Softwr

Software · head to head

Empuls vs Workday

Empuls logo

Empuls

Software

Employee engagement platform for connection and recognition

From
$1/month per employee
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Workday logo

Workday

Software

Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Empuls limited customization options for organizations with unique workflows; Workday high implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
  • They diverge on capability: Empuls covers Social intranet, Workday covers Human capital management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Empuls and Workday actually diverge.

Attributes where Empuls and Workday differ
AttributeEmpulsWorkday
Starting price$1/month per employeeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, SlackCloud/Web
Founded20182005

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 Empuls

  • Social intranet
  • Peer recognition
  • Rewards marketplace
  • Surveys
  • Celebrations
  • Mobile app
  • Gamification
  • Microsoft Teams

Only in Workday

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

Both cover

  • Analytics
  • Slack

What people use each for

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

Empuls

  • Employee recognitionnot Workday
  • Team engagementnot Workday
  • Pulse surveysnot Workday
  • Rewards programsnot Workday

Workday

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

Where each one falls short

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

Empuls

  • Limited customization options for organizations with unique workflows
  • Integration with third-party HR and payroll systems is restricted, often requiring manual workarounds
  • Mobile app is less stable and slower than desktop version with reported bugs
  • Limited options to customize user interface for brand alignment
  • Platform can feel overwhelming due to large number of features

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

Empuls

$1/month per employee
  • Reward & Recognize$3/month per employee
    • Recognition badges
    • Reward catalog
    • Points management
  • Surveys & Feedback$3/month per employee
    • Engagement surveys
    • Pulse surveys
    • Analytics
  • Perks & Benefits$2/month per employee
    • Perks catalog
    • Benefits management
  • Social Intranet$1/month per employee
    • Internal communications
    • Announcements
    • Employee directory

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 Empuls if

  • You need social intranet.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Slack.
  • You also want peer recognition.
Empuls 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 Empuls or Workday better?
Neither clearly leads. Empuls starts at $1/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, Empuls or Workday?
Empuls starts at $1/month per employee and Workday at On request.
Does Empuls or Workday run on more platforms?
Empuls runs on Web, Mobile, Slack. Workday runs on Cloud/Web.
What is Empuls best used for?
Empuls is most often used for employee recognition, team engagement, pulse surveys, rewards programs. Of those, employee recognition and team engagement are not what Workday is typically brought in for.
What can Empuls do that Workday cannot?
Empuls covers Social intranet, Peer recognition, Rewards marketplace, Surveys. Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Payroll. Both handle Analytics, Slack.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Empuls: What are the main features of Empuls?

Empuls is an AI-led employee engagement platform combining social intranet, recognition and rewards, surveys and feedback, employee gifting, and perks and benefits—all in one platform built on four pillars: communication, alignment, empowerment, and motivation.

Source
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
Empuls: How much does Empuls cost?

Empuls pricing is module-based: Reward & Recognize at $3 per employee/month, Surveys at $3 per employee/month, Perks & Benefits at $2 per employee/month, Social Intranet & Employee Communication at $1 per employee/month, plus Employee Gifting & Service Rewards with no platform fees.

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
Empuls: Does Empuls integrate with Slack?

Yes, Empuls integrates with Slack to enable peer recognition, badge sending, polls, surveys, and achievement celebrations directly within Slack without app switching, with automatic social notifications to the channel.

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
Empuls: Can I use Empuls APIs to customize integrations?

Yes, Empuls provides APIs for sending appreciations and gifts, redeeming reward points, accessing reports (awards and core values), and embedding employee engagement features into other work tools via API and SDK.

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
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Empuls

More on Workday

Keep looking

Other head to heads