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SAP SuccessFactors vs UKG vs Workday comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.0
SAP SuccessFactors offers ROI within years by automating HR, though high costs may reduce perceived financial benefits.
Sentiment score
6.2
UKG users enjoy data integrity and efficiency, but many find ROI unclear despite improved processes and cost savings.
Sentiment score
6.1
Workday boosts employee engagement, saves 40% time, enhances interaction, and positively impacts ROI with reasonable pricing and streamlined processes.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
SAP SuccessFactors' support experiences vary, with some users satisfied, but others face delays and note limited expertise.
Sentiment score
7.2
UKG's customer service is inconsistent, praised for expertise but criticized for delays and inefficiencies, needing service consistency improvements.
Sentiment score
7.0
Workday customer service is responsive and knowledgeable but desires improvements in response times and regional expertise, especially for Koreans.
One developer and one functional person can efficiently manage the implementation for a large organization.
With Workday, I can pick up the phone, call them on Teams, and they answer immediately.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
SAP SuccessFactors offers scalable solutions with quarterly updates, cloud compatibility, and modular design for diverse organizational needs.
Sentiment score
7.4
UKG is scalable and adaptable across various organization sizes and industries, effectively meeting growth and flexibility requirements.
Sentiment score
7.7
Workday's cloud-based, flexible, scalable system supports diverse roles, excelling in growing medium to large enterprises efficiently.
We have implemented it for 25,000 employees, scaling from 7,000 to 25,000 using the same set of rules, and it was not difficult.
UKG is scalable, especially for organizations with shift work activities like healthcare, as it can accommodate different shift timings and overlapping schedules efficiently.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
SAP SuccessFactors is highly stable, with occasional updates or custom field issues, but generally surpasses other ERP systems in reliability.
Sentiment score
7.1
Users find UKG mostly stable with occasional issues, but appreciate quick responses and effective system integration.
Sentiment score
7.9
Workday is generally stable and reliable, with occasional minor issues like slowness or login disruptions, rated highly by users.
The solution is absolutely stable.
I hardly ever encounter any stability issues, as SAP SuccessFactors is very good and stable.
 

Room For Improvement

SAP SuccessFactors needs enhanced analytics, integration, user interfaces, customization, localization, cloud features, AI, and improved documentation.
UKG users seek improved implementation, customer service, system integration, platform flexibility, and enhanced features like time management and training.
Workday struggles with data integration, user interface inflexibility, and limited mobile utility, affecting user experience and international functionality.
Workforce analytics is still challenging due to customizations. It does not provide flexibility in terms of analytics, and we have to customize extensively.
Advisories can only be placed at the bottom, which is less effective as employees may not scroll down to see them.
They should implement soft connectors through a marketplace for virtual learning integration with platforms such as Teams, Cisco, and Webex, rather than relying on hard connectors using APIs.
It is a productive ERP application, but many people in the IT market are not aware of it.
While there is mass upload functionality where we can load shifts for all people or specific groups, we need to select multiple people and assign them to a schedule from the interface itself.
However, going by the demo, I think it is quite simple to use.
 

Setup Cost

SAP SuccessFactors offers customizable pricing with an annual subscription, though costs vary by company size and additional services.
UKG's pricing, influenced by employees and modules, is high yet justified, with negotiation options and discounts available.
Workday's pricing is high, based on headcount and modules, offering value in reduced HR complexities and integration.
The licensing cost is not expensive now.
The licensing costs are quite high, which is a typical scenario for such solutions.
Compared to other ERPs like Oracle SCM Cloud or SAP, UKG's pricing is standard and not as expensive.
 

Valuable Features

SAP SuccessFactors enhances recruitment, provides seamless integration and customization, increasing employee engagement and satisfaction with robust analytics.
UKG offers intuitive, customizable HR solutions with seamless integrations, enhancing automation, data management, and employee lifecycle efficiency.
Workday excels with its intuitive interface, powerful integrations, customizable functions, and strong security, enhancing HR efficiency and reducing costs.
The best features of SAP SuccessFactors are workflows, the storyboard, the workforce analytics, and customization in terms of doing those portlets and MDIs, which are much simpler.
SAP SuccessFactors has advantages in providing AI-driven initiatives such as candidate screening and matching features within the recruitment module.
Employees can view their goals, performance, ratings, and employee information, which enhances the employee experience.
The application is like an ERP, providing comprehensive features for organizations, simplifying their processes, and reducing the need to use multiple software solutions.
Comparing Workday to other products, I am taking a positive note about Workday and it is the first priority that I suggested compared to Oracle or other products.
The interface of Workday is superior.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of SAP SuccessFactors is 16.5%, down from 22.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of UKG is 5.4%, up from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workday is 15.1%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP SuccessFactors16.5%
Workday15.1%
UKG5.4%
Other63.0%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

ManujGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved employee satisfaction and streamlined real-time data management
In terms of customizations in specific modules for industry requirements, SAP SuccessFactors is much more generic and does not comply many times with industry requirements as a vertical. In my experience with SuccessFactors' analytics capabilities influencing decision-making, workforce analytics is still challenging due to customizations. It does not provide flexibility in terms of analytics, and we have to customize extensively. For the future of the product, I would like to see more AI implementation, Python integrations, and GPT integrations.
Talia Jean Paul - PeerSpot reviewer
Affordable but needs to improve its stability
Our company is testing the UKG Ready Mobile App, but there are some glitches. I feel that in the system when you log on to Kronos, UKG Dimensions, and UKG Workforce Central, we have different modules in different versions. With regards to the newer version, I feel the older version, which was UKG Workforce Central, was more user-friendly for the end user as opposed to the newer version, which looks a bit more complicated. When training someone who wants implementations to be done, it would be easier if you could hover above certain things, and it shows you or tells you exactly what it is. There are certain SAP modules that can be audible. If you click on it if someone is being a bit slow with regards to training, the tool will tell you what needs to be done and what needs not to be done by you, but for us, it is fine because we are in the back end with configuration and the administrators. I am talking about the need for improvements in the tool for the benefit of the end users. The explanation on UKG's community consists of training manuals and some of the other stuff that we use, and we send to our supervisors at the site. With the tool in place, catching onto white-collared employees is quicker. The tool is not quick to catch onto certain blue-collared employees in the plant or supervisors who are actually working with machinery and stuff because they are not as computer-centric as white-collared employees. If I could scan the tool across the globe with our site supervisors, there are a few loopholes in the tool. There are some issues with the tool's stability. For me, I would like someone who is building the system in the back end to know if a front-end user can manipulate the system. I am not going to rate the tool's scalability to be high. I would rate the tool's scalability to be at a mediocre level or at something like 50 percent, so there is a lot of room for improvement.
Eslam Abo Elnaga - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved HR process efficiency through intuitive workflows and responsive support
There is something that could be improved in Workday, specifically in the time tracking module. While I am not working on Workday now, I was a regional HRIS working for Egypt, Malta, India, and China. I mention these countries to relate to high population countries and companies. In our company, we use assigned work schedules for our teams. Because we work with the time tracking module, we need to assign shifts. In the manufacturing industry, we might need to change shifts every day or week. Manufacturing teams are huge, approximately 50 to 200 people in one team. If this team has one leader, the leader needs to assign a work schedule for each person individually. While there is mass upload functionality where we can load shifts for all people or specific groups, we need to select multiple people and assign them to a schedule from the interface itself. I have requested this functionality many times. When extracting business processes awaiting actions report, I can select different processes in one box, hit okay, and the report comes up. However, the same functionality does not work for work schedule assigning. If implemented, it would help many people in companies with high populations and big teams.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise69
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business48
Midsize Enterprise43
Large Enterprise48
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise41
 

Questions from the Community

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 customizatio...
What is better, SAP HCM or SAP SuccessFactors?
When it comes to user experience, SuccessFactors is unquestionably superior, as it provides end users with a new expe...
What do you like most about SAP SuccessFactors?
The tool is easy to use for performance management. We haven't experienced any issues with SAP SuccessFactors for per...
What needs improvement with UKG?
UKG needs more publicity. It is a productive ERP ( /categories/erp ) application, but many people in the IT market ar...
What is your primary use case for UKG?
I worked for a healthcare organization and a university. Most organizations use UKG ( /products/ukg-reviews ) to trac...
What advice do you have for others considering UKG?
Publicity is very important for any software. If people aren't aware of UKG, despite its productivity, they won't use...
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 m...
What needs improvement with Workday?
There is something that could be improved in Workday, specifically in the time tracking module. While I am not workin...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SuccessFactors
UKG Pro, UKG Dimensons, UKG Ready
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City of Cape Town, ADAMA Agricultural Solutions Ltd., TransAlta Corporation, Keolis, PT XL Axiata Tbk, National Football League (NFL), Plan International, Yoh, A Day & Zimmermann Company, China Talent Group (CTG TMO), Umicore S.A., Butterfield Bank, Skril
Tesla, Marriott, Yamaha, Aramark, Feeding America, Samsung, Sony Music, Dave & Buster's, Revlon
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 SAP, Workday, Oracle and others in Cloud HCM. Updated: October 2025.
872,846 professionals have used our research since 2012.