Rostering and payroll · Australia
Employment Hero vs Deputy: payroll plan or roster add-on
Both now run Australian payroll, from opposite starting points. Deputy is a rostering platform whose base plans start at $6.75 per user a month billed annually ($7.50 billed monthly), with payroll as a $5 per user add-on on every Australian plan, all in AUD excluding taxes; monthly plans carry a AUD $30 minimum spend and every manager counts as a user (deputy.com/au/pricing, read 4 October 2026). Employment Hero is an HR and payroll platform whose Payroll plan is listed at $10 with a 10-user minimum, and rostering is a $4 per employee a month add-on; no billing period or tax basis is printed beside the $10 (employmenthero.com/pricing, read 4 October 2026). For a shift team under ten people, Deputy's floor is a dollar amount and Employment Hero's is a headcount.
Refer Labs may earn a commission if you sign up or buy through the links on this page, including to Employment Hero, at no extra cost to you. Deputy is not a Refer Labs partner and earns us nothing. Other rostering and payroll software is sold in Australia, and only these two are compared here.
Employment Hero
HR and payroll first, with rostering added on.
- Payroll plan with award interpretation and employee self-service
- Rostering and time and attendance as an add-on
- HR plans, and a Managed Payroll service, sold alongside
No Refer Labs code. Refer Labs earns a commission if you sign up through this link.
Continue to Employment HeroDeputy
Rostering and timesheets first, with payroll added on.
- Lite, Core and Pro plans built around shifts and time clocks
- Payroll add-on available on every Australian plan
- Award templates and a Pay Rate Builder for pay rules
No Refer Labs code. Refer Labs does not earn from Deputy; this link opens Deputy's own pricing page.
See Deputy's plansDoes Deputy do payroll in Australia?
Yes, as an add-on. Deputy lists Payroll at $5 per user a month (AUD, excluding taxes, billed monthly, with 10% off on annual billing; read 4 October 2026), available on all Australian plans, with multi-entity pay runs, award templates, a Pay Rate Builder and payslips in the mobile app. Its payroll page says it is designed to support Single Touch Payroll Phase 2. Payroll sits on top of a base plan rather than replacing it, so the bill is the base rate plus the add-on for each user.
The mirror image holds on the other side. Employment Hero publishes a per-seat Payroll plan and sells rostering, time clocks, timesheets and geofencing as its Rostering & Time and Attendance add-on, so neither company now needs the other to cover both jobs.
What does each include?
| Read 4 October 2026 | Employment Hero | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | HR and payroll | Rostering, timesheets and time clocks |
| Base planread 4 October 2026 | Payroll plan $10, "Conditions apply"; no period or tax basis printed | Lite $6.75, Core $8.75, Pro $13 per user/month billed annually; $7.50, $9.75, $14.50 billed monthly; AUD excl taxes |
| Payrollread 4 October 2026 | The base plan itself | Add-on, $5 per user/month billed monthly, on all Australian plans |
| Rosteringread 4 October 2026 | Add-on, $4 per employee/month | Included: basic on Lite, advanced on Core |
| HRread 4 October 2026 | HR plans sold separately; Employment Unlimited bundles both (quoted) | Add-on, $3.50 per user/month |
| Minimumread 4 October 2026 | 10 users, billed on the higher of contracted or active | AUD $30 a month per invoice on monthly plans |
| Who counts as a user | Users in your agreement or active users, whichever is higher | All users, administrators and supervisors |
Choose Employment Hero if
- You employ ten or more people, so the minimum is already covered by headcount.
- Contracts, onboarding, performance and employee records are as big a job as the roster.
- You want a payroll specialist to run pay for you: Managed Payroll is listed at $20 per employee a month (read 4 October 2026).
Choose Deputy if
- Your staff work shifts and the roster is the screen managers open every day.
- You have fewer than ten staff, where Employment Hero would bill for ten users.
- You already roster in Deputy and want payroll without moving to another system.
Employment Hero and Deputy: common questions
Does Deputy do payroll in Australia?
Yes. Deputy sells a Payroll add-on at $5 per user a month, AUD excluding taxes, billed monthly, which it says is available on all plans in Australia and can be tried free for 30 days (deputy.com/au/pricing, read 4 October 2026). Its payroll page says Deputy Payroll is designed to support Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 reporting.
Is there a minimum spend on Deputy?
Yes. Deputy's pricing FAQ states a minimum monthly spend of AUD $30 per invoice on its monthly Lite, Core and Pro plans, in place since 1 September 2025 (read 4 October 2026).
Do managers count as users on Deputy?
Yes. Deputy's FAQ says all users, administrators and supervisors are counted in your total user number (deputy.com/au/pricing, read 4 October 2026). Count your managers when you work out a per-user bill.
How many users does Employment Hero charge for at minimum?
Ten. The Payroll plan, listed at $10, carries the condition that a subscription must include at least 10 users, billed on the higher of your contracted or active users. No billing period or GST basis is printed beside the price (employmenthero.com/pricing, read 4 October 2026).
Is Refer Labs paid by Deputy?
No. Employment Hero pays Refer Labs a commission on sign-ups from this page. Deputy has no arrangement with us, and the Deputy button opens its pricing page directly.
Open the one that fits your roster
Per-user pricing moves with plan changes and promotions. Everything above is dated 4 October 2026; confirm the current figures on the vendor's page before you commit.
Employment Hero
HR and payroll first, with rostering added on.
- Payroll plan with award interpretation and employee self-service
- Rostering and time and attendance as an add-on
- HR plans, and a Managed Payroll service, sold alongside
No Refer Labs code. Refer Labs earns a commission if you sign up through this link.
Continue to Employment HeroDeputy
Rostering and timesheets first, with payroll added on.
- Lite, Core and Pro plans built around shifts and time clocks
- Payroll add-on available on every Australian plan
- Award templates and a Pay Rate Builder for pay rules
No Refer Labs code. Refer Labs does not earn from Deputy; this link opens Deputy's own pricing page.
See Deputy's plansSources
Each page below is the vendor's own, read on 4 October 2026. Prices are shown in the currency and on the tax basis each vendor prints, and are not converted or added together.
- Deputy Australian pricing and FAQ: www.deputy.com/au/pricing, read 4 October 2026
- Deputy Australian payroll page: www.deputy.com/au/payroll-software, read 4 October 2026
- Employment Hero pricing, Payroll tab and add-ons: employmenthero.com/pricing/, read 4 October 2026
Editor Jarred, FounderLast updated How we compareHow we make money
Refer Labs is an independent Australian comparison publisher.
Some links on this page are affiliate links, including to Employment Hero. If you sign up or buy through one, Refer Labs may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never changes a comparison or a conclusion.