Best HR software in India, compared honestly
greytHR, Keka, Zoho People, Darwinbox and Oqlio — what each actually costs at 25, 50 and 100 employees, what each is genuinely good at, and where each one loses. Written by one of the vendors on the list, which is why the section on us leads with what we do not do.
How this was put together
Prices come from each vendor's own published pricing, checked in August 2026, and exclude GST, implementation fees and negotiated discounts. Verify current pricing before you buy — these change. Oqlio makes one of the products compared here, and the section on Oqlio lists what it does not do as plainly as what it does. If you find something inaccurate, tell us and it gets corrected.
What each one costs per month
HR plus payroll, excluding GST and one-time setup fees.
| Employees | Oqlio | Oqlio, annual | greytHR | Keka | Zoho People + Payroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | $7.50 | $3.00 | Free | $84.02 | $24.91 |
| 50 | $15.01 | $6.00 | $41.96 | $84.02 | $49.82 |
| 100 | $30.01 | $12.00 | $83.97 | $84.02 | $99.64 |
Keka's flat fee covers up to 100 employees, which is why the figure does not move — below that headcount you are paying for seats you do not use. greytHR is free under 25. Zoho figures combine Zoho People and Zoho Payroll, which are billed separately.
Work out your own costThe shortlist, one by one
greytHR
The compliance veteran. Deepest Indian statutory heritage and the largest installed base.
Pricing: Free up to 25 employees, then paid plans from roughly ₹2,495–₹3,495 a month
- Free tier genuinely usable under 25 staff
- Very deep PF, ESI, PT and TDS handling
- Enormous install base means well-understood edge cases
- Interface feels its age next to newer tools
- Add-ons stack up: PMS and GPS attendance are extra
Best for: Under 25 employees, or a compliance-first team that values maturity over interface
Keka
The mid-market favourite. Modern interface, strong performance management.
Pricing: Flat ₹6,999 a month for up to 100 employees on Foundation, then per-employee above that, plus a setup fee
- Best-regarded interface in the Indian mid-market
- Payroll, performance and recruitment in one product
- Strong manager workflows
- No plan below 100 seats — a 40-person company pays for 100
- One-time onboarding fee is typically ₹25,000–₹75,000
- Setup takes four to eight weeks
Best for: 100 to 1,000 employees where performance reviews are a real requirement
Zoho People + Zoho Payroll
Cheapest credible route if you already live in the Zoho ecosystem.
Pricing: Zoho People from about ₹50 per employee; Zoho Payroll is a separate product from about ₹33 per employee
- Very low entry price
- Native fit with Zoho Books, Expense and the wider suite
- Free tiers on both products for very small teams
- Two products, billed separately, to get HR plus payroll
- Less depth on payroll edge cases than the specialists
Best for: Teams already committed to Zoho One
Darwinbox
Enterprise HCM. Full suite, full statutory coverage, enterprise price and timeline.
Pricing: Enterprise pricing, quoted per deal
- Genuine enterprise depth across the whole employee lifecycle
- Strong multi-country coverage
- Implementation runs to months
- Overkill and unaffordable below a few hundred employees
Best for: 1,000+ employees, multi-country, with a dedicated HRIS team
Oqlio (Punchly)
That's usAttendance and payroll for teams too small for Keka and too grown-up for spreadsheets.
Pricing: ₹25 per user per app per month, or ₹10 on annual billing. Payroll, expenses and assets are included with Punchly at no extra cost
- No minimum seat count — 12 people pay for 12 people
- Payroll included rather than a separate product or tier
- Effective-dated employee records, so payroll for a past month uses the values that applied then
- Geo-fenced attendance, multi-site holiday plans, and an append-only edit log as standard
- No performance management or appraisal cycles
- No recruitment or applicant tracking
- Statutory payroll supports Indian compliance only
- New product — few public reviews yet, which is a fair thing to weigh
Best for: 10 to 200 employees, multi-site or field teams, where attendance accuracy drives payroll
Which to pick, by size
Under 25 employees
greytHR's free tier, or Oqlio if you need geo-fenced attendance across sites. Keka has no plan this small.
25 to 100 employees
This is the gap in the market. Keka charges for 100 seats regardless. Oqlio or Zoho if budget matters; greytHR if compliance depth outweighs interface.
100 to 500 employees
Keka if performance reviews are a real requirement. greytHR if payroll complexity is the hard part. Oqlio if attendance accuracy across sites is what actually drives your payroll.
500+ employees
Darwinbox or PeopleStrong. Oqlio is not the right answer at this size — no performance module and no ATS.
Try the one you can try without a sales call
The Punchly console runs on our homepage with a sample company loaded — approve a leave request, open a payslip, flip the geo-fence. No signup, no demo booking.
Common questions
What is the cheapest HR software in India?
For under 25 employees, greytHR's free tier costs nothing and still handles PF, ESI, PT and TDS. Above 25, Oqlio is ₹25 per user per month, or ₹10 on annual billing, with payroll included. Zoho People starts near ₹50 per employee but needs Zoho Payroll added separately for salary runs.
What does HR software cost for a 50-person company in India?
Roughly ₹1,250 a month on Oqlio, ₹3,495 on greytHR, about ₹4,150 for Zoho People plus Zoho Payroll, and ₹6,999 on Keka — because Keka's entry plan covers up to 100 employees whether you use them or not. All figures exclude GST and one-time setup fees.
Which HR software is best for a company under 100 employees?
This is the least well served band. Keka has no plan below 100 seats, and greytHR's free tier stops at 25. Zoho works if you already use Zoho One. Oqlio was built for this range: no seat minimum, payroll included, and geo-fenced attendance for multi-site teams.
Does Indian HR software handle PF, ESI and professional tax?
The Indian-built platforms do — greytHR, Keka, Zoho Payroll, Darwinbox and Oqlio all calculate provident fund, ESI and professional tax. International products such as BambooHR, Gusto and HiBob do not process Indian payroll at all, which is the single most common shortlisting mistake.
What should I check before buying HR software in India?
Three things buyers routinely miss: whether billing starts on signup or at go-live, whether there is a one-time implementation fee, and how multi-state professional tax is handled if you operate across states. Any of the three can change the real cost by a third.