SupportAbility vs Tendaroo: An Honest Comparison

You're a mid-to-large NDIS organisation. SupportAbility's target customer profile is bigger than Tendaroo's — their existing clients include 100+ organisations with 8,000+ total users. Operations at that scale benefit from features purpose-built for size: multi-tier privacy barriers, ISO 31000 risk framework, geolocation proof of service. Tendaroo is sharper at small-to-mid scale; SupportAbility owns the larger end.

You have a dedicated compliance officer. SupportAbility's depth of compliance scaffolding — ISO 27001 certification, IP allowlisting, MFA enforcement, ISO 31000 risk assessments, NDIS Quality & Safeguarding Framework baked into the workflow — pays off when there's someone owning compliance day-to-day. If your audit prep is a full-time role rather than a fortnightly task, SupportAbility's depth here matters.

You want all features in every subscription. SupportAbility's all-inclusive model means no tier-based feature gating. Everything's in the base subscription. Procurement is simpler — you're not choosing between Starter / Growth / Scale and trying to predict which features you'll grow into.

Geolocation proof of service matters to you. SupportAbility's mobile app captures worker location during shifts, providing geolocation evidence for compliance. Tendaroo doesn't track worker location during shifts — we treat it as worker-surveillance overhead rather than evidence. If you genuinely need that geolocation proof for audit defensibility, SupportAbility provides it.

You want to evaluate without a sales call. Tendaroo publishes pricing on tendaroo.com/pricing, runs a self-serve 30-day free trial, and doesn't require a demo to start. SupportAbility requires a sales interaction before you can even see the cost. If you've ever wanted to just try the software at 9pm on a Sunday and see whether it works for your operation, Tendaroo's evaluation path is genuinely faster.

You're a small-to-mid NDIS provider (5–50 workers, 20–300 participants). SupportAbility targets bigger. Their compliance scaffolding has weight that makes sense at 100+ workers and adds friction at 15. Tendaroo's defaults are tuned for your size: a 30-minute setup, not a 6-week onboarding project.

Predictable per-participant billing. SupportAbility's per-user pricing means hiring increases your software cost. Tendaroo's per-participant pricing means hiring doesn't change your bill — only growing your participant base does. For operations where worker headcount is volatile (casual rostering, growing workforce), predictability matters.

You want NDIS-only depth, not framework-based generality. SupportAbility's approach to compliance is to build on top of generic frameworks (ISO 31000 risk, ISO 27001 security) and map those to NDIS contexts. Tendaroo's approach is to start with the NDIS Pricing Arrangements, PACE, and Practice Standards, and build workflows that fit them directly. Different philosophies; suits different operations.

You don't want to talk to sales to start. Tendaroo's onboarding is: create account → import 1 participant → see whether it works. SupportAbility's onboarding includes "strategic implementation guidance" — which for the right org is genuinely valuable, and for a smaller provider feels like overhead before getting to work.

The single biggest practical difference between SupportAbility and Tendaroo isn't a feature — it's the buying experience itself.

SupportAbility: quote-only, per user, tiered by org size

SupportAbility doesn't publish pricing. To get a quote, you fill out a form indicating your staff count — their tiers are structured around employee size brackets, with volume discounts at the larger end.

What this means in practice:

• You can't see pricing without contacting sales
• Quotes are tailored to your size bracket
• Per-user model — your cost scales directly with worker headcount

Tendaroo: published, per active participant

Tendaroo publishes pricing on tendaroo.com/pricing:

Unlimited workers and unlimited shifts in every tier. NDIS claiming on every tier.

Which pricing model wins for your operation

Because SupportAbility's published pricing isn't available, we won't invent worked examples for them. But the per-user-vs-per-participant dynamic plays out the same way as with ShiftCare — at typical 1:3 to 1:8 participant-to-worker ratios, per-user pricing generally undercuts per-participant pricing on the headline cost line.

For a fully worked side-by-side using real published numbers, see our ShiftCare comparison — the same math applies in shape, if not in exact dollar amounts.

The honest read: SupportAbility's per-user pricing model will likely look cheaper than Tendaroo's per-participant model at typical NDIS provider profiles. Tendaroo wins on transparency (you can see the price without a sales call), predictability (hiring doesn't increase your bill), and at unusual provider shapes (high-acuity SIL with worker-to-participant inversion).

Tendaroo pricing reflects published rates as of May 2026. Request a current SupportAbility quote at supportability.com.au before deciding.

• You're a mid-to-large NDIS organisation (50+ workers, 200+ participants)
• You have a dedicated compliance officer or quality manager
• ISO 27001 and ISO 31000 are non-negotiables for your auditors
• You want one all-inclusive subscription, not feature tiers
• Your procurement process expects detailed quotes, not self-serve sign-ups
• Geolocation proof of service is a hard compliance requirement

• You're a small-to-mid NDIS provider (5–50 workers, 20–300 participants)
• You want to evaluate the software before talking to anyone
• You value pricing transparency and predictability
• You don't have a dedicated compliance officer — you want compliance baked into workflows
• Your operation values speed-to-value over enterprise scaffolding
• Australian data residency must be publicly stated, not just claimed