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The best Darwinbox alternatives for startups in India (2026)

An enterprise HR platform built for large companies, sold through custom quotes with separate implementation fees. It's a good fit for some teams: large enterprises (often several hundred to thousands of employees) that need deep configurability and many modules. If that isn't you, here are the alternatives worth a look, with prices from public sources.

Prices and features last checked 23 October 2026

Why teams look for Darwinbox alternatives

Common reasons, based on Darwinbox's published plans. None of these make it a bad product; they're about fit.

No public price

Darwinbox doesn't publish prices. You need a sales conversation and a custom quote to find out what it costs.

Setup costs

Implementation quoted separately.

No free plan

There's no free plan for a very small team to start on.

Payroll costs extra

Payroll at Darwinbox: module in the quote. Sunday People includes payroll in its one plan.

7 alternatives to Darwinbox

Sunday People first because it's ours, and because it's the best fit for startups that want HR and payroll at a plain price per person. The rest are ordered by price for 25 people.

  1. Sunday People Best for startups that want HR and payroll in one simple plan

    Leave, attendance with selfie check-in and geofencing, approvals, shifts, onboarding, documents, QR-verified letters, assets, expenses, OKRs and appraisals, and payroll with PF, ESI, PT, LWF and TDS for every state, all in one plan. On the web, iPhone and Android.

    Starting price
    ₹79 per employee a month
    Free plan
    Up to 10 employees
    25 people
    ₹1,975 a month
    Payroll
    Included
    Sunday People vs Darwinbox

  2. Zoho People

    A low-cost, per-employee HR app from Zoho with a free tier for tiny teams, where payroll is a separate Zoho product. Best for: Small teams already using Zoho apps who want cheap core HR, leave and attendance and are fine buying payroll separately.

    Starting price
    About ₹48 per employee a month (Essential HR)
    Free plan
    Up to 5 users
    25 people
    about ₹2,400
    Payroll
    Separate product (Zoho Payroll)
    Sunday People vs Zoho People

  3. greytHR

    A long-established Indian HR and payroll product with a free Starter plan and flat monthly plans that cover the first 50 employees. Best for: Small and mid-sized Indian businesses that mainly need payroll and statutory compliance with basic HR, at a low flat price.

    Starting price
    From about ₹2,495 a month for up to 50 employees (Essential)
    Free plan
    Starter, up to 25 employees
    25 people
    from about ₹2,495
    Payroll
    Yes
    Sunday People vs greytHR

  4. Zimyo

    An Indian HR and payroll suite priced per user per month with a 50-user minimum and paid add-ons for timesheets, LMS and recruitment. Best for: Indian SMEs of 50+ employees that want payroll, attendance and engagement tools at a mid-range per-user price.

    Starting price
    About ₹4,000 a month for up to 50 employees (Basic)
    Free plan
    No
    25 people
    about ₹4,000
    Payroll
    Yes
    Sunday People vs Zimyo

  5. HROne

    An Indian HR and payroll suite sold in plans that start at a 50-user floor, with payroll included from the Basic plan. Best for: Indian companies of 50 to a few thousand employees that want payroll plus attendance in one product.

    Starting price
    From about ₹4,950 a month for up to 50 employees (Basic)
    Free plan
    No
    25 people
    from about ₹4,950
    Payroll
    Yes
    Sunday People vs HROne

  6. RazorpayX Payroll

    A payroll-first product from Razorpay that automates salary payouts and statutory filings, with basic leave and attendance but limited wider HR tooling. Best for: Startups that mainly want automated payroll, salary disbursal and compliance tied to RazorpayX banking.

    Starting price
    From about ₹2,499 a month for up to 20 employees (Prime)
    Free plan
    Unclear
    25 people
    from about ₹5,499
    Payroll
    Yes
    Sunday People vs RazorpayX Payroll

  7. Keka

    A full HR and payroll suite popular with Indian startups, priced as a flat monthly fee for up to 100 employees with a per-employee charge above that. Best for: Companies of roughly 50 to 500 people that want HR, payroll and statutory compliance in one modern product.

    Starting price
    From about ₹9,999 a month for up to 100 employees (Foundation)
    Free plan
    No
    25 people
    from about ₹9,999
    Payroll
    Yes
    Sunday People vs Keka

Side by side

Monthly prices before GST. "Not confirmed" means public sources didn't say. Scroll sideways on a phone.

Product25 peopleFree planMinimumSetup feeMobile appsFace attendancePayrollPF, ESI, PT, TDS
Sunday People₹1,975Up to 10 employeesNoneNoneYesYesYesYes
Zoho Peopleabout ₹2,400Up to 5 users5 users on paid plansNone foundYesYesAdd-onAdd-on
greytHRfrom about ₹2,495Starter, up to 25 employeesPaid plans priced for the first 50 employeesNone foundYesYesYesYes
Zimyoabout ₹4,000No50 usersNot confirmedYesStandard planYesYes
HROnefrom about ₹4,950No50 usersNot disclosedYesYesYesYes
RazorpayX Payrollfrom about ₹5,499UnclearNone, plans are flat feesNone foundNot confirmedNot confirmedYesYes
Kekafrom about ₹9,999NoFlat fee covers up to 100 employeesNot confirmedYesYesYesYes
Darwinbox (this page)Custom quoteNoNone publishedImplementation quoted separatelyYesYesAdd-onYes

How to choose

Start from what you need this year, not what you might need in five.

You want payroll and HR in one product

Sunday People runs monthly payroll for India in the same plan as HR: PF, ESI, professional tax, labour welfare fund and TDS for every state, payslips, bank transfer files and full and final settlements. It makes the statutory files, and you or your CA upload them. If you'd rather have salary payouts and statutory filings automated from a bank account, RazorpayX Payroll is built for that.

You're a small team and want to start free

Sunday People is free with every feature for up to 10 employees. greytHR or Zoho People also have a free plan, with lower limits on features or users.

You're 50 to 500 people and want a bigger suite

Keka, HROne or Zimyo are larger HR and payroll suites with tiered plans. Their entry plans are priced for 50 to 100 employees, so they fit better as you grow.

You want simple HR at a plain price per person

Sunday People: one plan with every feature at ₹79 per active employee a month, no setup fee, no minimum, and people who leave never use a seat.

Switching from Darwinbox to Sunday People

Run both side by side while you move.

  1. Bring your data acrossConnect Darwinbox from Import with an API key and pull your people (in beta). Leave balances, leave history and attendance come from Darwinbox's exports, which Import knows, and you check every row before anything changes.
  2. Set your rulesPick a leave policy, add your holiday calendars and shifts, and choose who approves what. Most teams finish in an afternoon.
  3. Invite the teamEveryone signs in with Google, Microsoft or a one-time code sent to their work email. New joiners get an onboarding link for their details and documents.
  4. Turn on payrollTurn on payroll in Settings and set up your salary structures. Past months from your old tool come in from a spreadsheet. Or keep your current provider and hand it monthly attendance, leave and loss of pay exports.
Start freeFull Sunday vs Darwinbox comparison

Questions

What is the best Darwinbox alternative for a startup?
Sunday People covers leave, attendance, onboarding, documents, letters and payroll with PF, ESI, PT and TDS for ₹79 per employee a month, free up to 10, with every feature in one plan. If you need an enterprise rollout or a bank that pays salaries and files returns for you, look at the other products on this page.
How much does Darwinbox cost for 25 employees?
Darwinbox doesn't publish prices; you need a custom quote. Sunday People costs ₹1,975 a month for 25 people, billed annually.
Is there a Darwinbox alternative with payroll included?
Yes. Sunday People includes payroll in its one plan: salary structures, loss of pay from attendance and leave, PF, ESI, PT, LWF and TDS for every state, payslips, bank files and full and final. Payroll is off until you turn it on, so if someone else runs salaries today, give them Sunday's monthly attendance, leave and loss of pay exports instead.
Can I move my data from Darwinbox to Sunday People?
Yes. Export your employee list from Darwinbox as CSV or Excel and import it into Sunday People. Past payroll comes in from a spreadsheet with one row per person per month, so pay and tax so far this year carry over.

Sources

Last checked 23 October 2026.

Caveats

  • Darwinbox doesn't publish prices. Third-party estimates vary widely, so no figure is shown here.
  • Modules such as payroll, performance, recruitment and learning are priced per deal, so 'Add-on' means priced as a module in a custom quote.
  • Implementation is quoted separately.
  • Most feature details come from Darwinbox's marketing pages rather than help documentation.

Sources for the other products are on their comparison pages.

Competitor prices and features come from public sources, mainly vendor websites and pricing pages plus some third-party listings, as checked on 23 October 2026. They exclude GST, may differ by plan, region and billing cycle, and can change at any time, so check each vendor's site for current pricing. Where a vendor's own pages disagree, we show the price as approximate. Product names belong to their owners. Sunday prices also exclude GST.

Try Sunday People free.

Free for up to 10 employees, with every feature. No card and no setup fee.

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