Best HR software in India (2026): 15 options compared and how to choose

This guide is for companies in India with roughly 10 to 500 employees choosing HR software for the first time, or replacing one they resent. It covers 15 products: thirteen built for India, two global platforms people keep asking about, and ours.

A disclosure first: ZekoHR is our product. It is in the list, written up with the same candour as the others, and we would rather you choose the right tool than ours. If an entry reads like a sales page, quote it back at us.

How we evaluated: we read each vendor's own pricing and product pages on 27 October 2026 and quote what was published there, not what a reseller or a "pricing 2026" blog claims. Where a vendor hides prices behind a demo, we say "on request" instead of guessing. Weaknesses are the themes that recur on G2, Capterra and Software Advice. We have not run every product in production, so this is a buyer's map, not a lab test, and the checklist near the end matters more than any ranking.

Quick comparison

Prices are what each vendor published on 27 October 2026, excluding GST. "Base" means a flat monthly fee that includes a block of employees, with a per-head charge above it.

Keka

Keka is the suite most Indian mid-market HR teams name first: core HR, leave and attendance, payroll with statutory compliance, performance and OKRs, hiring, and a PSA module for timesheets, packaged as Foundation, Strength and Growth tiers.

Best for: 100 to 1,000 people wanting one vendor for HR, payroll and performance, with someone to own the implementation.

Strengths: the breadth is real, the payroll engine is mature, and the employee app is one of the better ones in the segment.

Weaknesses: reviewers consistently cite slow support on payroll tickets, lag on busy days, and limited workflow flexibility. The pricing page shows plan names but no rupee figures, and the FAQ confirms "a nominal setup fee applies". Third-party sites quote around ₹9,999 per month for 100 employees; we could not verify that on Keka's own site, so treat it as hearsay.

Pricing: not published; free trial offered, length not stated.

Choose it if you are past 100 staff, want the broadest single suite, and can budget for a sales cycle and a setup fee.

greytHR

greytHR is the payroll veteran of this list, with a very large installed base among Indian SMBs and CA firms. Essential covers payroll, leave, core HR and self-service; Growth adds attendance; Premium is everything, quoted.

Best for: 20 to 500 employees where payroll accuracy and statutory returns are the whole point.

Strengths: statutory depth is excellent (PF, ESI, PT, TDS, returns), accountants already know it, and pricing is published.

Weaknesses: the interface draws steady criticism for looking dated, support runs through a shared desk rather than a named contact, and the leave module cannot model custom accrual rules. Add-ons stack: performance at ₹35 to ₹45 per user per month, expenses ₹35, GPS tracking ₹140.

Pricing: Essential ₹2,495 per month including 50 employees, ₹45 per employee above; Growth ₹4,495 per month, ₹85 above 50; 7-day trial.

Choose it if payroll correctness is your first, second and third requirement and you can live with a plainer product.

Zoho People and Zoho Payroll

Zoho People is the HRIS; Zoho Payroll is a separate product that handles Indian payroll and syncs with it. Together they cover records, leave, attendance, onboarding, performance, learning and compliant payroll.

Best for: teams already in Zoho Mail, Books or CRM, and very small companies that want a credible free tier.

Strengths: the cheapest published entry price among full HRIS products, a free plan for 5 users, Payroll free up to 10 employees, and broad coverage of EPF, ESI, state-wise PT, LWF and TDS.

Weaknesses: two products means two syncs, two admin consoles and the occasional mid-month change that does not cascade cleanly. Setup is heavy without a dedicated admin, and the mobile app is thinner than the web app.

Pricing: People from ₹48 per user per month billed annually (₹60 monthly), then ₹96, ₹144 and ₹192 tiers; Payroll Standard ₹1,000 per organisation per month annually for 25 employees, ₹40 per extra employee. GST extra.

Choose it if you are a Zoho shop, or under 10 people and want to pay nothing yet.

Darwinbox

Darwinbox is an enterprise HCM from Hyderabad used by large Indian and Asian groups, now marketed around "Cortex", its AI-native platform.

Best for: 500 to many thousands of employees, multi-country, with an HR technology team.

Strengths: configurability, talent and engagement depth, and a track record at scale.

Weaknesses: reviewers mention clunky reporting, custom reports that are not intuitive, and configuration changes that go through support. For a 100-person company it is the wrong size of tool, and the sales team will say so politely.

Pricing: on request. Third-party "₹200 to ₹600 per employee per month" figures are analyst guesses, not vendor numbers. Implementation is a separate project.

Choose it if you are an enterprise, or will be one within the contract term.

HROne

HROne (from Uneecops) is a mid-market HRMS with strong time-office features: shifts, overtime, workforce management and digital acknowledgements, plus payroll.

Best for: 50 to 2,000 employees, especially where attendance rules are complicated.

Strengths: published pricing, solid payroll and attendance, and a mobile app that covers most employee needs.

Weaknesses: a 50-employee minimum on every plan, recruitment only on the quoted Enterprise tier, a learning curve in payroll and performance, and slow pages at peak times according to reviewers.

Pricing: Basic ₹4,950 per month for 50 employees, ₹99 per additional; Professional ₹6,500 per month, ₹130 per additional; Enterprise custom. A sub-50 "Startup" plan exists without a published price.

Choose it if shifts and overtime are your daily pain and you are comfortably above 50 staff.

Pocket HRMS

Pocket HRMS is a long-running SMB product with payroll, leave, attendance with geo-fencing, a payslip designer, and asset and exit modules in the Professional tier.

Best for: 50 to 500 employees in manufacturing, distribution or services with simple requirements and a tight budget.

Strengths: among the lowest published base prices for a full HR plus payroll bundle.

Weaknesses: reviewers report punch-in errors and greyed-out menus, a thin recruitment module, and an interface behind competitors on polish.

Pricing: Standard ₹2,995 per month billed annually for 50 employees, ₹60 per additional; Professional ₹4,495 per month, ₹90 per additional; Premium quoted for 100 plus.

Choose it if price per month is the deciding factor and you will test attendance hard during the demo.

factoHR

factoHR covers onboarding, core HR, attendance with face recognition, payroll, helpdesk and multi-entity management from its Core plan, with expenses, geo-fencing, performance and surveys above it.

Best for: 50 to 1,000 employees with field staff or factory shifts, and groups with a few legal entities.

Strengths: a usable free plan up to 20 employees, published pricing, multi-entity in the base paid plan, strong mobile attendance.

Weaknesses: limited customisation, reporting shallower than buyers expect, and attendance glitches in reviews.

Pricing: Free up to 20 employees (records, letters, payslips); Core ₹4,999 per month for 50 employees, ₹99 per additional billed yearly; Premium ₹5,999 and ₹119; Ultimate ₹6,999 and ₹139.

Choose it if many of your people clock in from a site or a van rather than a desk.

Qandle

Qandle is a modular HRMS with Foundation, Regular, Plus and Premium bundles and a la carte add-ons for shift planning, field force tracking and timesheets.

Best for: 50 to 500 employees that want to pick modules rather than buy a fixed suite.

Strengths: transparent per-module pricing, a free trial with no card, and a pleasant employee app.

Weaknesses: the FAQ states that "the minimum billing amount we charge is for 50 users", so a 30-person company pays for 50. Reviewers report bugs, lag and heavy notification email.

Pricing: Foundation ₹2,450 per month for up to 50 employees billed yearly (₹2,950 monthly), ₹49 per additional; Regular ₹3,950; Plus ₹4,950; Premium ₹6,450; Enterprise above 1,000 on request.

Choose it if you are at or above 50 staff and like assembling your own bundle.

Kredily

Kredily is the "free forever" HR and payroll product: unlimited employees, PF, ESI, PT and TDS calculation, self-service and a mobile app at ₹0, subject to an active-usage policy and a 250 MB storage cap.

Best for: companies under 50 people with no software budget at all.

Strengths: it is actually free, and the paid tiers are cheap when you outgrow it.

Weaknesses: reviewers complain about ads on every login, features changing without notice, and support that is slow exactly when a payout breaks. Ratings are the lowest in this list.

Pricing: Free forever; Payroll OS ₹1,249 per month for 25 employees, ₹50 per head above; Professional ₹1,749 per month, ₹70 above.

Choose it if free is the requirement and you can tolerate what makes it free.

sumHR

sumHR is a low-cost HRMS with payroll in every plan, expenses and biometric integration from Basic, and OKRs, helpdesks and 360 reviews in Advanced.

Best for: 20 to 250 employees watching every rupee, with simple policies.

Strengths: the lowest per-user price for a product that includes payroll, no minimum commitment, volume discounts above 100 staff.

Weaknesses: a very small review base, so there is little evidence either way; the reviews that exist mention sluggish pages and awkward navigation. A one-time setup fee applies, amount not published.

Pricing: Startup ₹49, Basic ₹69, Advanced ₹119 per user per month billed annually; recruitment add-on ₹999 per recruiter per month.

Choose it if cost per head is the constraint and you will run a thorough trial yourself.

RazorpayX Payroll

Formerly XPayroll, this is payroll first: calculation, payslips, direct salary payment from the Razorpay account, and compliance payments and filings. HR features are a light layer on top.

Best for: startups under 100 employees that want payroll and filings off their plate and already bank with Razorpay.

Strengths: the filings are done for you, which no HRMS here promises so directly.

Weaknesses: leave and attendance are basic, reviewers want better reports and a fuller mobile app, and ₹150 per additional employee is the steepest per-head rate in this list.

Pricing: Prime ₹3,499 per month for up to 20 employees; Elite ₹6,499 per month for 50, up to 100; ₹150 per extra employee; Enterprise above 100 on request. GST extra.

Choose it if "pay people and file the returns" is the whole brief.

Zimyo

Zimyo bundles core HR, attendance, documents and basic payroll in Basic, adds onboarding, helpdesk, assets and an engagement suite (feed, chat, surveys, recognition) in Standard, and finance, performance and multi-country payroll in Enterprise.

Best for: 50 to 1,000 employees that want engagement and performance tools alongside HR.

Strengths: published per-user pricing, a 14-day trial without a card, and an unusually complete engagement layer.

Weaknesses: a 50-user minimum, support responsiveness draws complaints, and add-ons are expensive: HR analytics at ₹20,000 per licence per month, recruitment at ₹4,000 per recruiter.

Pricing: Basic ₹80, Standard ₹160, Enterprise ₹240 per user per month, 50-user minimum.

Choose it if culture and performance features matter as much as payroll and you are above 50 staff.

PeopleStrong

PeopleStrong is an enterprise platform spanning core HR, payroll, talent acquisition, learning, careers and succession, with over 500 enterprise customers across Asia-Pacific.

Best for: 500 plus employees, multi-entity groups, and HR teams with a transformation budget.

Strengths: depth across the talent lifecycle and a long enterprise track record.

Weaknesses: no published pricing, implementation projects that third parties describe in lakhs, a mobile app slower than the web, and reports that need more per-industry tailoring.

Pricing: on request.

Choose it if you are an enterprise running a formal RFP.

BambooHR and Rippling, the global entrants

Both get asked about by founders who used them abroad. BambooHR is a polished HRIS at USD 10, 17 and 25 per employee per month, with payroll for US employees only, so Indian statutory is simply absent. Rippling starts at USD 8 per employee per month plus a base fee, is sold by quote, and does support Indian payroll through its global payroll product or as an employer of record, including PF, ESI, PT and TDS.

Best for: a foreign company with an Indian office that already runs Rippling globally.

Weaknesses: USD billing, quote-only pricing, and India being one country among dozens on the roadmap. Freshteam, the other global name people remember, has been discontinued.

Choose them if you are the Indian subsidiary of a company that has already standardised on one of them.

ZekoHR (ours)

ZekoHR is a new, India-first HR platform: one employee record feeding leave, attendance, documents, onboarding, payroll with PDF payslips, TDS declarations, expenses with approval chains, recruitment, contractors, a social feed with kudos, and a confidential grievance channel, with several companies under one org. The unvarnished version is on our why ZekoHR and security pages, gaps included.

Best for: 10 to 250 employees who want modern software at a flat price and will try a product that launched this year.

Strengths: published flat pricing with no setup fee and no per-module add-ons, a 365-day free trial for companies up to 50 employees, mobile-first self-service, restricted-holiday calendars, a documented API with webhooks, and a primary database in Mumbai.

Weaknesses, stated plainly: we have no customer logos to show you yet. Statutory amounts (PF, ESI, PT, TDS) are set up as salary components and adjusted in the monthly review; we do not auto-compute slabs, generate ECR or challans, or file returns, so your CA stays in the loop. Reporting is basic: payroll register, expense and GST registers, CSV exports, with a report builder still on the roadmap. Biometric devices are not integrated out of the box; attendance is marked on web and app, and device feeds go through the API. We have not yet completed an external penetration test.

Pricing: Starter ₹10, Growth ₹20, Pro ₹30 per user per month; annual billing is ten months for twelve; the figures on /pricing/ are fetched from our billing system, never typed in.

Choose it if you want a full year of real payroll runs to decide on, and will accept a young product in exchange for a flat, published price.

How to choose HR software in India

Rankings are the least useful part of a guide like this. The checklist below is what separates a happy year two from a painful one.

Questions to ask on the demo call

1. Show me a Maharashtra employee's professional tax and a Karnataka employee's in the same run. Who updates those tables when a state changes its slab?
2. What is the all-in price for our headcount this year and next, including implementation, add-ons and GST?
3. What is the minimum billable seat count, and what happens when we drop below it?
4. Where is our data stored, who are the subprocessors, and how do we delete an ex-employee's record under DPDP?
5. Run a mid-month exit with a retroactive salary revision in front of me.
6. How do we get all our data out if we cancel, and what does it cost?

Red flags

• Pricing that only exists on a slide after the demo.
• A "free trial" that is a crippled tier rather than the real product.
• Statutory updates that arrive as a support ticket you have to raise.
• Attendance demos that never touch a real device or a real shift pattern.
• A security page with no stated gaps. Every product has gaps; the honest ones list them.

Shortlist by company profile

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest HR software in India?

On published prices, Kredily is free for unlimited employees with ads and a storage cap, Zoho People is free for 5 users, factoHR is free up to 20 employees for records and payslips, and Zoho Payroll is free up to 10. Among paid plans, Zoho People at ₹48 and sumHR at ₹49 per user per month billed annually are the lowest per head, and ZekoHR's Starter is ₹10 per user per month after a one-year free trial. Cheapest per head and cheapest in total diverge once minimum seats and add-ons are counted.

Is there genuinely free HR software for small companies in India?

Yes, with caveats. Kredily's free plan includes payroll with PF, ESI, PT and TDS calculation but shows ads and caps storage at 250 MB. Zoho People and factoHR have free tiers capped at 5 and 20 people. ZekoHR is free for a full year for companies up to 50 employees, then paid. Read the active-usage policies before you depend on any of them for payroll.

What is the difference between HRMS, HRIS and payroll software?

An HRIS is the system of record: employee data, documents, leave and attendance. An HRMS adds process on top: onboarding, performance, recruitment, engagement. Payroll software computes salaries, statutory deductions and payslips, and may file returns. Most Indian products here are HRMS with payroll included; Zoho splits HRIS and payroll into two products; RazorpayX Payroll is payroll with a thin HR layer.

How long does migrating to new HR software take?

For a company under 100 people with clean spreadsheets, two to four weeks: one week to import people and salary structures, one to configure leave and holidays, and one parallel payroll run before you switch. Add a month for every few hundred employees, every extra legal entity, and every year of payslip history you want inside the new system rather than archived. The parallel run is the step people skip and regret.

Do I need biometric attendance hardware?

Only if you run a floor, a site or a shift roster where presence itself is what you pay for. Office and hybrid teams are usually fine with app check-ins, geo-fencing or approved regularisations. If you do need devices, choose a product with native integration (factoHR, HROne, greytHR) rather than one that routes device data through an API you have to wire yourself.

Does HR software file PF, ESI and TDS returns for me?

Some do and some do not, so ask explicitly. RazorpayX Payroll includes compliance payments and filings. greytHR, Keka, Zoho Payroll and most mid-market suites generate the ECR, challan and return files for you or your CA to upload. ZekoHR computes payroll from configured components and leaves filing with your professional. None of them replace a CA's judgement on edge cases.

How should I handle the DPDP Act when choosing HR software?

Ask where employee data is stored, who the subprocessors are, how consent and deletion requests will be handled, and whether a breach-notification process exists. The substantive obligations phase in through 2027, so you are buying a roadmap as much as a feature; our DPDP milestone guide covers what applies to HR data and when.

Before you decide

Shortlist two or three, bring your messiest payroll month to each demo, and insist on an all-in price for your actual headcount before anyone mentions discounts. If flat pricing and a full year to decide sound right, our pricing page is read live from the billing system, and the free HR calculators for gratuity, HRA and leave encashment work whether or not you ever sign up.

Prices were checked on vendor websites on 27 October 2026 and will drift. Re-verify on the vendor's own page before you budget, and tell us if we got one wrong; we will correct it.