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DarwinBox vs Workday comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

DarwinBox
Ranking in Talent Management
12th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
11th
Ranking in Talent Acquisition
10th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
HR Analytics Software (6th)
Workday
Ranking in Talent Management
1st
Ranking in Cloud HCM
1st
Ranking in Talent Acquisition
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of DarwinBox is 3.6%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workday is 18.3%, up from 18.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

SHANOOPCHATHOTH PARAMBIL - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhancing attendance and leave management but needs better performance customization
Our primary use case for DarwinBox includes managing attendance, payroll-related tasks, and employee appraisal cycles DarwinBox has provided a significant return on investment for our finance team. Managing payroll and attendance manually would require more team members, so using DarwinBox…
Sarvesh Kumar Jha - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use and provides great flexibility and security
Implementing the solution is generally not easy because it depends on our client's landscape. In the last one and a half years, Workday has started a new implementation approach called launch implementation. This approach allows you, as a client organization, to implement Workday in a shorter amount of time, given that you fulfill certain criteria. It depends on the number of subsidiaries and employees you have and their compensation structure. If it's not too complex, Workday provides its clients with this new approach called launch, where they can quickly onboard with the Workday without many complex requirements. The general implementation for Fortune 500 companies is always complex.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution that we used previously was very complex. As a result, without referring to the manuals and consulting an expert, it was difficult for a newly hired employee to navigate the platform. However, this is not the case with Darwinbox. It has a very intuitive user interface, and anyone can use it and implement it without having to use a guide or a walk through process. It's very simple."
"In our company, we use DarwinBox to maintain the data of our employees and for recruitment purposes."
"The most valuable features of the solution are organogram and position-based mapping."
"The leave-related modules are comprehensive, offering built-in functionalities for optional leaves."
"It is fairly easy to set up"
"Performance and good usability are the two most valuable features of this solution."
"It's a fully consolidated system. All the transactions and configuration are co-located in one fully in-memory system, so there is no need to go to different data sources (multiple DBs) to pull data; it’s all in one place."
"It's intuitive, a very usable tool and it's easy to find the data you're looking for."
"The solution is easy to use and provides great flexibility and security."
"The platform itself is very robust and I generally like the reporting and analytics capability."
"The payroll and benefits engine is the most valuable Workday solution in my opinion. It is also easy to access."
"The most helpful Workday features for our HR processes were in HCM, particularly in areas like talent, compensation, benefits, and learning."
 

Cons

"Like most software, it has a base version, the vanilla, out-of-the-box version, and customization is required to match it to the unique processes of each company. The Darwinbox team seems to be having difficulty with the customization process. They have to be a little more mature to customize it as per every company's need."
"DarwinBox is not a stable solution...DarwinBox is not a scalable solution."
"The solution's API integration with third-party applications should be improved."
"Customization in performance management is cumbersome."
"I would be happy if it was faster. Currently, when I try to navigate within the solution itself, it is a bit slow in terms of the page load time. When I click on something, it usually takes time to load. When you click on different icons or areas on the website, it is slow. Even when you navigate between different models, it is a bit slow. I would like to see a bit faster performance and a better user experience."
"They could provide a web chatbot feature in the dashboard for Workday."
"Workday could improve by adding other features, such as messaging to candidates and other recruiting capabilities that other new-age solutions have."
"The security console should be made less complex."
"Analytical tools have needed improvement. Workday has just released Prism Analytics, to replace the current analytical tools, so it’s in the early stages."
"They don't offer any backend database access. This is one limitation that I found in this product. Workday hasn't opened up about what kind of database they are into, which can make it easy for the technical team to emulate issues. It would be good if they can offer backend access to the technical team. It would be helpful if they can also provide a Troubleshooting Guide that we can use to troubleshoot issues. When we have an issue, there are very limited resources to refer to."
"It has missing functionalities. Specific countries, like Germany, didn't have the option to do payroll. Now we need to look for another product for HR."
"The cost of Workday is certainly not inexpensive. It's very pricey."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company makes some yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to DarwinBox."
"Compared with SuccessFactors, there is no major difference in DarwinBox's cost."
"It's very, very expensive."
"The pricing for this solution is fairly high. It is not affordable for small and mid-sized companies."
"The pricing is good from an HR perspective, although management gets upset after spending $500,000 a year, every year."
"You have the license fee per module, and then you have a kind of annual training fee, which is a kind of add-on. I wouldn't say it is exhaustive; it is minor. Licensing is pretty transparent for most of the part."
"It is on a yearly basis."
"By and large, Workday is expensive. It is based on the headcount. I'd probably rate it a three or four out of five in terms of pricing. It'd be like buying a Mercedes or a high-end car. It's expensive, but there's a specific value that you're getting with additional features and things of that nature. Using that metaphor, Workday probably tends to be more of a luxury. There are others like ADP that can do your payroll, your time off, and other things, but they don't do it as well."
"Its price is pretty high. It is more expensive than what is offered by other competitors in the market."
"It has an annual subscription rate, but I'm not sure how it will work."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about DarwinBox?
The most valuable features of the solution are organogram and position-based mapping.
What needs improvement with DarwinBox?
Customization in performance management is cumbersome. Processes like six-month appraisals lack easy configurations, and any significant customization requires working with vendors.
What is your primary use case for DarwinBox?
Our primary use case for DarwinBox includes managing attendance, payroll-related tasks, and employee appraisal cycles.
What are the biggest differences between Workday, Oracle Cloud and SAP SuccessFactors?
Differences between Workday, Oracle Cloud,w and SAP SuccessFactors:w Oracle: "simple interface and deep customization to suit the purpose." SAP: Multiple functionalities that increase process effi...
What do you like most about Workday?
I like its UI and UX. When we were using Oracle or SAP, the UI/UX wasn't very user-friendly for the employees.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Workday?
If you go with the launch implementation approach, the solution is generally not very expensive. If you want to add more features to your subscription, Workday becomes expensive. The solution is fl...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

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Find out what your peers are saying about DarwinBox vs. Workday and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
862,077 professionals have used our research since 2012.