All industries · head to head
Kudos vs Workday

Workday
All industries
Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Kudos kudos publishes no price for any of its three tiers (Basic, Plus, Enterprise); the entire plans page gates every tier behind "Request a Demo" or "Request a Trial" with only a discount for not-for-profit organizations over 100 employees mentioned, no figures given (archived plans page, 22 February 2021); Workday high implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
- They diverge on capability: Kudos covers Peer-to-peer recognition, Workday covers Human capital management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Kudos and Workday actually diverge.
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 Kudos
- Peer-to-peer recognition
- Manager recognition
- Social recognition wall
- Points & rewards
- Awards & nominations
- Anniversary celebrations
- Analytics dashboard
- Company values alignment
Only in Workday
- Human capital management
- Financial management
- Planning
- Analytics
- Payroll
- Time tracking
- Talent management
- Procurement
Both cover
- Slack
- ADP
- SOC2
- GDPR
- ISO27001
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Kudos
- Employee recognitionnot Workday
- Culture buildingnot Workday
- Employee engagementnot Workday
- Retention improvementnot Workday
- Values reinforcementnot Workday
Workday
- HR managementnot Kudos
- Financial planningnot Kudos
- Workforce planningnot Kudos
- Compliancenot Kudos
- Analyticsnot Kudos
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Kudos
- Kudos publishes no price for any of its three tiers (Basic, Plus, Enterprise); the entire plans page gates every tier behind "Request a Demo" or "Request a Trial" with only a discount for not-for-profit organizations over 100 employees mentioned, no figures given (archived plans page, 22 February 2021)
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
Kudos
$5/month- Plus$5/month
- Peer recognition
- Social recognition wall
- Points system
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Everything in Plus
- Awards & nominations
- Advanced analytics
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 Kudos if
- You need peer-to-peer recognition.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want manager recognition.
Choose Workday if
- You need human capital management.
- You work on Cloud/Web.
- You also want financial management.
Questions people ask
- Is Kudos or Workday better?
- Neither clearly leads. Kudos starts at $5/month and Workday at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Kudos or Workday?
- Kudos starts at $5/month and Workday at On request.
- Does Kudos or Workday run on more platforms?
- Kudos runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Workday runs on Cloud/Web.
- What is Kudos best used for?
- Kudos is most often used for employee recognition, culture building, employee engagement, retention improvement. Of those, employee recognition and culture building are not what Workday is typically brought in for.
- What can Kudos do that Workday cannot?
- Kudos covers Peer-to-peer recognition, Manager recognition, Social recognition wall, Points & rewards. Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Analytics. Both handle Slack, ADP, SOC2, 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
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