Field notes › Comparisons
Mustr vs foundU for labour hire crews
Of the per-seat platforms, foundU is the one we respect most for labour hire. It's Australian, it takes compliance seriously, and unlike most of the market it will genuinely stop a non-compliant worker landing on a roster. So this comparison is closer than the others, and worth being precise about.
What foundU does well
foundU is an all-in-one: onboarding, rostering, award-interpreted payroll and invoicing in one platform, priced per active user at a published $3.25 a week or $12 a month ex GST on its Essential plan, $15 a month on Everyday, with a minimum spend for small teams. Its help documentation describes exactly the right behaviour: workers who don't meet a roster's marked requirements appear blocked, and expired information stops shift additions. Credit where due, that's the correct design.
Where the differences are
- The client side. foundU handles labour hire billing through charge rate books and client invoicing, but there's no client-facing login where your client watches their own site's roster, raises requests and ticks off logistics. Mustr's client portal is the workload-shifting half of the product, and it's included.
- Pricing model. foundU is per active user: predictable per head, but the bill tracks your churn. Mustr is one flat price per bracket, GST included, so shutdown-season spikes don't move it.
- Focus. foundU's breadth means payroll, awards and invoicing live in the same system, which suits firms who want one vendor for everything. Mustr concentrates on the roster, the compliance engine and the portals, and stays out of running your payroll.
The pricing maths
At 100 active users foundU Essential is about $1,200 a month ex GST ($1,320 with GST); Mustr is $1,540 GST included. Close. At 350 users foundU Essential reaches about $4,620 a month with GST while Mustr is $3,300, and the flat brackets win by a widening margin from there.
Which should you pick?
If you want rostering, payroll and invoicing from a single vendor and your clients don't need eyes on the roster, foundU deserves your shortlist. If client visibility, flat pricing and a compliance engine that's the whole point of the product matter more, see Mustr on your own roster.
Competitor details and prices in this article come from the vendors’ own published pages as at July 2026, quoted ex GST unless noted, and may have changed since. Check their sites for current figures. Mustr prices include GST.