Employment Hero vs BrightPay
Verified ratings, real UK pricing and the compliance detail, weighed side by side — with a written verdict at the end.
Employment Hero
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Phone
- Live Chat
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
BrightPay
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
Evenly matched on verified reviews — 4.1 against 4.1. Price and fit will decide this one, not the score.
The short version
What each one costs and how each one rates, side by side. Only the rows where leading means something are marked; vendor and availability are in the overview above.
| Detail | Employment Hero | BrightPay |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | ||
| Starting priceLowest paid tier, excluding VAT | £3/user/month | On request |
| Free version | YesYes | NoNo |
| Free trial | YesYes | YesYes |
| How it rates | ||
| Overall ratingMean of verified Assaylist reviews | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| Verified reviewsVolume is evidence, not a score — this row is not a contest | 273 reviews | 235 reviews |
How reviewers score them
Across the four dimensions we ask every reviewer about — and, below, the star split each average is built from.
- Employment Hero
- BrightPay
| Dimension | Employment Hero | BrightPay | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.1 to BrightPay |
| Value for money | 3.9 | 3.9 | Level |
| Customer support | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
| Functionality | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.1 to BrightPay |
What each average is made of
Two products can share an average and not share a reputation. These bars show the star split behind each score.
| Product | 5 star | 4 star | 3 star | 2 star | 1 star |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment Hero | 42% (114 reviews) | 35% (95 reviews) | 12% (33 reviews) | 10% (26 reviews) | 2% (5 reviews) |
| BrightPay | 44% (104 reviews) | 31% (72 reviews) | 14% (34 reviews) | 9% (20 reviews) | 2% (5 reviews) |
Feature by feature
Everything either vendor publishes, split into what separates them and what they share.
- Only Employment Hero
- 1050%
- Only BrightPay
- 1050%
20 features listed across both products.
What only one of them does
Employment Hero
10- Automatic enrolment
- Employee app
- Employee benefits marketplace
- HR records and leave management
+ 6 more in the table below
BrightPay
10- Automatic enrolment and assessment
- Automatic legislative updates
- Batch and multi employer processing
- Bureau and practice workflows
+ 6 more in the table below
| Detail | Employment Hero | BrightPay |
|---|---|---|
| Where they differ · 20 | ||
| Automatic enrolment | YesYes | NoNo |
| Employee app | YesYes | NoNo |
| Employee benefits marketplace | YesYes | NoNo |
| HR records and leave management | YesYes | NoNo |
| Integrations | YesYes | NoNo |
| Onboarding and contracts | YesYes | NoNo |
| Performance and engagement | YesYes | NoNo |
| Reporting | YesYes | NoNo |
| Right to work record keeping | YesYes | NoNo |
| RTI payroll with a free tier | YesYes | NoNo |
| Automatic enrolment and assessment | NoNo | YesYes |
| Automatic legislative updates | NoNo | YesYes |
| Batch and multi employer processing | NoNo | YesYes |
| Bureau and practice workflows | NoNo | YesYes |
| CIS where relevant | NoNo | YesYes |
| Employee payslip and document app | NoNo | YesYes |
| Multi user collaboration | NoNo | YesYes |
| RTI submissions to HMRC | NoNo | YesYes |
| Secure cloud hosting | NoNo | YesYes |
| Statutory sick and parental pay | NoNo | YesYes |
A dash means the vendor has not published a feature list — which is not the same as the feature being unavailable.
How they handle UK obligations
Checked against the vendor's own documentation or HMRC's published list. A dash means we have not verified it — never that it is missing.
| Detail | Employment Hero | BrightPay |
|---|---|---|
| Verified against vendor documentation | ||
| RTI-compliant payroll | YesYes | YesYes |
| Pension auto-enrolment | YesYes | YesYes |
| CIS support | Not listedNot listed | YesYes |
| UK-based support | UK support team | UK and Ireland support |
What each tier costs
Both line-ups on one ladder, so the middle tier on one side sits next to the middle tier on the other.
Employment Hero
BrightPay
Free Payroll
Free
- Compliant RTI payroll at no software cost
- Automatic enrolment
- Employee self serve
BrightPay Cloud
Contact vendor
- Cloud only from the 2026/27 tax year
- HMRC recognised
- Multi employer and bureau workflows
Core Payroll
£3/user/month
- Minimum £30 a month
- Advanced payroll features
- Integrations
No comparable tier listed
HR Essentials
£4/user/month
- Minimum £40 a month
- Onboarding and HR records
- Leave management
No comparable tier listed
Rungs are matched by position in each vendor’s own line-up, not by what the tiers include — an entry plan on one side may cover more than the other. Prices exclude VAT unless stated, and per-seat plans are quoted per seat. Always confirm on the vendor’s own site.
Which should you choose?
Two answers, because there are two right ones depending on what you need.
Choose Employment Hero if
- There is a free tier you can stay on, which BrightPay does not offer.
- It lists 10 features BrightPay does not, including automatic enrolment.
Choose BrightPay if
- It lists 10 features Employment Hero does not, including automatic enrolment and assessment.
- It covers more of the UK obligations we check — 4 of them against 3.
On verified Assaylist reviews, Employment Hero currently rates 4.1 against 4.1 for BrightPay. That gap is not the whole story: Employment Hero starts at £3/user/month and BrightPay at a quoted price, so the right answer depends on the tier you actually need and on which one handles your UK obligations. Read both profiles before you commit, and confirm current pricing on the vendor's own site.
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