# Workday HCM alternatives: what AI models name instead, October 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. 396 of the 504 answers in the 2 categories where Workday HCM holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/vendors/workday-hcm/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Gusto: 94
- Rippling: 39
- BambooHR: 33
- Zoho People: 24
- ADP Workforce Now: 19
- Employee Navigator: 11

## HRIS and HCM platforms

**Small business**: 84 of 84 answers did not name Workday HCM (Workday HCM is #10 of 10 at 0%).

- Gusto: first choice in 32 of those 84
- BambooHR: first choice in 27 of those 84
- Zoho People: first choice in 11 of those 84
- Rippling: first choice in 8 of those 84
- Factorial: first choice in 2 of those 84
- TalentHR: first choice in 2 of those 84
- ADP RUN: first choice in 1 of those 84
- Deel: first choice in 1 of those 84

**Mid-market**: 69 of 84 answers did not name Workday HCM (Workday HCM is #11 of 13 at 2%).

- Rippling: first choice in 15 of those 69
- Zoho People: first choice in 13 of those 69
- HiBob: first choice in 6 of those 69
- BambooHR: first choice in 5 of those 69
- ADP Workforce Now: first choice in 3 of those 69
- Gusto: first choice in 2 of those 69
- Paylocity: first choice in 2 of those 69
- UKG Pro: first choice in 2 of those 69

**Enterprise**: 35 of 84 answers did not name Workday HCM (Workday HCM is #1 of 9 at 73%).

- HiBob: first choice in 2 of those 35
- ADP Workforce Now: first choice in 1 of those 35
- Dayforce: first choice in 1 of those 35
- HR Cloud: first choice in 1 of those 35
- IceHrm Pro: first choice in 1 of those 35
- Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM: first choice in 1 of those 35
- Personio: first choice in 1 of those 35
- Rippling: first choice in 1 of those 35

## Benefits administration

**Small business**: 84 of 84 answers did not name Workday HCM.

- Gusto: first choice in 49 of those 84
- Rippling: first choice in 7 of those 84
- GoCo: first choice in 4 of those 84
- OnPay: first choice in 4 of those 84
- Employee Navigator: first choice in 3 of those 84
- Justworks: first choice in 3 of those 84
- TriNet Zenefits: first choice in 3 of those 84
- BambooHR: first choice in 1 of those 84

**Mid-market**: 79 of 84 answers did not name Workday HCM (Workday HCM is #11 of 13 at 0%).

- Gusto: first choice in 11 of those 79
- ADP Workforce Now: first choice in 10 of those 79
- Rippling: first choice in 8 of those 79
- Employee Navigator: first choice in 7 of those 79
- OnPay: first choice in 4 of those 79
- Namely: first choice in 3 of those 79
- PlanSource: first choice in 3 of those 79
- Ease: first choice in 2 of those 79

**Enterprise**: 45 of 84 answers did not name Workday HCM (Workday HCM is #2 of 12 at 26%).

- ADP Workforce Now: first choice in 5 of those 45
- bswift: first choice in 4 of those 45
- Benefitfocus: first choice in 3 of those 45
- Businessolver: first choice in 2 of those 45
- PlanSource: first choice in 2 of those 45
- Alight Solutions: first choice in 1 of those 45
- Employee Navigator: first choice in 1 of those 45
- Empyrean: first choice in 1 of those 45

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.