Employment Hero vs Rippling
We give Employment Hero a 1.8 GPA and Rippling a 2.4, out of 4.0. Rippling grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Employment Hero
Payroll, HR and hiring for Australia, NZ, the UK and Asia
Rippling
HR, IT and finance platform with US and global payroll, by quote
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAEmployment HeroWeak | 2.4GPARipplingFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThere's no US price: payroll is A$10 a user a month, in Australian dollars, with a 10-user minimum, so a team of five pays for ten, A$100 a month. With no US edition, a US team has nothing to buy here at any price. | CNo payroll price is published. Rippling says plans start at $8 an employee a month plus a base fee it doesn't state, so five people are at least $40 before that fee, and each module is priced on its own. Quote only. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial on record, and every plan bills for at least 10 users from the start. | FNo free plan or trial. Eligible US venture-backed startups can get 6 months free, but that's a program you qualify for, not a trial anyone can start. |
| Features | CIn its own countries it covers payroll well: Australian STP and super, UK RTI, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia filings, an AI agent that prepares pay runs, rostering and HR. But there's no US edition, so it can't pay a US team. | BPayroll fed straight from HR records, pay-run comparisons, US taxes filed, global payroll, an employer-of-record service and contractor payments abroad, plus approval rules and workflows. The whole job, at home and abroad. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. An AI agent prepares each pay run for you to approve, but there are award rules, rosters and a 10-user account to set up first. | A4.71 from about 16,600 App Store ratings. New hires and salary changes flow into payroll without retyping, though choosing and pricing the modules takes a sales call. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with the Work app for payslips, leave and shifts. Separate sites serve Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Canada, but none serves the US. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite among more than 650 integrations. No desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | Australian businesses with award rules | growing companies that want HR, IT and payroll as one |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Employment Hero and Rippling. How we grade
Where they differ
- Rippling also covers workflow automation and expense tracking.
At a glance
| Employment Hero | Rippling | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | A$10 per user / month for payroll, minimum 10 users (Australian dollars) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Employment Hero Pty Ltd | Rippling |
| Price read from | employmenthero.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Employment Hero
- Australian businesses that need award interpretation and STP reporting
- Employers in New Zealand, the UK, Singapore or Malaysia wanting payroll and HR together
- Teams of 10 or more that want rostering feeding straight into pay
Rippling
- Growing companies that want HR, payroll and IT in one system
- Teams with staff or contractors in more than one country
- US venture-backed startups eligible for six free months
Worth knowing
Employment Hero
- Runs payroll in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Canada, each on its own site; there is no US edition.
- Prices here are the Australian site's, in Australian dollars; the UK site lists HR Essentials at £6 and HR Engage at £9 a user from 1 November 2026.
- Every plan has a 10-user minimum, billed on the higher of the agreed number of users or the active users.
- Managed Payroll costs A$20 per employee a month (A$400 minimum), and rostering with time and attendance A$4 per employee a month.
Rippling
- No payroll price is published: Rippling says plans start at $8 per employee a month plus a base fee it does not state, and quotes the rest.
- Each product, such as payroll, benefits, time tracking or expenses, is priced separately, so the total depends on the modules chosen.
- It runs US payroll and pays people abroad through Global Payroll and its EOR; the pages read give no list or count of countries.
Key features
Employment Hero
- AI Payroll Agent
- Hero AI prepares pay runs and flags anomalies for a person to approve, using the timesheet, leave and employee data already in the platform.
- Australian payroll compliance
- Handles Single Touch Payroll Phase 2, SuperStream, award interpretation and penalty rates, and pays super every pay run through HeroClear.
- Payroll in other countries
- Regional editions file UK RTI submissions with HMRC, New Zealand payday filing with Inland Revenue, Singapore CPF reports and Malaysian EPF and PCB.
- Rostering and time and attendance
- An add-on builds rosters, records hours with time clocks and geofencing, allows shift swaps and feeds approved hours into pay.
- HR and recruitment
- HR plans cover leave, records, onboarding and performance reviews, and job posts reach Employment Hero's own pool of more than 2.3 million candidates.
- Employment Hero Work app
- Employees view payslips and timesheets, apply for leave and check upcoming shifts from the iPhone and Android app.
Rippling
- Payroll fed by HR data
- New hires, salary changes and benefit deductions flow from the HR record into payroll, and taxes are filed with federal, state and local agencies.
- Pay run comparison
- Compare a pay run with earlier ones to catch changes in gross pay, taxes and deductions before approving it. Extra pay runs cost nothing more.
- Global payroll, EOR and contractors
- Pay employees abroad in their local currency, employ through Rippling's EOR where you have no entity, and pay contractors worldwide from invoices.
- Rippling AI
- Adds one-off bonuses, compares payroll costs across entities, answers employees' questions about pay changes and builds reports from a prompt.
- Workflows, policies and permissions
- Set who can view, create and approve pay runs, and automate HR and IT steps with custom triggers in Workflow Studio.
- Accounting and app integrations
- Links to Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite for accounting, among more than 650 integrations.
Plans
Employment Hero
PayrollA$10
per user / month, minimum 10 users
Unlimited pay runs, tax calculations, award interpretation, payroll reports and employee self-service. Australian site price.
HR EssentialsA$10
per user / month, minimum 10 users
HR only, without payroll: leave, employee records, documents, onboarding and offboarding, and policy tools.
HR EngageA$14
per user / month, minimum 10 users
HR Essentials plus recruitment, expenses, performance reviews, learning management and the recruitment agent. No payroll.
Employment UnlimitedCustom
Payroll with HR Elite, the Employee Assistance Program, HR advisory, a learning bundle, team chat and priority support. Sold through sales.
Rippling
Pricing could not be confirmed. See rippling.com.
Ways to pay less
Employment Hero
No public discounts listed.
Rippling
- Startups
6 months free for US VC-backed startups
Rippling's startup program gives eligible US venture-backed startups free access for 6 months, depending on their funding status and stage.
