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Comparison · HR

Deputy vs OpenCATS

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Deputy and OpenCATS — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Deputy vs OpenCATS: at a glance

FeatureDeputyOpenCATS
SectorHRHR
Velocity score0.06.3
Sparks · 30d01
Top themespermissions, payroll-compliance, workforce-scheduling, access-controlats, php8, security-hardening, open-source
Last editorial update1mo ago8d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Deputy?

Deputy is hardening pay-data permissions while Australian super rules claim release slots.

Deputy's recent work splits between access control and Australian payroll compliance. A rebuilt access-level system in late April introduced custom roles with finer-grained control over what people can see and do, followed in June by permissions that restrict visibility of pay rates and labour costs. July's release adapted Deputy Payroll to PayDay Super, the Australian employer reporting requirement. Scheduling picked up one visible change: the open/empty shift row can be pinned while managers scroll.

Read the full Deputy trajectory →

What is OpenCATS?

OpenCATS ships PHP 8.4/8.5 compatibility, utf8mb4 migration, and country support in its most significant release in years.

OpenCATS delivered two major releases in quick succession: v0.11.0 brought the long-deferred PHP 8 compatibility overhaul, utf8mb4 database migration, full country support across candidates/contacts/companies/job orders, CAPTCHA for career portal applications, and the replacement of the old Google ZIP lookup with OpenStreetMap Nominatim. v0.11.1 followed with a focused security hardening pass — SQL input validation, CSV import field mapping, mass-import file handling — plus Career Portal fixes and expanded contributor documentation.

Read the full OpenCATS trajectory →

Deputy vs OpenCATS: editorial side-by-side

Deputy logo0.0

Deputy is hardening pay-data permissions while Australian super rules claim release slots.

◆ Current state

Deputy's recent work splits between access control and Australian payroll compliance. A rebuilt access-level system in late April introduced custom roles with finer-grained control over what people can see and do, followed in June by permissions that restrict visibility of pay rates and labour costs. July's release adapted Deputy Payroll to PayDay Super, the Australian employer reporting requirement. Scheduling picked up one visible change: the open/empty shift row can be pinned while managers scroll.

◆ Where it's heading

Permissions are the throughline — custom roles first, then sensitive pay data placed behind them — which is the shape of a product answering harder questions from larger, multi-site customers. Compliance work anchors Deputy to the Australian market its payroll product serves, and that regulatory calendar will keep taking release capacity. Scheduling itself, the core surface, is getting refinement rather than rethinking. The feed also carries the same release twice under slightly different titles, so apparent cadence runs ahead of actual shipping.

◆ Prediction

Expect further permission scoping across cost and pay surfaces, and follow-up work as PayDay Super reporting beds in. The entries show nothing about roadmap outside Australia and scheduling.

O6.3

OpenCATS ships PHP 8.4/8.5 compatibility, utf8mb4 migration, and country support in its most significant release in years.

◆ Current state

OpenCATS delivered two major releases in quick succession: v0.11.0 brought the long-deferred PHP 8 compatibility overhaul, utf8mb4 database migration, full country support across candidates/contacts/companies/job orders, CAPTCHA for career portal applications, and the replacement of the old Google ZIP lookup with OpenStreetMap Nominatim. v0.11.1 followed with a focused security hardening pass — SQL input validation, CSV import field mapping, mass-import file handling — plus Career Portal fixes and expanded contributor documentation.

◆ Where it's heading

OpenCATS is undergoing a systematic modernization of its technical foundation: InnoDB migration (v0.10.0), PHP 8 + utf8mb4 (v0.11.0), security hardening (v0.11.1). The project is not adding net-new capability so much as making what exists maintainable and secure enough to run in modern environments. The expanded contributing documentation and automated legacy database testing signal that maintainers are investing in the contributor pipeline.

◆ Prediction

After the modernization sprint, the next likely move is a modern email/rich text editor replacement (CKEditor 4 was pinned at the final open-source release as a placeholder) and further security audit work on endpoints that haven't been touched since the v0.9 era.

Alternatives to Deputy and OpenCATS

Other HR products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Deputy or OpenCATS.

See all Deputy alternatives → · See all OpenCATS alternatives →

Recent activity from Deputy and OpenCATS

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 12d agoOpenCATSOpenCATS v0.11.1
  2. 19d agoOpenCATSOpenCATS v0.11.0
  3. 2mo agoDeputyPayDay Super for Deputy Payroll
  4. 2mo agoOpenCATSOpenCATS v0.10.0
  5. 3mo agoDeputySensitive Data Permissions for Pay Rates
  6. 4mo agoDeputyCustom Access Levels
  7. 4mo agoDeputyCustom access levels
  8. 5mo agoDeputyFreeze Empty/Open Shift Row in Schedule Employee Views
  9. 5mo agoDeputyOpen/empty shift row can be pinned in schedule views
  10. 2y agoOpenCATSv 0.9.7.4 Bugfixes and Security fixes
  11. 2y agoOpenCATS0.9.7.3: RussH patch cookies (#641)
  12. 2y agoOpenCATSSecurity release v0.9.7.2

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Deputy and OpenCATS?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. OpenCATS is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Deputy better than OpenCATS?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. OpenCATS is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other HR products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Deputy?

Top Deputy alternatives in HR are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Deputy alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/deputy for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to OpenCATS?

Top OpenCATS alternatives in HR are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "OpenCATS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/opencats for the full list with editorial commentary on each.