KeyPay vs Employment Hero — Australia 2026
KeyPay vs Employment Hero for AU payroll. Same award engine, different scope — compare HR features, pricing, super clearing & compliance.
Quick Verdict
Same engine; Employment Hero publishes payroll prices, KeyPay does not
Employment Hero acquired KeyPay. Awards sit on KeyPay Plus and on Employment Hero Payroll Premium. keypay.com.au/pricing is quote-only. Employment Hero classic list is Payroll Standard $8 (no awards) and Premium $10 (awards), plus OS Lite $20 with a $200 floor. Choose KeyPay if you only need payroll and can get a quote. Choose Employment Hero if you want HR modules or a published payroll SKU.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | KeyPay | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Sydney, NSW | Sydney, NSW |
| Entry Price | Quote | $10/mo ex GST |
| BAS Lodgement | Payroll-only. BAS stays in the connected accounting product. | HR/payroll platform. BAS stays in Xero/MYOB/QuickBooks. |
| STP Phase 2 | compliant | compliant |
| Payday Super | ready | ready |
| Modern Awards | Award interpretation is Plus-only on keypay.com.au/pricing and /feature/automation-for-awards. Vendor copy: pre-built modern awards kept up to date with Fair Work. Not a Fair Work certification. Standard does not include it. | 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. |
| Data Hosting | AU | AU |
| AU Support Hours | Mon-Fri 9am-5pm AEST | Mon-Fri 8am-6pm AEST |
| Phone Support | No | Yes |
| Integrations | 30+ apps | 50+ apps |
Pricing Comparison (AUD, Mar 2026)
KeyPay Plans
Standard
Quote
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Clients: unlimited
Most Popular
Plus
Quote
per employee
- ✓Employees: unlimited
- ✓Clients: unlimited
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
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.
KeyPay
BAS Lodgement0/5
STP Phase 25/5
Payday Super5/5
Modern Awards5/5
GST Handling0/5
Bank Feeds0/5
Employment Hero
BAS Lodgement0/5
STP Phase 25/5
Payday Super5/5
Modern Awards5/5
GST Handling0/5
Bank Feeds0/5
Pros & Cons
KeyPay
Pros
- Plus plan lists pre-built Modern Award interpretation and a pay conditions engine
- STP reporting and automated super payments listed on Standard and Plus
- Unlimited employees and clients on the published feature matrix
- AWS Sydney hosting on the trust page, with ISO 27001 and PCI copy
- Native accounting journals to Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks on the integrations page
- Built for accountants running many client payrolls
Cons
- AU pricing page is quote-only — previously stored $4/$6 per employee cannot be re-confirmed
- Payroll-only: no BAS, GST, invoicing or bank feeds
- Award interpretation is Plus, not Standard
- No phone support on the pages opened this check
- KeyPay is now Employment Hero — standalone KeyPay buyers are pushed to EH sales
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
Who Should Choose KeyPay
KeyPay is best suited for businesses that need accountant bookkeeper, multi client payroll, complex modern awards.
Choose KeyPay if you are:
- Accountant Bookkeeper
- Multi Client Payroll
- Complex Modern Awards
- Hospitality Payroll
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