Sacra estimates that Employment Hero hit $163M ARR in January 2025.

The platform now supports over 300,000 businesses and processes payroll for 2.5 million employees across multiple markets. Employment Hero handles more than A$100 billion in wages annually across 144 countries through its Global Teams employer-of-record service.

Employment Hero's recent revenue growth corresponds to its geographic expansion from Australia into the UK, Southeast Asia, and Canada, facilitated by its acquisition of Toronto-based Humi.

The UK market has contributed significantly, with ARR doubling year-over-year in the region. The company's revenue model leverages high switching costs associated with payroll and HR systems, which drive strong customer retention after onboarding.

Employment Hero raised A$263 million in a Series F round led by TCV in October 2023, bringing total funding to A$650 million. Existing investors Insight Partners, AirTree Ventures, Seek Investments, and OneVentures also participated in the round.

TCV's leadership in the latest funding round coincided with Employment Hero's expansion beyond the Australian market into global HR technology. The funding is allocated to support international expansion and further development of the company's integrated platform.

Employment Hero is an integrated HR and payroll operating system designed for small and medium businesses in Australia and New Zealand, with a growing presence in international markets through its employer-of-record service. The platform consolidates human resources management, payroll processing, applicant tracking, and employee engagement tools into a unified system.

The platform stores employee profiles, contracts, and compliance documents, incorporating e-signature functionality. Its payroll engine supports Australian award interpretation and multi-country payroll processing, managing timesheets, tax calculations, superannuation, and pay distribution. The applicant tracking system enables job postings and uses AI to match candidates from a database of 1.5 million profiles sourced via the Swag consumer app.

Rostering and time clock features allow managers to create shifts while employees clock in using mobile devices or tablets. Recent updates include passcodes, automatic rounding, and late-clock notifications. Performance management tools encompass one-on-ones, 360-degree reviews, OKRs, and pulse surveys. The learning management system provides access to course libraries and training modules.

The Global Teams service functions as an employer-of-record in 150 countries, enabling Australian companies to hire international employees without establishing local entities. For example, when an Australian company hires a designer in Brazil, Employment Hero becomes the legal employer, managing local payroll, statutory benefits, and tax compliance while integrating the employee into the same dashboard as domestic staff.

The employee-facing Swag app complements the platform by allowing workers to view live payslips, access earned-wage advances through InstaPay, redeem reward points, and search for job opportunities. Data from employee interactions in Swag is integrated into the employer's HRIS, providing a detailed view of workforce engagement and behavior.

Employment Hero operates a B2B SaaS model with B2C components, generating revenue through subscription fees, transaction-based pricing, and marketplace commissions. The primary customer base consists of SMEs with 5-500 employees, utilizing a freemium model that begins with basic HR tools and offers upgrades to more advanced payroll and compliance features.

Pricing is tiered based on employee count, starting at AU$12 per employee per month for HR Premium features. Payroll processing incurs additional per-employee fees, while the Global Teams EOR service is priced at a premium to support international hiring and compliance needs.

Additional revenue is derived from the Hero Rewards marketplace, where the company earns commissions on employee purchases and group-buying arrangements.

Employment Hero differentiates itself from traditional HR software vendors through vertical integration. Instead of relying on third-party payroll providers, the company developed native payroll engines with advanced Australian award interpretation capabilities. This approach increases switching costs and enables greater value capture per customer.

The business model leverages network effects through the Swag employee app.

As more companies adopt Employment Hero for payroll, the number of employees using Swag grows, expanding the talent pool for job matching and enhancing the platform's utility for recruitment. Data from employee interactions further enhances AI-driven features such as candidate matching and performance insights.

Rippling entered the Australian market in February 2025 with local headquarters and ATO-compliant payroll, directly competing with Employment Hero's integrated approach.

Rippling combines HR, IT, and finance management in a single platform, leveraging their global codebase to deliver broader administrative automation compared to Employment Hero's HR-focused system. While Rippling does not match Employment Hero's depth in Australian award interpretation, their significant funding and unified platform create pricing pressure in the mid-market segment.

Gusto operates in the SME space with a focus on user experience design but relies on a partnership with Xero for Australian payroll instead of developing native capabilities. This reliance limits their ability to provide the seamless integration Employment Hero offers. Gusto's higher base pricing reflects their prioritization of premium user experience over cost efficiency.

MYOB and Xero lead the Australian accounting software market and provide integrated payroll solutions at lower per-employee costs. These platforms benefit from strong accountant channel relationships and bundled pricing with accounting licenses, making them appealing to cost-conscious SMEs.

However, their limited HR workflow capabilities present opportunities for Employment Hero to attract customers seeking more comprehensive people management tools.

ELMO Software, acquired by private equity firm K1 after going private in 2024, targets mid-enterprise clients with robust learning and talent management modules. ELMO's shift toward larger enterprises following the acquisition reduces direct competition with Employment Hero in the SME segment, though they remain competitors for customers in the 200-500 employee range.

Deel and Remote have established significant employer-of-record businesses catering to companies hiring internationally, competing directly with Employment Hero's Global Teams service.

These platforms offer broader geographic coverage and deeper international compliance expertise but lack Employment Hero's integrated domestic HR and payroll capabilities for Australian companies.

The EOR market has grown increasingly competitive as remote work drives demand for international hiring solutions. Employment Hero differentiates itself by serving Australian companies that require both domestic and international workforce management through a single platform, avoiding the need to manage separate systems for local and global employees.

Employment Hero's acquisition of Canadian HR platform Humi for over CAD$100 million in January 2025 reflects its approach to international expansion. The transaction grants access to 30,000 Canadian employers and compliance capabilities for CRA and provincial regulations. Management projects a near-term doubling of the customer base.

Southeast Asia presents an expansion opportunity, with Employment Hero already active in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, where cloud payroll adoption remains below 40%. The company can utilize its existing Global Teams infrastructure to deliver localized payroll and HR services in these markets.

Western Europe, particularly the UK, Ireland, and Germany, offers additional TAM expansion potential. Employment Hero's UK payroll capabilities are already operational. Across these geographies, the total addressable market includes approximately 7 million SME businesses employing around 90 million people.

Employment Hero is expanding its platform into an Employment Operating System with modular capabilities extending beyond traditional HR and payroll. Recent product launches include workforce cost planning, peer feedback systems, anonymous 360 reviews, and earned-wage access. These additions enhance platform utility and increase ARPU within the existing customer base.

The product roadmap includes contractor management, AI-assisted recruiting, and expanded global PEO services, aligning with Rippling's bundled approach. These developments expand Employment Hero's TAM from the core HRIS market, valued at approximately $25-30 billion, to the broader $70 billion global workforce management technology sector.

Employment Hero is targeting both up-market and down-market segments beyond its core SME focus. Recent product updates for rostering and shift management address hospitality and retail businesses previously served by simpler solutions such as Deputy or basic Xero payroll.

The up-market strategy focuses on companies with 500-2,000 employees that have traditionally used platforms like HiBob or Workday. Employment Hero's enterprise modules and its ability to process $100 billion in annual payroll provide credibility for larger deals. Its integrated approach also offers cost advantages compared to best-of-breed solutions.

Regulatory complexity: Employment Hero's business model relies on precise interpretation of complex labor laws, including Australian modern awards and international employment regulations spanning 150 countries. Legislative changes in labor laws, tax codes, or compliance requirements could necessitate extensive product updates and expose the platform to liability if it fails to deliver accurate calculations or maintain proper documentation.

Platform concentration: The company's integrated model presents both competitive advantages and concentration risks, as customers depend on Employment Hero for essential payroll, compliance, and HR functions. Significant platform outages, security breaches, or data loss incidents could lead to notable customer attrition and regulatory penalties, particularly due to the sensitive nature of payroll and employee data.

Market saturation: Employment Hero's primary markets in Australia and New Zealand have a finite number of SMEs, imposing natural limits on domestic growth. As the company increases its market share in these regions, sustaining high growth rates will require effective international expansion into more competitive markets with established local competitors and varying regulatory frameworks.