Fitz HR vs BrightHR: Which Is Better for Australian Hospitality?

20 Mar 2026 · By Fitz HR · 8 min read · Comparison BrightHR Alternative

BrightHR is a UK-built HR platform distributed in Australia through Peninsula Group (Employsure). It serves 120,000+ businesses across multiple countries and industries. Fitz HR is an Australian-built HR compliance platform that serves one industry only: hospitality.

Both platforms offer HR tools for Australian businesses. But when you dig into the details — particularly the pricing, the contract terms, and the hospitality-specific depth — the differences are significant.

Let's Start With Pricing — Because BrightHR Won't

Try finding BrightHR's pricing on their website. Go ahead. We'll wait.

You won't find it. BrightHR does not publish pricing. To get a quote, you need to book a sales call, sit through a consultation, and receive a "tailored" package. This is a deliberate sales strategy — not a sign of flexibility.

If a platform won't show you the price before you talk to sales, ask yourself why.

Quick Comparison

The Hospitality Problem

BrightHR has a hospitality page on their website. It mentions cooks, cleaners, waiters, and bar staff. It talks about shift patterns and onboarding.

But having a hospitality page is not the same as being built for hospitality.

BrightHR serves retail, construction, healthcare, nonprofits, automotive, transportation, food and beverage, and dozens of other industries. Its AI assistant ("BrightBrAInbox") answers 10,500+ HR questions — across all of those industries. When you ask it about the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, you're talking to a system that also needs to know about the Retail Award, the Nursing Award, and the Building and Construction Award.

Fitz HR does one thing: Australian hospitality. Every AI response, every document template, every piece of guidance is built around the Hospitality Industry (General) Award and the Restaurant Industry Award. When you ask Fitz about evening loadings, it doesn't give you a general answer about penalty rates — it tells you the exact flat dollar loading for your classification level and shift type, because that's all it does.

Where BrightHR Wins

Being honest: BrightHR offers features that Fitz HR doesn't.

• Rostering and shift management: BrightHR includes basic roster creation and shift management tools. Fitz HR doesn't do rostering — it focuses on HR compliance and works alongside whatever rostering platform you already use.
• Absence and leave tracking: BrightHR tracks staff absences, sick leave, and holiday requests in a central dashboard. Fitz HR handles leave entitlement questions and generates documentation but doesn't track daily absences.
• Expense management: BrightHR's "PoP" app tracks staff expenses. Fitz HR doesn't cover expenses.
• Employee perks platform: BrightHR offers employee discounts and a marketplace. Fitz HR focuses on compliance, not perks.

If you need an all-in-one admin platform that covers rostering, absence tracking, expenses, and basic HR, BrightHR does more things. Whether it does the important things better is a different question.

Where Fitz HR Wins

Hospitality-specific depth: Fitz HR's AI knows the difference between Level 1 and Level 6 classifications under the Hospitality Award, can calculate the correct evening loading (flat $2.81/hr, not a percentage), understands split shift allowances, and knows when casual conversion is due. BrightHR's general system cannot match this specificity.

AI-generated documents, not templates: BrightHR gives you document templates to fill in yourself. Fitz HR asks you questions about your specific situation and generates a customised document — warning letters, PIPs, employment contracts — that references the correct Award provisions and follows procedural fairness requirements.

Dedicated HR professionals for complex matters: Fitz HR includes access to a team of qualified HR professionals experienced in managing sensitive workplace disputes, investigations, and grievances specific to hospitality. BrightHR's advisory line is a general service covering all industries. For complex hospitality-specific matters, Employsure's Face2Face service is available at additional cost.

Crisis Mode: When a serious staff issue happens at 10pm on a Saturday — which, in hospitality, it will — Fitz HR's Crisis Mode provides immediate guidance and an urgent callback from a qualified HR professional within 15 minutes during business hours or 2 hours after hours. BrightHR offers a 24/7 advice line, but it's a general service, not a hospitality-specific crisis response.

Transparent pricing with no lock-in: Every Fitz HR plan is published on the website. You can sign up, try the free tier, and upgrade when you're ready. No sales calls, no "tailored packages," no fixed-term contracts, no 30% termination penalties. If Fitz HR isn't right for you, you cancel. That's it.

The Real Cost Comparison

Because BrightHR doesn't publish pricing, we can't give you an exact comparison. But here's what we know:

A venue owner should be able to see what they're paying, understand what they're getting, and leave if it's not working. That shouldn't be a radical idea.

Who Should Choose What

Choose Fitz HR if: You run a pub, restaurant, cafe, or hotel in Australia. You want deep hospitality-specific HR compliance. You want transparent pricing with no lock-in. You need AI that actually understands the Hospitality Award. You want access to HR professionals who specialise in hospitality disputes. You don't want to sit through a sales call to find out the price.

Choose BrightHR if: You need an all-in-one platform covering rostering, absence tracking, expenses, and basic HR across multiple industries. You're comfortable with fixed-term contracts. You prefer a large established brand. Your HR needs are general rather than hospitality-specific.

Frequently Asked Questions