Our Pick: Employment Hero for businesses wanting HR + payroll in one platform — onboarding, leave, performance reviews, and payroll all under one roof. Choose KeyPay if payroll is your primary need — it has the deepest award interpretation engine in Australia and is the favourite of accountants and bookkeepers.
Here's an interesting twist in Australian HR tech: Employment Hero acquired KeyPay in 2022. Despite the shared ownership, both products continue to exist independently, serving different audiences with different strengths. Think of it like Toyota owning both Lexus and Toyota — same parent, different products for different needs.
Employment Hero is the all-in-one HR platform with payroll. KeyPay is the payroll specialist with some HR features. Choosing between them depends on whether you need an HR system that does payroll, or a payroll system that does some HR.
Pricing Comparison (AUD, February 2026)
| Feature | Employment Hero | KeyPay |
|---|---|---|
| Base platform fee | From $0 (free HR for small teams) | $4/employee/mo (payroll only) |
| HR-only | $8/employee/mo | Limited HR included |
| HR + Payroll | $12/employee/mo | $4/employee/mo + HR add-ons |
| Premium/Enterprise | Custom pricing | Custom pricing |
| Minimum employees | No minimum | No minimum |
| Free trial | Free plan available | Demo available |
Bottom line on price: KeyPay is cheaper for pure payroll ($4/employee/mo). Employment Hero's free plan is attractive for very small teams, but the full HR + Payroll bundle at $12/employee/mo adds up for larger teams. For a 20-person team: KeyPay costs ~$80/mo for payroll; Employment Hero costs ~$240/mo for the full suite.
Payroll
KeyPay is the payroll champion. Its automatic award interpretation engine is the most comprehensive in Australia, covering 100+ Modern Awards with automatic calculation of penalty rates, overtime, shift loadings, allowances, and leave loading. For businesses in hospitality, retail, healthcare, or any award-covered industry, this is a massive time saver.
Employment Hero's payroll is solid and handles standard scenarios well — salary employees, simple hourly rates, STP Phase 2, super contributions. But for complex award interpretation, KeyPay goes deeper. Accountants and bookkeepers overwhelmingly prefer KeyPay for payroll processing.
Both handle Single Touch Payroll Phase 2, super guarantee payments, and ATO reporting. Both support all Australian super funds and have auto-pay functionality.
HR & People Management
Employment Hero dominates HR. It's a genuine HR Information System (HRIS) with:
- Digital onboarding — new employees complete paperwork, tax declarations, and super choice before day one
- Leave management — automated leave requests, approvals, and balance tracking
- Performance reviews — goal setting, review cycles, 360-degree feedback
- Employee engagement — surveys, recognition, company newsfeed
- Document management — policies, contracts, certifications with expiry tracking
- Benefits platform — employee discounts and perks (InstaPay wage advances)
KeyPay has basic employee records, leave management, and timesheets — but it's designed as a payroll system with HR bolt-ons, not a dedicated HR platform. If people management is a priority, Employment Hero is the clear winner.
Time & Attendance
Both platforms offer time and attendance tracking, but with different approaches.
KeyPay has robust time and attendance with GPS clock-in, kiosk mode, and automatic timesheet-to-payroll processing. It's particularly strong for shift-based workforces in hospitality and retail.
Employment Hero offers timesheets and basic clock-in/out functionality. It works well for office-based teams but isn't as deeply featured as KeyPay for shift-heavy environments.
Integrations
KeyPay integrates with Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, and most major accounting platforms. It also has a powerful API used by many accountants and bookkeepers to build custom workflows. The Xero integration in particular is best-in-class.
Employment Hero also integrates with major accounting platforms, plus recruitment tools (SEEK, Indeed), learning management systems, and other HR tools. Its integration ecosystem is broader but more HR-focused.
Compliance
Both platforms take Australian compliance seriously — Fair Work, STP, super guarantee, and Modern Awards are all covered.
Employment Hero includes employment contract templates, policy libraries, and compliance checklists that help you stay on the right side of Fair Work. Their legal content team keeps templates updated when legislation changes.
KeyPay's compliance strength is in accurate award interpretation — getting pay rates, penalties, and loadings right automatically. This is arguably the most important compliance issue for Australian businesses, given the Fair Work Ombudsman's focus on underpayment.
Who Should Choose Employment Hero?
- Businesses wanting HR + payroll in one platform
- Companies focused on employee experience and engagement
- Growing businesses that need structured onboarding and performance management
- Office-based teams with salaried employees
- Businesses that want compliance templates and policy libraries
Who Should Choose KeyPay?
- Businesses where payroll accuracy is the top priority
- Award-covered industries (hospitality, retail, healthcare, trades)
- Accountants and bookkeepers managing client payroll
- Shift-based workforces needing robust time and attendance
- Budget-conscious businesses that mainly need payroll ($4/employee/mo)
Our Verdict
Think of it as choosing between a Swiss Army knife and a scalpel.
Employment Hero is the Swiss Army knife — it does HR, payroll, onboarding, performance, engagement, and benefits. Not every tool is the absolute best in class, but having them all in one place is genuinely valuable. It's the right choice for businesses that want a single people platform.
KeyPay is the scalpel — it does payroll with surgical precision. If your main pain point is running accurate, award-compliant payroll without errors, KeyPay is the better tool. Pair it with a dedicated HR platform if you need more people management features.
The good news: since both are owned by the same company, they integrate well with each other. Some businesses use KeyPay for payroll and Employment Hero for HR — the best of both worlds.