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Comparison · HR
Deputy vs Workable
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Deputy and Workable — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:permissions
Deputy vs Workable: at a glance
What is Deputy?
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.
What is Workable?
Workable is localizing hard while its hiring agent quietly gets adjustable.
Two threads dominate. Localization is being pushed on both sides at once: the interface now ships in French, Canadian French, Danish and Dutch, and candidate-facing language kits expanded from five languages to nine. The other thread is the Workable Agent, generally available in June to run sourcing, screening and qualification against an ideal candidate profile, and now editable — teams can rewrite criteria, add or remove must-haves, and re-evaluate an existing pipeline against the revised profile at one credit per candidate.
Deputy vs Workable: editorial side-by-side
Deputy
0.0HR
Deputy is hardening pay-data permissions while Australian super rules claim release slots.
◆ Current state
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.
◆ Where it's heading
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.
◆ Prediction
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.
Workable
5.0HR
Workable is localizing hard while its hiring agent quietly gets adjustable.
◆ Current state
Two threads dominate. Localization is being pushed on both sides at once: the interface now ships in French, Canadian French, Danish and Dutch, and candidate-facing language kits expanded from five languages to nine. The other thread is the Workable Agent, generally available in June to run sourcing, screening and qualification against an ideal candidate profile, and now editable — teams can rewrite criteria, add or remove must-haves, and re-evaluate an existing pipeline against the revised profile at one credit per candidate.
◆ Where it's heading
The Agent has moved from launch to operability in two months: the interesting release was not making it autonomous but letting a recruiter change its mind and replay the pipeline. That, plus credit-metered re-evaluation, tells you Workable is selling agent output as something to be corrected rather than trusted outright. Around it the platform keeps widening past the ATS — employee surveys, headcount reporting, entity-scoped HR admin — which is the HRIS build-out competing for the same seat. Localization serves both, and is the cheapest way to reach markets where an English-only ATS was disqualifying.
◆ Prediction
Mobile app localization is stated as coming, and the language-kit and interface lists will likely converge. On the Agent, per-criterion transparency — why a candidate scored as they did — is the natural follow-on to letting teams edit the criteria.
Alternatives to Deputy and Workable
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 Workable.
Zoho Recruit
Zoho Recruit opened the ATS to AI tools via MCP, then spent the summer closing integration gaps.
Wagepoint
Wagepoint put AI at the payroll approval gate, then spent a week arguing about where else it belongs.
Eightfold AI
Eightfold has moved from screening candidates to running the interview loop itself.
Ever Gauzy
Gauzy's React rewrite becomes a tenant-level switch, and its AI chat learns to listen
Miter
Miter added accounts payable and opened a free API — it's no longer just construction payroll.
See all Deputy alternatives → · See all Workable alternatives →
Recent activity from Deputy and Workable
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoWorkableEngage candidates in their native language
- 7d agoWorkableWorkable now speaks French, Danish, and Dutch
- 14d agoWorkableEdit the Ideal Candidate Profile and re-evaluate your pipeline
- 23d agoWorkableAssign HR access to specific entities and departments
- 26d agoWorkableSelect all matching jobs in one click in the candidate database
- 1mo agoWorkable30+ new tools in the Workable MCP server
- 1mo agoDeputyPayDay Super for Deputy Payroll
- 2mo agoDeputySensitive Data Permissions for Pay Rates
- 3mo agoDeputyCustom Access Levels
- 4mo agoDeputyCustom access levels
- 4mo agoDeputyFreeze Empty/Open Shift Row in Schedule Employee Views
- 4mo agoDeputyOpen/empty shift row can be pinned in schedule views
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Deputy and Workable?
Both compete on the same themes — permissions — within HR. Workable 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.
Is Deputy better than Workable?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Workable 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.
What are the best alternatives to Deputy?
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.
What are the best alternatives to Workable?
Top Workable alternatives in HR are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Workable alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/workable for the full list with editorial commentary on each.