Employment Hero vs Payroller — Australia 2026
Employment Hero vs Payroller for AU businesses. Compare Modern Awards, STP Phase 2, Payday Super, HR features & pricing.
Quick Verdict
Employment Hero for awards and HR; Payroller for micro STP
Employment Hero Payroll Premium ($10/employee, min $100) lists pre-built awards and HeroClear. Payroller Lite is free mobile STP for one person; Standard is $5.50/employee monthly after intro with a $22 floor and no documented award engine. Once you have award-covered staff or onboarding workflows, Employment Hero's floor is the honest cost of that scope.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Employment Hero | Payroller |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Sydney, NSW | Sydney, NSW |
| Entry Price | $10/mo ex GST | Free |
| BAS Lodgement | HR/payroll platform. BAS stays in Xero/MYOB/QuickBooks. | Payroll only — no BAS features. |
| STP Phase 2 | compliant | compliant |
| Payday Super | ready | ready |
| Modern Awards | Pre-built Modern Awards listed on Payroll Premium (classic) and on OS plans that include payroll. Not on Payroll Standard. Vendor copy, not Fair Work certification. | No award-interpretation spec on the pricing or payday-super pages opened this check. Prior 'basic awards / manual penalty rates' copy is retained as a limitation, not re-proven. |
| Data Hosting | AU | AU |
| AU Support Hours | Mon-Fri 8am-6pm AEST | Mon-Fri 9am-5pm AEST |
| Phone Support | Yes | No |
| Integrations | 50+ apps | 5+ apps |
Pricing Comparison (AUD, Mar 2026)
Employment Hero Plans
HR Essentials
$10/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Minimum Users: 10
HR Engage
$14/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Minimum Users: 10
Payroll Standard
$8/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Minimum Monthly: 80
Most Popular
Payroll Premium
$10/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Minimum Monthly: 100
Lite
$20/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Minimum Monthly: 200
- ✓Minimum Users: 10
Plus
$40/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Minimum Monthly: 400
- ✓Minimum Users: 10
Unlimited
$60/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Minimum Monthly: 600
- ✓Minimum Users: 10
Payroller Plans
Lite
Free
AUD inc GST
- ✓Employees: 1
- ✓Web Payroll: No
Most Popular
Standard
$5.5/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Minimum Monthly: 22
- ✓Minimum Annual Monthly: 15.96
AU Compliance Scores
How we scoreScores are out of 5 and reflect depth of compliance support, ease of setup, and ongoing reliability for Australian businesses. Assessed March 2026.
Employment Hero
BAS Lodgement0/5
STP Phase 25/5
Payday Super5/5
Modern Awards5/5
GST Handling0/5
Bank Feeds0/5
Payroller
BAS Lodgement0/5
STP Phase 25/5
Payday Super4/5
Modern Awards3/5
GST Handling0/5
Bank Feeds0/5
Pros & Cons
Employment Hero
Pros
- Published HR SKUs: Essentials $10 and Engage $14 per employee/month (min 10 users)
- Published payroll SKUs: Standard $8 and Premium $10 per employee/month on the classic price list
- Digital onboarding on Essentials+ (help centre, 30 Aug 2026)
- Pre-built Modern Awards on Payroll Premium (vendor copy)
- HeroClear documented for Payday Super inside payroll
- Trust Centre: SOC 2 and ISO 27001:2022 / 27017 / 27018
Cons
- Three overlapping price lists — easy to compare the wrong SKU
- HR Essentials $10 does not include payroll or in-plan rostering (rostering is $4 extra, min $40)
- Minimums ($80–$600 / 10 users) punish teams under ~10 people
- GST not stated on the dollar cards
- No BAS/GST/invoicing — needs Xero or MYOB
- Super batch fees ($0.20 ex GST HeroClear or $0.30 on the classic page) sit on top of seat price
Payroller
Pros
- Lite is genuinely $0 for one-person mobile STP
- Published Standard rates after intro: $5.50 monthly / $3.99 yearly per employee
- 7-day trial and 30-day money-back on the pricing page
- STP Phase 2 listed on Lite and Standard
- Privacy policy: servers in Australia
- Xero integration listed on Standard
Cons
- Lite is not web payroll and does not list super
- After promo, $22 monthly minimum so 1–3 staff pay the floor
- GST treatment not stated on the pricing FAQ
- No documented auto award interpretation on the pages opened
- Payday Super evidence is marketing-banner plus a prepare-for-2026 hub — mixed
- No BAS/invoicing
Who Should Choose Employment Hero
Employment Hero is best suited for businesses that need growing business 10 plus, hospitality, retail.
Choose Employment Hero if you are:
- Growing Business 10 Plus
- Hospitality
- Retail
- Healthcare
- Hr And Payroll Combined
- Modern Award Compliance
Who Should Choose Payroller
Payroller is best suited for businesses that need micro business, sole trader with one employee, simple payroll.
Choose Payroller if you are:
- Micro Business
- Sole Trader With One Employee
- Simple Payroll
- Budget Payroll