Pento vs Employment Hero
Verified ratings, real UK pricing and the compliance detail, weighed side by side — with a written verdict at the end.
Pento
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Live Chat
- Knowledge Base
Employment Hero
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Phone
- Live Chat
- 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 | Pento | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | ||
| Starting priceLowest paid tier, excluding VAT | On request | £3/user/month |
| Free version | NoNo | YesYes |
| 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 | 286 reviews | 273 reviews |
How reviewers score them
Across the four dimensions we ask every reviewer about — and, below, the star split each average is built from.
- Pento
- Employment Hero
| Dimension | Pento | Employment Hero | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 4.0 | 3.9 | 0.1 to Pento |
| Value for money | 4.1 | 3.9 | 0.2 to Pento |
| Customer support | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
| Functionality | 4.0 | 3.9 | 0.1 to Pento |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pento | 44% (126 reviews) | 34% (96 reviews) | 14% (40 reviews) | 7% (19 reviews) | 2% (5 reviews) |
| Employment Hero | 42% (114 reviews) | 35% (95 reviews) | 12% (33 reviews) | 10% (26 reviews) | 2% (5 reviews) |
Feature by feature
Everything either vendor publishes, split into what separates them and what they share.
- Both products
- 16%
- Only Pento
- 844%
- Only Employment Hero
- 950%
18 features listed across both products.
What only one of them does
Pento
8- Accounting integrations
- Automated pay runs
- Employee self serve
- General ledger posting
+ 4 more in the table below
Employment Hero
9- Employee app
- Employee benefits marketplace
- HR records and leave management
- Integrations
+ 5 more in the table below
Showing 18 of 18 features
| Detail | Pento | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Where they differ · 17 | ||
| Accounting integrations | YesYes | NoNo |
| Automated pay runs | YesYes | NoNo |
| Employee self serve | YesYes | NoNo |
| General ledger posting | YesYes | NoNo |
| HR system integrations | YesYes | NoNo |
| Modern interface | YesYes | NoNo |
| RTI submissions to HMRC | YesYes | NoNo |
| Statutory payments | YesYes | NoNo |
| Employee app | NoNo | YesYes |
| Employee benefits marketplace | NoNo | YesYes |
| HR records and leave management | NoNo | YesYes |
| Integrations | NoNo | YesYes |
| Onboarding and contracts | NoNo | YesYes |
| Performance and engagement | NoNo | YesYes |
| Reporting | NoNo | YesYes |
| Right to work record keeping | NoNo | YesYes |
| RTI payroll with a free tier | NoNo | YesYes |
| Where they match · 1 | ||
| Automatic enrolment | YesYes | 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 | Pento | Employment Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Verified against vendor documentation | ||
| RTI-compliant payroll | YesYes | YesYes |
| Pension auto-enrolment | YesYes | YesYes |
| UK-based support | UK support team | UK support team |
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.
Pento
Employment Hero
Pento
Contact vendor
- Quoted per headcount
- Automated pay runs
- Accounting and HR integrations
Free Payroll
Free
- Compliant RTI payroll at no software cost
- Automatic enrolment
- Employee self serve
No comparable tier listed
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
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 Pento if
- It lists 8 features Employment Hero does not, including accounting integrations.
Choose Employment Hero if
- There is a free tier you can stay on, which Pento does not offer.
- It lists 9 features Pento does not, including employee app.
On verified Assaylist reviews, Pento currently rates 4.1 against 4.1 for Employment Hero. That gap is not the whole story: Pento starts at a quoted price and Employment Hero at £3/user/month, 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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