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Dayforce HCM vs Workday HCM comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 21, 2026

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

Dayforce HCM
Ranking in Talent Management
19th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Talent Intelligence (12th)
Workday HCM
Ranking in Talent Management
2nd
Ranking in Cloud HCM
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (1st), Talent Acquisition (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Dayforce HCM is 2.4%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workday HCM is 10.0%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Workday HCM10.0%
Dayforce HCM2.4%
Other87.6%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Noorkah - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Enterprise Financial Systems at City of Columbus
Greatly improved our efficiency with its integrated time and attendance module
Dayforce has given us near to real-time access to time sheets and clockings since it has an integrated time and attendance module. Within six minutes of someone clocking in, we can see them on the timesheets. Dayforce has enabled us to smooth out our payroll system so not everything is happening at the end of the payroll cycle. We can see the impacts during the week and make it a lot more manageable. It's also been helpful for benefits administration with employees being able to file life and work events online. They can access their pay stubs, request leave, change their address, update their direct deposit details, and other things. We've become much more efficient, and much less paper driven.
Amit_Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Automation has transformed hire to retire processes and delivers powerful HR analytics
In Workday Human Capital Management, I feel that the security part needs to be improved. Workday gives complete control to the implementers regarding security and who is going to see what data. There are sometimes loopholes that are not identified unless fully tested. If Workday had a security alert system, even a small alert would help the security architect secure all information better, especially sensitive data such as payroll. Additionally, customization is another area of improvement, as Workday provides a default blue and yellow theme, which may not align with a company's branding. If Workday provided the option to customize themes based on a company's preferences, it would enhance the user experience.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Ceridian Dayforce HCM is a stable product."
"We have been able to automate many of our manual processes."
"Dayforce has transformed how we operate by saving us time, paper, accuracy, money, and the employee/supervisor experience."
"The solution's payroll portion is very streamlined."
"We needed a comprehensive HR software solution, and we found it with Ceridian Dayforce."
"Employees like being able to see what entitlements/balances that they have for their time away."
"It has created efficiencies in HR and Payroll by eliminating double entry into two systems, implementing a time clock feature for hourly employees, and by having a downloadable general ledger (G/L) constructing journal entering for payroll."
"It provides real-time information with great reports."
"I would recommend the solution to others, owing to its stability."
"It stores everything for the employee. It has also been able to store the information that we use for our payroll demand."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of reporting."
"First time users, understanding accessibility and consolidated data is fairly easy. The solution improves productivity for users and reduces the need to switch between different tools."
"It is fairly easy to set up"
"I'm happy with the features Workday offers. But in particular, Core HCM is the best."
"The solution has good accessibility; it's easy to use and not very confusing."
"The scalability is amazing."
 

Cons

"Our current software program offers a home page with important company documents and a place for company announcements. Unfortunately, Ceridian Dayfoce does not offer this."
"The solution has a lot of glitches."
"One area to be improved is the solution's reporting function, which can be cumbersome."
"I would like to continue to see improvements in the Recruiting module. I would like to see this module interact with Calendars, such as Outlook, etc."
"An area for improvement could be a little more testing before implementing hotfixes to make sure they do not interfere with any active customized products."
"The solution's initial setup was difficult. Also, the solution's initial deployment took around six months."
"I would also like to see some improvement in standard reports. A standard report should be available to pull the required information for Affirmative Action Plans. I do not think I should have to build or create one."
"Management and reporting of the GL costing could be improved."
"Reporting system should be improved. It is quite static based on historical data."
"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."
"There could be a web-based application for making payments to the employees."
"Also, while the browser is powerful, the mobile app is so limited it is mostly useless."
"It does not integrate with some of the career management softwares, like LinkedIn."
"There is so much information floating around Workday that it becomes overwhelming to digest all of it."
"The user interface could be better. Everything else was fine."
"In terms of reporting, we have to rely on a consultant to do the report customization. The most important thing is to be able to do your own reporting, which it can't do. We rely so much on our consultant to customize reports for us."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We paid for the implementation costs in the first year with the money that we saved by switching to Dayforce HCM."
"Earlier, the price of the product was reasonable. Under present circumstances, the price or cost of the product has been increased."
"In terms of pricing, the product is expensive. However, it is crucial to take into account the manner in which the solution will be utilized and the availability of other alternatives."
"We found the setup costs and pricing to be very reasonable."
"Ceridian continually enhances Dayforce HCM. Some of these enhancements they charge for and some are just straight enhancements with no extra charge."
"I rate the solution's pricing a seven on a scale where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive."
"Negotiate for everything you want."
"The XOXO program associated with Dayforce allows you to earn credits towards registration and accommodations at their annual Insight Conferences, which can be a real savings to the company when sending employees to the conference."
"The pricing for this solution is fairly high. It is not affordable for small and mid-sized companies."
"With a bigger budget, I would recommend SAP."
"Workday is moderately priced - I'd rate its pricing three out of five."
"I need to pay for a license. It is expensive."
"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."
"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's very, very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise50
 

Questions from the Community

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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...
How easy is to maintain Workday, Oracle Cloud, and SuccessFactors?
I implemented Workday in 2024 and without having previous Workday experience, it was very challenging. I spent most of 2025 putting out fires and cleaning up the business processes that came with l...
What needs improvement with Workday?
Workday can be improved in terms of reporting and customization. Sometimes it is difficult to create custom reports and requires extra effort or support. The user interface can also be confusing in...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Ceridian Dayforce HCM, Ascender Talent Management, Ceridian Ideal
Workday Human Capital Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ACCO Brands
AAA, Allied Global, Avago Technologies Limited, Aviva, Cardinal Health, CareFusion, Chiquita Brands International, Equifax, Flextronics, HP, Life Time Fitness, McKee Foods, MGM Resorts International, Sanofi, ServiceSource International, Symantec, TripAdvisor, Yahoo!
Find out what your peers are saying about Dayforce HCM vs. Workday HCM and other solutions. Updated: October 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.