Best Workforce Analytics Software: 13 Platforms (2026)
Workforce analytics software turns the data an organisation already holds about its people into answers: why turnover rose in one region, which teams are over capacity, what the hiring plan costs, whether pay is equitable, where the next restructure saves. The platforms split along one line. HR-side tools (Visier, One Model, ChartHop, Crunchr, the Workday, SAP, UKG and Dayforce modules) analyse the HRIS, ATS, payroll and survey record. Activity-side tools (ActivTrak, Viva Insights, Time Champ) analyse how work is actually done. Planning and design tools (Anaplan, Pigment, Orgvue) model what the workforce should look like next. Few organisations need all three; most need one and a clear question.
I reviewed thirteen platforms with pricing checked in October 2026, almost all of it quoted and labelled as estimates where I give figures. The first three are starting points for the enterprise buyer, the mid-sized buyer and the activity-side buyer; the rest follow alphabetically. The workforce analytics glossary entry defines the field and the HR metrics guide the measures these tools compute.
Shortlist three for your organisation
Five questions on headcount, the data you want to analyse, your core systems, your analytics team and pricing.
The Workday, SAP, UKG and Dayforce modules only surface for their own customers; Orgvue only for organisation design; Anaplan and Pigment for planning against finance; requiring published pricing leaves ChartHop, ActivTrak, Viva and Time Champ.
The 13 platforms worth knowing
Three starting points, then ten alphabetically.
Visier for organisations of a thousand or more that want the reference platform, ChartHop for companies of 200 to 2,000 that want analytics at a published price, ActivTrak for the activity side that HR-system platforms cannot see.
Visier People
The most complete people data model and metric library
See the detail
ChartHop
Org chart, planning and analytics from $2 per employee
See the detail
ActivTrak
Capacity, utilisation and burnout risk
See the detailThe rest, alphabetically:
- Anaplan Workforce Planning: connected planning engine.
- Crunchr: fast deployment with GDPR governance.
- Dayforce (People Analytics and Co-Pilot): analytics over HR, pay and time on one engine.
- Microsoft Viva Insights: collaboration patterns with privacy thresholds.
- One Model: open warehouse and explainable models.
- Orgvue: org design and scenario comparison.
- Pigment: workforce and finance planning, faster than Anaplan.
- SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics and Planning: standardised metrics, benchmarks and planning.
- Time Champ: activity analytics with attendance from $3.90.
- Workday People Analytics and Adaptive Planning: people Analytics and Adaptive Planning on Workday data.
Comparison at a glance
Pricing as published in October 2026 where it exists; quote-only vendors carry the range independent buyer reports describe, labelled as an estimate.
| Tool | Positioned for | Pricing checked October 2026 | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visier People | Organisations of 1,000-plus that want the reference platform | Quote only. Priced by headcount and connected data sources on annual contracts; independent reports place typical mid-market deals above $50,000 a year and enterprise deployments with several modules well above that | Quote only; enterprise price |
| ChartHop | Companies of 200 to 2,000 wanting analytics at a published price | Basic (org chart and directory) $2 per employee per month with no minimum; core modules from $8 per employee for the first and $4 for each additional, with a $9,000 minimum annual contract; implementation scoped separately | Modules add up; $9,000 minimum |
| ActivTrak | Desk-based teams that need the activity side | Free for 3 users; Essentials $10, Essentials Plus $15, Professional $17, Professional Plus $21 per user per month on annual billing | Activity only; monitoring |
 Anaplan Workforce Planning | Enterprises linking workforce plans to finance | Quote only. Independent reports place the workforce planning module between roughly $80,000 and $250,000 a year by organisation size and model complexity, with implementation and modelling services on top | Six figures |
 Crunchr | European mid-to-large organisations | Quote only, priced per employee per year; no public price list | Quote only |
 Dayforce (People Analytics and Co-Pilot) | Dayforce customers | Quote only. Analytics and the Co-Pilot assistant are delivered within Dayforce contracts | Dayforce only |
 Microsoft Viva Insights | Microsoft 365 organisations | Viva Insights $6 per user per month as a Microsoft 365 add-on, or in the Viva Suite at $12; some capabilities included in Microsoft 365 E5 | Microsoft only |
 One Model | Analytics teams that want the data layer | Quote only, per employee per month across Essentials, Data Mesh and Enterprise tiers; independent reports place annual contracts between roughly $30,000 and $150,000 depending on headcount and data scope | Quote only |
 Orgvue | Organisations undertaking a restructure | Quote only. Independent reports place enterprise deployments between roughly $40,000 and $200,000 a year by organisation size and scope | Expensive; project tool |
 Pigment | Mid-to-large organisations building connected plans | Quote only. Independent reports place entry deployments around $30,000 to $50,000 a year and typical mid-market deployments well above, with implementation and training separate | Quote only |
 SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics and Planning | SAP SuccessFactors customers | Quote only, sold as a module of SAP SuccessFactors or standalone against other HR systems, priced per employee on annual contracts | SAP first |
 Time Champ | Small and mid-sized teams on a budget | Starter $3.90, Professional $6.90, Enterprise $13.90 per user per month on annual billing | Activity only |
 Workday People Analytics and Adaptive Planning | Workday customers | Quote only. People Analytics and Adaptive Planning are priced as modules of a Workday HCM contract, per employee on payroll on multi-year terms | Workday only |
The tools in detail
Visier People
The most complete people data model and metric libraryWhat it is
Visier People is the reference people analytics platform: it connects HRIS, ATS, payroll and engagement systems into a governed people data model and delivers several hundred pre-built metrics and questions on headcount, turnover, hiring, pay, diversity, mobility and planning, with predictive attrition risk, a natural-language assistant and a planning module. It is sold to organisations from about a thousand employees up on annual contracts scoped to headcount and data sources.
Why it is on this list
Visier leads because it is what the other platforms are measured against: a governed people data model fed by every HR system, hundreds of pre-built metrics and questions that reflect twenty years of defining them, predictive attrition risk, planning and a natural-language assistant. It is priced and sized for organisations above about a thousand employees, by quote, and it needs clean data to shine.
Where it is strong
- Hundreds of pre-built metrics and questions
- Governed people data model across sources
- Predictive attrition and planning
- Natural-language assistant
Where it falls short
- Quote only; enterprise price
- Sized for 1,000-plus employees
- Implementation needs clean data
ChartHop
Org chart, planning and analytics from $2 per employeeWhat it is
ChartHop starts from the org chart: a live, visual map of the organisation fed by the HRIS, ATS, payroll and performance systems, with headcount planning, compensation reviews, DEI and pay equity reporting and scenario modelling built on it. It publishes a $2 per employee Basic plan and prices modules per employee with a $9,000 annual minimum, which puts it within reach of companies of a few hundred people where the enterprise platforms are not.
Why it is on this list
ChartHop is second because most companies that need workforce analytics have a few hundred employees, not ten thousand, and ChartHop is the platform built and priced for them: a visual org chart as the interface, headcount planning, compensation and pay equity review, DEI reporting and scenario modelling, from a published $2 per employee for the Basic plan and modules per employee above a $9,000 annual minimum.
Where it is strong
- Published $2 entry price
- Visual org chart as the interface
- Headcount planning and comp reviews
- Reachable for mid-sized companies
Where it falls short
- Modules add up per employee
- $9,000 minimum above Basic
- Less predictive depth
ActivTrak
Capacity, utilisation and burnout riskWhat it is
ActivTrak is workforce analytics from the activity side: productive and focus time, collaboration load, capacity and utilisation, after-hours work and burnout risk by team, derived from desktop and web activity on work devices, with coaching dashboards. It is free for three users and from $10 a user, and it is monitoring, so notice and a policy apply.
Why it is on this list
ActivTrak is third because workforce analytics has an activity side that HR-system platforms cannot see: how capacity is actually used, where focus time goes, who is working after hours and which teams show burnout patterns. ActivTrak measures it for desk-based teams from $10 a user with a free tier. It is monitoring, with the policy and notice obligations that follow.
Where it is strong
- Capacity and utilisation by team
- Burnout risk signals
- Free for three users
- Published pricing
Where it falls short
- Activity data only; no HRIS
- It is monitoring
- Desk-based only
Anaplan Workforce Planning
Connected planning engineWhat it is
Anaplan's workforce planning sits on its connected planning platform: headcount, cost, skills and scenario models that link to finance and sales plans, with the modelling flexibility of a planning engine rather than a fixed HR dashboard. It is quoted, implemented with modelling services, and suits large organisations where workforce plans must reconcile with the financial plan.
Why it is on this list
Anaplan is here for enterprises whose workforce plan must reconcile with the financial plan: headcount, cost and skills models on a connected planning engine, quoted in six figures with modelling services.
Where it is strong
- Links workforce plans to finance
- Flexible modelling engine
- Enterprise scenario planning
- Mature ecosystem
Where it falls short
- Quote only; six figures
- Modelling services required
- Overkill below large enterprise
Crunchr
Fast deployment with GDPR governanceWhat it is
Crunchr is a European people analytics platform with pre-built dashboards on headcount, turnover, recruitment, diversity and pay, a natural-language query layer, workforce planning and strong GDPR-oriented data governance. It is quoted per employee per year and suits mid-to-large organisations, particularly in Europe, that want a fast deployment with an analytics team to back it.
Why it is on this list
Crunchr earns its place for European mid-to-large organisations: pre-built dashboards, natural-language queries, planning and GDPR-grade governance with a fast deployment; quoted per employee per year.
Where it is strong
- Fast deployment
- Strong GDPR governance
- Natural-language queries
- Pre-built dashboards
Where it falls short
- Quote only
- Smaller presence outside Europe
- Fewer advanced models
Dayforce (People Analytics and Co-Pilot)
Analytics over HR, pay and time on one engineWhat it is
Dayforce's analytics and Co-Pilot assistant surface workforce metrics, labour cost and compliance risks across HR, payroll, time and scheduling data on its single engine, with natural-language questions and benchmarks. Delivered within Dayforce contracts.
Why it is on this list
Dayforce is on the list for its own customers: analytics and the Co-Pilot assistant over HR, payroll, time and scheduling data on one engine, which pure HR analytics platforms lack.
Where it is strong
- One engine for HR, pay and time data
- Co-Pilot natural-language questions
- Labour cost and compliance risks
- Within existing contract
Where it falls short
- Dayforce customers only
- Quote only
- Analytics depth below the specialists
Microsoft Viva Insights
Collaboration patterns with privacy thresholdsWhat it is
Microsoft Viva Insights draws on Microsoft 365 collaboration metadata (meetings, email, chat, after-hours patterns) combined with HR attributes to show how teams work: meeting load, focus time, manager one-on-ones, cross-group collaboration and wellbeing signals, with privacy thresholds that prevent individual reporting. It is a $6 per user add-on for Microsoft 365 organisations and part of the Viva Suite.
Why it is on this list
Viva Insights earns a place for Microsoft 365 organisations: meeting load, focus time, manager behaviours and wellbeing patterns from collaboration metadata, with privacy thresholds that prevent individual reporting, as a $6 add-on.
Where it is strong
- Collaboration patterns from Microsoft 365
- Privacy thresholds built in
- $6 add-on
- Manager and leader insights
Where it falls short
- Microsoft 365 only
- Metadata, not content or outcomes
- Aggregate reporting only by design
One Model
Open warehouse and explainable modelsWhat it is
One Model is the people analytics platform for teams that want the data layer exposed: it ingests any HR, finance or survey source into a warehouse the customer can query directly, ships pre-built metrics and dashboards, and includes a machine-learning layer (One AI) for attrition and other predictions that explains its models. It suits analytics teams with their own data skills and is quoted across Essentials, Data Mesh and Enterprise tiers.
Why it is on this list
One Model is here for analytics teams that want the data layer: any source into a warehouse they can query, pre-built metrics, and explainable machine learning for attrition and other predictions; quoted.
Where it is strong
- Open data layer you can query
- Explainable machine learning
- Any data source
- Flexible for analytics teams
Where it falls short
- Quote only
- Needs an analytics team to shine
- Interface less polished than Visier
Orgvue
Org design and scenario comparisonWhat it is
Orgvue is organisational design and workforce planning software: it models the organisation as it is and as it might be, with spans and layers, cost, activity and role analysis, and scenario comparison, and it is the tool consultants and transformation teams use for restructures. It is quoted and suits large organisations undertaking design work rather than routine reporting.
Why it is on this list
Orgvue is on the list for organisations undertaking a restructure: spans and layers, activity and cost analysis, and scenario comparison for organisational design; quoted and expensive, and a project tool rather than a dashboard.
Where it is strong
- Org design and scenario comparison
- Spans and layers analysis
- Activity and cost modelling
- The restructure tool
Where it falls short
- Quote only; expensive
- Design projects, not daily reporting
- Steep learning curve
Pigment
Workforce and finance planning, faster than AnaplanWhat it is
Pigment is the newer connected planning platform, with workforce planning (headcount, cost, hiring plans, scenarios) alongside financial planning, a faster modelling experience and an AI assistant. It is quoted and typically cheaper than Anaplan for comparable scope, and suits mid-to-large organisations building integrated plans.
Why it is on this list
Pigment is here for mid-to-large organisations building connected workforce and financial plans with faster modelling and an AI assistant, at a lower quoted cost than Anaplan for comparable scope.
Where it is strong
- Faster modelling than Anaplan
- Workforce and finance plans together
- AI assistant
- Lower cost for comparable scope
Where it falls short
- Quote only
- Younger ecosystem
- Still a planning platform, not HR analytics
SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics and Planning
Standardised metrics, benchmarks and planningWhat it is
SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics and Planning provides a library of standardised HR metrics with benchmarks, headcount and cost planning, and strategic workforce planning for gaps by skill and location, as a module of SuccessFactors or against other HR systems. It is quoted per employee and fits large organisations already on SAP.
Why it is on this list
SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics and Planning is on the list for SAP customers: standardised metrics with benchmarks, headcount planning and strategic workforce planning as a module; quoted.
Where it is strong
- Standardised metrics with benchmarks
- Strategic workforce planning
- Works with non-SAP HR systems
- Enterprise governance
Where it falls short
- Quote only
- Best for SAP customers
- Interface dated in places
Time Champ
Activity analytics with attendance from $3.90What it is
Time Champ provides activity-side workforce analytics for small and mid-sized teams: productive and idle time, application and website categories, attendance and shift adherence, project and task time, and workload and productivity trends by team, from a desktop agent at $3.90 to $13.90 a user. It is the budget route to the data ActivTrak sells, and the same monitoring rules apply.
Why it is on this list
Time Champ is here as the budget route to activity-side analytics for small and mid-sized teams: productive and idle time, categories, attendance and adherence, project time and workload trends from $3.90 a user; the same monitoring rules apply.
Where it is strong
- Cheapest activity analytics
- Attendance and projects in the same data
- Workload trends by team
- Published pricing
Where it falls short
- Activity data only
- It is monitoring
- Small and mid-sized teams
Workday People Analytics and Adaptive Planning
People Analytics and Adaptive Planning on Workday dataWhat it is
Workday People Analytics surfaces the trends and anomalies in Workday HCM data as narrative stories with a natural-language assistant, and Workday Adaptive Planning adds headcount, cost and scenario planning on the same data. Both are modules of a Workday contract; for a Workday customer they are the path of least resistance, and for anyone else they are not available.
Why it is on this list
Workday People Analytics and Adaptive Planning close the list for Workday customers, where narrative stories, anomaly detection and planning on native data need no integration project.
Where it is strong
- Native to Workday data
- Narrative stories and anomalies
- Adaptive Planning on the same data
- No integration project
Where it falls short
- Workday customers only
- Quote only, multi-year
- Limited outside Workday data
Three kinds of workforce analytics
| HR-side | Activity-side | Planning and design | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data | HRIS, ATS, payroll, performance, engagement surveys | Desktop and web activity, Microsoft 365 collaboration metadata, attendance | Headcount, cost, skills, structure, finance plans |
| Questions | Turnover, hiring, pay equity, diversity, mobility, attrition risk | Capacity, utilisation, focus, meeting load, after-hours work, burnout risk | What should the workforce cost and look like next year; which structure |
| Tools | Visier, One Model, ChartHop, Crunchr, Workday, SAP, UKG, Dayforce | ActivTrak, Viva Insights, Time Champ | Anaplan, Pigment, Orgvue, ChartHop, Visier, Workday Adaptive |
| Pricing | Mostly quoted; ChartHop published | Published, $3.90 to $21 per user | Quoted, often six figures |
| Rules | Privacy law, pay transparency, AI decision rules | Monitoring notice and policy | Consultation obligations for restructures |
Build or buy
An HR analyst with Power BI or Tableau and clean HRIS exports can produce headcount, turnover and hiring dashboards for the cost of the licences, and for organisations under a few hundred people that is usually the right answer; the HR metrics guide lists the definitions. The platforms earn their price when the data lives in several systems that disagree, when the metric definitions need governing across a large organisation, when predictive models and planning are wanted, and when the analyst's time is the scarce resource. ChartHop is the bridge: a platform price a mid-sized firm can pay, with the org chart doing the data modelling. The turnover rate and span of control entries are the two metrics every build gets wrong first.
Privacy, monitoring and AI rules
People analytics runs on personal data and the rules follow it: GDPR and the UK and EU works council regimes for European employees, the California Consumer Privacy Act's employee provisions, Illinois's biometric and AI-in-hiring laws, New York City's automated employment decision tool audit requirement, and the California automated decision rules for any model that affects employment decisions. Activity-side tools (ActivTrak, Time Champ, Viva Insights) are monitoring and need the monitoring policy and the notice several states require; the privacy line guide says what stays out of scope. Aggregate first, with minimum group sizes, and treat predictive attrition scores as a prompt for a conversation, never as a decision.
Reading a quote
Most of this category is quote-priced. Where I give a figure for a quote-only vendor it is the range independent buyer reports and procurement advisers describe, labelled as an estimate, not a price list; your quote will depend on headcount, data sources, modules and contract length. Published prices are stated as published.
How these tools were evaluated
I evaluated each tool against the same checklist: what it captures and how configurable that is, which platforms it runs on, how it treats the employee (visible or silent agent, access to their own data, screenshot blurring and private time), what the published pricing is and what the minimum commitment really costs, how long data is kept, where it can be deployed, and what the vendor's own documentation and verified user reviews say about reliability and support. Pricing was taken from each vendor's pricing page in October 2026; where a vendor publishes no price, the page says so rather than guessing. Free plans and trials were used where they exist. I did not run a formal benchmark, and the page does not claim one.
Disclosure. I have done work for Time Champ. It appears here because it belongs in this category, it is held to the same criteria as every other product, its drawbacks are listed like everyone else's, and it bought no placement. There are no affiliate or vendor links on this page.
Key takeaways
- Workforce analytics is three fields: HR-side, activity-side, and planning and design; pick the one your question lives in.
- Visier for 1,000-plus, ChartHop for 200 to 2,000 at a published price, ActivTrak for the activity side; Workday, SAP, UKG and Dayforce modules for their own customers; Anaplan, Pigment and Orgvue for planning and design.
- Under a few hundred people, an analyst with Power BI and clean exports usually beats a platform.
- Quote-only figures here are labelled estimates; most of the category is quoted.
- Aggregate with minimum group sizes, publish a monitoring policy for activity tools, and never let an attrition score make a decision.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best workforce analytics software?
Visier for organisations of a thousand or more that want the most complete people data model and metric library; ChartHop for companies of 200 to 2,000 that want org charting, planning and analytics at a published price from $2 per employee; ActivTrak for the activity side (capacity, focus, burnout risk) that HR-system platforms cannot see. One Model for analytics teams, Crunchr in Europe, Workday, SAP, UKG and Dayforce modules for their own customers, Anaplan and Pigment for planning against finance, Orgvue for organisation design, Viva Insights for Microsoft 365 collaboration patterns, Time Champ for budget activity analytics.
What is the difference between workforce analytics and people analytics?
In practice the terms overlap. People analytics usually means analysis of HR-system data about employees: turnover, hiring, pay, diversity, engagement, attrition risk. Workforce analytics is often used more broadly to include how work is done (activity and collaboration data), labour cost and scheduling data from workforce management systems, and workforce planning. This page covers all three; the people analytics review on this site covers the HR-side tools in more depth.
How much does workforce analytics software cost?
Published prices exist for ChartHop ($2 per employee for Basic; modules per employee above a $9,000 annual minimum), ActivTrak ($10 to $21 per user), Viva Insights ($6 add-on) and Time Champ ($3.90 to $13.90). Visier, One Model, Crunchr, Orgvue, Anaplan and Pigment are quoted; independent reports place typical annual contracts from about $30,000 (One Model entry, Pigment entry) to well above $100,000 (Visier, Orgvue, Anaplan). Workday, SAP, UKG and Dayforce analytics are priced within their HCM contracts.
Do I need a platform or can I build workforce analytics in Power BI?
Under a few hundred employees, with one HRIS and an analyst, Power BI or Tableau on clean exports is usually enough for headcount, turnover and hiring reporting. A platform pays when data lives in several systems, metric definitions need governing across the organisation, predictive models or planning are wanted, or analyst time is scarce. ChartHop is the affordable middle ground.
Is workforce analytics software legal to use on employees?
Yes, within the rules that follow the data: GDPR and works council consultation in Europe, the CCPA's employee provisions in California, AI-in-employment rules in New York City, Illinois and California for models that affect decisions, and monitoring notice laws in several states for activity-side tools. Aggregate reporting with minimum group sizes, a published policy and human decisions keep most deployments inside the lines.
Which workforce analytics tools work for small businesses?
ChartHop's $2 Basic plan for org charting and directory data, ActivTrak (free for three users, $10 after) and Time Champ ($3.90) for activity analytics, Viva Insights ($6) for Microsoft 365 shops, and Rippling's reporting for companies already on it. The enterprise platforms (Visier, One Model, Crunchr, Orgvue, Anaplan, Pigment) are sized and priced for organisations of several hundred to many thousands.