Tanda
Tanda ships dense payroll reporting and ATS depth ahead of AU compliance deadline.
Comparison · HR
Ashby vs Totem
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Ashby and Totem — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Ashby vs Totem: at a glance
What is Ashby?
Ashby builds native WhatsApp into the recruiting loop
Ashby is rounding out its recruiting workflow surface with new communication channels, document management, and governance controls. The WhatsApp integration is the standout: native two-way messaging with templates, automated reminders, and full conversation history on the candidate profile. The rest of the recent releases — reapproval requirements, bulk follow-up actions, data retention rules, a centralized document library — tighten operational control for larger hiring teams.
What is Totem?
B2B office-snack delivery refining its order-flow ergonomics for hybrid-work realities.
Totem is a France-based office-snack and grocery delivery service whose most recent visible product work centers on order flexibility for office managers — adjustment windows up to J-2 / J-3, holiday pause buttons, one-click reorder, and a quantity-per-headcount generator. The catalogue side is healthy with regular drops of new snacks and drinks. The product reads as a B2B SaaS supplemented by curated supply, not a pure marketplace.
Ashby vs Totem: editorial side-by-side
Ashby
6.3HR
Ashby builds native WhatsApp into the recruiting loop
◆ Current state
Ashby is rounding out its recruiting workflow surface with new communication channels, document management, and governance controls. The WhatsApp integration is the standout: native two-way messaging with templates, automated reminders, and full conversation history on the candidate profile. The rest of the recent releases — reapproval requirements, bulk follow-up actions, data retention rules, a centralized document library — tighten operational control for larger hiring teams.
◆ Where it's heading
Ashby is building toward a self-contained hiring platform where external coordination channels live natively in the workflow rather than requiring context-switching. The AI Notetaker feature line is expanding (sharing controls, retention rules) and is clearly becoming a core product rather than a bolt-on. The multi-channel push (WhatsApp joining email) suggests candidate communication is the next area of consolidation.
◆ Prediction
Given the WhatsApp launch and AI Notetaker expansion, the next likely move is automated outreach sequences — stage-triggered follow-ups via WhatsApp or email, possibly with AI-drafted messages based on candidate context.
Totem
0.0HR
B2B office-snack delivery refining its order-flow ergonomics for hybrid-work realities.
◆ Current state
Totem is a France-based office-snack and grocery delivery service whose most recent visible product work centers on order flexibility for office managers — adjustment windows up to J-2 / J-3, holiday pause buttons, one-click reorder, and a quantity-per-headcount generator. The catalogue side is healthy with regular drops of new snacks and drinks. The product reads as a B2B SaaS supplemented by curated supply, not a pure marketplace.
◆ Where it's heading
Product investment is going into reducing the friction of weekly snack ordering for the people who run office logistics — fewer fields to fill, more forgiveness on cutoffs, fewer orphan UI elements. The available changelog window is narrow and dated, so the longer arc is harder to read; what is visible is consistent steady-state polish of an established workflow rather than directional change.
◆ Prediction
Available entries don't support a confident roadmap call. Continued ordering-flow polish and seasonal catalogue refreshes are the safe expectations; anything beyond that — international expansion, ESG/local-sourcing positioning, integrations with workplace platforms — would be speculation given the data on hand.
Alternatives to Ashby and Totem
Other HR products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Ashby or Totem.
Ever Gauzy
Ever Gauzy adds full payroll and leave management modules, integrates Ever Async workspaces — expanding from project tool to HR suite
Employment Hero
Employment Hero is flooding the AI-in-HR content channel while its AI Recruitment Agent quietly goes live.
HavaHR
HavaHR ships a one-step MCP install, putting Malaysia payroll data inside any AI agent.
TriNet
TriNet is automating HR data flows with steady integration additions — Salesforce, Voya, and Slack — reducing manual updates for SMB customers.
Teamtailor
Teamtailor's Co-pilot is quietly automating the full recruiting pipeline, one trigger at a time.
Recent activity from Ashby and Totem
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 12h agoAshbyUndo a candidate email before it leaves Ashby
- 1d agoAshbyReapproval for Openings after approval
- 7d agoAshbyText candidates on WhatsApp, natively in Ashby ⚡
- 12d agoAshbySelect a meeting room for your entire panel in one step
- 13d agoAshbyCompany Document Library
- 14d agoAshbyTranscript and notes retention for AI Notetaker
- 5y agoTotem📣 Ajustez vos commandes jusqu’à J-2 !
- 5y agoTotem📣 Ajustez vos commandes jusqu’à J-2 !
- 5y agoTotem👉 Se préparer aux jours fériés l'esprit léger !
- 5y agoTotem🤓 Nous vous avons entendus !
- 5y agoTotem🧹Ménage de printemps 🧹 Bon vent fil d'actualité et score TOTEM !
- 5y agoTotem✨ Un peu de magie et une commande simplifiée !
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Ashby and Totem?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Ashby is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Ashby better than Totem?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Ashby is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other HR products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Ashby?
Top Ashby alternatives in HR are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Ashby alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ashby for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Totem?
Top Totem alternatives in HR are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Totem alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/totem for the full list with editorial commentary on each.