Employment Hero vs Google Workspace: Side-by-Side Feature & Pricing Comparison
Our Harvard-educated consultants have implemented both Employment Hero and Google Workspace for Australian businesses. Here is what 12+ of experience has taught us about choosing between them.
Feature Comparison
Side-by-side feature analysis for Employment Hero and Google Workspace.
Invoicing
Employment Hero
Employment Hero provides invoicing functionality, popular with Retail & E-commerce businesses
Google Workspace
Google Workspace provides invoicing functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
invoicing capabilities vary by plan tier on both platforms. Confirm the specific features you need are available at your target price point before committing.
Expense tracking
Employment Hero
Employment Hero provides expense tracking functionality, popular with Retail & E-commerce businesses
Google Workspace
Google Workspace provides expense tracking functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
Edge cases in expense tracking (bulk edits, exports, undo, permissions) are where Employment Hero and Google Workspace diverge; map your five toughest scenarios and reproduce them in each trial.
Bank reconciliation
Employment Hero
Employment Hero provides bank reconciliation functionality, popular with Retail & E-commerce businesses
Google Workspace
Google Workspace provides bank reconciliation functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
For bank reconciliation, evaluate both platforms against your specific workflow requirements rather than feature lists alone. A free trial or vendor demo will clarify the differences.
Payroll
Employment Hero
Combines HR, payroll, and employee benefits in a single Australian-built platform, reducing the need for separate systems
Google Workspace
Google Workspace provides payroll functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
Employment Hero highlights payroll as a core strength. Google Workspace offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.
Tax reporting and BAS
Employment Hero
Limitation: Customer support response times can vary, with some users reporting delays during peak payroll periods
Google Workspace
Google Workspace includes tax reporting and bas capabilities. Feature depth varies by plan tier
If tax reporting and bas is a daily-use area for your team, the onboarding curve and keyboard ergonomics matter more than feature counts - trial both with a real operator, not an evaluator.
Multi-currency support
Employment Hero
Limitation: Customer support response times can vary, with some users reporting delays during peak payroll periods
Google Workspace
Google Workspace offers multi-currency support capabilities. Support depth and SLA commitments vary by plan
multi-currency support support varies across Employment Hero and Google Workspace's plan tiers. Check whether the capabilities you need are on the plan you can actually afford.
Workflow complexity
Employment Hero
Limitation: Customisation of workflows and approval chains is less flexible than dedicated HRIS platforms like BambooHR or Rippling
Google Workspace
Best for small to mid-market businesses that prioritise collaboration, simplicity, and cloud-native workflows, especially teams already using Gmail and Google Drive.
On paper workflow complexity looks similar across Employment Hero and Google Workspace, but the admin experience, reporting, and permission model tend to be the real differentiators.
Available integrations
Employment Hero
Employment Hero connects with 41+ tools natively, offering one of the broadest integration ecosystems in its category
Google Workspace
Google Workspace connects with 99+ tools natively, offering one of the broadest integration ecosystems in its category
Google Workspace has a broader native ecosystem (99+ integrations) compared to Employment Hero (41+). Both connect via automation platforms like Zapier and Make.
Error handling
Employment Hero
Employment Hero provides error handling functionality, popular with Retail & E-commerce businesses
Google Workspace
Google Workspace provides error handling functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
Both platforms cover the error handling basics. The edges - automations, reporting depth, mobile parity - are where their opinions show.
Scheduling options
Employment Hero
Employment Hero provides scheduling options functionality, popular with Retail & E-commerce businesses
Google Workspace
Google Workspace provides scheduling options functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
If scheduling options is a daily-use area for your team, the onboarding curve and keyboard ergonomics matter more than feature counts - trial both with a real operator, not an evaluator.
Conditional logic
Employment Hero
Employment Hero provides conditional logic functionality, popular with Retail & E-commerce businesses
Google Workspace
Google Workspace provides conditional logic functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses
Both Employment Hero and Google Workspace address conditional logic. The right choice depends on whether you prioritise depth of functionality or breadth of your overall platform.
Data transformation
Employment Hero
Employment Hero manages employees, payroll, leave, onboarding and 4 more object types
Google Workspace
Limitation: Data residency controls are less flexible than Microsoft 365 for businesses with strict Australian data sovereignty requirements
Both platforms cover the data transformation basics. The edges - automations, reporting depth, mobile parity - are where their opinions show.
Pricing Comparison
General pricing information for each platform.
Employment Hero
HR Standard from approximately $8/employee/month, HR Premium from approximately $12/employee/month, Payroll from approximately $6/employee/month (AUD). HR and Payroll billed separately. Onboarding and benefits modules included at Premium level.
Pricing is indicative only and subject to change. We recommend contacting the vendor for a tailored quote based on your Australian business needs.
Google Workspace
Business Starter from approximately $10/user/month, Business Standard from approximately $17/user/month, Business Plus from approximately $26/user/month, Enterprise custom pricing (AUD). All plans include custom email, Drive storage, and Meet.
These figures are estimates based on publicly available pricing. Actual costs depend on your usage, team size, and any negotiated rates.
Pros & Cons
An honest look at the strengths and limitations of each platform.
Employment Hero
Pros
- Combines HR, payroll, and employee benefits in a single Australian-built platform, reducing the need for separate systems
- Employee self-service portal handles onboarding paperwork, leave requests, and personal detail updates without HR intervention
- Built-in employee benefits marketplace (Swag) offers discounts on everyday purchases, which can help with retention and employee satisfaction
- Compliance management tracks certifications, licences, and mandatory training with automatic expiry reminders
- Performance review tools with goal setting, 1-on-1 templates, and 360-degree feedback are included on higher plans without needing a separate tool
Cons
- Payroll module pricing is separate from the HR platform, so the all-in cost can be higher than expected when both are needed
- The platform has grown rapidly through acquisition and feature addition, which sometimes shows in inconsistent UX between modules
- Customisation of workflows and approval chains is less flexible than dedicated HRIS platforms like BambooHR or Rippling
- Customer support response times can vary, with some users reporting delays during peak payroll periods
Google Workspace
Pros
- Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Meet in one suite means teams have everything they need for daily productivity without switching platforms
- Real-time collaboration in Docs, Sheets, and Slides is genuinely seamless, with multiple users editing simultaneously without conflicts
- Google Drive offers 30GB free per user on paid plans with simple sharing controls that non-technical staff can manage easily
- Google Meet is included at no extra cost with calendar integration, screen sharing, and recording on Business Standard and above
- Admin console provides centralised user management, security policies, and device management that scales with team growth
Cons
- Offline functionality is limited compared to Microsoft 365 - Google Docs offline mode requires Chrome and pre-configuration
- Google Sheets lacks some advanced features that Excel power users rely on, such as complex macros, Power Query, and pivot table depth
- Data residency controls are less flexible than Microsoft 365 for businesses with strict Australian data sovereignty requirements
- Businesses heavily invested in Microsoft formats (complex Word docs, Excel models) will encounter formatting inconsistencies when collaborating
Best For
Which tool suits which use case.
Choose Employment Hero if you need
- ✓ Retail & E-commerce businesses
- ✓ Teams needing extensive third-party integrations
- ✓ Complex data models (employees, payroll, leave and more)
- ✓ Hospitality & Tourism organisations
- ✓ Tax compliance
Choose Google Workspace if you need
- ✓ Process optimisation
- ✓ Professional Services businesses
- ✓ App integration
- ✓ Education organisations
- ✓ Teams needing extensive third-party integrations
Expert Verdict
Our Harvard-educated consultants' take on this comparison.
Clever Ops Recommendation
Employment Hero and Google Workspace solve different problems: Employment Hero handles accounting & finance, while Google Workspace covers automation. Most mid-market Australian businesses benefit from running both with a proper integration layer. Employment Hero is the right pick when Australian SMBs that want HR, payroll, and employee engagement tools in a single locally built platform, particularly businesses managing onboarding, compliance, and leave at scale. Google Workspace fits when small to mid-market businesses that prioritise collaboration, simplicity, and cloud-native workflows, especially teams already using Gmail and Google Drive. Clever Ops can design the integration architecture and implement both, typically within 4-8 weeks.
Migration Notes
What to know about switching between Employment Hero and Google Workspace.
Migrating Between Employment Hero and Google Workspace
Even though Employment Hero and Google Workspace structure data differently, Clever Ops has experience bridging the gap. We map your core data between both systems, handle custom field translations, and run test migrations before going live. Expect 4-8 weeks for the full migration, with 3 months of ongoing support.
Employment Hero vs Google Workspace FAQ
Both Employment Hero and Google Workspace provide standard security measures including encryption, access controls, and compliance certifications. Employment Hero uses a REST API and Google Workspace uses REST, both supporting secure data transfer. For Australian businesses handling sensitive data under the Privacy Act, data residency and local support are worth verifying with each vendor. Clever Ops, based in Gippsland, Victoria, can review each platform's security posture against your compliance requirements during a free assessment.
Switching costs include data migration, team retraining, workflow rebuilding, and potential downtime. Employment Hero pricing: HR Standard from approximately $8/employee/month, HR Premium from approximately $12/employee/month, Payroll from approximately $6/employee/month (AUD). Google Workspace pricing: Business Starter from approximately $10/user/month, Business Standard from approximately $17/user/month, Business Plus from approximately $26/user/month, Enterprise custom pricing (AUD). Beyond licensing costs, budget for implementation (Clever Ops typically completes migrations in 4-8 weeks) and training. We run parallel systems during transitions and provide 3 months of post-migration support to minimise disruption.
Both Employment Hero and Google Workspace serve Healthcare & Allied Health businesses. Employment Hero is also popular with Retail & E-commerce organisations, while Google Workspace is widely used in Professional Services. Clever Ops can advise based on what we have seen work for businesses like yours.
We audit your current workflows, team size, budget, and growth plans, then recommend the platform that fits. Our advice is vendor-neutral: we do not earn commissions from Employment Hero, Google Workspace, or any vendor. Our Harvard-educated consultants have helped 50+ businesses make informed technology decisions over 12+. Book a free assessment to get started.
Yes. Both platforms share several common data object types (including contacts and core records), which simplifies field mapping. Clever Ops runs a structured migration process: discovery, data mapping, test migration, verification, and cutover. Most migrations complete within 4-8 weeks, with 3 months of post-migration support included.
For Professional Services, the answer depends on your operational model. Employment Hero is best for Australian SMBs that want HR, payroll, and employee engagement tools in a single locally built platform, particularly businesses managing onboarding, compliance, and leave at scale. Google Workspace is best for small to mid-market businesses that prioritise collaboration, simplicity, and cloud-native workflows, especially teams already using Gmail and Google Drive. Clever Ops has helped businesses across Professional Services choose the right stack. Book a free assessment for advice specific to your situation.
Yes. Employment Hero provides a REST API and Google Workspace provides a REST API, so automations can be built via Zapier, Make, or custom integrations. Common automated workflows include syncing shared data objects between both platforms. Clever Ops builds these automations for mid-market Australian businesses, saving teams 8+ hours/week on average.
ROI depends on three factors: how well the platform is configured, how thoroughly your team adopts it, and how tightly it integrates with your other tools. Employment Hero delivers value through Combines HR, payroll, and employee benefits in a single Australian-built platform, reducing the need for separate systems. Google Workspace delivers value through Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Meet in one suite means teams have everything they need for daily productivity without switching platforms. A poorly set-up tool delivers less value than a well-implemented one, regardless of platform. Clever Ops focuses on maximising your return through proper implementation and ongoing optimisation.
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