Leapsome
Leapsome's feed keeps filling with hiring guides, not release notes.
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Deputy and IceHrm — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Deputy is hardening pay-data permissions while Australian super rules claim release slots.
Deputy's recent work splits between access control and Australian payroll compliance. A rebuilt access-level system in late April introduced custom roles with finer-grained control over what people can see and do, followed in June by permissions that restrict visibility of pay rates and labour costs. July's release adapted Deputy Payroll to PayDay Super, the Australian employer reporting requirement. Scheduling picked up one visible change: the open/empty shift row can be pinned while managers scroll.
IceHrm 36 rebuilds the interface, adds dark mode, and updates itself from the dashboard.
IceHrm had been releasing about once a year until version 36.0.0 on September 14 rebuilt it as a single-page interface with dark mode, phone layouts and a dashboard updater with backup and rollback. Two security releases have followed: 36.0.1 fixed a stored XSS and an unauthenticated include, and 36.0.2 limits manager uploads to their own reports and moves Docker images to PHP 8.3.36 for two critical unauthenticated RCEs.
Deputy's recent work splits between access control and Australian payroll compliance. A rebuilt access-level system in late April introduced custom roles with finer-grained control over what people can see and do, followed in June by permissions that restrict visibility of pay rates and labour costs. July's release adapted Deputy Payroll to PayDay Super, the Australian employer reporting requirement. Scheduling picked up one visible change: the open/empty shift row can be pinned while managers scroll.
Permissions are the throughline — custom roles first, then sensitive pay data placed behind them — which is the shape of a product answering harder questions from larger, multi-site customers. Compliance work anchors Deputy to the Australian market its payroll product serves, and that regulatory calendar will keep taking release capacity. Scheduling itself, the core surface, is getting refinement rather than rethinking. The feed also carries the same release twice under slightly different titles, so apparent cadence runs ahead of actual shipping.
Expect further permission scoping across cost and pay surfaces, and follow-up work as PayDay Super reporting beds in. The entries show nothing about roadmap outside Australia and scheduling.
IceHrm had been releasing about once a year until version 36.0.0 on September 14 rebuilt it as a single-page interface with dark mode, phone layouts and a dashboard updater with backup and rollback. Two security releases have followed: 36.0.1 fixed a stored XSS and an unauthenticated include, and 36.0.2 limits manager uploads to their own reports and moves Docker images to PHP 8.3.36 for two critical unauthenticated RCEs.
After the big rebuild, IceHrm is in a hardening phase with monthly security patches. The built-in updater makes these fast follow-ups practical for self-hosters.
More point releases fixing permission checks and platform-specific issues are likely before any new feature work appears.
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 Deputy or IceHrm.
Leapsome's feed keeps filling with hiring guides, not release notes.
Ashby keeps extending conditional forms and closes small gaps in interview scheduling.
Ever Gauzy builds out a collaboration suite with chat, inbox and docs beside HR and time tracking.
Employment Hero floods its feed with jobs reports and AI surveys, not product releases.
Tanda follows its HR Agent beta with UK pay-run and manager-permission controls.
HiBob keeps widening its public API, now with bulk reads of custom employee tables
See all Deputy alternatives → · See all IceHrm alternatives →
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. IceHrm is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), with 0 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.
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. IceHrm is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), with 0 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.
Top Deputy alternatives in HR are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Deputy alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/deputy for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
Top IceHrm alternatives in HR are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "IceHrm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/icehrm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.