# Zoho People vs Deputy: which do AI models recommend for workforce management sui, September 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Workforce management suites. Zero of twelve models named Zoho People first on the direct prompt; zero named Deputy. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/core/workforce-management-suites/zoho-people-vs-deputy/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho People | 11% | #4 of 16 | 8% | 13 | 10 of 12 |
| Deputy | 6% | #5 of 16 | 3% | 31 | 11 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Deputy, Paycor, Synerion)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now) (alternatives: Deputy, HiBob, Paylocity, UKG Pro, When I Work)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: UKG Ready) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Deputy, Rippling)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now) (alternatives: Dayforce, Deputy, HiBob, UKG Pro)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Deputy, Paylocity, UKG Ready)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: UKG Ready) (alternatives: Dayforce, Oracle, Workday HCM)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: Kantata) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, BambooHR, Float, Paycor, Paylocity, Productive.io, Rippling, Runn, Scoro, UKG Ready)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now) (alternatives: Rippling, UKG Ready)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now) (alternatives: Dayforce, Paylocity)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now, BambooHR) (alternatives: Dayforce, HiBob, UKG Pro / UKG Dimensions)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now) (alternatives: BambooHR, Paylocity, UKG Pro)

## What the models said about Zoho People

- "Zoho People / BambooHR — lighter options if your needs are simpler" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, scale prompt, soft negative)
- "The best workforce management software for a company with a limited budget is Zoho People, which starts at $1.50 per user per month." (Llama 4 Maverick, budget prompt, first choice)
- "start with Zoho People or When I Work. Zoho People offers the lowest cost per user with solid features" (MiniMax M2.5, budget prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Deputy

- "Deputy (~$5/user/mo, strong for compliance/shifts but higher min.)" (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Start with Deputy for the best mix of hourly-workforce features, ease of deployment, compliance, and cost at mid-size scale" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.