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The Radford alternative: TalentUp vs Aon Radford

Aon's Radford McLagan Compensation Database is a respected survey for large tech, life sciences and financial services employers. It runs on an annual participation cycle. TalentUp gives you current market data without submitting a survey.

Start now with 1 free search See pricing

Where Radford falls short

What to know before choosing Radford

  • Access is tied to taking part in the survey: you submit your own compensation data and pay participation fees.
  • Runs on an annual survey cycle, so results reflect pay at submission time rather than today's market.
  • Fees aren't published. They vary with your benchmarking needs and need a quote.
  • Each cycle, your team matches its jobs to the survey's job architecture before submitting data.
  • Aon offers pay transparency guides and consulting, but no dedicated EU Pay Transparency software is advertised.

Why teams switch from Radford to TalentUp

Current market data without Radford's survey cycle

  • No survey to fill in and no participation fee. Search the market on demand.
  • Salary data refreshed every two weeks instead of once a year.
  • Public pricing: start free, then Pro at €60/month.
  • View benchmarks by Radford, Korn Ferry, Mercer or WTW grades on Premium.
  • Pay Transparency tool included: salary bands, gender pay gap analysis and one-click reports.

How TalentUp compares with Radford

The questions that matter most when choosing a salary benchmarking tool, answered side by side.

Data source

Do you have to share your own HR data?

TalentUp

No data sharing

Salaries published in job ads

Radford

Survey participation (Not available)

Submit data and pay fees

Data updates

How current are the benchmarks?

TalentUp

Every two weeks

Continuous data pipeline

Radford

Annual survey cycle (Limited or with conditions)

Countries

In how many countries can you benchmark?

TalentUp

98 countries

Down to 38K+ cities

Radford

115+ countries (Available)

17 industries

Data pool

How big is the dataset?

TalentUp

5M+ companies

Startups to multinationals

Radford

34M+ employees (Available)

8,500+ organisations

Pricing

Can you see prices before talking to sales?

TalentUp

Public pricing

Pro €60/month, cancel anytime

Radford

Quote only (Not available)

Fees vary by needs

Free option

Can you try it for free?

TalentUp

Free plan

1 free search to start

Radford

None advertised (Not available)

EU Pay Transparency

Does it help you comply with the EU Pay Transparency Directive?

TalentUp

Built-in tool

Salary bands, pay gap analysis, reports

Radford

Guides and consulting (Limited or with conditions)

No dedicated software advertised

Radford may still be the right fit if…

You're a large tech, life sciences or financial services company that already takes part in Aon surveys and has a dedicated compensation team.

Why HR teams choose TalentUp over Radford

Radford is built for large employers with dedicated compensation teams and an annual participation cycle. TalentUp gives every HR team current data on demand.

Every two weeks, not Radford's annual cycle

Radford results follow an annual survey cycle. TalentUp refreshes salaries every two weeks, so your benchmarks reflect today's market.

No Radford survey to submit

Radford access is tied to submitting your own pay data and paying participation fees. TalentUp needs neither.

Public prices instead of a Radford quote

Radford fees vary and need a quote. TalentUp starts free, and Pro costs €60/month with no lock-in.

Keep your Radford job levels

On Premium, view TalentUp benchmarks by Radford grades, as well as Korn Ferry, Mercer or WTW, so you don't have to re-level your jobs.

Pay transparency software, not just guides

Aon offers guides and consulting. TalentUp includes salary bands, gender pay gap analysis and one-click compliance reports in the platform.

Beyond Radford's industries

Radford focuses on 17 industries. TalentUp covers 750 roles across 22 departments in 98 countries, for companies of any sector and size.

TalentUp vs Radford: frequently asked questions

What HR teams ask most when comparing TalentUp and Radford: data, pricing, compliance and switching.

Still have questions?

Our team can walk you through TalentUp with your own roles and countries.

Talk to our team

What is the main difference between TalentUp and Radford?

Radford is an annual compensation survey run by Aon: you submit your pay data, pay participation fees and receive results once per cycle. TalentUp collects salaries from job ads continuously and refreshes them every two weeks, with no survey to submit.

Do I have to take part in a salary survey to use TalentUp?

No. TalentUp doesn't ask you to submit any data. Its benchmarks come from salaries published in job ads across hundreds of sources, refreshed every two weeks.

Can I use Radford job levels in TalentUp?

Yes. On the Premium plan you can view TalentUp data by your preferred grading provider, including Radford, Korn Ferry, Mercer and WTW, so you keep your current job architecture.

How does TalentUp's pricing compare with Radford's?

Radford's fees depend on your benchmarking needs and require a quote. TalentUp's prices are public: a free plan, Pro at €60/month and tailored Premium plans.

Can I use TalentUp alongside Radford?

Yes. If you take part in Radford's survey, you can use TalentUp between survey cycles to check current market pay, or to benchmark roles, industries and countries outside your survey's scope.

Does Radford help with the EU Pay Transparency Directive?

Aon publishes guides and offers consulting on the Directive, but doesn't advertise dedicated software for it. TalentUp includes salary bands, gender pay gap analysis and one-click compliance reports in the platform.

See how TalentUp compares to Radford on your own roles

Run your first salary benchmark for free, with no survey to fill in and no HRIS to connect.

Start now with 1 free search See pricing

Learn more: how we collect salary data · EU Pay Transparency Directive guide

Information about Radford (Aon) is based on its publicly available materials as of November 2026 and may have changed since. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. Spotted something out of date? Let us know through our contact page.

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