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Cornerstone HR Suite 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

Cornerstone HR Suite
Ranking in Talent Management
36th
Ranking in Cloud HCM
27th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
HR Analytics Software (10th)
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 September 2026, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of Cornerstone HR Suite is 1.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workday HCM is 9.5%, down from 17.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud HCM Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Workday HCM9.5%
Cornerstone HR Suite1.0%
Other89.5%
Cloud HCM
 

Featured Reviews

AM
Manager, BO Transformation at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
A easy-to-use solution for onboarding and training that needs to let its users locate information easily
The most concerning point about these applications is that they offer cloud solutions, and everything goes and works well. But they are not committed or involved in the connection activity. We need to run those applications on the cloud. Since we are a company, We have a lot of information on on-premise platforms. So they are not responsible for building any connection, interconnection, or interface between those legacy systems. And most of the time, the company must consider the proposed plans in making the interfaces. And building the interfaces is something we need to do on our own, and it's separate from the solution. I rate this solution a seven out of ten.
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

"The flexibility and the fact that it covers all different HR modules are the most valuable aspects of Cornerstone, as it was organically built so all modules are integrated with the same way of managing the configuration, contextualization, availability, and reporting across all of the modules."
"The advantage of choosing Cornerstone HR Suite is that if a company does not have an existing tool and plans to adopt automation, then there is a chance to gain from implementing this solution."
"Cornerstone is easy to use...Cornerstone is used for playing training courses and short videos based on company requirements."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of reporting."
"It is a one-stop solution for everything. You can look for information about other employees or you can track your information. There is a directory, so you can search for other employees. You can also see and track your personal details and salary details on the employee profile page."
"It stores everything for the employee. It has also been able to store the information that we use for our payroll demand."
"I like that it's easy to use and flexible."
"It is more efficient than any methods/processes I have used in other companies."
"It is easy to use and straightforward."
"We use Workday for all our employee-related information. It is a central hub where we can access pay slips, tax-related information, tax automation, and tax rules. Additionally, it manages employee hiring processes and other HR functions. It's a one-stop solution where employees can find everything about their profile, work experience, and associated technologies."
"Technical support is always available."
 

Cons

"We're using different tools like tracking systems, exploring workforce management, and also using payroll, which is another tool, so we need to know where exactly the information is present. This feature needs improvement in the next release."
"The solution's interface is really, really old and requires improvements...Cornerstone should use newer technologies to improve its UI, UX, and content."
"The recruitment module can be improved and also the general reporting can be improved."
"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."
"Workday does have a community site where people can go on and off for suggestions. They call them Brainstorms, and you can vote them up. That is something that they do well, but oftentimes, they seem to be racing to deliver something based on what a competitor is delivering. For example, if they hear SAP has this new functionality and learning that's going to be coming out, they prioritize there, which makes sense, but unfortunately, some of these Brainstorms may get neglected where the product might not be improved as quickly or as needed for the customers. You might be waiting for a year or two to get a feature that you'd like released. They should pay more attention to customer feedback and ensure that customer feedback is an essential part of their product roadmap."
"The cost of Workday is certainly not inexpensive. It's very pricey."
"Analytical tools have needed improvement."
"The user interface could be better. Everything else was fine."
"It is good that much of the development is based on community input but often that can lead to details being ignored and small, nagging issues are ignored."
"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."
"It is very unique as compared to other tools in terms of the employee master data and how it is organized. That's why sometimes the information needs to sit in two different systems because, in Workday, it is organized differently. This issue is not related to benefits. It is more or so related to how you categorize employees. I don't think this is a problem that could be solved. Workday is aware of this. It is one of those kinds of situations that you just got to live with."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product can be considered as not being on the high-end side of the price spectrum, as many other products are much more expensive. However, it cannot be said that it is cheap either."
"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."
"I would rate the solution’s pricing a six out of ten."
"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."
"Workday is an expensive solution."
"The pricing is good from an HR perspective, although management gets upset after spending $500,000 a year, every year."
"With a bigger budget, I would recommend SAP."
"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
Construction Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Retailer
11%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
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 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...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Workday Human Capital Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Wendys, RSM, Nestle, New Belgium
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 Cornerstone HR Suite vs. Workday HCM and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,076 professionals have used our research since 2012.