RosterMate vs RosterElf
RosterElf is a well-established Australian rostering tool from Perth with 14+ years behind it and a strong Xero pedigree. RosterMate is built in New Zealand, for New Zealand. Here's an honest, side-by-side look at what the headline prices really mean, seat minimums, NZ payroll and the Holidays Act — so you can pick the right tool for your team.
Feature and pricing comparison for New Zealand businesses, from each company's public pages as of July 2026.
| RosterMate | RosterElf | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing currency | NZD — what you see is what you pay | AUD + GST — your NZD cost moves with the exchange rate |
| Headline price — the fine print | $8 NZD flat — one price, monthly, all features | A$6 is the annual rate with a 10-seat minimum; monthly is A$8 (Core) / A$10 (Full Suite) |
| Minimum seats | None | 3 staff monthly · 10 seats annual |
| Admins count as billable staff | Billed per employee — full manager experience included, no extra module fees | Yes — no free owner/manager seat |
| All features at one price | Yes — no tiers | Core vs Full Suite tiers; HR is the higher tier |
| AI-assisted rostering | Yes — AI Auto-Roster | Yes — "Perfect Match" shift suggestions |
| GPS clock-in with photo verification | Yes, plus geofencing & facial verification | Yes — GPS + photo verification |
| Leave management (NZ Holidays Act) | NZ-native, incl. alternative & family violence leave | Leave yes; award engine built for Australian awards/Fair Work |
| NZ payroll integrations | Xero NZ, PayHero, Smartly, Crystal + iPayroll export | Xero (incl. NZ setup path) + MYOB only |
| IRD payday filing & NZ bank batch files | Built in | No |
| Event staffing with shift bidding & waitlists | Yes | No |
| Custom forms & HR documents | Included — AI form builder | HR Hub, onboarding & contracts = paid Full Suite tier |
| Free onboarding — setup done for you | Yes — staff imported, templates built, managers trained | Self-serve setup |
| Support | Unlimited & free — NZ humans, replies in minutes | Help centre + email support |
| Custom solutions & roster automations built for you | Yes — tell us the problem, we build the fix, free | Standard product roadmap |
| Free trial | 30 days, no credit card | 15 days, no credit card |
| Reviews | — | Xero App Store NZ 4.9/5 · Google Play 4.8 (as of Jul 2026) |
| NZ owned & operated | Yes — 100% NZ owned, NZ support | Australian — Roster-Elf Pty Ltd, Perth; states data is Australian-hosted |
RosterElf pricing and features from rosterelf.com public pages and the Xero App Store as of 5 July 2026 (pricing in AUD plus GST; monthly plans bill a minimum of 3 active staff, annual plans require a minimum of 10 seats, and admins count as billable staff). RosterElf is a trademark of Roster-Elf Pty Ltd. AUD to NZD conversions are approximate and move with the exchange rate. Always confirm current pricing with the vendor.
Example: a café or retail store with 20 rostered staff, using scheduling, time clock and timesheets, paying monthly.
No product is best for everyone. Here's where RosterElf is strong, and where RosterMate makes more sense.
Choose RosterElf if…
- You have 10+ staff, will pay a year of AUD up front, and only need rostering + timesheets — the annual Core rate is low if all three constraints suit you
- Xero is the centre of your world — RosterElf's Xero integration is mature, has a dedicated NZ setup path, and holds a 4.9/5 rating on the Xero App Store NZ
- You value product maturity — RosterElf has been refining the same product since 2011 and claims 30,000+ businesses use it
- You operate on both sides of the Tasman and need Australian award interpretation — that's exactly what its compliance engine is built for
Choose RosterMate if…
- You want one flat NZD price with no seat minimums, no billable-admin surprises and no Core-vs-Full-Suite decisions
- You run NZ payroll beyond Xero — PayHero, Smartly, Crystal and iPayroll are covered, and IRD payday filing plus NZ bank batch files are built in
- Your leave needs to follow the Holidays Act — alternative leave, family violence leave and NZ public holiday rates, not Australian awards
- You staff events — capacity-based shift bidding with waitlists is unique to RosterMate
- You value real support — a Kiwi answers in minutes, and free onboarding means we build your rosters and templates for you
- You want software that listens — tell us a problem and we ship the solution, including complex roster and event automations set up free
The table above only counts features. Every RosterMate plan also comes with a New Zealand team doing the heavy lifting for you — included in the price, not sold separately.
Free onboarding, done for you
We import your staff, build your roster templates, set up your positions and areas, and train your managers — free. You start with a working roster, not a blank screen.
Support in minutes, not days
Unlimited free support from the NZ team that actually builds RosterMate. Call or message — a human answers fast. No ticket tiers, no offshore queue, no chatbot maze.
We build what you need
Got a problem your software ignores? Tell us. We listen, design a solution and ship it — RosterMate customers watch their feedback become features that better their business.
Complex setups automated, free
Rotating patterns, event crews, multi-site rosters — our team builds your complex roster and event automations for you, at no charge. If it can be automated, we'll set it up.
Our verdict
RosterElf is a solid, mature rostering tool with transparent pricing and a strong Xero pedigree. But its cheap headline rate only applies if you're a 10+ person team paying a year of AUD up front for rostering and timesheets alone — and it's an Australian product through and through: prices in AUD plus GST, a compliance engine built for Australian awards rather than the NZ Holidays Act, data it states is Australian-hosted, seat minimums on every plan, and admins on the bill. Its NZ payroll story starts and ends with Xero and MYOB.
Most New Zealand teams need more than that: leave that follows the Holidays Act, timesheets that flow into PayHero, Smartly, Crystal or Xero NZ, and payday filing lodged with IRD — at a price in NZ dollars that doesn't shift with the exchange rate or grow when you add a manager. That's exactly what RosterMate is: everything included at $8 NZD per employee, no minimums, built and supported in New Zealand, with the only built-in IRD payday filing in this category — plus free onboarding where we set your rosters up for you, support that answers in minutes, and custom solutions built on request. Try both — RosterElf offers 15 days free and we offer 30. We think you'll stay.
Try RosterMate FreeCommon questions from teams comparing the two.