iCIMS
iCIMS adds recruiting how-tos to its feed; still no product news
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.
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 turns its report builder on interviews, assessments and video screens.
Workable is a recruiting platform growing a full HR suite around its applicant tracking. This week's releases are about reporting: every number in a report now opens the records behind it, referral reports count AI search and Chrome extension sources, widgets can be resized and viewed on a phone, and Enterprise custom reports gain Events, Assessments and Video interview data. Earlier in November came a reworked candidate profile and separate offer approval and delivery steps.
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 turns its report builder on interviews, assessments and video screens.
◆ Current state
Workable is a recruiting platform growing a full HR suite around its applicant tracking. This week's releases are about reporting: every number in a report now opens the records behind it, referral reports count AI search and Chrome extension sources, widgets can be resized and viewed on a phone, and Enterprise custom reports gain Events, Assessments and Video interview data. Earlier in November came a reworked candidate profile and separate offer approval and delivery steps.
◆ Where it's heading
After October's HR-suite additions and early-November recruiter workflow fixes, Workable is now making its hiring data answerable: who spends time interviewing, where assessments stall, which referral channels work. Most of the reporting depth sits on Enterprise plans, which suggests reporting is being used to pull larger customers up a tier.
◆ Prediction
More data sources in the custom report builder are likely, probably for offers and the AI Recruiting Agent's activity, since those are the recent features not yet reportable. Whether any of this reaches non-Enterprise plans is not stated.
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.
Leapsome
Leapsome publishes another batch of HR templates and software roundups.
Ashby
Ashby adds threaded comments to AI Notetaker, so interview debriefs stay next to the transcript.
Ever Gauzy
Ever Gauzy links time logs to invoice lines so the same hours are never billed twice.
Teamtailor
Teamtailor shows every time in the reader's own time zone, for recruiters and candidates.
Fountain
Fountain opens a skills marketplace for its Cue assistant and adds a compliance review queue.
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 agoWorkableUpdate employee records after offboarding
- 2d agoWorkableNew data sources: Events, Assessments and Video interviews
- 3d agoWorkableClick any number in a report to see the records behind it
- 3d agoWorkableImproved visibility for candidate referrals
- 3d agoWorkableFlexible report layouts, on any screen
- 4d agoWorkableA clearer candidate profile
- 4mo agoDeputyPayDay Super for Deputy Payroll
- 5mo agoDeputySensitive Data Permissions for Pay Rates
- 6mo agoDeputyCustom Access Levels
- 6mo agoDeputyCustom access levels
- 7mo agoDeputyFreeze Empty/Open Shift Row in Schedule Employee Views
- 7mo agoDeputyOpen/empty shift row can be pinned in schedule views
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Deputy and Workable?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. 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.