Index › Core HR and payroll › Workforce management sui › Small business › September 2026 Edition

Workforce management suites for small business buyers

Asked as “workforce management software”, and as “WFM platform for an hourly workforce”, on behalf of a small B2B company. 50 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.

Standing

When I Work

Contested

18% of first choices, contested.

ShowinginAll 50 categories →

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.

Small business

When I Work18%ContestedThis page Mid-market

ADP Workforce Now19%ContestedStanding →Enterprise

UKG Pro42%Clear leaderStanding →

01The standing

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a small B2B company. Ordered by share.

ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant

When I Work2%45accepted challenger

Homebase2%45accepted challenger

Connecteam0%37accepted challenger

Gusto11%18accepted challenger

Zoho People6%18accepted challenger

Deputy7%43accepted challenger

Rippling14%21accepted challenger

BambooHR13%15accepted challenger

Show the one product at 0%, ordered by negative rate

UKG Pro100%11criticized challenger

Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its vendor page.

Head to head

ADP Workforce Now vs UKG Ready ADP Workforce Now vs Homebase UKG Ready vs Homebase

Recommended versus criticized

Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.

Criticized challengerCriticized default

Negative label rate →

Accepted challengerEndorsed leader

0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative30%

Key

When I Work18%

Homebase16%

Connecteam14%

Gusto12%

Zoho People10%

Deputy8%

Rippling6%

BambooHR6%

UKG Pro0%

02What they warned about

One of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity Sonar, Grok 4.1 Fast, Mistral Small, DeepSeek V4 Flash, Qwen 3.7 Flash, Kimi K2, GLM 4.7 FlashX and MiniMax M2.5 changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.

UKG Pro

100%

11 of 11 labels negative · 10 of 12 models · 7 hard negative

“WFM suites that may not be suitable for small businesses include UKG Pro, SAP, and Oracle, which are designed for global enterprises and can be costly” Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt

Workday

100%

8 of 8 labels negative · 7 of 12 models · 5 hard negative

“**Workday**: Built with medium-sized and large enterprises... making it oversized for smaller operations.” Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt

SAP

100%

6 of 6 labels negative · 6 of 12 models · 1 hard negative

“include UKG Pro, SAP, and Oracle, which are designed for global enterprises and can be costly” Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt

SAP SuccessFactors

100%

5 of 5 labels negative · 5 of 12 models · 5 hard negative

“Expensive pricing model, best suited for large enterprises. Overwhelming for businesses without dedicated HR teams.” Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt

03What they cite

Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: twelve of the twelve in this edition, and all six flagship models on the expanded tier.

Sites the answers cite

63 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 5 of those lists are Google grounding redirects that name no site and are left out of the counts. 804 links across 188 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.

peoplemanagingpeople.com

vendor site · People Managing People36 answers · 41 citations · 10 models

guideflow.com

vendor site · Guideflow32 answers · 34 citations · 9 models

forbes.com

24 answers · 29 citations · 9 models

gusto.com

vendor site · Gusto23 answers · 25 citations · 8 models

connecteam.com

vendor site · Connecteam22 answers · 31 citations · 9 models

softwareadvice.com

20 answers · 23 citations · 10 models

spotsaas.com

18 answers · 23 citations · 9 models

joinhomebase.com

17 answers · 26 citations · 7 models

firsthr.app

vendor site · FirstHR16 answers · 17 citations · 9 models

toolradar.com

16 answers · 16 citations · 7 models

g2.com

15 answers · 30 citations · 8 models

gartner.com

vendor site · Gartner15 answers · 16 citations · 8 models

Pages the answers cite

The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.

peoplemanagingpeople.com/tools/best-workforce-management-software

34 answers · 10 models

guideflow.com/blog/workforce-management-software

31 answers · 9 models

gusto.com/resources/guides/best-workforce-management-software

23 answers · 8 models

forbes.com/advisor/business/software/best-workforce-management-software

21 answers · 9 models

connecteam.com/workforce-management-software-solutions

19 answers · 9 models

softwareadvice.com/hr/workforce-management-software-comparison

18 answers · 9 models

firsthr.app/compare/core-hr/workforce-management-software

16 answers · 9 models

toolradar.com/guides/best-workforce-management-software

16 answers · 7 models

spotsaas.com/blog/10-best-workforce-management-software

14 answers · 9 models

business.org/hr/workforce-management/best-workforce-management-software

12 answers · 9 models

04How they answered

Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.

ModelDirect“What is the best workforce management software for a small B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which WFM platform for an hourly workforce would you recommend to a small business that sells to other businesses?”Comparative“What are the top WFM suites for a small team and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best workforce management software for a small company with a tight budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 30 person company evaluating a workforce management software. What should we look at?”Negative“Which WFM suites should a small business avoid or be cautious about?”

Claude Haiku 4.5Gusto

Four alternatives

Connecteam, Homebase, Planday, Rippling

When I WorkChanged

Two alternatives

Deputy, Homebase

Connecteam, When I Work

One alternative

Homebase

Connecteam

Two alternatives

Gusto, Homebase

no first choiceagainst: Infor Workforce Management, SAP SuccessFactors, Workday

GPT-5.4 miniConnecteam

Five alternatives

Buddy Punch, Deputy, Homebase, Rippling, When I Work

UKG ReadyChangedHomebase

Three alternatives

Deputy, Sling, When I Work

against: UKG ReadyHomebase

Three alternatives

Connecteam, When I Work, WorkforceHub

no first choiceagainst: Oracle, SAP, UKG Pro

Gemini 3.5 FlashGusto, Rippling

Five alternatives

Connecteam, Float, Harvest, Runn, Toggl Track

QuickBooks TimeChanged

Three alternatives

Connecteam, Rippling, Workyard

Assembled, Connecteam

Four alternatives

Deputy, Injixo, Jibble, Zendesk WFM

against: NICE, Verint Workforce ManagementHomebase

Five alternatives

Clockify, Connecteam, Jibble, When I Work, Zoho People

Gusto, Homebase

Four alternatives

7shifts, BambooHR, Deputy, Rippling

against: ADP, Blue Yonder Workforce Management, Calabrio ONE, Dayforce, NICE Workforce Management, Paychex, SAP SuccessFactors, UKG Pro, UKG Ready, Verint Workforce Management, Workday, Zebra Reflexis

Perplexity SonarGusto

Four alternatives

Connecteam, Homebase, Rippling, When I Work

When I WorkChanged

Three alternatives

Connecteam, Deputy, Homebase

Deputy

Six alternatives

Assembled, BambooHR, Connecteam, Homebase, Rippling, When I Work

Connecteam

Four alternatives

Clockify, DeskTime, Homebase, Zoho People

no first choiceagainst: Infor, NICE, Oracle, SAP, UKG Pro, Workday

Grok 4.1 FastRippling

Three alternatives

BambooHR, Connecteam, Deputy

When I WorkChanged

Two alternatives

Deputy, Homebase

no first choice

Five alternatives

Connecteam, Deputy, Homebase, Rippling, When I Work

Homebase

Three alternatives

Connecteam, When I Work, Zoho People

against: Rippling, UKG Prono first choice

Four alternatives

Deputy, Homebase, Rippling, WorkforceHub

against: Kronosagainst: ADP Workforce Now, Employment Hero, Justworks, Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, SAP SuccessFactors, UKG Pro / Kronos Workforce Dimensions, Workday HCM

Mistral SmallConnecteam, Gusto

Three alternatives

BambooHR, Remote, Rippling

When I WorkChanged

Two alternatives

Connecteam, Homebase

Deputy, When I Work

Four alternatives

Gusto, Homebase, Justworks, Monday.com

Zoho People

Two alternatives

DeskTime, Gusto

no first choiceagainst: Kronos, Oracle, SAP, UKG Pro, Workday

DeepSeek V4 FlashBambooHR

Three alternatives

Connecteam, Deputy, Rippling

When I WorkChanged

Three alternatives

Connecteam, Deputy, Homebase

against: 7shiftsConnecteam, Deputy

Four alternatives

BambooHR, Homebase, Rippling, When I Work

against: UKG Ready/ProConnecteam, Homebase

Three alternatives

Deputy, When I Work, Zoho People

against: TriNetno first choiceagainst: Calabrio ONE, NICE, Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, Oracle Workforce Management, SAP SuccessFactors / SAP Workforce Management, UKG Pro, Verint Workforce Management, Workday

Llama 4 Maverickno first choiceno first choiceHeldSurfboard

Four alternatives

Connecteam, When I Work, Zimyo, Zoho People

Zoho People

Three alternatives

Connecteam, Gusto, When I Work

no first choiceagainst: Oracle, SAP, UKG Pro

Qwen 3.7 FlashHarvest, Toggl Track

Four alternatives

ClockShark, Deputy, Gusto, Monday.com

When I WorkChanged

Two alternatives

Deputy, Homebase

Surfboard

Four alternatives

Assembled, Deputy, When I Work, Zendesk WFM

against: Gusto, RipplingConnecteam, Homebase

Two alternatives

When I Work, Zoho People

against: Deputyno first choiceagainst: Oracle, SAPagainst: Employment Hero, Gusto, Homebase, Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, QuickBooks Time, SAP SuccessFactors, UKG Pro, Workday HCM

Kimi K2Deputy

Two alternatives

Rippling, When I Work

When I WorkChanged

Two alternatives

Deputy, Homebase

Homebase, When I Work

Two alternatives

Connecteam, Deputy

against: BambooHR, Rippling, Zoho PeopleJibble, Zoho People

Three alternatives

Homebase, TimeplanGo, When I Work

Deputy

Four alternatives

Connecteam, Homebase, When I Work, Workforce.com

against: ADP Workforce Now, Deputy, Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, SAP SuccessFactors, UKG Pro / UKG Dimensions, When I Work, Workday HCM

GLM 4.7 FlashXHomebase

Four alternatives

Connecteam, Deputy, When I Work, Zoho People

DeputyChanged

Four alternatives

7shifts, Connecteam, Homebase, When I Work

Deputy

Four alternatives

7shifts, Connecteam, Homebase, When I Work

against: SAP, UKG Pro, WorkdayHomebase, When I Work, Zoho People

Three alternatives

Connecteam, Deputy, Planday

no first choiceagainst: ADP Workforce Now, BambooHR, Blue Yonder Workforce Management, Deputy, Oracle Workforce Management, Replicon, SAP Workforce Management, UKG Pro, Workday

MiniMax M2.5BambooHR, Rippling

Two alternatives

Gusto, Zoho People

ConnecteamChanged

Three alternatives

Deputy, Gusto, Homebase

Deputy

Five alternatives

7shifts, Connecteam, Homebase, Sling, When I Work

Zoho People

One alternative

DeskTime

BambooHR, Deputy, Gusto, When I Workagainst: ADP Workforce Now, Employment Hero, Oracle Workforce Management, SAP Workforce Management, UKG Pro, Workday

Bold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against

05The record

One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record

Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.

Prompt	Model	Version string	Time (UTC)	Searched	Sources	Latency
Direct recommendation	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 21:39	yes	9	7 s
Direct recommendation	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:45	yes	3	6 s
Direct recommendation	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 20:11	yes	19	27 s
Direct recommendation	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:20	yes	20	7 s
Direct recommendation	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 19:45	yes	27	13 s
Direct recommendation	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 21:35	yes	5	4 s
Direct recommendation	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 21:12	yes	18	19 s
Direct recommendation	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 20:30	yes	5	3 s
Direct recommendation	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 20:37	no	0	28 s
Direct recommendation	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 19:12	yes	12	39 s
Direct recommendation	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 18:26	yes	13	23 s
Direct recommendation	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 18:01	yes	5	8 s
Paraphrase	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 19:52	yes	9	8 s
Paraphrase	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 17:53	yes	4	4 s
Paraphrase	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 19:52	yes	15	23 s
Paraphrase	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:42	yes	16	6 s
Paraphrase	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 20:05	yes	30	18 s
Paraphrase	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 17:57	yes	5	6 s
Paraphrase	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 19:28	yes	22	19 s
Paraphrase	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 19:04	yes	5	2 s
Paraphrase	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:16	yes	7	46 s
Paraphrase	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 19:31	yes	14	19 s
Paraphrase	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 20:46	yes	15	43 s
Paraphrase	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 21:30	yes	12	35 s
Comparative	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 19:37	yes	15	10 s
Comparative	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:58	yes	5	16 s
Comparative	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 21:55	yes	18	46 s
Comparative	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:20	yes	20	9 s
Comparative	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 20:56	yes	30	16 s
Comparative	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 18:38	yes	9	9 s
Comparative	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 20:03	yes	20	24 s
Comparative	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 19:14	yes	5	3 s
Comparative	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 20:05	yes	5	29 s
Comparative	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:45	yes	15	34 s
Comparative	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 18:02	yes	25	118 s
Comparative	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:57	yes	17	43 s
Budget constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 21:36	yes	10	8 s
Budget constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 18:00	yes	3	5 s
Budget constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 19:46	yes	20	20 s
Budget constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:26	yes	20	5 s
Budget constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 17:56	yes	23	19 s
Budget constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 20:18	yes	5	3 s
Budget constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 20:15	yes	9	12 s
Budget constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 19:45	yes	5	3 s
Budget constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 20:00	yes	8	35 s
Budget constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 21:07	yes	10	21 s
Budget constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 17:56	yes	14	21 s
Budget constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 19:04	yes	5	13 s
Scale constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 20:36	no	0	6 s
Scale constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:23	no	0	6 s
Scale constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 19:11	no	0	14 s
Scale constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 19:09	yes	20	10 s
Scale constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 18:31	yes	15	18 s
Scale constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 21:29	no	0	4 s
Scale constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 20:48	yes	10	13 s
Scale constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 17:56	yes	5	2 s
Scale constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 20:25	no	0	24 s
Scale constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 17:58	yes	10	23 s
Scale constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 20:07	no	0	7 s
Scale constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 18:15	no	0	57 s
Negative framing	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 20:38	yes	32	14 s
Negative framing	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:33	no	0	4 s
Negative framing	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 20:03	yes	16	29 s
Negative framing	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:08	yes	19	7 s
Negative framing	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 20:10	yes	43	17 s
Negative framing	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 17:55	yes	5	5 s
Negative framing	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 20:14	yes	27	48 s
Negative framing	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 20:27	yes	5	3 s
Negative framing	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:26	yes	10	40 s
Negative framing	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 20:20	yes	28	35 s
Negative framing	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 21:00	yes	28	81 s
Negative framing	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 17:57	yes	13	49 s

Normalization in this category

Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.

Category-scoped readings

Blue Yonder read as Blue Yonder Workforce Management

Blue Yonder (formerly JDA) read as Blue Yonder Workforce Management

Calabrio read as Calabrio ONE

NICE IEX WFM read as NICE Workforce Management

Oracle Cloud HCM read as Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM

Oracle Fusion read as Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM

Oracle HCM Cloud read as Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM

Verint read as Verint Workforce Management

Unresolved, counted raw

Injixo

UKG Pro / Kronos Workforce Dimensions

Workyard

Discontinued, still offered

No shut-down product was recommended here.

Workforce management suites for small business buyers

By buyer segment

01The standing

Recommended versus criticized

02What they warned about

03What they cite

Sites the answers cite

Pages the answers cite

04How they answered

05The record

Normalization in this category

Also in core hr and payroll