# Zoho People vs When I Work: 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 When I Work. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/core/workforce-management-suites/zoho-people-vs-when-i-work/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho People | 11% | #4 of 16 | 8% | 13 | 10 of 12 |
| When I Work | 6% | #7 of 16 | 4% | 24 | 12 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now) (alternatives: Deputy, HiBob, Paylocity, UKG Pro, When I Work)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Deputy, Paycor, Synerion)
- 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)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: UKG Ready) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Deputy, Rippling)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now) (alternatives: Dayforce, Deputy, HiBob, UKG Pro)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now, BambooHR) (alternatives: Dayforce, HiBob, UKG Pro / UKG Dimensions)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Deputy, Paylocity, UKG Ready)
- 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 When I Work

- "you've outgrown basic SMB tools like When I Work's free tier" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, paraphrase prompt, soft negative)
- "start with Zoho People or When I Work... When I Work excels if your primary need is shift scheduling" (MiniMax M2.5, budget prompt, first choice)
- "For the absolute lowest cost, When I Work and Homebase are the most budget-friendly" (Mistral Small, budget 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.