Employment Hero Payroll Review UK 2026: Pricing, Features & Managed Payroll
Quick answer
Employment Hero offers HMRC-recognised UK payroll software alongside a fully managed payroll service and their current UK payroll options are:
- Free Payroll – £0 – Includes automated pay runs, multiple pay schedules, payrolling benefits, automated payslips, PensionSync integration and allowances.
- Core Payroll – £3 per employee/month – Adds features including its Pay Conditions Engine, Multi-PAYE, third-party integrations, Single Sign-On and live webchat. Minimum £20/month.
- Managed Payroll – £12 per employee/mont –Employment Hero’s payroll team manages payroll processing, HMRC reporting, RTI and pension enrolment. Minimum £120/month.
Our view: Employment Hero has one of the more interesting payroll propositions for growing UK SMEs because businesses can choose between running payroll themselves + using more advanced payroll software + outsourcing payroll entirely.
That creates a sensible upgrade path as a business grows.
Their wider HR, recruitment, time and attendance functionality makes it particularly interesting if you’re also trying to reduce the number of separate workforce systems your business uses.
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Key Takeaways
- Employment Hero offers both payroll software and managed payroll in the UK.
- Free Payroll currently costs £0, subject to minimum-user conditions.
- Core Payroll costs £3 per employee/month with a £20 monthly minimum.
- Managed Payroll costs £12 per employee/month with a £120 monthly minimum.
- Employment Hero’s payroll software is HMRC recognised.
- RTI submissions can be automated.
- PensionSync connects payroll with workplace pension providers.
- Core Payroll supports multiple PAYE schemes.
- Rotas & Time and Attendance can be added for £2 per employee/month, with a £20 monthly minimum.
- Payroll can connect with Employment Hero’s wider HR, hiring and employee-management platform.
- Employment Hero also offers Employer of Record services for international hiring.
- We think the biggest advantage is the ability to move from self-managed payroll to managed payroll without necessarily replacing the wider HR and payroll environment.
Compare Managed Payroll Services →
How do we work?
Our comparisons are researched and reviewed by the Compare Your Business Costs editorial team using provider information, official UK guidance and business buying criteria. See how Compare Your Business Costs works.
Authored by: Ally Cox – Business Technology & B2B Services Specialist, 10+ years’ experience
Last updated: October 2026
Contents
What Is Employment Hero Payroll?
Employment Hero provides UK payroll software as part of its wider Employment Operating System and their payroll products can handle areas including:
- Pay runs
- Multiple pay schedules
- PAYE
- RTI submissions
- Payslips
- Workplace pensions
- Statutory pay
- Allowances
- Benefits
- Multiple PAYE schemes
- Timesheets
- Leave
Businesses can choose to operate the payroll themselves or use Employment Hero’s Managed Payroll service.
Our take: that’s an important distinction.
Employment Hero isn’t only payroll software.
And it isn’t only an outsourced payroll bureau.
It can provide both.
That makes it particularly interesting for businesses whose payroll requirements are changing as they grow.
Employment Hero Payroll Pricing UK 2026
Employment Hero currently publishes three main UK payroll options.
Free Payroll – £0
Minimum-user conditions apply, but it includes:
- Automated pay runs
- Multiple pay schedules
- Payrolling benefits
- Automated payslip generation
- PensionSync integration
- Allowances
Core Payroll – £3 per employee/month
Minimum £20/month, and this includes everything in Free Payroll plus:
- Pay Conditions Engine
- Multi-PAYE
- Single Sign-On
- Third-party app integrations
- Live webchat
Managed Payroll – £12 per employee/month
Minimum £120/month, and includes Core Payroll plus:
- End-to-end managed pay runs
- Managed HMRC reporting
- Managed RTI
- Managed pension enrolment
- Pension Declaration of Compliance
Important: Employment Hero applies minimum-user and minimum-spend conditions, so don’t calculate your price from the per-employee figure alone.
Employment Hero Payroll Cost Examples
The published prices make it easier to understand the difference between software and outsourcing.
10 employees using Core Payroll
10 × £3 = £30/month.
That’s above the £20 minimum, so the indicative software cost would be £30/month.
25 employees using Core Payroll
25 × £3 = £75/month.
10 employees using Managed Payroll
10 × £12 = £120/month.
This matches the current Managed Payroll minimum.
25 employees using Managed Payroll
25 × £12 = £300/month.
These examples use Employment Hero’s published rates only and don’t include any additional HR, time, advisory or other modules your business chooses.
Our view: this is a much more useful comparison than saying Employment Hero costs “£120–£350 per month”.
Your cost depends heavily on employee count + whether you run payroll yourself or outsource it + additional products.
Employment Hero Free Payroll
Employment Hero currently offers a £0 payroll option and free Payroll includes core features such as:
- Automated payroll runs
- Multiple pay schedules
- Automated payslips
- Allowances
- Payrolling benefits
- PensionSync
Minimum-user conditions apply.
Is free payroll actually useful?
Potentially, yes, for a small employer comfortable running its own payroll, this creates a relatively low-cost route into Employment Hero.
But “free” shouldn’t be the only selection criterion, so ask Does it handle our actual payroll?
If your requirements include multiple PAYE schemes, more complex pay conditions or third-party integrations, Core Payroll may be more appropriate.
Employment Hero Core Payroll
Core Payroll currently costs £3 per employee/monthwith a £20 monthly minimum.
It adds functionality including:
- Pay Conditions Engine
- Multi-PAYE
- Single Sign-On
- Third-party integrations
- Live webchat support
Who do we think Core Payroll suits?
Businesses that are happy to retain payroll internally but need more capability than a basic payroll package.
For example multiple PAYE schemes + more complicated pay conditions + integrations make the Core tier easier to justify.
Employment Hero Managed Payroll
Managed Payroll is the biggest commercial difference between Employment Hero’s payroll tiers.
It currently costs £12 per employee/month with a £120 monthly minimum.
Rather than simply giving your business payroll software, Employment Hero’s payroll team manages agreed payroll processes and the current service includes:
- End-to-end managed pay runs
- Managed HMRC reporting
- Managed RTI
- Managed pension enrolment
- Pension Declaration of Compliance
Our view: don’t compare £3 Core Payroll with £12 Managed Payroll and conclude that managed payroll is “four times more expensive”.
You’re buying something different.
Core Payroll provides technology your team operates.
Managed Payroll provides technology + payroll work performed for you.
The commercial question is therefore “How much internal payroll time does the additional £9 per employee remove?”
For some businesses, the answer could make Managed Payroll better value.
Compare Outsourced Payroll Services →
What Work Does Managed Payroll Remove?
Before choosing any managed payroll service, establish exactly where responsibility sits.
Employment Hero advertises end-to-end managed pay runs and managed HMRC and pension processes.
But your business will still need to provide accurate information about areas such as:
- New starters
- Leavers
- Hours
- Overtime
- Bonuses
- Salary changes
- Absences
- Other employee changes
We’d ask “What exactly does our team need to provide each pay period, and what happens after we provide it?”
That’s one of the best ways to compare managed payroll providers.
Employment Hero HMRC & RTI Payroll
Employment Hero’s UK payroll software is HMRC recognised.
Its payroll system supports Real Time Information submissions to HMRC.
For each relevant pay run, the system can submit the Full Payment Submission information required by HMRC.
Its HMRC settings also support the Employer Payment Summary process.
Why does this matter?
RTI isn’t a glamorous payroll feature.
It’s simply something UK employers need to get right.
Automation reduces the need to manually move information between payroll and HMRC processes.
Our take: compliance functionality should be expected from serious UK payroll software.
The more interesting question is how much checking and intervention does your team still need to perform?
Employment Hero Pensions & PensionSync
Employment Hero integrates with PensionSync and businesses can connect payroll information with supported workplace pension providers.
The platform can support:
- Workplace pension setup
- Auto-enrolment assessments
- Pension contribution information
- PensionSync connections
- Re-enrolment information
With Managed Payroll, Employment Hero also includes managed pension enrolment and the Pension Declaration of Compliance.
Our view: this is one of the areas where managed payroll can remove meaningful administration.
When comparing providers, ask “Who handles the pension file, submission and Declaration of Compliance?”
Don’t simply ask whether pensions are “supported”.
Employment Hero Rotas, Time & Attendance
Employment Hero offers Rotas & Time and Attendance as an additional product.
The current published price is £2 per employee/month
with a £20 monthly minimum.
Features include:
- Rotas
- Employee attendance
- Timesheets
- Shift bidding and swapping
- Time clocks
- Geofencing
- Labour-cost visibility
Why does this matter for payroll?
Consider a hospitality business with:
50 hourly employees + changing shifts + overtime.
If hours are currently exported from one system and manually entered into payroll, the payroll software isn’t really the problem.
The problem is getting accurate hours into payroll.
Connecting time and attendance with payroll can remove part of that manual process.
Employment Hero HR & Payroll
Employment Hero’s broader proposition extends well beyond payroll and their HR products include functionality around:
- Employee records
- Onboarding
- Leave
- Documents and policies
- Applicant tracking
- Performance
- Employee benefits
- Learning
- HR advisory
Current HR pricing starts from £4 per employee/month for HR Essentials.
Additional tiers and services are available.
Our take: this is where Employment Hero becomes more interesting than a standalone payroll package.
A growing SME may currently use one system for HR + another for rotas + another for payroll + spreadsheets for onboarding.
Employment Hero’s argument is that more of that employee lifecycle can sit within one environment.
That can reduce duplicated employee data and manual administration.
Payroll Software vs Managed Payroll: Which Should You Choose?
This is the decision we’d make before comparing individual features.
Choose payroll software when:
- You have someone internally who understands payroll
- You want to retain control over processing
- Your payroll isn’t consuming excessive internal time
- You mainly want better automation
Consider managed payroll when:
- Payroll depends heavily on one internal employee
- Your team spends too much time processing payroll
- You want specialist payroll support
- You want more HMRC and pension administration handled externally
Our view: Employment Hero’s advantage is that businesses don’t necessarily have to make that decision forever.
A growing company might start with Free Payroll → Core Payroll → Managed Payroll.
That’s a sensible progression as payroll complexity and internal workload increase.
Employment Hero for International Hiring
Employment Hero also provides Employer of Record services through its global employment proposition.
The company currently advertises EOR coverage across 180+ countries.
An Employer of Record is different from payroll software.
The EOR becomes the legal employer in the overseas market and handles relevant employment administration where the customer doesn’t have its own local entity.
Our take: don’t choose Employment Hero’s UK payroll product because you might employ somebody overseas one day.
But if you already have UK employees + overseas hiring plans the wider platform is worth considering when comparing alternatives.
Compare International Payroll Providers →
Who Is Employment Hero Payroll Best For?
We think Employment Hero deserves particular consideration from Small businesses wanting low-cost payroll software
The Free and Core options create an accessible starting point.
Growing SMEs
Businesses can add HR, time and managed payroll functionality as requirements become more complex.
Businesses considering payroll outsourcing
Managed Payroll provides an alternative to running the payroll internally.
Businesses with shift or hourly workers
Rotas & Time and Attendance can connect workforce data with payroll processes.
Businesses with multiple PAYE schemes
Multi-PAYE is available through Core Payroll.
Businesses wanting HR and payroll together
Employment Hero extends well beyond standalone payroll software.
Who might prefer something else?
Businesses wanting a traditional local payroll bureau with highly personalised offline service may prefer a specialist managed payroll provider.
Very large enterprises with highly complex multinational payroll should also compare enterprise and global payroll platforms.
Employment Hero Payroll Pros & Cons
Advantages
- Free Payroll option available
- Core Payroll from £3 per employee/month
- Managed Payroll from £12 per employee/month
- Published UK pricing makes initial comparisons easier
- HMRC-recognised payroll software
- Automatic RTI functionality
- PensionSync integration
- Automated payslips
- Multiple pay schedules
- Multi-PAYE available
- Managed HMRC reporting available
- Managed pension enrolment available
- Optional Rotas & Time and Attendance
- Wider HR functionality available
- EOR service available for international hiring
Potential Disadvantages
- Minimum-user and minimum-spend conditions apply
- Additional HR, time and advisory products increase the total cost
- Businesses need to choose between several payroll and HR options
- Some smaller employers may only need basic payroll rather than the wider platform
- Managed Payroll still requires accurate payroll inputs from the employer
- Large multinational organisations may require more specialised global payroll infrastructure
What Should You Compare Before Choosing Employment Hero?
Give Employment Hero and competing providers the same payroll requirements so include:
- Employee numbers
- Payroll frequency
- Number of PAYE schemes
- Hourly or salaried workers
- Variable pay
- Pension scheme
- Time and attendance
- HR requirements
- Employee support
- Managed payroll requirements
Then ask “What is our complete monthly and first-year cost?”
We’d also ask:
- “Which payroll tier do we actually need?”
- “Which minimum charges apply to our workforce?”
- “What additional products would we need?”
- “What work would Managed Payroll remove from our team?”
- “Can we start with Core Payroll and move to Managed Payroll later?”
- “Which of our existing HR, rota and payroll systems could we stop using?”
That final question matters if you’re considering the wider Employment Hero platform.
Our View: Is Employment Hero Payroll Worth It?
We think Employment Hero has a particularly strong proposition for growing UK SMEs.
There are two reasons.
The first is transparent payroll pricing.
Free Payroll at £0 and Core Payroll at £3 per employee/month give businesses a clear idea of the software cost before speaking to sales.
That’s refreshing in a payroll market where many providers still require a quote before giving any indication of price.
The second is the upgrade path.
A small company can begin by running payroll internally and as it grows, it can add more payroll functionality + time and attendance + HR.
And if payroll eventually becomes too time-consuming, it can move towards Managed Payroll.
We think that’s more interesting than simply comparing long feature lists.
The platform can potentially grow with the business’s payroll operating model.
However, don’t automatically buy the entire Employment Hero ecosystem.
If you only need payroll compare the payroll product on its own.
If you need HR + payroll + time + rotas
then compare the combined cost with your existing systems.
And if the real problem is “we don’t want to run payroll anymore”
compare the £12-per-employee Managed Payroll service directly with other payroll bureaux.
For the right SME, Employment Hero deserves a strong shortlist position.
The key question we’d use is “Do we want better payroll software, or do we want someone else to run payroll?”
Employment Hero can potentially solve either problem.
Compare Employment Hero & Other Payroll Providers →
Free quotes • No obligation • Compare UK payroll services and software
Employment Hero Payroll FAQs
How much does Employment Hero Payroll cost in the UK?
Employment Hero currently offers Free Payroll at £0, Core Payroll at £3 per employee/month and Managed Payroll at £12 per employee/month. Minimum-user and minimum-spend conditions apply.
Is Employment Hero Payroll really free?
Employment Hero currently offers a Free Payroll tier at £0. Minimum-user conditions apply, and additional HR, time, managed payroll and other services cost extra.
How much is Employment Hero Core Payroll?
Core Payroll currently costs £3 per employee/month with a £20 monthly minimum.
How much is Employment Hero Managed Payroll?
Managed Payroll currently costs £12 per employee/month with a £120 monthly minimum.
What does Employment Hero Managed Payroll include?
The current service includes end-to-end managed pay runs, managed HMRC reporting, managed RTI and pension enrolment, plus Pension Declaration of Compliance support.
Is Employment Hero HMRC recognised?
Yes. Employment Hero describes its UK payroll software as HMRC recognised.
Does Employment Hero submit RTI?
Yes. Employment Hero’s payroll system supports automatic RTI submissions to HMRC.
Does Employment Hero support workplace pensions?
Yes. Employment Hero integrates with PensionSync for workplace pension administration. Managed Payroll also includes managed pension enrolment.
Does Employment Hero generate payslips?
Yes. Automated payslip generation is included in its current payroll offering.
Can Employment Hero handle multiple PAYE schemes?
Yes. Multi-PAYE functionality is currently included with Core Payroll.
Does Employment Hero include time tracking?
Rotas & Time and Attendance is available as an additional product, currently priced at £2 per employee/month with a £20 monthly minimum.
Does Employment Hero include HR software?
HR products are available separately. HR Essentials currently starts from £4 per employee/month, with additional HR tiers and services available.
Does Employment Hero offer outsourced payroll?
Yes. Managed Payroll allows Employment Hero’s payroll team to manage end-to-end payroll processes for the customer.
Does Employment Hero support international employees?
Employment Hero also offers Employer of Record services for international hiring, with coverage currently advertised across more than 180 countries. This is separate from its standard UK payroll software.
Compare Employment Hero With Other Payroll Providers
Employment Hero gives businesses three very different payroll choices Free Payroll → Core Payroll → Managed Payroll.
Before choosing one, establish whether your business wants software + automation or outsourcing + reduced internal workload.
Then compare the complete annual cost against providers offering the same service level.
Compare Payroll Providers →
Free quotes • No obligation • Compare UK payroll services and software
Related Payroll Guides
Hi, I’m Ally Cox, a senior copywriter and blogger at CompareYourBusinessCosts.co.uk, the UK’s trusted platform for comparing business services.
With over a decade of experience in the B2B sector, I specialise in simplifying complex topics like leased lines, VoIP, business energy, HR and payroll solutions, accounting software, and EPOS systems.
Before joining CompareYourBusinessCosts, I worked across various industries, gaining hands-on experience in HR, copywriting, and business operations- from clocking-in systems to card machines and office technology.
My goal is simple: to help UK businesses make informed, confident decisions when choosing products and services that improve efficiency and save money.
