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HR · head to head

Employment Hero vs Guild

Employment Hero logo

Employment Hero

HR

Australian HR, payroll and recruitment platform for employment management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Guild logo

Guild

HR

Employer-funded education benefit administered as a curated marketplace of degree and skilling programmes

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Employment Hero has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Employment Hero hR plans require minimum of 10 users; Guild no pricing is published at any level, and because the programme cost combines a platform relationship with tuition funding, comparing Guild against running reimbursement in-house requires modelling that Guild is best placed to supply and least neutral about.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Employment Hero and Guild actually diverge.

Attributes where Employment Hero and Guild differ
AttributeEmployment HeroGuild
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (HR).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Employment Hero

Nothing recorded that Guild does not also cover.

Only in Guild

  • Curated provider network
  • Direct tuition payment
  • Coaching
  • Career pathing
  • Talent analytics
  • Benefit administration
  • Financial aid navigation

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Employment Hero

  • HR and payroll management for small to medium businessesnot Guild
  • Recruitment and candidate screening using AI video interviewsnot Guild
  • Leave management and compliancenot Guild

Guild

  • A retailer with high hourly turnover that wants an education benefit with take-up rather than a reimbursement policy nobody claimsnot Employment Hero
  • An employer trying to build internal pipelines into hard-to-fill roles from its existing frontline workforcenot Employment Hero
  • A company that wants participation and completion reporting to justify the benefit to a finance committeenot Employment Hero
  • Replacing an in-house tuition reimbursement scheme whose administrative burden falls on an HR team that cannot advise on programme choicenot Employment Hero

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Employment Hero

  • HR plans require minimum of 10 users
  • Custom pricing required for HR Elite and Employment Unlimited tiers
  • Currency is AUD only, may require currency conversion for non-AU customers

Guild

  • No pricing is published at any level, and because the programme cost combines a platform relationship with tuition funding, comparing Guild against running reimbursement in-house requires modelling that Guild is best placed to supply and least neutral about.
  • The provider network is curated, so an employee who wants a specific local institution or an unusual specialism may find it is not available, which undercuts the benefit for exactly the motivated employees you most want to retain.
  • The whole model assumes US higher education, accreditation and federal financial aid, so it does not extend to a multinational workforce and cannot be a global benefit.
  • The retention case rests on outcome measurement that the vendor supplies, and independent scrutiny during 2025 and 2026 has questioned completion and career-mobility results, so a buyer should insist on raw participation and completion data rather than curated case studies.
  • Value depends almost entirely on take-up among frontline staff, and take-up depends on manager encouragement and shift scheduling that Guild does not control, so an employer with weak middle management can pay for a benefit that goes largely unused.

Pricing, plan by plan

Employment Hero

Free
  • Free Tier (Recruitment)Free
    • Candidate scoring and ranking
    • 50 complimentary AI video interviews (one-time)
  • HR Essentials$10/month
    • Leave management
    • Employee records
    • Document management
  • HR Engage$14/month
    • All HR Essentials features
    • Recruitment
    • Performance management
  • Pro 50 (Recruitment)$199/month
    • 50 AI video interviews (24/7)
    • Full ATS pipeline
    • Candidate scoring

Guild

On request
  • Career Opportunity Platform$undefined/year
    • Enterprise agreement with no published rate card
    • Priced against workforce size and programme scope
    • Tuition funding is a separate employer cost from the platform relationship

Which should you pick?

Choose Employment Hero if

  • You want to start without paying.
Employment Hero review

Choose Guild if

  • You need curated provider network.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want direct tuition payment.
Guild review

Questions people ask

Is Employment Hero or Guild better?
Neither clearly leads. Employment Hero starts at Free and Guild at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Employment Hero or Guild?
Employment Hero has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Employment Hero and On request for Guild.
Does Employment Hero or Guild run on more platforms?
Employment Hero runs on Web. Guild runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Employment Hero for free?
Yes. Employment Hero has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Guild starts at On request.
What is Employment Hero best used for?
Employment Hero is most often used for hr and payroll management for small to medium businesses, recruitment and candidate screening using ai video interviews, leave management and compliance. Of those, hr and payroll management for small to medium businesses and recruitment and candidate screening using ai video interviews are not what Guild is typically brought in for.
What can Employment Hero do that Guild cannot?
Guild covers Curated provider network, Direct tuition payment, Coaching, Career pathing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Employment Hero: How much does Employment Hero cost per employee?

HR plans cost from $10 per employee per month for HR Essentials, $14 per month for HR Engage. Add-ons like managed payroll cost $20 per employee per month. All prices are in AUD with a minimum of 10 users per company.

Source
Guild: Is Guild the same as Guild Education?

Yes. The company dropped Education from its name in 2023 when it repositioned around career mobility rather than degree programmes alone.

Employment Hero: Is there a free trial or free version of Employment Hero?

Yes, the Recruitment module offers a free tier with candidate scoring and 50 complimentary AI video interviews (one-time). HR plans do not include a free tier but start at $10 per employee monthly.

Source
Guild: Who pays, the employer or the employee?

The employer funds the benefit and pays Guild. Employees generally access approved programmes without paying tuition upfront.

Employment Hero: What is the minimum commitment for Employment Hero?

HR plans require a minimum of 10 users. The initial HR contract is billed based on the greater of the minimum commitment or actual billable employees. Add-ons have minimum monthly costs, such as $20 for Chat and $40 for Rostering.

Source
Guild: Can employees study anywhere?

No. Programmes come from a curated network of vetted academic and skilling providers, which is the point of the model but also its main limitation.

Employment Hero: Does Employment Hero include add-on fees beyond the base plan?

Yes, add-ons include Chat ($2 per employee/month, minimum $20), Rostering ($4 per employee/month, minimum $40), Managed Payroll ($20 per employee/month, minimum $400), and other services with separate pricing.

Source
Guild: Does Guild work outside the United States?

No. It is built around US institutions, accreditation and financial aid.

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