DarwinBox vs UKG comparison

Read 125 UKG reviews

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89% willing to recommend

DarwinBox

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

UKG and DarwinBox compete in the human capital management solutions category. DarwinBox seems to have the upper hand with superior features, while UKG is more compelling for cost-conscious buyers due to its pricing and support.

Features: UKG offers comprehensive payroll management, workforce scheduling, and integrates third-party applications with a user-friendly interface. DarwinBox provides employee engagement, AI-driven analytics, and customizable modules, emphasizing adaptability and innovation in HR automation.

Room for Improvement: UKG could enhance its mobile app functionality, simplify its complex interface for new users, and increase integration flexibility. DarwinBox can improve its customer support availability, expand global compliance features, and enhance onboarding modules to suit diverse industries.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: DarwinBox offers agile deployment with robust technical support for quick integration. UKG's deployment focuses on stability and confidence through a thorough process, though more time-intensive, offering comprehensive support.

Pricing and ROI: UKG features scalable pricing with predictable cost structures, enhancing ROI through accessible entry points. DarwinBox requires a higher initial investment but targets long-term value through enhanced automation and efficiency gains.

To learn more, read our detailed DarwinBox vs. UKG Report (Updated: July 2025).

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DarwinBox vs. UKG

July 2025

Helped 865,295 peers since 2012

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

10th

Ranking in HR Analytics Software

6th

Ranking in Talent Acquisition

10th

Average Rating

6.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

UKG

Ranking in Talent Management

6th

Ranking in Cloud HCM

5th

Ranking in HR Analytics Software

3rd

Ranking in Talent Acquisition

6th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

125

Ranking in other categories

Benefits Administration (5th), Employee Scheduling Software (1st), Employee Time Tracking Software (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Cloud HCM category, the mindshare of DarwinBox is 3.6%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of UKG is 5.6%, up from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud HCM

Featured Reviews

SHANOOPCHATHOTH PARAMBIL

Program Manager at Intelliswift

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…

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Talia Jean Paul

Global HR UKG Specialist at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The leave-related modules are comprehensive, offering built-in functionalities for optional leaves."

"In our company, we use DarwinBox to maintain the data of our employees and for recruitment purposes."

"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."

"The most valuable features of the solution are organogram and position-based mapping."

"The tool improved employee onboarding efficiency, especially in healthcare, where timely onboarding is crucial. This change directly impacted retention rates positively. It was a massive project that involved various teams working together. It took about a year to revamp the entire process and ensure compliance. However, once implemented, it improved employee satisfaction by saving them two whole days in the onboarding process."

"It enables us to manage the system ourselves. We don't need an additional team to do a lot of maintenance and add the things that we want."

"The solution has improved our organization by helping us cut hours and lessen our labor force. It saved us probably over $100,000 in just the last couple of years."

"I have found the most valuable feature to be business intelligence and Cognos reporting."

"Overall, I would rate UKG nine out of ten."

"The solution's employee experience is pretty good."

"The most valuable feature is being able to get time management reports which break out reclassified jobs and departments to separate areas of the company. This allows for better tracking of hours spent in certain jobs and where more hours may be needed."

"UKG allows us to customize our home screen so that we can easily monitor important items on a daily basis."

More UKG pros

Cons

"DarwinBox is not a stable solution...DarwinBox is not a scalable solution."

"Customization in performance management is cumbersome."

"The solution's API integration with third-party applications should be improved."

"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."

"Since UKG is a SaaS software, other parts of the application or add-on solutions are not the best in class or very configurable."

"Reporting is always a hurdle for any user just because it is so extensive. They provide a lot of out-of-the-box reports, but it is something that you always need to work on because you need more advanced writing of reports."

"The product's integration features need improvement."

"One area where UKG could improve is in its ability to understand its own competency and then work hard to improve it."

"The system is slow sometimes."

"The solution could use better reporting with standard reports. We use the Cognos platform in BI for a lot of our reporting. However, they need to have more robust standard reporting available to their user base."

"I would like the capability to use UKG as a single platform without the need to alternate between systems."

"The navigation on the screen could be better. Sometimes, I have to dig a little bit deep to find what I need. Everything is there. It just needs to be a little bit smoother."

More UKG cons

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."

"The pricing depends on the number of licenses we buy."

"UKG's pricing and licensing model involves ongoing expenses based on the number of employees paid. The initial implementation cost is low when UKG implements it directly. However, when partners handle the implementation, it becomes more expensive since partners don't receive the monthly recurring fees."

"If you're going for the full suite, it can be fairly pricey."

"The platform is not affordable but also not the most expensive."

"While I am unsure of the licensing cost itself, the total cost of implementation and licensing for a company with over 5000 employees would be around 6,00,000. So, there are additional costs beyond licensing."

"I wasn't involved in the pricing part. I'm a user, and I believe it is based on the user count. One thing that is nice about Ultimate is that you can learn how to use the system without additional fees. The learning aspect is the life of a product, and the training was a huge reason why we went with Ultimate. We did have some integration costs. They were a part of the implementation because of the integrations to other systems that we included in our implementation."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

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 needs improvement with UKG?

UKG needs more publicity. It is a productive ERP ( /categories/erp ) application, but many people in the IT market are not aware of it. Greater awareness could increase its adoption.

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 track employee timesheets, capturing accurate swipe-in and swipe-out data. UKG ( /pr...

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 it. Expanding the awareness is essential for greater adoption. Overall, I would...

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Product Reports

Download DarwinBox product report

Cloud HCM

August 2025

Download UKG product report

July 2025

Also Known As

No data available

UKG Pro, UKG Dimensons, UKG Ready

Overview

Darwinbox is a cloud-based, feature-rich human resources management system that emphasizes on usability and data protection. ... The software unifies all your HR processes, enabling you to be on top of your employees' whole lifecycle with a centralized, singular platform.

DarwinBox

At UKG, our purpose is people — real people with real challenges, and a simple request. Help me keep my employees productive, connected, and happy. So that’s what we did.

We’ve created an unmatched suite of HR and workforce management solutions, backed by our people who care about yours. Our solutions deliver global workforce experiences that truly reflect the connection between life and work today. That means insights are deeper. Work is easier. And interactions are more meaningful.

Sample Customers

Myntra, GVK BIO, Bisleri, Times Internet, Delhivery, Aarti

Tesla, Marriott, Yamaha, Aramark, Feeding America, Samsung, Sony Music, Dave & Buster's, Revlon