# Deputy: how AI models rank it, September 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Named in 103 judge labels across 8 categories by 12 of 12 models. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/vendors/deputy/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce scheduling | 26% | 1 | 0% | 26 |
| Workforce management suites | 6% | 5 | 3% | 31 |
| Time and attendance | 0% | 17 | 5% | 19 |
| Frontline employee apps | 0% | 12 | 0% | 15 |
| Leave and absence management | 0% | 22 | 0% | 6 |
| Workforce planning | 0% | 24 | 0% | 4 |
| HR AI assistants | 0% | 77 | 0% | 1 |
| Succession planning | 0% | 73 | 0% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "1. Deputy (Best Overall Balance) ... Deputy strikes the best balance between sophisticated feature sets (like AI forecasting) and user-friendly design." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, Workforce scheduling)
- "I'd recommend Deputy if you have multiple locations or compliance needs, or Connecteam if you have deskless/field workers" (Kimi K2, Workforce scheduling)
- "Start with Deputy for the best mix of hourly-workforce features, ease of deployment, compliance, and cost at mid-size scale" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, Workforce management sui)
- "Look at Homebase, Deputy, or When I Work\u2014these are entirely different tools from the booking apps above." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, Workforce scheduling)

## And against it

- "including *Hubstaff, Deputy, Apploye, and Time Doctor*) and found that they systematically shared worker data\u2014such as names and emails\u2014with third-party trackers" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, Time and attendance)
- "Deputy (~$5/user/mo, strong for compliance/shifts but higher min.)" (Grok 4.1 Fast, Workforce management sui)

## Record

- Method: https://hr-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://hr-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as HR AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, hr-ai-index.com.