Lattice vs Workday: Which People‑Platform Fits Your Team’s Growth?

Choosing the right people platform isn’t just a technical decision. It shapes how your managers set goals, how often employees are heard, and whether HR can make data‑driven decisions without burning out on admin.

In 2025 two names often top the shortlist: Lattice and Workday. They solve overlapping problems but are built for very different organizations and budgets. This guide breaks down their strengths, pricing, and ideal customers using up‑to‑date sources so you can decide which one fits your team’s next growth phase.

What Is Lattice?

Lattice is a cloud‑based performance management tool built to help companies create a culture of real‑time feedback and continuous growth. The platform brings together performance reviews, clear goals, one‑on‑ones and employee surveys in a user‑friendly interface. Lattice integrates with tools like Gmail, Slack and Outlook, so managers can give feedback or update goals without leaving their workflow.

Lattice’s focus on feedback and development makes it ideal for performance management software buyers who don’t need a full HRIS. Its pricing model allows teams to choose only the modules they need, keeping costs manageable for small and midsize businesses.

Lattice Key Features

Lattice’s features are organized around the employee lifecycle – from setting goals to recognizing achievements. The core modules include:

1. Performance Reviews & 360° Feedback
   Design and automate annual, project‑based or probation reviews. Managers can send feedback in real time and conduct structured 360° assessments, encouraging more honest conversations.
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2. Goals & OKRs – Align individual, team and company objectives with dynamic dashboards. Progress updates sync with tools like Jira, Slack and Microsoft Teams so goals stay top of mind.
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3. One‑on‑One Meetings – Lattice encourages regular 1:1s between employees and managers. Shared agendas and follow‑up notes help employees stay aligned with development plans.
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4. Employee Engagement Surveys – Pulse surveys, eNPS (employee net promoter score) and onboarding/exit surveys capture sentiment. Real‑time analytics and demographic segmentation highlight engagement drivers.
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5. Career Development & Growth – Tools for career pathing, competencies and individual development plans help employees visualize advancement opportunities and managers guide growth.
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6. Praise & Recognition – Peer‑to‑peer recognition programs allow employees to praise individual and team achievements, fostering a positive culture.
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7. Talent Review – Managers can identify strengths and skill gaps to support succession planning and prevent attrition.
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8. Optional HRIS & Payroll – In 2025 Lattice introduced a limited HRIS and payroll module for US customers, covering onboarding, employee records, workflows and report building. However, the company notes that HRIS functionality is still limited and beta testing is underway.

Lattice Pricing

Core Plans & Modules

• Performance Management: $10/user/month (includes performance reviews, 1:1s, feedback, updates)
• Engagement: $4/user/month add-on (engagement & pulse surveys, eNPS, onboarding, AI insights)
• Grow: $4/user/month add-on (career tracks, competencies, IDPs, 1:1 integration)
• Compensation: $6/user/month add-on (benchmarking, cycle management, comp bands, analytics)
• Goals & OKRs: $8/user/month (goal setting/tracking, alignment)
• Performance Management + OKRs & Goals Bundle: $11/user/month (360° reviews, calibration, analytics, dynamic org chart)
• HRIS: $10/user/month (employee records, onboarding, time off, report builder, workflows; US only, beta elsewhere)
• Payroll: $6/user/month (integrates with HRIS, admin control, US only)
• Time Tracking: $2/user/month (timesheets, payroll exports)

Ideal Customers of Lattice

Lattice is best suited for:

• Small and midsize businesses (50–1,000+ employees) that need structured reviews, goal alignment and engagement surveys without the overhead of a full HCM.
• Tech companies, consultancies and startups that want a modular tool that grows with them.
• Organizations that already use another HRIS but want stronger performance management software and engagement capabilities.

Because Lattice can integrate with other HR systems, companies can adopt it as an engagement overlay while keeping payroll or HRIS elsewhere.

If your organization wants deep analytics or an all‑in‑one platform, you may outgrow Lattice’s capabilities and need to explore alternatives like ThriveSparrow.

‍Want to check out a quick comparison of how ThriveSparrow can be a brilliant alternative to Lattice?

Take a look at our latest ThriveSparrow vs Lattice comparison page.

If you want to try ThriveSparrow as alternative of Lattice, sign up and try it free for 14 days.

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Pros

• Highly customizable and modular—adapts to almost any organization's needs.
• Combines performance management, employee engagement, career pathing, and basic HRIS features in one platform.
• Innovates rapidly—with new features, robust integrations, and regular customer-driven product updates.

Cons

• Analytics, while strong, may lack deep enterprise benchmarking compared to specialist tools.
• Range of modules and customization can cause an initial learning curve for new users, especially in larger implementations.
• HRIS and learning & development modules are still maturing; some advanced HR features (e.g., payroll, benefits) are limited relative to leading HRIS platforms.

Lattice G2 review

Average Score: 4.7/5 across review platforms

With Lattice qualities in mind, let’s now look at what makes Workday a trusted choice for thousands of companies worldwide.

What Is Workday?

Workday is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) and human capital management platform designed to manage HR, payroll, finance and analytics in a single system. Its breadth makes it suitable for global companies that need to manage everything from hiring and onboarding to finance and compliance. Workday’s unified data model means HR and finance teams work from the same source of truth, enabling more reliable analytics and reporting.

Workday Key Features

Because Workday combines HR, payroll and finance, its feature set is extensive.  Some of its most impactful capabilities include:

1. Human Capital Management (HCM) – A unified HRIS covering recruitment, onboarding, payroll and benefits for employees worldwide. Workday handles payroll in over 50 countries and integrates with global payroll partners. Continuous payroll processing ensures real‑time updates and compliance with changing tax regulations.
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2. Talent Management & Learning – Workday begins with a company‑wide skills assessment and creates individualized learning plans for each employee. Its HiredScore AI helps identify top candidates and remove bias during recruitment.
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3. Analytics and Reporting – Workday provides over 5,000 pre‑built reports and more than 175 configurable dashboards that managers can customize without coding. Discovery boards allow drag‑and‑drop analysis, making data visualization accessible to non‑technical users.
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4. Employee Voice & Engagement – Workday’s engagement tools automate pulse surveys, collect feedback via Slack and Microsoft Teams, and provide managers with recommendations to start conversations. The People Experience module benchmarks engagement drivers like autonomy and accomplishment.
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5. Workforce Management & Scheduling – The platform’s Illuminate AI helps with scheduling, time and attendance tracking, and forecasting labor demand. Workday VNDLY assists companies in managing contingent workers and vendor relationships.
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6. Payroll and Financial Management – Workday’s integrated finance and payroll capabilities support everything from expense reporting to budgeting. This integration is a major reason enterprises choose Workday over point solutions like Lattice.

Workday Pricing

Workday does not publish its pricing. Industry reports note that Workday is generally more expensive than other HR tools and requires custom quotes based on company size and requirements [Source: thecfoclub.com].

Forbes observes that prospective customers must sit through a demo and share company data before receiving a quote [Source: forbes.com]. Some small businesses may expect pricing around $85 per month plus $6 per employee for select modules [Source: forbes.com], while larger enterprises often pay significantly more.

Workday’s higher cost reflects its broad functionality and enterprise focus. The pricing model suits organizations that need a unified HRIS, payroll and finance system with scalable analytics and reporting. Companies seeking only performance management may find Workday’s total cost of ownership prohibitive.

Ideal Customers of Workday

Workday is designed for:

• Medium to large enterprises, typically with 250 or more employees and often 1,000+ staff.
• Global companies that require multilingual surveys, complex compliance and benchmarking across regions.
• Teams with robust budgeting, financial planning and HCM needs who want a single system for HR and finance.
• Organizations committed to advanced analytics and reporting and willing to invest in custom configuration.

Due to its complexity, Workday can have a steeper learning curve and longer deployment compared with lighter tools like Lattice. However, enterprises benefit from unified data and comprehensive capabilities.

Pros

• All-in-one HR and finance platform—unifies payroll, talent, analytics, and financial operations in one system
• Enterprise-grade analytics with strong compliance—built-in benchmarking and automated regulatory support across 240+ regions
• Scalable cloud architecture—handles rapid growth and global expansion seamlessly

Cons

• Complex setup and steep learning curve—implementations average 8+ months with significant training requirements
• Premium pricing model—costs $99+ per user/month, making it expensive for smaller organizations
• Limited customization flexibility—configuration-focused approach may not suit highly specialized workflows

Recent Feature Rollouts and User Feedback

Major Platform Updates:

• You can now send Employee Voice surveys via SMS, plus multi-account reporting lets you consolidate feedback across distributed teams. [Source: kognitivinc]
• AI-powered coaching rolled out, so employees get real-time, personalized guidance on handling feedback and conflict—think an in-platform coach for tricky conversations. [Source: jadeglobal]

AI-Powered Enhancements:

• Smart feedback tools use generative AI to guide employees in giving constructive, high-impact responses. [Source: jadeglobal]

User Experience Improvements:

• Quick Actions on the homepage allow anyone to save shortcuts for tasks or key reports—so getting work done is way faster. [Source: jadeglobal]

What Users Are Saying:

• Users love Workday’s deep benchmarking capabilities and pre-built dashboards, especially for compliance reporting across multiple regions.
• The unified HR-finance approach wins points for making data accessible and actionable in one place.
• User's favorite aspect of Workday HCM is its seamless integration of HR, payroll, and finance functions into one unified platform [Source: SoftwareReviews]
• People really like how Workday has the capability to host multiple types of business processes under the same system - from payroll, HCM, time off, leaves, and performance [Source: Capterra]

Workday G2 review

Average Score: 4.1/5 across review platforms

Which Platform Fits Your Team?

If your priority is performance management and employee engagement for a growing team, Lattice offers a cost‑effective solution with flexible pricing. It’s a good fit if you already have an HRIS or payroll system and want to overlay robust feedback, goals and recognition features. However, be aware that Lattice’s analytics and HRIS modules are still maturing. As your organization scales, you may need deeper reporting or more comprehensive compliance tools.

On the other hand, choose Workday if you’re seeking a unified HRIS with global payroll, advanced analytics and reporting, and integrated finance. Workday makes sense for enterprises with complex workflows, multiple geographies or a need for end‑to‑end data governance. Its high cost and longer implementation mean it may not be practical for smaller budgets, but the breadth of features ensures you’re not piecing together point solutions.

Before making a final choice, it’s wise to compare multiple platforms. You might also consider tools like ThriveSparrow, which combine AI‑powered insights, flexible goals, and engagement surveys in one simple platform. ThriveSparrow bridges the gap between the agility of Lattice and the enterprise capabilities of Workday. Plus, you can sign up for a free trial with no credit card required – a low‑risk way to see if it meets your needs.

ThriveSparrow is an emerging player offering performance reviews, goal management, pulse surveys and recognition in one platform. It’s designed to give HR teams advanced analytics without the complexity of an enterprise ERP.

Start your 14‑day free trial and see how ThriveSparrow brings together goals, surveys and recognition in one intuitive experience.

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FAQs

1. Why should I consider Lattice over Workday?

Lattice focuses on performance management, feedback and engagement, making it affordable and easier to implement for small and midsize companies.  Its PEPM pricing model (around $10–$22 per user) is transparent, and you only pay for the modules you need.  If you already have payroll handled and want to improve goal setting and engagement, Lattice is a strong choice.

2. What makes Workday more expensive?  

Workday’s price reflects its enterprise scope.  It combines HR, payroll, finance and analytics in one system and offers features like global payroll in more than 50 countries. Because pricing is customized and often includes professional services, it typically costs more than point solutions.

3. Can I use Lattice as my HRIS?  

Lattice introduced a basic HRIS and payroll module for US customers in 2025. It covers onboarding, employee records and simple workflows, but features like global payroll and complex compliance are limited. If you need a full HRIS, you may eventually outgrow Lattice.

4. Does Workday have any features for small businesses?

Workday’s smallest plans still include advanced analytics and HCM features. Some small businesses choose Workday because they plan to scale quickly or need unified finance and HR from the start. However, the complexity and cost may outweigh the benefits for very small teams.

5. How does ThriveSparrow compare to Lattice and Workday?

ThriveSparrow sits between Lattice and Workday. It offers performance reviews, goal setting, pulse surveys and recognition like Lattice, but layers in AI‑powered insights and flexible goals. Compared with Workday, ThriveSparrow is more affordable and easier to implement.