01 / Cost
50–70% lower.
Flat-rate by org, not per-seat. HR included instead of priced as a separate product like Workday does.
Comparison
LVL Up vs Workday
Enterprise-grade performance management without the enterprise price tag. Setup in 5 minutes, not 6 months.
About Workday
Workday is a cloud-based enterprise Human Capital Management (HCM) platform that serves Fortune 500 companies and large organizations worldwide. Founded in 2005 by former PeopleSoft leaders Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri, Workday offers a comprehensive suite spanning HR, payroll, talent management, financial planning, and workforce analytics. While powerful, Workday is designed for organizations with thousands of employees and requires significant investment in both licensing and implementation. The platform typically involves a 6-to-12-month deployment cycle with dedicated consulting teams, making it inaccessible for small and mid-sized businesses that need agility and simplicity. For companies seeking modern performance management without the complexity, cost, and overhead of an enterprise HCM, LVL Up Performance offers a compelling alternative that delivers the features that matter most at a fraction of the price.
- Founded
- 2005
- Headquarters
- Pleasanton, CA
- Primary focus
- Enterprise Human Capital Management (HCM)
- Ideal for
- Large enterprises with 1,000+ employees and dedicated IT/HR teams
- Pricing model
- Custom enterprise contracts, multi-year agreements
- Starting price
- $100K+
Why LVL Up
Six places we're deliberately different.
02 / Setup
Ten minutes.
Sign up, invite team, set goals, run a feedback cycle. No implementation specialist, no procurement gauntlet.
03 / Scope
HR + performance, one tool.
Goals, feedback, recognition, reviews, and HR essentials live together. One bill, one login, one search.
04 / Career
LVL Proof portfolios.
Employees own a career portfolio that follows them — feedback, recognition, completed goals as evidence.
05 / Engagement
Gamification, opt-in.
XP, streaks, badges, and rewards that managers can enable per team. Off if your culture prefers quiet.
06 / Pricing
Transparent.
Every tier and price published. No sales call to find out what you'd pay.
Feature comparison
Side by side.
Feature
LVL Up
Workday
Goal Setting & OKRs
Goal Cascade Visualization
Performance Reviews
360-Degree Feedback
Continuous Feedback
Limited
1:1 Meeting Tools
Basic
Employee Engagement Surveys
Recognition & Kudos
Limited
HR Essentials (Employee Records)
Included Free
PTO Tracking
Included Free
Org Chart
Payroll
Planned
Where Workday is strong
- Comprehensive enterprise HCM with payroll and financials
- Proven at scale with Fortune 500 companies
- Deep workforce planning and analytics
- Extensive global compliance capabilities
- Strong ecosystem of consulting partners
Where it falls short
- Extremely expensive ($100K+ annual contracts)
- 6-to-12-month implementation timeline
- Requires dedicated IT team and consultants
- Overwhelming complexity for SMBs
- No free trial or self-service onboarding
- Rigid contracts with multi-year commitments
- Performance management features not the core focus
- User interface feels dated compared to modern tools
Migrating from Workday
CSV import for employees, departments, and goals. The founder personally helps map fields the first time, so nothing gets dropped.
- Typical migration time
- 3-5 days
- Complexity
- Medium
Common questions
Things teams ask before switching.
- Is LVL Up Performance a real alternative to Workday?
- If your primary need is performance management, goal tracking, employee development, and basic HR, absolutely. LVL Up provides all the performance management capabilities that most organizations use in Workday — OKRs, reviews, 360 feedback, recognition, and analytics — at a fraction of the cost. Where Workday excels is in enterprise payroll, financial planning, and global compliance for 10,000+ employee organizations. For companies under 500 employees, LVL Up delivers more value per dollar with dramatically faster time to value.
- How much can I save switching from Workday to LVL Up?
- The savings are substantial. Workday contracts typically start at $100K+ per year and can reach $500K+ with implementation costs, consulting fees, and ongoing support. LVL Up starts free and our paid plans begin at $29/month. Even our enterprise tier is a fraction of Workday's cost. Many companies save 90%+ on their performance management tooling by switching to LVL Up.
- Can LVL Up handle our company if we have 500+ employees?
- Yes! Our Performing plan supports unlimited employees with enterprise features including SSO/SAML, custom integrations, and dedicated account management. LVL Up is designed to scale from small teams to large organizations. We may not replace Workday's payroll or financial modules, but for performance management and HR essentials, we are built to handle enterprise scale.
- What about Workday's payroll and financial planning features?
- LVL Up focuses on what matters most for team performance: goals, reviews, feedback, recognition, coaching, and HR essentials. If you need enterprise payroll or financial planning, you might keep those modules separately or use a dedicated payroll provider. Many companies use LVL Up alongside a payroll solution and find it far more cost-effective than paying for Workday's entire suite when they only need performance management.
- How long does it take to set up LVL Up vs Workday?
- LVL Up can be set up in about 5 minutes with zero implementation fees. Workday implementations typically take 6-12 months, cost six figures in consulting fees, and require a dedicated project team. With LVL Up, you can import your employees, configure your review cycles, and go live in a single afternoon.
- Is LVL Up secure enough for enterprise use?
- Absolutely. LVL Up uses security-first architecture, is GDPR ready, and supports enterprise SSO/SAML authentication. We use bank-grade encryption for data at rest and in transit. Our infrastructure is hosted on enterprise-grade cloud providers (Vercel, Supabase, Stripe -- all SOC 2 certified). Security is not a compromise when choosing a modern, accessible alternative to Workday.
Switch in an afternoon.
Start free, no credit card. Cancel any time. The founder will personally help you migrate from Workday if you want a hand.