Is Workday or Zeplin better?

Neither clearly leads. Workday starts at On request and Zeplin at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Workday or Zeplin?

Zeplin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Workday and Free for Zeplin.

Does Workday or Zeplin run on more platforms?

Workday runs on Cloud/Web. Zeplin runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile.

Can I use Zeplin for free?

Yes. Zeplin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Workday starts at On request.

What is Workday best used for?

Workday is most often used for hr management, financial planning, workforce planning, compliance. Of those, hr management and financial planning are not what Zeplin is typically brought in for.

What can Workday do that Zeplin cannot?

Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Analytics. Zeplin covers Design specs, Asset export, Code snippets, Design tokens. Both handle Slack, SOC2, GDPR.

Software · head to head

Workday vs Zeplin

Workday

Software

Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Zeplin

Software

Design handoff and developer collaboration

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Zeplin has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Workday high implementation costs equal to or exceeding annual software fees; Zeplin the free plan is limited to 1 project and 100 screens and works only in a personal workspace
They diverge on capability: Workday covers Human capital management, Zeplin covers Design specs.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Workday and Zeplin actually diverge.

Attributes where Workday and Zeplin differ
Attribute	Workday	Zeplin
Starting price	On request	Free
Pricing model	quote	subscription
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Cloud/Web	Web, Desktop, Mobile
Founded	2005	2014

Identical on both: 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 Workday

Human capital management
Financial management
Planning
Analytics
Payroll
Time tracking
Talent management
Procurement

Only in Zeplin

Design specs
Asset export
Code snippets
Design tokens
Comments
Version control
Handoff workflow
Accessibility checks

Both cover

Slack
SOC2
GDPR

What people use each for

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

Workday

HR managementnot Zeplin
Financial planningnot Zeplin
Workforce planningnot Zeplin
Compliancenot Zeplin
Analyticsnot Zeplin

Zeplin

Handing off design specs from Figma or Sketch to developersnot Workday
Sharing screens, assets and style guides with an engineering teamnot Workday
Reviewing and commenting on design versionsnot Workday

Where each one falls short

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

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

Zeplin

The free plan is limited to 1 project and 100 screens and works only in a personal workspace
Free plan AI reviews are capped at 3 per week
Role based permissions require the Advanced plan or higher
Single sign on, multi factor authentication, activity logs and invoiced billing are Enterprise only
Priority 24 hour support is Enterprise only
Basic plan caps screens at 1,000 per project and is priced per project rather than per seat
Enterprise pricing is by quote with no published rate

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Zeplin

Free

FreeFree
- 1 project
- 1 workspace
- Basic specs
Starter$19/month
- Unlimited projects
- Multiple workspaces
- Advanced specs
Professional$49/month
- Everything in Starter
- Team collaboration
- Admin controls

Which should you pick?

Choose Workday if

You need human capital management.
You work on Cloud/Web.
You also want financial management.

Workday review

Choose Zeplin if

You need design specs.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
You also want asset export.

Zeplin review

Questions people ask

Is Workday or Zeplin better?: Neither clearly leads. Workday starts at On request and Zeplin at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Workday or Zeplin?: Zeplin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Workday and Free for Zeplin.
Does Workday or Zeplin run on more platforms?: Workday runs on Cloud/Web. Zeplin runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
Can I use Zeplin for free?: Yes. Zeplin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Workday starts at On request.
What is Workday best used for?: Workday is most often used for hr management, financial planning, workforce planning, compliance. Of those, hr management and financial planning are not what Zeplin is typically brought in for.
What can Workday do that Zeplin cannot?: Workday covers Human capital management, Financial management, Planning, Analytics. Zeplin covers Design specs, Asset export, Code snippets, Design tokens. Both handle Slack, 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.

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

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

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

Workday vs Zeplin

Workday

Zeplin

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Workday

Only in Zeplin

Both cover

What people use each for

Workday

Zeplin

Where each one falls short

Workday

Zeplin

Pricing, plan by plan

Workday

Zeplin

Which should you pick?

Choose Workday if

Choose Zeplin if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Workday

More on Zeplin

Keep looking

Other head to heads