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Accounting · head to head

SAP Concur vs Workday

SAP Concur logo

SAP Concur

Accounting

Enterprise travel booking, expense claims and supplier invoice processing sold as separate modules

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Workday logo

Workday

HR

Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: SAP Concur implementation is done through SAP or a partner and commonly costs a substantial multiple of the first year subscription, because the value sits entirely in the configured policy, approval hierarchy and ledger mapping rather than in the software as shipped.; Workday high implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees
  • They diverge on capability: SAP Concur covers Expense capture, Workday covers Human capital management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SAP Concur and Workday actually diverge.

Attributes where SAP Concur and Workday differ
AttributeSAP ConcurWorkday
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidCloud/Web
CategoryAccountingHR
Founded19932005

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 SAP Concur

  • Expense capture
  • Corporate card feeds
  • Policy engine
  • Approval routing
  • Travel booking
  • Travel agency integration
  • Duty of care
  • Invoice capture

Only in Workday

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

Both cover

  • Analytics

What people use each for

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

SAP Concur

  • A multinational with thousands of travellers where an audit committee has asked for evidence that travel policy is actually enforcednot Workday
  • An organisation replacing spreadsheet expense claims and email approvals that cannot survive an external auditnot Workday
  • A finance team trying to eliminate duplicate claims by matching corporate card feeds against submitted receiptsnot Workday
  • A shared service centre processing high volumes of supplier invoices that needs capture and approval routing before postingnot Workday

Workday

  • HR managementnot SAP Concur
  • Financial planningnot SAP Concur
  • Workforce planningnot SAP Concur
  • Compliancenot SAP Concur
  • Analyticsnot SAP Concur

Where each one falls short

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

SAP Concur

  • Implementation is done through SAP or a partner and commonly costs a substantial multiple of the first year subscription, because the value sits entirely in the configured policy, approval hierarchy and ledger mapping rather than in the software as shipped.
  • Pricing is driven by transaction volume, expense reports and invoices processed, rather than by seats, so a business with seasonal travel or a growth year sees the bill move in ways headcount based budgeting does not predict.
  • The configuration that makes it valuable is also what makes it rigid, and organisations frequently find that changing an approval chain or adding a cost centre dimension requires a partner change order rather than an administrator's afternoon.
  • Contracts are typically multi year with limited exit, so an organisation that concludes after twelve months that a lighter expense tool would have been enough is still paying for the heavier one for the remainder of the term.
  • The three modules are licensed separately and the strongest case for the product depends on having travel, expense and card feeds together, so buying expense alone gives you a costly receipt system without the control loop that justifies the price.

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

SAP Concur

$29/month
  • Professional$8/month
    • Expense reporting
    • Receipt capture
    • Approvals
  • Premium$12/month
    • Travel booking
    • Invoice management
    • 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 SAP Concur if

  • You need expense capture.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want corporate card feeds.
SAP Concur 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 SAP Concur or Workday better?
Neither clearly leads. SAP Concur starts at $29/month and Workday at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SAP Concur or Workday?
SAP Concur starts at $29/month and Workday at On request.
Does SAP Concur or Workday run on more platforms?
SAP Concur runs on Web, Ios, Android. Workday runs on Cloud/Web.
What is SAP Concur best used for?
SAP Concur is most often used for a multinational with thousands of travellers where an audit committee has asked for evidence that travel policy is actually enforced, an organisation replacing spreadsheet expense claims and email approvals that cannot survive an external audit, a finance team trying to eliminate duplicate claims by matching corporate card feeds against submitted receipts, a shared service centre processing high volumes of supplier invoices that needs capture and approval routing before posting. Of those, a multinational with thousands of travellers where an audit committee has asked for evidence that travel policy is actually enforced and an organisation replacing spreadsheet expense claims and email approvals that cannot survive an external audit are not what Workday is typically brought in for.
What can SAP Concur do that Workday cannot?
SAP Concur covers Expense capture, Corporate card feeds, Policy engine, Approval routing. Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Payroll. Both handle Analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SAP Concur: Do we need SAP ERP to use Concur?

No. It integrates with SAP systems particularly well but it is regularly deployed alongside Oracle, NetSuite, Workday and other ledgers. The integration work is a line item in the implementation either way.

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
SAP Concur: Is it worth it for a company of a hundred people?

Usually not. Below a few hundred travellers the implementation cost and the contract commitment are hard to justify against lighter expense tools. The case turns on policy enforcement and audit, not on receipt scanning.

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
SAP Concur: How is it priced?

Broadly on the volume of expense reports and invoices processed, with the modules licensed separately. Because pricing is quoted rather than published, get the volume assumptions written into the contract and check what happens when you exceed them.

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
SAP Concur: Can it handle multiple countries and currencies?

Yes, that is one of its stronger areas, including per country tax treatment and VAT reclaim identification. Confirm coverage for your specific countries during the sales process rather than assuming global means every jurisdiction.

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
SAP Concur: How long does implementation take?

Plan in months, not weeks, for anything beyond a single entity with simple approvals. Multi entity rollouts with travel and invoice modules commonly run across a year in phases.

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
SAP Concur: What does the audit service actually do?

It has a team review a sample or all of your submitted claims against receipts and policy before approval, which some organisations use in place of internal reviewers. It is priced separately from the expense subscription.

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