Employment Hero alternative
An Employment Hero alternative that works with the payroll you have
Employment Hero bundles HR with its own payroll in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, priced per employee, with rostering and time and attendance as an add-on. Omega People is HR, time and rota priced per company, £35 a month for up to 25 employees, and it hands a file to the payroll software you already use. It does not run payroll, so if you want both from one vendor, Employment Hero is the natural choice.
Checked on
In short
What changes compared with Employment Hero
- One price per company. Employment Hero’s HR plans are priced per employee per month, with a minimum of 10 users. Omega People costs A$59 a month in Australia, NZ$69 in New Zealand and £35 in the UK for up to 25 employees, whatever the headcount inside the band.
- Rota and time clock are not an add-on. Employment Hero sells Rostering & Time and Attendance as an add-on per employee. In Omega People the rota, clocking in, timesheets and the on-site kiosk are in every band.
- No second tier for recruiting or expenses. In Employment Hero, recruitment, expenses, performance and learning arrive with HR Engage. In Omega People they are in every band.
- Keep your payroll. Omega People exports the month in a layout for the payroll product you use. In Australia the layouts are Xero Payroll AU, MYOB Business / AccountRight, Employment Hero Payroll (KeyPay), QuickBooks Online Payroll AU; in New Zealand, Xero Payroll NZ, MYOB IMS Payroll / PayGlobal, Thankyou Payroll, Smartly.
- What Employment Hero has that Omega People doesn’t: its own payroll software in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, award interpretation in Australian payroll, managed payroll, employer-of-record services, employee perks and a mobile app.
Cost
The monthly bill by market, for 25 employees
| Market | Omega People (every module) | HR Essentials | HR Essentials + Rostering & T&A add-on | HR Engage + Rostering & T&A add-on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | A$59 | A$250 | A$350 | A$450 |
| New Zealand | NZ$69 | NZ$225 | NZ$300 | NZ$400 |
| United Kingdom | £35 | £100 | £150 | £225 |
Omega People: monthly price excluding tax, every module included; pay yearly and get 2 months free. Prices for all six countries are in the pricing section.
Employment Hero: per employee per month, excluding tax, multiplied by 25. HR Essentials is A$10, NZ$9 and £4; HR Engage A$14, NZ$13 and £7; the Rostering & Time and Attendance add-on A$4, NZ$3 and £2, in Australia, New Zealand and the UK respectively. HR Elite is custom-priced, the minimum is 10 users, Canada is priced by quote, and payroll software is priced separately from these HR plans. Checked on 5 October 2026.
Employment Hero is a trademark of its respective owner. Omega People is not affiliated with or endorsed by the owners of these trademarks. Other vendors’ prices and features were taken from their official websites on 5 October 2026: they may change, so please check before you decide.
Feature by feature
What is in the price, side by side
| Feature | Omega People | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Employee records and documents | Yes, in every band | Yes, in HR Essentials |
| Leave | Yes, with balances, accrual and statutory minimums | Yes, in HR Essentials |
| Onboarding and offboarding | Yes, with a checklist per country | Yes, in HR Essentials |
| Recruitment | Included | From HR Engage |
| Expenses | Included: receipt photo, mileage at the statutory rate, approval | From HR Engage |
| Performance reviews | Included | From HR Engage |
| Training | Included: catalogue, sessions, requests, budget | Learning, from HR Engage |
| Rota, time and attendance | Included | Paid add-on, per employee |
| On-site kiosk and speak-up channel | Included in every band | Not compared here: see the vendor’s website |
| Payroll | Does not run payroll: it prepares the month (hours, overtime, absences, reimbursements) and exports a file for your payroll software or accountant (in Australia: Xero Payroll AU, MYOB Business / AccountRight, Employment Hero Payroll (KeyPay), QuickBooks Online Payroll AU) | Its own payroll software in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada; managed payroll |
| Award interpretation (Australia) | No: pay rules are not calculated | Yes, in its Australian payroll |
| Employer of record and employee perks | No | Yes |
| Mobile | In the browser on any phone; nothing to install | Mobile app |
| Countries | UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland: leave minimums, public holidays by nation, state, province or canton, working-time limits, onboarding checklists | Sites and price lists for Australia, New Zealand and the UK; Canada by quote; no US or Swiss site |
| Pricing model | Per company, in bands by headcount; managers and HR admins are not charged per user | Per employee, minimum 10 users |
| Price list | Published for six countries: pounds sterling, US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, Swiss francs | Australian dollars, New Zealand dollars and pounds sterling |
The country rules in Omega People were last reviewed against official sources on 5 October 2026. They are a starting point, not legal advice: contracts, awards and collective agreements can differ, and you can change every value.
Employment Hero is a trademark of its respective owner. Omega People is not affiliated with or endorsed by the owners of these trademarks. Other vendors’ prices and features were taken from their official websites on 5 October 2026: they may change, so please check before you decide.
From Employment Hero to Omega People
Moving your employee records across
One spreadsheet with one row per person is enough to start. You decide what to bring; the rest stays where it is until you no longer need it.
How to move across
- Export your employee list, or a report of employee records, as CSV or Excel from Employment Hero.
- Open the file and check it has a header row and one row per person. Save it as .csv or .xlsx (the older .xls format is not read).
- In Omega People, go to Employees › Import and choose the file. The columns are recognised automatically from their headings, in English, German or French.
- Do the dry run first: it shows what the import would do before anything is written. Then import. If the result is not what you expected, undo the import and try again.
What comes across to Omega People
- Names and contact details
- Job title, department, site and manager
- Contract type, working hours and start date
- Salary and employee number
- National ID and bank details
- The opening annual-leave balance, so nobody’s remaining days are lost
What stays behind
- Documents and signed files: they are not part of the import
- Absence and attendance history: bring the balance, and keep the history as an export
- Performance reviews and goals from past cycles
- Payroll history and past payslips
Run both for a month
Keep Employment Hero until one full month, from the first clock-in to the payroll file, has gone through Omega People. If a column in your file is not recognised, write to us from the contact page: support answers by email, Monday to Friday.
Honestly
When it makes sense to stay with Employment Hero
Employment Hero’s case is the bundle: HR and payroll that share one set of records. Stay if:
- you want payroll and HR from one vendor in Australia, New Zealand, the UK or Canada;
- you pay staff under Australian modern awards and want award interpretation inside payroll;
- you would rather hand payroll over entirely, with managed payroll;
- you use its employer-of-record service or employee perks, or your people rely on the mobile app.
Omega People makes sense when payroll is already settled, with your accountant or a product you are happy with, and what you need is the layer before it: who worked when, who was on leave, what was approved, in one place and at a price that does not depend on headcount inside the band. It also covers the US and Switzerland, where Employment Hero has no site.
Questions
What people ask us about this
What is a good Employment Hero alternative for small businesses?
Omega People is HR software with employee records, leave, time and attendance, rota, expenses, recruiting and performance reviews in one price per company: A$59 a month in Australia, NZ$69 in New Zealand and £35 in the UK for up to 25 employees, excluding tax. It does not run payroll: it exports to the payroll software you already use.
How much does Employment Hero cost?
According to the price lists on the Employment Hero website, checked on 5 October 2026, per employee per month: HR Essentials is A$10 in Australia, NZ$9 in New Zealand and £4 in the UK; HR Engage is A$14, NZ$13 and £7; HR Elite is custom-priced. The Rostering & Time and Attendance add-on is A$4, NZ$3 and £2. The minimum is 10 users and Canada is priced by quote.
Does Omega People run payroll like Employment Hero?
No. Employment Hero has its own payroll software in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada. Omega People does not calculate tax, superannuation or net pay and makes no filings: it prepares the month and exports a file for your payroll software. In Australia there are layouts for Xero Payroll AU, MYOB Business / AccountRight, Employment Hero Payroll (KeyPay), QuickBooks Online Payroll AU; a generic CSV works everywhere.
Can I keep Employment Hero Payroll and use Omega People for HR?
Yes. Omega People’s Australian payroll export includes a layout for Employment Hero Payroll (KeyPay). It is a file you download and upload, not a live integration: hours, overtime, absences and approved reimbursements for the month, ready for the pay run.
Get started
Keep your payroll, try the rest
Import your employee list, run a month of rota, timesheets and leave, then export the payroll file and see how it fits your pay run. The first month is free, no card needed.
- No credit card required
- Nothing is charged unless you add a card