high implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
- They diverge on capability: Culture Amp covers Employee engagement surveys, Workday covers Human capital management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Culture Amp and Workday actually diverge.
| Attribute | Culture Amp | Workday |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | subscription | quote |
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android, Api | Cloud/Web |
| Category | HR & Recruiting | All industries |
| Founded | 2009 | 2005 |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), 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 Culture Amp
- Employee engagement surveys
- Pulse surveys
- Performance management
- Goal tracking
- 360-degree feedback
- Analytics & insights
- Action planning
- Manager effectiveness
Only in Workday
- Human capital management
- Financial management
- Planning
- Analytics
- Payroll
- Time tracking
- Talent management
- Procurement
Both cover
- Slack
- ADP
- ISO27001
- GDPR
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Culture Amp
- Employee engagement surveys and analysisnot Workday
- Performance reviews and development planning across an organisationnot Workday
Workday
- HR managementnot Culture Amp
- Financial planningnot Culture Amp
- Workforce planningnot Culture Amp
- Compliancenot Culture Amp
- Analyticsnot Culture Amp
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Culture Amp
- No price is published, and cost depends on employee count, product chosen and service tier
- All products are billed annually
- Support level is banded by organisation size, with additional support starting at 200 employees and enterprise treatment at 1,000, so smaller customers get less for the same 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 ($408-504 PEPM)
- Limited pre-built templates and customization; often requires extensive configuration
- Requires significant IT and change management resources during implementation
Pricing, plan by plan
Culture Amp
On request- Engage$undefined/month
- Engagement surveys
- Pulse surveys
- Action planning
- Perform$undefined/month
- Goal tracking
- Performance reviews
- 1-on-1 meetings
- Develop$undefined/month
- Skills development
- Career paths
- Learning integrations
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 Culture Amp if
- You need employee engagement surveys.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want pulse surveys.
Choose Workday if
- You need human capital management.
- You work on Cloud/Web.
- You also want financial management.
Questions people ask
- Is Culture Amp or Workday better?
- Neither clearly leads. Culture Amp starts at On request and Workday at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Culture Amp or Workday?
- Culture Amp starts at On request and Workday at On request.
- Does Culture Amp or Workday run on more platforms?
- Culture Amp runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Workday runs on Cloud/Web.
- What is Culture Amp best used for?
- Culture Amp is most often used for employee engagement surveys and analysis, performance reviews and development planning across an organisation. Of those, employee engagement surveys and analysis and performance reviews and development planning across an organisation are not what Workday is typically brought in for.
- What can Culture Amp do that Workday cannot?
- Culture Amp covers Employee engagement surveys, Pulse surveys, Performance management, Goal tracking. Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Analytics. Both handle Slack, ADP, ISO27001, GDPR.
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
More on Culture Amp
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