Honest Employment Hero vs RosterElf comparison 2026 (Australia)
Updated Jan 5, 2026 • 16 min read
Written by
Steve Harris
Choosing the right workforce management platform affects labour costs, staffing reliability, and day-to-day operations. This guide provides an honest comparison between RosterElf and Employment Hero, focusing on scheduling, time tracking, payroll integration, HR tools, and support that matter most to Australian shift-based businesses.
Employment Hero and RosterElf take fundamentally different approaches — Employment Hero is HR-first with rostering as an add-on, while RosterElf is purpose-built for rostering with optional HR features.
Read our honest Employment Hero review 2026
In-depth analysis of Employment Hero's pricing, rostering, time tracking, payroll, HR tools, and mobile apps.
Read full reviewQuick summary
Employment Hero is one of Australia's largest HR platforms, originally built for human resources management before expanding into rostering, time tracking, and payroll. Its strength lies in comprehensive HR compliance tools, document management, and employee onboarding. However, our Employment Hero review found rostering features are basic, payroll setup was challenging with broken documentation, and support availability is limited.
RosterElf is an Australian-built rostering, HR and payroll-prep platform designed for shift-based SMEs, offering drag-and-drop rostering, award interpretation, strong Xero and MYOB integrations, and an optional HR layer for contracts, policies, and onboarding.
Pricing & plans
Both platforms use different pricing structures. Employment Hero offers three tiers: Lite ($20, minimum $200/month), Plus ($40, minimum $400/month), and Unlimited ($60, minimum $600/month) per employee per month. RosterElf uses a simpler two-tier structure with most features included in the base $8/month price.
RosterElf HR starts at $4/month vs Employment Hero's $20/month
Save 80% on HR software costs
Price comparison (monthly billing)
| Employment Hero | RosterElf | |
|---|---|---|
| HR only | $20.00 (Lite, min $200/mo) | $4.00 (HR Plan) |
| Core/Base plan | $20.00 (Lite, min $200/mo) | $8.00 (rostering + time + payroll) |
| Mid-tier plan | $40.00 (Plus, min $400/mo) | $10.00 (Full Suite) |
| Premium plan | $60.00 (Unlimited, min $600/mo) | N/A (one tier fits all) |
| Rostering & time tracking | Included in all plans | $0.00 (included) |
| Award interpretation | Included (basic) | $0.00 (included - advanced) |
| Team messaging | Limited | $0.00 (included) |
| HR features | Included | $2.00 (Full Suite add-on) |
| Payroll | Built-in or Xero integration | Xero/MYOB integration |
Employment Hero pricing proof (January 2026)
Screenshots from Employment Hero's official pricing page showing their three tiers:
RosterElf pricing
Core
Rostering, time & attendance and payroll-ready
per employee per month
+ GST, billed monthly
Start free trial See all featuresFull Suite
Rostering, time & attendance and HR
per employee per month
+ GST, billed monthly
Start free trial See all featuresHR
Without rostering or time & attendance
per employee per month
+ GST, billed monthly
Start free trial See all features$25 minimum monthly spend applies to all plans. All prices exclude GST. Contact us for enterprise pricing (250+ employees).
Pricing summary
RosterElf's pricing follows a simple structure: Core plan at $8 AUD per employee/month (or $6 annual) covers rostering, time tracking, award interpretation, Xero/MYOB payroll integration, messaging and analytics. Full Suite at $10/month adds HR Hub for onboarding, contracts, and compliance tracking.
Employment Hero's modular approach means costs vary significantly based on which features you need. While their base HR plan is competitive, adding rostering, time tracking, and payroll modules increases costs substantially. For businesses primarily focused on rostering and scheduling, RosterElf typically offers better value.
⭐ Verdict: RosterElf is the better value for rostering-focused businesses because it includes more operational features in its base price. Employment Hero's modular pricing can add up quickly when you need the full workforce management stack.
RosterElf is better for:
- Predictable, all-in-one pricing
- SMEs focused on rostering and time tracking
Employment Hero is better for:
- Businesses primarily needing HR compliance
- Organisations wanting built-in payroll (not Xero/MYOB)
Rostering & scheduling
This is where the platforms differ most significantly. RosterElf is purpose-built for rostering, while Employment Hero added rostering as an extension of their HR platform.
RosterElf rostering
RosterElf provides comprehensive rostering with staff, site, and position views, daily/weekly/fortnightly/monthly options, inline filtering, and real-time labour cost visibility as you build rosters. Shift tiles show site, role, time, and break information upfront, reducing clicks. The "Perfect Match" feature suggests the best staff based on availability, qualifications, and cost.
Employment Hero rostering
Employment Hero's "Roster Management" displays shifts by work site with positions listed below. While the interface is clean, our review found significant limitations: no staff list view option, limited filtering capabilities, no live labour budgeting tool, and no copy roster function. Adding shifts is straightforward, but the lack of advanced features makes it less suited for roster-intensive businesses.
Feature comparison
| Feature | RosterElf | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Staff list view | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Position/role view | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Advanced filtering | ✅ Yes (inline) | ❌ Limited |
| Live labour budgeting | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Roster templates | ✅ Yes (with metadata) | ✅ Yes |
| Copy roster | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Shift cost breakdown | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Award-aware scheduling | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Basic |
| Perfect Match suggestions | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Monthly view | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
⭐ Verdict: RosterElf wins decisively for rostering. Employment Hero's rostering "feels like an add-on rather than a core strength" — it covers basics but lacks advanced features that roster-intensive businesses need.
RosterElf is better for:
- Day-to-day rostering operations
- Real-time cost visibility while building rosters
- Businesses with complex filtering needs
Employment Hero is better for:
- Basic rostering needs secondary to HR
- Businesses with simple, static schedules
Time & attendance
Both platforms offer mobile clock in/out with GPS verification, but their capabilities differ in customisation and flexibility.
RosterElf time tracking
RosterElf provides mobile app clock in/out, kiosk mode for shared devices, GPS verification with pin drop locations, photo capture for buddy punching prevention, and customisable rules per site. Time data automatically feeds into award-interpreted timesheets ready for payroll export.
Employment Hero time tracking
Employment Hero offers clock in/out via their Work app with geo-fence support and optional selfie capture. However, our review found limitations: no kiosk app option, no specific pin drop location setting, and no ability to set different rules for different sites. This becomes problematic for multi-site businesses.
| Feature | RosterElf | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile app clock in/out | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| GPS verification | ✅ Yes (pin drop) | ✅ Yes (geo-fence) |
| Photo capture | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (selfie) |
| Kiosk mode | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Specific pin drop location | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Per-site rules | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Award-interpreted timesheets | ✅ Automatic | ✅ Available |
⭐ Verdict: RosterElf offers more flexible time tracking with kiosk support, pin drop locations, and per-site rules — essential for multi-site operations.
Timesheets & payroll
Payroll is where the platforms take completely different approaches — and where Employment Hero had significant issues during our review.
RosterElf payroll integration
RosterElf integrates with Xero and MYOB, automatically exporting award-interpreted timesheets with penalty rates, allowances, and overtime calculated. The integration is rated 4.9/5 on Xero App Store (89 reviews). Setup is straightforward with clear documentation and support available.
Employment Hero payroll
Employment Hero offers built-in payroll as an alternative to external systems. However, our review experience was disappointing. Tutorial videos in the "Payroll Start Guide" didn't play (marking complete without showing content). Help articles had outdated instructions and broken videos. We were unable to complete payroll setup during our review due to documentation issues and lack of available support slots.
Employment Hero's Xero integration is rated 3.4/5 (15 reviews) with recent reviews mentioning "major bugs" preventing setup and support issues.
| Aspect | RosterElf | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll approach | Xero/MYOB integration | Built-in or Xero integration |
| Xero App Store rating | 4.9/5 (89 reviews) | 3.4/5 (15 reviews) |
| Award interpretation | ✅ Automatic | ✅ Available |
| Setup documentation | ✅ Working | ❌ Broken videos, outdated |
| Setup support | ✅ Available | ❌ No slots available |
⭐ Verdict: RosterElf's Xero integration is significantly better rated and easier to set up. Employment Hero's payroll had serious documentation and support issues during our review.
Communication
Team communication is essential for shift-based businesses. The platforms take different approaches here.
RosterElf communication
RosterElf includes built-in team messaging, roster notifications via app/email/SMS, shift swap requests, and availability management. All communication features are included in the base price.
Employment Hero communication
Employment Hero doesn't have a dedicated messaging feature for team communication. Available tools focus on HR processes: bulk email for recruitment, document distribution, and onboarding invites. Real-time operational communication isn't a strength — businesses may need external tools for daily team messaging.
⭐ Verdict: RosterElf includes operational team messaging built-in. Employment Hero focuses on HR-style communications rather than day-to-day team chat.
Smartphone apps
Both platforms have mobile apps, but their focus differs significantly.
RosterElf mobile app
RosterElf's app is focused on operational workforce management: view rosters, clock in/out, request leave, swap shifts, update availability, and receive notifications. The interface is purpose-built for staff and managers who need quick access to scheduling information.
Employment Hero mobile app
Employment Hero Work app covers Work, Money, and Perks sections. The Work section includes rosters, timesheets, leave, documents, and more — but many features are crammed into limited menus. The Money section tracks bills, points, and super. Perks is essentially a loyalty program for discounts. Our review found the interface cluttered and not operationally focused for daily rostering tasks.
⭐ Verdict: RosterElf's app is focused on what shift workers need daily. Employment Hero's app tries to do everything but doesn't excel at operational workforce management.
HR tools
This is Employment Hero's core strength — they were built HR-first before expanding into rostering.
Employment Hero HR
Employment Hero offers comprehensive HR including: recruitment and onboarding, certificate and document management, forms and induction content, HR guides and template library, incident reporting, asset register, bulk document issuing, performance management, goals and peer feedback. The template library is impressive with easy search and filtering.
RosterElf HR Hub
RosterElf's HR Hub (Full Suite plan) covers essentials: employee onboarding, digital contracts, certificate tracking with expiry alerts, policy acknowledgments, and compliance records. It's designed for shift-based teams rather than enterprise HR departments.
| Feature | RosterElf | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Employee onboarding | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (comprehensive) |
| Digital contracts | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Certificate tracking | ✅ Yes (with expiry alerts) | ✅ Yes |
| Template library | ✅ Basic | ✅ Extensive |
| Performance management | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Recruitment tools | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Incident reporting | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
⭐ Verdict: Employment Hero wins for comprehensive HR. Their HR suite is genuinely impressive for businesses with complex compliance needs and dedicated HR staff.
Employment Hero is better for:
- Complex HR compliance requirements
- Businesses with dedicated HR staff
- Performance management and recruitment
RosterElf is better for:
- SMEs needing essential HR for shift workers
- Certificate tracking with roster integration
Analytics & reporting
RosterElf reporting
RosterElf provides real-time labour cost visibility within the roster, timesheet reports, payroll exports, attendance reports, and leave tracking. Reports are designed around operational needs with PDF and CSV export options.
Employment Hero reporting
Employment Hero has a dedicated Reports tab with pre-built reports covering HR, compliance, time, and development. Filtering options are good, but export is CSV-only (no PDF). Reports reflect their HR focus rather than operational rostering analytics.
⭐ Verdict: RosterElf's reporting is more operationally focused with real-time cost visibility. Employment Hero has good HR reports but lacks PDF export.
Best fit & use cases
Choose RosterElf if you:
- Are a rostering-focused SME (5-200 staff)
- Need advanced scheduling features
- Want real-time labour cost visibility
- Use Xero or MYOB for payroll
- Need reliable Australian support
- Operate across multiple sites with different rules
- Want simple, predictable pricing
Choose Employment Hero if you:
- Are an HR-focused organisation (50+ staff)
- Have dedicated HR staff
- Need comprehensive compliance tools
- Want built-in payroll (not Xero/MYOB)
- Prioritise HR over rostering
- Are based in AEST timezone
- Have resources for potentially complex setup
User ratings
User feedback tells an important story about each platform's real-world performance.
| Platform | RosterElf | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Xero App Store | 4.9/5 (89 reviews) | 3.4/5 (15 reviews) |
| Google Reviews | 4.8/5 | 4.1/5 (618 reviews) |
| G2 | 4.5/5 | 4.5/5 |
Employment Hero's Google reviews (4.1/5) skew positive but many are from employees praising the app for viewing payslips — not business owners evaluating the platform. Xero App Store reviews from business owners highlight support issues, billing disputes, and integration problems.
⭐ Verdict: RosterElf has significantly higher ratings on Xero App Store (4.9 vs 3.4) and Google Reviews (4.8 vs 4.1). The ratings gap on Xero is particularly telling for businesses relying on that integration.
Security & privacy
Both platforms take security seriously as they handle sensitive employee data.
| Feature | RosterElf | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Data encryption | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Australian data hosting | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Two-factor authentication | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| SOC 2 Type II | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (October 2025) |
| SSO | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Public Trust Centre | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
⭐ Verdict: Employment Hero wins for security with SOC 2 Type II certification and enterprise features like SSO. Both platforms meet Australian data hosting requirements.
Customer support
Support quality can make or break your experience with workforce management software.
RosterElf support
RosterElf provides Australian-based support via phone, email, and chat during business hours. Free onboarding assistance is included for all new customers. Documentation is kept up-to-date with working videos and guides.
Employment Hero support
Our review found Employment Hero's support concerning. No onboarding emails were received during the trial. Phone support required a "Support Pin" with unclear setup instructions. Booking support showed no available slots until January 2026. Support is AEST hours only — limiting for Western Australian businesses. Documentation included broken videos and outdated instructions.
⭐ Verdict: RosterElf wins for support accessibility and documentation quality. Employment Hero's support limitations were a significant concern during our review.
Final verdict
Employment Hero and RosterElf serve different primary purposes. Employment Hero is an HR-first platform that added rostering, while RosterElf is a rostering-first platform with optional HR features.
Choose RosterElf if rostering and scheduling are your primary needs. RosterElf wins on rostering features, time tracking flexibility, payroll integration ratings, communication tools, mobile app focus, analytics, user ratings, and customer support. It's purpose-built for shift-based Australian SMEs.
Choose Employment Hero if comprehensive HR compliance is your priority and you have dedicated HR staff to manage the platform. Employment Hero wins on HR tools and enterprise security (SOC 2). It's better suited to medium-large organisations where HR is the primary concern and rostering is secondary.
⭐ Final verdict: For rostering-focused Australian SMEs, RosterElf is the clear winner — winning 9 of 11 categories. Employment Hero excels at HR but struggles as a workforce management tool.
Recommended for Australian SMEs Choose RosterElf if you:
- Are a rostering-focused SME (5-200 staff)
- Need advanced scheduling features
- Want real-time labour cost visibility
- Use Xero or MYOB for payroll
- Need reliable Australian support
- Want simple, predictable pricing
HR focus Choose Employment Hero if you:
- Are an HR-focused organisation (50+ staff)
- Have dedicated HR staff
- Need comprehensive compliance tools
- Want built-in payroll (not Xero/MYOB)
- Prioritise HR over rostering
- Need SOC 2 certification
4.8+ stars See what RosterElf customers say
Verified reviews from 30,000+ Australian businesses on Google, Xero App Store and G2.
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Related resources
Employment Hero vs RosterElf FAQ
- It depends on your priorities. Employment Hero is an HR-first platform with comprehensive compliance tools, best suited for medium-large businesses with dedicated HR staff. RosterElf is purpose-built for Australian SMBs focused on rostering and scheduling, with built-in award interpretation, simpler pricing, and dedicated local support. For rostering-focused businesses, RosterElf is typically the better choice.
- Employment Hero's pricing starts at $20 per employee per month (Lite plan, minimum $200/month), with Plus at $40 (minimum $400/month) and Unlimited at $60 (minimum $600/month). RosterElf offers transparent all-in-one pricing at $8/month with award interpretation, rostering, time tracking, payroll integration, and team communication built-in. For rostering-focused businesses, RosterElf offers better value.
- RosterElf includes built-in award interpretation that automatically calculates penalty rates, allowances, and overtime. Employment Hero offers award templates but rostering features are more basic with no staff list view, limited filtering, and no live labour budgeting. For day-to-day rostering compliance, RosterElf's automated approach is significantly easier.
- Yes. Export your employee data from Employment Hero and import it into RosterElf via CSV. Our team provides free onboarding assistance to help configure your rosters, awards, and integrations. Most businesses complete the switch within 1-2 weeks.
- Both platforms integrate with Xero, but user feedback on Xero App Store rates RosterElf 4.9/5 compared to Employment Hero's 3.4/5. Recent Employment Hero reviews mention Xero integration issues and "major bugs." RosterElf automatically maps award-interpreted pay items to Xero for seamless payroll.
- RosterElf is specifically designed for Australian SMBs with shift-based teams. Employment Hero is positioned for medium-large businesses with complex HR requirements and dedicated HR staff. Small businesses focused on rostering will find RosterElf simpler, more affordable, and easier to set up.
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