Workday HCM and ADP Workforce Now are two of the top payroll systems for medium to large businesses. Each one has its own unique pricing, features, services, support and customer ratings. Forbes Advisor has compared them side-by-side to help you determine which one is best for your business.
Workday Vs. ADP: at a Glance
Workday HCM and ADP Workforce Now are both full-suite human resource information systems (HRISs) that allow businesses to manage everything from payroll, benefits and HR to recruiting, onboarding, performance and learning from one location. Both software solutions pack a ton of features that cover the entire employee life cycle, from attracting to retaining to training and offboarding workers into one solution. In addition, they both streamline payroll with features that track employees’ time on the clock, manage benefits, calculate taxes and distribute payments.
Neither software company discloses its prices online, making it hard to determine which is a better financial investment. Both companies require would-be customers to contact the sales team directly. ADP Workforce Now offers customers the option of choosing between one of three plans while Workday HCM works directly with businesses to provide a quote that is customized for the needs of their company.
How Workday and ADP Stack Up
Workday HCM | ADP Workforce Now | |
---|---|---|
Free Version | No | No |
Best For | Medium to large-sized companies | Medium to large-sized companies |
Benefits Administration | Yes | Yes |
Automatic Tax Filing | No | Yes |
Customizable | Yes | Yes |
Time Tracking | Yes | Yes |
Prepaid Debit Cards | No | Yes |
Both Workday HCM and ADP Workforce Now offer comprehensive HR and payroll solutions for medium to large businesses. They both offer extensive features for talent management, talent recruiting, time tracking, analytics and reporting, compensation management and more. A few key differences might help you decide which one is better for your business.
ADP Workforce Now offers three plans as well as several add-on bundles to make sure you pay only for the exact set of features your company needs and not what it does not need. Workday HCM does not disclose its pricing, but according to the website it does not have multiple plan options. Instead, it seems companies must buy an all-or-nothing package. ADP Workforce Now takes a modular approach allowing businesses to grow into more robust plans as their businesses scale.
Additional Features
ADP Workforce Now helps its customers make the move toward a paperless pay system with paycards. Similar to how direct deposits work with bank accounts, pay is loaded into the employee’s paycard account. The cost-effective payments are not only environmentally friendly, but they are also hugely beneficial to employees who do not have bank accounts.
Bottom Line
There is a reason why both Workday HCM and ADP Workforce Now are leaders in providing HR and payment solutions for businesses of all sizes across the globe. They are both highly complex pieces of software with robust features for almost every HR need. ADP’s modular plans and add-on packages make it more suitable for growing businesses while Workday’s one-size fits all approach makes it more suitable for mature businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Workday popular with well-known companies?
Workday serves more than 9,500 customers globally. Some of its top customers include well-known companies, such as 7-Eleven, Airbus, Bank of America, BBVA, BP, Callaway Golf, Caterpillar, Chevron, Citigroup, CVS and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
What are the top Workday alternatives?
There are several HCM software platforms companies can use as an alternative to Workday. Workday’s top competitors include OnPay, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks and Gusto.
What is the difference between ADP Run and ADP Workforce Now?
ADP Workforce Now is a fully featured HR management software designed for medium to large businesses while ADP Run is a scale-down payroll software solution designed for small businesses.
What are the best ADP alternatives?
If you find it doesn’t suit your needs, there are many ADP competitors on the market. Some that we ranked the highest include OnPay, PayChex Flex, and TriNet.