Factorial
Spain
EU
Factorial is an HR software company from Barcelona, founded in 2016 by Jordi Romero, Bernat Farrero and Pau Ramon. It states that more than 17,000 companies use the platform. Factorial is venture-backed,...
European Alternatives to Workday
Lucca
France
EU
Lucca is a French software publisher based in Paris, founded in 2002 by Gilles Satgé and financed from its own revenues for its first 20 years. In 2022 it raised 65 million...
Payfit
France
EU
Payfit is a payroll and HR platform for small and mid-sized companies, headquartered in Paris and founded in 2015. It states that more than 22,000 businesses use it and operates in France,...
Personio
Germany
EU
Personio is a German HR software company headquartered in Munich and founded in 2015. It reports around 16,000 customers and 1,500 employees. The platform is aimed at small and mid-sized employers, with...
Sage
United Kingdom
Sage is a British software company headquartered near Newcastle upon Tyne. It was founded in 1981 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange as a FTSE 100 member. Sage describes itself...
SAP
Germany
EU
SAP is a leading global software company that specializes in enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. Established in 1972 and headquartered in Germany, SAP offers a wide range of software applications that help...
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Submit SuggestionEuropean alternatives to Workday include SAP from Germany with its SuccessFactors suite, Personio from Germany, Factorial from Spain, Payfit and Lucca from France and Sage from the UK. Workday was founded in 2005 by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. It is listed on the Nasdaq and sells cloud software for human capital management, financial management and student information to customers from mid-sized businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
Why companies look for a Workday alternative
Workday is built for large organisations and combines HR and finance in one suite, which makes it a heavy choice for smaller employers. Companies that prefer a European vendor, local payroll in several European countries or a lighter product often compare tools such as Personio or Payfit. Workday is a US company.
The European options compared
| Tool | Country | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| SAP | Germany | SuccessFactors suite for large enterprises, core HR localised in over 100 countries |
| Personio | Germany | HR platform for small and mid-sized employers |
| Factorial | Spain | HR, time tracking and payroll, plus finance and IT modules |
| Payfit | France | Payroll-centred HR for France, the UK and Spain |
| Lucca | France | Modular apps for time, expenses and personnel administration |
| Sage | United Kingdom | Sage People for multinational organisations, Sage HR for small businesses |
Where the gaps are
Only SAP covers the scale of Workday's largest customers, and Workday's single suite for HR and finance has no exact match in Europe. Most other tools handle HR and payroll and leave accounting to separate accounting software. Smaller companies often need less than Workday offers anyway.
Switching checklist
- Export employee records, absence balances and payroll history.
- Check payroll coverage for every country with employees.
- Plan the move of approval workflows and reporting, which are usually the most work.