Employment Hero vs Melio

Employment Hero

Employment Hero is an all-in-one HR, payroll, and benefits platform with a strong presence in Australia and New Zealand. It offers a free HR plan alongside paid payroll and benefits modules, making it accessible for businesses at any stage. Employment Hero also operates a job marketplace called Swag for employees.

Melio

Melio is a business bill payment platform that simplifies accounts payable for small businesses. It lets you pay any vendor by bank transfer or card, even if they only accept checks, and syncs with QuickBooks and Xero.

Pros

• ✓Free HR plan available with core employee management features
• ✓Strong compliance tools for Australian and NZ employment law
• ✓All-in-one platform covering HR, payroll, and benefits
• ✓Employee benefits marketplace with discounts and perks

Cons

• ✗Payroll module costs extra and is best suited for AU/NZ companies
• ✗Limited support and compliance coverage outside Australia and New Zealand
• ✗Some users report the platform can feel complex to navigate

Pros

• ✓Free to use for bank transfers
• ✓Pay vendors who only accept checks
• ✓Seamless QuickBooks and Xero sync
• ✓Good for managing AP workflows
• ✓Fast setup

Cons

• ✗Focused only on accounts payable, not full accounting
• ✗Card payments carry a fee
• ✗Limited reporting
• ✗Not a replacement for full accounting software

Employment Hero Features

• ✓HR management
• ✓payroll
• ✓benefits
• ✓recruitment
• ✓learning
• ✓employee engagement

Melio Features

• ✓Bill payments
• ✓invoicing
• ✓payment scheduling
• ✓vendor management
• ✓bank sync
• ✓approval workflows

Best For

Australian and NZ businesses needing full HR suite

Best For

Small businesses wanting a simple free tool to manage bill payments and accounts payable alongside their existing accounting software