Employee Scheduling · head-to-head
Deputy vs When I Work
The short answer
The bench splits by criterion, not by product. When I Work leads roster planning 6.8 to 5.0 and payroll and integrations 5.7 to 3.7 — six judges lean its way on both, none lean Deputy — with narrower leads in pricing transparency, 6.2 to 5.2 on four leans and two ties, and staff self-service, 6.0 to 5.5 on three leans and three ties. Deputy leads codetermination and privacy 4.0 to 3.2, with five judges leaning its way and one tie, and working time rules 3.2 to 2.7 on three Deputy leans and three ties. Sovereignty sits at 0.3 to 0.0, two leans to Deputy and four ties. The weighted totals shown run higher for When I Work — 5.3 to 4.9 for the shift manager, 3.7 to 3.4 for the skeptic — yet the criterion leans point both ways; the result depends on what a buyer weighs.
Choose Deputy if
- Working time rules drive your decision and you follow the relative lean: three judges lean Deputy on working time rules (3.2 to 2.7), three tie, and none lean When I Work.
- Your works council weighs codetermination and privacy heavily: five judges lean Deputy there (4.0 to 3.2) and one ties.
- Sovereignty scoring is your tiebreaker: two judges lean Deputy (0.3 to 0.0), four tie, and none lean When I Work.
Choose When I Work if
- You need the documented roster tooling — shift templates, skills and certification tracking, OpenShifts and labor sharing across unlimited locations: six judges lean When I Work on roster planning (6.8 to 5.0), none lean Deputy.
- Your payroll and integrations needs come first: six judges lean When I Work on payroll and integrations (5.7 to 3.7), none lean Deputy.
- Your hourly staff live in the mobile app: staff self-service holds a uniform 6 for When I Work, with three judges leaning its way (6.0 to 5.5).
- You want public per-user prices: four judges lean When I Work on pricing transparency (6.2 to 5.2).
- Your teams work from the United States: the captured terms state the service is designed for use in the United States, and primary data centers are in the United States.
Read this comparison as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The bench's picks
Same scores, different priorities: each judge's weighting applied to both products. The split is the finding.
- The Shift Manager Deputy When I Work picks When I Work
- The Operations Director Deputy When I Work picks When I Work
- The Payroll Officer Deputy When I Work picks When I Work
- The Works Council Advocate Deputy When I Work picks When I Work
- The Frontline Employee Deputy When I Work picks When I Work
- The Skeptic Deputy When I Work picks When I Work
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Deputy | When I Work | The bench leans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roster building & demand planning | When I Work, 6 of 6 judges | ||
| Working-time law & collective agreements | Deputy, 3 of 6 judges | ||
| Mobile self-service for deskless staff | When I Work, 3 of 6 judges | ||
| Works council & employee data | Deputy, 5 of 6 judges | ||
| Payroll handoff & integrations | When I Work, 6 of 6 judges | ||
| European sovereignty | Deputy, 2 of 6 judges | ||
| Pricing transparency | When I Work, 4 of 6 judges |
Stars show the bench average per criterion; the lean counts which product each judge scored higher. Open a judge's tab for their reasoning on both sides.
Sovereignty, side by side
| Dimension | Deputy | When I Work |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | Not determined |
| Ownership | Not determined | Not determined |
| Data residency | Not determined | US by default |
| Subprocessors | US CLOUD Act reach | Not determined |
Facts, side by side
Only facts both products carry under the same definition — anything else would not be a fair row.
| Integrations · API | yes1 | yes2 |
|---|---|---|
| Integrations · API documentation | build custom integrations · yes3 | yes4 |
| Legal · Address | Deputy Corporation · 548 Market St PMB 77267, San Francisco, CA 94104-54015 | When I Work, Inc. 420 North 5th St. Suite 500 Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A.6 |
| Legal · Entity | Deputy Corporation · 548 Market St PMB 77267, San Francisco, CA 94104-54013 | When I Work, Inc. · WIW2 |
| Legal · Entity address | Deputy Corporation · 548 Market St PMB 77267, San Francisco, CA 94104-54017 | When I Work, Inc. · 420 North 5th St. Suite 500 Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A8 |
| Pricing · Trial | yes · 31 · no1 | 14 · yes8 |
| Product · Auto scheduling | AI auto-creates and distributes schedules in a few clicks9 | Auto scheduling fills shifts based on availability and qualifications10 |
| Product · Customer base | 390,000+9 | 20000010 |
| Product · Customer count | 3900003 | 2000008 |
| Support · Channels | training · API · help center · system status · 24/7 Live Chat (Pro)7 | help center · ticket submission · training center · webinars/events · system status10 |
| Support · Help center | training · api · help center · system status1 | WIW Help Center · yes · 24x72 |