Keka alternatives in India: 5 options with published prices
The main reason teams shortlist Keka alternatives is cost visibility: Keka does not publish its prices and quotes after a sales call. Engage HRMS, greytHR, Pocket HRMS, factoHR and HROne all publish theirs. For payroll, attendance and leave together, Engage costs ₹3,000 a month for 50 employees and ₹6,000 for 100.
Prices checked on each vendor's pricing page on . Written by the Engage HRMS team, so we put Engage first. We say where others do better.
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The short answer
Per-employee price for payroll, attendance and leaveEngage HRMS
Keka's pricing page lists its Foundation, Strength and Growth plans but no prices. You cannot model your cost at 50 or 200 employees without a sales conversation.
Setup fee and add-ons
Keka's own pricing FAQ mentions a nominal setup fee for onboarding. On the Growth plan, multiple legal entities, advanced shift management, API and webhooks and the helpdesk are listed as add-ons.
More suite than a small team needs
Keka bundles hiring, performance and project time tracking alongside HR and payroll. A 30-person company that mainly needs payroll, attendance and leave may not use most of it.
What Keka does well
Keka covers more ground than any other product on this page: HRMS, payroll, hiring, performance and project time tracking all come from one vendor, behind a polished interface. It is also widely reviewed, so it is easy to check with other customers. If you need that breadth and can work with a quoted price, keep it on your shortlist.
Keka alternatives at a glance
Each row is the cheapest plan that covers payroll, attendance and leave together, as published on the vendor's own pricing page. Prices are per month and exclude GST.
Product
Plan
Published price
Trial
Billing and lock-in
Engage HRMS
Essential
₹60 per employee
Free trial
Monthly billing, no lock-in
greytHR
Growth
₹4,495 for 50, then ₹85 each
7-day free trial
Not stated on the pricing page
Pocket HRMS
Standard
₹2,995 for 50, then ₹60 each
Free trial (length not stated)
Annual billing. A one-time implementation fee, quoted by company size and migration complexity
factoHR
Core
₹4,999 for 50, then ₹99 each
Free plan up to 20 employees; free trial on paid plans
No cancellation fee or lock-in, per factoHR's pricing FAQ
HROne
Basic
₹4,950 for 50, then ₹99 each
Free trial (length not stated)
No contractual lock-in; two months' notice to exit
Kekafor reference
Foundation and up
Not published
Free trial (length not stated)
Not stated on the pricing page. A "nominal setup fee" for onboarding, per Keka's pricing FAQ
What each option costs at your headcount
Monthly cost of the plan above, worked out from each vendor's published base price, included headcount and per-employee rate. Before GST, and before any setup or implementation fee. Keka does not publish prices, so it is not in this table.
Product
25 employees
50 employees
100 employees
200 employees
Engage HRMS Essentialbilled monthly
₹1,500
₹3,000
₹6,000
₹12,000
Engage HRMS Essentialbilled annually
₹1,200
₹2,400
₹4,800
₹9,600
greytHR Growth
₹4,495
₹4,495
₹8,745
₹17,245
Pocket HRMS Standardbilled annually
₹2,995
₹2,995
₹5,995
₹11,995
factoHR Core
₹4,999
₹4,999
₹9,949
₹19,849
HROne Basic
₹4,950
₹4,950
₹9,900
₹19,800
Want the number for your exact headcount? We'll quote it on the demo call, and walk you through the data migration.
Like for like. We compared the cheapest plan from each vendor that includes payroll, attendance and leave, because that is what most Indian companies replace an HRMS for.
Published figures only. Every price, trial and billing term comes from the vendor's own pricing page, linked under each profile. Where a vendor doesn't publish a figure, we say so.
Our product, disclosed. Engage HRMS is our product and is listed first. We include its weaknesses and say where another product is the better fit.
Re-checked quarterly. Vendors change plans. If a figure here is out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.
The 5 best Keka alternatives
1
Engage HRMSOur product
Engage HRMS is an India-built HRMS and payroll platform. The Essential plan covers core HR, attendance, leave, payroll with PF, ESI, PT and TDS, and expense claims. Growth adds recruitment, performance, engagement, learning, assets, tasks and an HR helpdesk.
Strengths
Priced per employee from ₹60 a month, so a 20-person company pays for 20 people, not a 50-employee bundle.
Attendance is in the entry plan, with face recognition, geo-location, kiosk and biometric-device attendance, shifts and overtime.
Statutory payroll in the entry plan: PF, ESI, PT and TDS, returns and challans, Form 16, full and final settlement, loans and advances.
Monthly billing with no lock-in. Our team migrates your data and most companies go live within a week.
Watch-outs
A younger company (founded 2021) with a smaller public review footprint than Keka or greytHR.
Built for Indian payroll. If you run payroll in several countries, look at a global payroll provider.
Recruitment, performance and the HR helpdesk need the Growth plan (₹100 per employee).
Pricing
Essential ₹60 and Growth ₹100 per employee per month. Annual billing takes 20% off (₹48 and ₹80).
Trial
Free trial
Best for
Indian SMBs and mid-size companies that want payroll, attendance and leave priced per employee, with no 50-seat bundle
greytHR, from Greytip Software, is one of the longest-running payroll and HRMS products in India and is widely used by small and mid-size companies.
Strengths
Published prices and a 7-day free trial, so you can evaluate it without a sales call.
Deep Indian payroll and statutory compliance, built up over many years.
A large customer base and plenty of public reviews.
Watch-outs
Attendance is not in the Essential plan; it starts at Growth (₹4,495 a month for the first 50 employees).
Performance management (₹35 to ₹45 per user), expense management (₹35), timesheets (₹35) and GPS live tracking (₹140) are paid add-ons.
The base price covers 50 employees, so smaller teams pay for seats they do not use.
Pricing
Essential ₹2,495 a month for 50 employees (₹45 each above 50) covers payroll, leave and basic core HR. Growth ₹4,495 for 50 (₹85 each above 50) adds attendance. Premium is custom.
Trial
7-day free trial
Best for
Payroll-first teams that want published prices and a long track record in Indian payroll compliance
Pocket HRMS is an Indian HRMS and payroll platform that leads with AI agents for employee self-service.
Strengths
A low per-employee rate above 50 employees on the Standard plan (₹60).
Attendance, leave and statutory payroll are all in the entry Standard plan.
AI agents that answer employee questions and handle routine self-service requests.
Watch-outs
Plans are billed annually, with a 50-employee minimum on Standard and Professional.
A one-time implementation fee applies, priced on request.
Performance, timesheets, recruitment, expense and helpdesk are add-ons with unpublished prices.
Pricing
Standard ₹2,995 and Professional ₹4,495 a month for 50 employees (₹60 or ₹90 per additional employee), billed annually. Premium is custom, with a 100-employee minimum.
Trial
Free trial (length not stated)
Best for
Companies of 50 or more that are happy to pay annually and want AI-assisted employee self-service
factoHR is an Indian HRMS and payroll platform with a strong mobile app and a free plan for up to 20 employees.
Strengths
A permanent free plan for up to 20 employees, covering employee data, letter generation and payslips.
No cancellation fee or lock-in on any plan, per its pricing FAQ.
A mobile-first product with geo-fencing and travel and expense in its Premium plan.
Watch-outs
The free plan does not include payroll processing or attendance; those start at Core (₹4,999 a month).
Paid plans are priced for up to 50 employees, then ₹99 to ₹139 per additional employee, billed quarterly.
Performance management is only in the top Ultimate plan.
Pricing
Free for up to 20 employees (employee data, letters, payslips). Core ₹4,999, Premium ₹5,999 and Ultimate ₹6,999 a month for up to 50 employees, then ₹99, ₹119 or ₹139 per additional employee.
Trial
Free plan up to 20 employees; free trial on paid plans
Best for
Very small teams that only need employee records and payslips, or companies that want a mobile-first app
HROne, from Uneecops, is an Indian HRMS and payroll platform aimed at mid-size and enterprise companies, with a strong focus on workflow automation.
Strengths
No contractual lock-in, and billing starts only when you go live.
Core HR, time office and payroll are all in the Basic plan.
Strong workflow and lifecycle features (confirmation, transfer, separation) in Professional.
Watch-outs
Recruitment, performance, engagement, expense, assets and helpdesk are only in the custom-priced Enterprise plan.
Two months' notice is required to exit.
HROne's pricing FAQ quotes lower per-user rates (₹85 and ₹115) than its plan cards (₹99 and ₹130), so confirm the rate in writing.
Pricing
Basic ₹4,950 and Professional ₹6,500 a month for 50 users (₹99 or ₹130 per additional user). Enterprise is custom and adds recruitment, performance, engagement, expense, assets and helpdesk.
Trial
Free trial (length not stated)
Best for
Mid-size and larger companies that want workflow depth and are evaluating an enterprise plan
Start at the beginning of a payroll month, ideally a quarter, so each TDS return is filed from one system. Check your Keka renewal and notice terms first.
Export your data
Employee master, salary structures, year-to-date earnings and deductions, tax declarations, leave balances and holiday calendars. Our team sends you a checklist.
We import and configure
The Engage team imports your data and sets up your leave, attendance and payroll policies to match how you run them today.
Run one parallel payroll
Process one month in both systems and compare net pay, PF, ESI, PT and TDS line by line before you switch over.
Go live
Most companies go live within a week. Employees get the mobile app for attendance, leave and payslips from day one.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Keka cost?
Keka does not publish its prices. Its pricing page lists the Foundation, Strength and Growth plans with a free trial but asks you to contact sales for a quote, and its FAQ mentions a nominal setup fee for onboarding. For comparison, Engage HRMS publishes ₹60 per employee per month for payroll, attendance and leave.
What is the cheapest Keka alternative?
For payroll, attendance and leave together, Engage HRMS billed annually (₹48 per employee) is the lowest published price at every headcount we compared, from 25 to 200 employees. On monthly billing (₹60), Engage is cheapest for teams under 50. From 50 employees up, Pocket HRMS Standard is ₹5 a month cheaper than Engage's monthly rate, but it is billed annually and adds a one-time implementation fee.
Which Keka alternative is best for a company under 50 employees?
Look for per-employee pricing without a 50-seat bundle. Engage HRMS charges ₹60 per employee, so 25 employees cost ₹1,500 a month. greytHR, factoHR, HROne and Pocket HRMS price their paid plans for the first 50 employees, so a 25-person team pays the 50-employee price.
Can I move my data from Keka to Engage HRMS?
Yes. Export your employee master, salary structures, year-to-date payroll and leave balances from Keka, and the Engage team imports them for you. Most companies go live within a week, and we recommend one parallel payroll run before you switch off Keka.
Is Keka better than greytHR?
They suit different buyers. Keka's suite is broader, with hiring, performance and project time tracking alongside payroll, but its prices are quoted on request. greytHR publishes its prices (₹4,495 a month for 50 employees with attendance) and has a longer track record in Indian payroll. If you mainly need payroll, attendance and leave at a known price, compare both against per-employee options such as Engage HRMS.
See whether Engage fits before you renew Keka
From ₹60 per employee a month, billed monthly, no lock-in
Payroll, attendance and leave in the entry plan
Free trial, and our team migrates your data
Most companies go live within a week
Book a free demo
We'll call you to set a time and quote for your headcount.
