Employment Hero vs Tanda — Australia 2026
Employment Hero vs Tanda for AU businesses. Compare Modern Awards, rostering, payroll, HR onboarding, pricing & hospitality features.
Quick Verdict
Employment Hero for end-to-end HR; Tanda for hospitality rostering
Employment Hero bundles HR, payroll, onboarding, and leave management with 5/5 Modern Award compliance and confirmed Payday Super readiness. Tanda focuses on workforce management with excellent time & attendance and award-compliant rostering, particularly strong in hospitality. Tanda's modular pricing ($6/user for time tracking, $4.50 add-on for rostering) is slightly cheaper than Employment Hero's $8-12/employee/mo, but Tanda has no payroll or HR onboarding. Choose Employment Hero for a complete HR platform; choose Tanda if you're a hospitality business needing specialist rostering.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Employment Hero | Tanda |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Sydney, NSW | Brisbane, QLD |
| Entry Price | $20/mo | $12.8/mo |
| BAS Lodgement | HR/Payroll platform — BAS via accounting integration (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks) | Workforce management — not an accounting tool |
| STP Phase 2 | compliant | n/a |
| Payday Super | ready | n/a |
| Modern Awards | 50+ pre-configured Modern Awards with auto-interpretation of penalty rates, overtime, allowances, and leave loading. Rates auto-update when Fair Work Commission publishes changes. Powered by KeyPay award engine. | 30+ managed Modern Award templates including MA000009 (Hospitality), MA000119 (Restaurant), GRIA (Retail), SCHADS, Aged Care, Pharmacy, Children's Services. Auto-updates after Fair Work Commission rulings. |
| Data Hosting | AU | AU |
| AU Support Hours | Mon-Fri 8am-6pm AEST | Mon-Fri 9am-5pm AEST |
| Phone Support | Yes | No |
| Integrations | 50+ apps | 40+ apps |
Pricing Comparison (AUD, Mar 2026)
Employment Hero Plans
Lite
$20/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
Most Popular
Plus
$40/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
Unlimited
$60/mo
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
Tanda Plans
Most Popular
All-in-One
$12.8/mo
per user
- ✓Users: unlimited
Workforce Management
$/mo
per user
- ✓Users: unlimited
HR Add-on
$/mo
per user
- ✓Users: unlimited
Payroll Add-on
$/mo
per user
- ✓Users: unlimited
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
Tanda
BAS Lodgement0/5
STP Phase 20/5
Payday Super0/5
Modern Awards5/5
GST Handling0/5
Bank Feeds0/5
Pros & Cons
Employment Hero
Pros
- All-in-one HR + Payroll eliminates multiple subscriptions — onboarding, leave, rostering, payroll, and compliance in one platform
- Best-in-class Modern Award auto-interpretation: 50+ pre-configured awards with automatic Fair Work rate updates (powered by KeyPay engine)
- STP Phase 2 compliant (ATO-recognised since Sept 2022) and Payday Super ready via HeroClear real-time NPP payments
- AU-made (Sydney, 2014), AU-hosted (AWS Sydney), SOC 2 Type II (Oct 2025) and ISO 27001 certified
- Native integrations with Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks Online — payroll journals sync automatically
- Employee self-service app for payslips, leave requests, and personal detail updates — reduces HR admin
- Digital onboarding with paperless contracts, TFN declarations, and super choice forms
- 300,000+ businesses globally — one of Australia's largest HR tech platforms
Cons
- Per-employee pricing with high minimums: Lite $200/month minimum means businesses under 10 employees pay more per head
- Significantly more expensive than standalone payroll: $20/employee vs KeyPay $4/employee or Payroller free for 1 employee
- Prices exclude GST — actual cost is $22-66/employee/month incl. GST
- Phone support locked to Unlimited plan ($60/employee/month) — Lite and Plus get email and chat only
- Rostering described as basic — lacks staff list views, advanced filtering, and live budget forecasting compared to Deputy or RosterElf
- No accounting, invoicing, or BAS lodgement — requires separate accounting software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks)
- HR features (performance management, recruitment) may be overkill for businesses that only need payroll
- Support limited to AEST business hours (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm) — no 24/7 support
Tanda
Pros
- Industry-leading Modern Award interpretation — 30+ managed templates with auto-updates
- Affordable modular pricing with All-in-One bundle at $12.80+GST/user/month
- Excellent time & attendance with geofenced clock-in and photo verification
- Integrates natively with Xero, MYOB, KeyPay, QuickBooks, and major POS systems
- AU-made (Brisbane), AU-hosted (AWS Sydney), AU-supported
- Deep expertise in hospitality, retail, and aged care workforce management
Cons
- Individual module pricing not publicly listed — requires sales contact
- Per-user pricing adds up for large casual teams
- Mobile app lacks offline functionality and separates time tracking into separate clock app
- No after-hours support — AEST business hours only
- Limited to workforce management — not a full HRIS platform
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 Tanda
Tanda is best suited for businesses that need hospitality, cafe, restaurant.
Choose Tanda if you are:
- Hospitality
- Cafe
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Hotel
- Aged Care
- Retail
- Pharmacy