- Zoho PeopleHR, payroll separate
- KekaHR + payroll suite
- greytHRHR + payroll, free plan
- DarwinboxEnterprise HR
- HROneHR + payroll suite
- ZimyoHR + payroll suite
- RazorpayX PayrollPayroll first
The best Keka alternatives for startups in India (2026)
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. It's a good fit for some teams: companies of roughly 50 to 500 people that want HR, payroll and statutory compliance in one modern product. If that isn't you, here are the alternatives worth a look, with prices from public sources.
Prices and features last checked 23 October 2026Why teams look for Keka alternatives
Common reasons, based on Keka's published plans. None of these make it a bad product; they're about fit.
Priced for a bigger team
The Foundation plan is a flat fee for up to 100 employees, so a 10-person team pays from about ₹9,999 a month, the same as a team of 100.
No free plan
There's no free plan for a very small team to start on.
Features on higher plans
single sign-on (Google, Microsoft, SAML) (Strength), performance reviews (Growth), expenses and reimbursements (Strength) need a higher plan.
7 alternatives to Keka
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.
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
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)
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
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
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
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
Darwinbox
An enterprise HR platform built for large companies, sold through custom quotes with separate implementation fees. Best for: Large enterprises (often several hundred to thousands of employees) that need deep configurability and many modules.
- Starting price
- Custom quote
- Free plan
- No
- 25 people
- Custom quote
- Payroll
- Module in the quote
Side by side
Monthly prices before GST. "Not confirmed" means public sources didn't say. Scroll sideways on a phone.
| Product | 25 people | Free plan | Minimum | Setup fee | Mobile apps | Face attendance | Payroll | PF, ESI, PT, TDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday People | ₹1,975 | Up to 10 employees | None | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Zoho People | about ₹2,400 | Up to 5 users | 5 users on paid plans | None found | Yes | Yes | Add-on | Add-on |
| greytHR | from about ₹2,495 | Starter, up to 25 employees | Paid plans priced for the first 50 employees | None found | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Zimyo | about ₹4,000 | No | 50 users | Not confirmed | Yes | Standard plan | Yes | Yes |
| HROne | from about ₹4,950 | No | 50 users | Not disclosed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RazorpayX Payroll | from about ₹5,499 | Unclear | None, plans are flat fees | None found | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Darwinbox | Custom quote | No | None published | Implementation quoted separately | Yes | Yes | Add-on | Yes |
| Keka (this page) | from about ₹9,999 | No | Flat fee covers up to 100 employees | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
How to choose
Start from what you need this year, not what you might need in five.
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.
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.
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.
Darwinbox is built for enterprises, with deep configuration, custom quotes and an implementation project.
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 Keka to Sunday People
Run both side by side while you move.
- Bring your data acrossConnect Keka from Import with an API key and pull your people, salaries and past payroll. Leave balances, leave history and attendance come from Keka's exports, which Import knows, and you check every row before anything changes.
- Set your rulesPick a leave policy, add your holiday calendars and shifts, and choose who approves what. Most teams finish in an afternoon.
- 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.
- Move payroll when you're readyImport past payroll from Keka so pay and tax so far this year carry over, set up your salary structures and run your first month in Sunday. Until then, keep Keka for salaries and hand it Sunday's attendance, leave and loss of pay exports.
Questions
What is the best Keka alternative for a startup?
How much does Keka cost for 25 employees?
Is there a Keka alternative with payroll included?
Can I move my data from Keka to Sunday People?
Sources
Last checked 23 October 2026.
- keka.com/pricing
- go.keka.com/hrms-software-india
- keka.com/small-companies
- hr.software/reviews/keka
- saasworthy.com/product/keka
- keka.com/gps-mobile-attendance
- help.keka.com/admin/setting-up-an-attendance-capture-policy
- help.keka.com/admin/admin-help/how-to-add/remove-sandwich-leave-for-any-leave-type
- help.keka.com/hc/en-us/articles/39946811861009-Proactive-Attendance-Leave-Reminders
- help.keka.com/hc/en-us/articles/39946560646545-How-to-generate-an-Employment-Experience-letter-for-an-employee-on-Keka
- keka.com/timesheet-software
- keka.com/psa-software
- docs.keka.com/faq/about-keka/
- aidukan.in/keka-price-india/
Caveats
- Keka's own pages show more than one price: ₹9,999, ₹12,999 and ₹15,999 a month for up to 100 employees on one page, and 'from ₹6,999 a month' or 'from ₹90 to ₹99 per employee' on others.
- The exact plan for e-signature, exit tracking and SSO could not be pinned down from public pages.
- Expense and SSO plan placement comes from older Keka documentation and may have changed.
- Timesheets and PSA are sold as a separate module.
- Whether the flat price assumes annual billing is not stated in the sources we found.
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.