HRMS Software in India (2026)

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An HRMS in India has to do more than store employee records. It runs attendance and leave, feeds them into payroll, and calculates PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS correctly for every state you employ people in. For most Indian companies of 20 to 100 employees, greytHR is the best default at ₹2,495 a month for the first 50 people. Kredily is the cheapest way in, with a free plan for unlimited employees and paid payroll from ₹1,249 a month, and Keka is the stronger choice once performance reviews and hiring matter as much as payroll.

Price lists hide the real differences. Some tools charge a flat fee for 50 employees, others charge per head from the first, and several add implementation fees, annual lock-ins or paid modules. This guide sets out what each HRMS costs at 25, 50 and 100 employees, what it must handle under the new labour codes, and which tools fit each company size.

HRMS Software Shortlist by Company Size

What HRMS Software Costs in India

For a payroll-only comparison, see our guide to payroll software in India.

What an HRMS Must Handle in India

The last row matters more from next year. The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, notified on 13 November 2025, give companies until 13 May 2027 to meet most obligations, including security safeguards and a 72-hour window to report a data breach (S.S. Rana & Co.). Your HRMS holds salaries, bank accounts, PAN and Aadhaar details, so ask each vendor how it supports those duties.

Best HRMS for Small Businesses Under 50 Employees

Kredily: Best Free HRMS for Small Businesses

Kredily’s Free Forever plan covers payroll, HR records, attendance and leave for unlimited employees, with PF, ESI, PT and TDS calculated and an employee mobile app, subject to an active-usage policy. The free plan stops at calculation, though. Salary payouts through ICICI Bank or NEFT, PF and ESI challans, and Form 16 need Payroll OS at ₹1,249 a month for 25 employees, then ₹50 for each extra employee. Professional, at ₹1,749 for 25 and ₹70 after, adds selfie and GPS attendance and expense workflows.

sumHR: Low Per-Employee Price From the First Hire

sumHR charges ₹49 per employee a month on annual billing, with payroll included from its Startup plan. At 25 employees that’s ₹1,225 a month, about half of greytHR’s flat fee and close to Kredily’s Payroll OS. Basic, at about ₹69 per employee, adds more HR features, and recruitment and GPS clock-in are paid add-ons. sumHR also advertises a free plan, but it depends on your team holding salary accounts with Jupiter, so read the terms before counting on it.

factoHR: Free to 20, Then Strong on Attendance

factoHR is free for up to 20 employees. Past that, Core costs ₹4,499 a month for 50 employees, billed yearly, with payroll included, and Premium bundles attendance with face recognition and expense claims without add-ons, at ₹10,949 a month for 100 employees. Annual billing is the catch: the monthly figure is a yearly commitment, not a pay-as-you-go rate.

Zoho People: The Natural Fit for Zoho Books Users

Zoho People covers attendance, leave, timesheets and performance, and connects to Zoho Payroll, which is free for up to 10 employees with full statutory compliance. A Zoho partner puts Zoho People’s Essential plan at about ₹48 per employee a month. On Zoho Books, the pair avoids re-entering salary data; otherwise an all-in-one HRMS is simpler.

Best HRMS for Growing Companies of 50 to 300 Employees

greytHR: Best Overall HRMS for Indian SMBs

greytHR Essential costs ₹2,495 a month for the first 50 employees and ₹45 for each one after, so a 100-person company pays ₹4,745 before GST. Attendance and leave flow into payroll, and greytHR produces payslips, bank transfer files, statutory challans and Form 16. Payroll journal vouchers can be posted straight to Tally. Growth adds shift scheduling and geo-fenced attendance, while expenses, performance and GPS tracking are add-ons. Monthly plans have no lock-in.

Pocket HRMS: Low Cost at 100 Employees, With Setup Billed Separately

Pocket HRMS costs ₹2,995 a month for 50 employees on annual billing, then ₹60 per extra employee, so 100 employees come to ₹5,995. It covers HR, payroll and mobile attendance. Implementation is quoted separately, so ask for that figure alongside the subscription.

HROne: Published Prices for Teams of 50 and Up

HROne bundles core HR, time and payroll, with published pricing: Basic is ₹4,950 a month for 50 users and ₹99 for each one after. Below 50 people, the cheaper tools above cover payroll for less.

Underrated HRMS Tools Worth a Demo

These get less attention than greytHR or Keka, but all three publish prices and include payroll on their entry plans.

Qandle: Flat-Fee Payroll and HR at sumHR’s Price

Qandle’s Foundation plan costs ₹2,450 a month for 50 employees on annual billing (₹2,950 monthly), then ₹49 per extra employee, and covers leave, attendance, employee records, payroll and self-service. That matches sumHR’s price at 50 employees, but on a flat-fee structure. Plus, at ₹4,950 for 50, adds onboarding, OKRs, performance reviews and travel and expense claims, and Premium at ₹6,450 adds recruitment and learning. Phone support starts on Regular; Foundation is email only.

Zimyo: Good Value From 50 Employees Up

Zimyo publishes all its prices. Basic is ₹80 per user a month with payroll, compliance, geo-fenced attendance and mobile apps, Standard at ₹160 adds onboarding, helpdesk, engagement surveys and selfie attendance, and Enterprise at ₹240 adds performance reviews, expenses and multi-country payroll. Every plan bills for at least 50 users, so it’s poor value for a team of 20 but competitive from about 50 upward.

Asanify: For Indian Teams With Staff Abroad

Asanify’s Essential plan, at ₹99 per employee a month, covers compliant payroll, automated Form 24Q, geo-fenced and selfie attendance and biometric integration. VIP, at ₹199, adds performance reviews, OKRs, hiring and expenses, and annual plans come with two months free. It stands out for its employer-of-record and global payroll service, for Indian companies hiring abroad or foreign companies hiring in India.

Best HRMS for Mid-Size and Large Companies

Keka: Best HR Suite for Fast-Growing Companies

Keka says more than 12,500 companies use it. It sells three tiers, each with a free trial:

Payroll links to Tally and Zoho Books for accounting, and multiple legal entities, advanced shifts, API access and Slack or Teams integration are paid add-ons. Prices are quote-only. Choose Keka over greytHR when performance reviews and goal-setting need to sit in the same system as payroll.

Darwinbox: Best for Large Enterprises

Darwinbox is an enterprise HCM suite covering core HR, talent and performance, workforce management, multi-country payroll, analytics and engagement. It reports more than 1,400 customers, and Gartner has named it a Challenger in its Magic Quadrant for HCM suites for enterprises of 1,000 or more employees for three years running. Pricing and implementation are quoted through sales, and for a company under 500 employees it’s usually more system than needed.

ZingHR: For Multi-Entity Groups Across India, the Middle East and Asia

ZingHR is an India-origin HR suite for mid-market and enterprise organisations, covering payroll, workforce and talent across India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. There’s no public price, so compare the annual subscription with setup, migration and training costs.

peopleHum: Buy Only the HR Modules You Need

peopleHum starts at $2 per employee a month and lets you buy only the modules you need, such as hiring, performance and engagement. Get a written quote with every module listed, since the starting price rarely covers them.

Setup, Hidden Costs and Switching

Most setup time goes into moving employee and salary data, rebuilding salary structures and leave policies, and connecting attendance devices. Ask which of these the vendor’s onboarding team does for you.

• Add 18% GST to every price above.
• Get the implementation fee and timeline in writing (Pocket HRMS and the enterprise suites quote it separately).
• Ask whether the quoted price needs annual billing.
• List which modules are add-ons on your plan, and the per-employee rate above the base tier.
• Confirm the cost of biometric or GPS attendance integrations.
• Switch at the start of a financial year or quarter to avoid importing year-to-date tax data.
• Run one parallel payroll in both systems before going live.
• Confirm you can export all employee and payroll history if you leave.

If your team works on the road, our guide to attendance software for field employees compares GPS and geo-fencing tools that connect to these systems.

Questions to Ask in Every HRMS Demo

• Run a test payroll with one employee in Maharashtra and one in Karnataka.
• Show the Code on Wages 50% check on a sample salary structure.
• Generate an ECR file and a PT challan from the test run.
• Show how a mid-month joiner’s PF and ESI are prorated.
• Explain how employees submit investment proofs and switch tax regimes.
• Show breach alerts, access logs and employee data deletion.
• Confirm who handles support during payroll week, and how fast they respond.

FAQs

Pricing as of November 2026, in Indian rupees before 18% GST unless stated. HRMS vendors change plans often, so confirm current prices with each vendor before you buy.