Leave management software records every leave request, applies your leave policy to it, keeps each employee's balance and passes approved leave and loss of pay to payroll. The best leave management software in India for 2026 does that against Indian rules: annual leave under the OSH Code at one day for every 20 days worked once a worker has 180 days in the calendar year, carry forward capped at 30 days with refused leave outside the cap, state holiday calendars, comp off, 26 weeks of maternity leave, and leave wages paid within two working days of an exit. Below are eight tools that sell to Indian employers, each described from its own website, with Engage first because it is our product and is built for companies with 50 or more employees.
If you are shortlisting, start with the eight tools and the price and feature comparison. If you already have a tool and want to know whether it is set up correctly, go to the leave rules it must handle and the three test cases.
Vendor features and prices are taken from each vendor's own leave management and pricing pages on 14 November 2026 and can change. GST and billing terms differ, so confirm both in a written quote. The legal figures follow the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code) and the Code on Social Security, 2020, both in force from 21 November 2025, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment FAQs as on 25 October 2026. This is general guidance and does not replace legal advice. Law as at 14 November 2026.
| Leave management software | What its leave page highlights | Lowest published plan that includes leave | Section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engage HRMS | Unlimited leave types, location and department policies, comp offs, year-end carry forward, leave and LOP into payroll | Essential, ₹60 per employee a month | 2 |
| greytHR | 50+ configurable leave parameters, unlimited leave types, one-click year-end processing | Essential, ₹2,495 a month for 50 employees, then ₹45 each | 2 |
| Keka | Policies per employee group, paid and unpaid leave types linked to payroll, Slack and Teams | Foundation, ₹90 per additional employee; base fee on request | 2 |
| Zoho People | Accruals, leave grants, Bradford score, LOP reports, calendar sync | Free for up to 5 users; Essential HR ₹48 per user a month, billed yearly | 2 |
| HROne | Auto leave credit scheduler, short leave policy, floating and restricted holidays | Basic, ₹4,950 a month for 50 users, then ₹99 each | 2 |
| factoHR | Sandwich policy, pro-rating, accrual and encashment rules, team leave calendar | Core, ₹4,999 a month for 50 employees, then ₹99 each, billed quarterly | 2 |
| Qandle | Seniority-based accruals, probation rules, LOP and encashment in payroll | Foundation, ₹2,950 a month for 50 employees, then ₹59 each | 2 |
| Kredily | Calendar or financial leave year, sandwich rule, comp off with expiry, balance audit trail | Free Forever plan, ₹0 | 2 |
What should leave management software do for an Indian employer?
At the simplest level it replaces the leave register, the email approvals and the spreadsheet of balances with one record that employees, managers and payroll all read from. Employees apply on a phone, managers approve with the team calendar in front of them, and HR stops answering "how many days do I have left" every week.
For an Indian company the harder part is the rules underneath. A tool earns its fee when it can:
- Hold more than one leave policy at once, because a plant worker covered by the OSH Code, a manager outside it and an office employee under a state Shops Act can have different entitlements in the same company.
- Credit annual leave on days actually worked, test the 180-day eligibility rule and handle a mid-year joiner's one-fourth rule.
- Carry forward up to 30 days and keep leave that was applied for and refused in a separate count, since the Code lets refused leave carry forward without limit.
- Apply a different holiday calendar to each state or site, and keep sandwich rules away from leave where the law excludes holidays from the count.
- Send approved leave, unpaid leave and loss of pay days to payroll for the same cycle, so the salary register and the leave register agree.
- Work out leave encashment at exit fast enough to pay it within two working days.
If you are still deciding whether you need a tool at all, our piece on why HR teams are replacing Excel with HR software covers that question. This guide assumes you have decided and are choosing which one.
Which is the best leave management software in India in 2026?
The eight tools below all sell leave management to Indian employers and describe it on their own websites. Engage is listed first because it is our product. The other seven are in no particular order, and the features and prices for each come from that vendor's own leave page and pricing page. There are no ratings or scores here, because we have not tested the other products side by side.
1. Engage HRMS
Engage is an HRMS with leave, attendance, payroll and core HR on one employee database, built for organisations with 50 or more employees. On the leave management page, HR can create multiple leave policies by location, function or organisation need, set up custom leave types for each department and location, configure holiday calendars by location or department and credit compensatory offs directly to an employee. Employees use the mobile app to apply for leave, check balances and request comp offs, and managers approve from the same app.
The plan details list online leave applications with multi-level approval workflows, unlimited leave types with flexible rules, and year-end processing for lapsing and carry forward. Because leave and payroll share one database, approved leave and loss of pay days flow into the payroll run without re-keying, and leave encashment is worked out with gratuity and notice recovery when an employee exits, as the payroll page describes. Engage has offices in Gurgaon, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Coimbatore and Kochi.
Price: leave is part of both plans. Essential is ₹60 per employee a month and Growth is ₹100, or ₹576 and ₹960 per employee a year on yearly billing, which is 20% less. Both plans include core HR, attendance, leave, payroll and expenses. There is no setup fee, and you can ask for a free trial.
2. greytHR
greytHR is made by Greytip Software, based in Koramangala, Bengaluru. Its leave management page offers more than 50 configurable parameters, multiple leave schemes for different employee groups, unlimited leave types and transactions, one-click leave year-end processing with carry forward, and leave inputs for monthly payroll. Employees apply through the web portal or mobile app, managers get a view of team leave and leave patterns, and approvals run through workflows with escalations and email alerts.
Price: the Essential plan, which the pricing page describes as payroll, leave and basic core HR, is ₹2,495 a month with 50 employees included and ₹45 for each employee above 50. Growth adds attendance and shift management at ₹4,495 a month for 50 employees and ₹85 for each one above that. There is a 7-day free trial.
3. Keka
Keka's leave management page lets HR create different leave policies for each employee group, define paid and unpaid leave types that feed payroll, and give the team a shared leave calendar. Managers can approve or reject several requests at once from Keka's inbox, employees apply and track balances in the mobile app, and Keka connects with Slack and Microsoft Teams and updates Google Calendar for out-of-office days.
Price: leave management is in the Foundation plan, listed at ₹90 per additional employee a month. Strength is ₹120 and Growth ₹150 per additional employee. The pricing page shows the per-employee rate, so ask Keka for the base fee at your headcount.
4. Zoho People
Zoho People is Zoho's HR product. Its leave page covers custom leave types by location, role or department, accrual rules including leave earned on days worked, leave grants for one-off requests, paid time off for extra work, and holiday lists that can be applied by location or shift. Reports cover leave balances, resource availability, the Bradford score for unplanned absence and loss of pay, and the LOP report can be pushed to Zoho Payroll. Leave syncs with Office 365 or Google Calendar, and there is an Android and iOS app.
Price: the free edition covers up to 5 users and includes time-off management. Essential HR, which also includes leave, is ₹48 per user a month billed yearly, and Zoho states that local taxes such as GST are charged on top. Payroll is a separate Zoho product.
5. HROne
HROne's leave management page covers leave policies based on company-specific factors, a one-time import of opening balances, an auto credit scheduler that updates balances as per policy, a short leave policy for absence during the day, and holiday calendars for each branch with floating and restricted holidays listed separately. HROne says its people are placed in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
Price: the Basic plan is ₹4,950 a month for 50 users and ₹99 for each additional user, and includes core HR, time office and payroll. In HROne's plan comparison, time office covers leave with auto leave credit, holiday calendars by location, and overtime and comp off. Professional is ₹6,500 a month for 50 users and ₹130 for each additional user.
6. factoHR
factoHR's leave page describes a policy engine that can run one policy for the whole company or separate ones by grade and designation, with leave grants, restrictions, sandwich policy, accrual rules, pro-rating, year-end processing and approval steps. Holiday calendars can be assigned by branch, region or shift, there is a team leave calendar, and its encashment module sets encashment, threshold and carry forward rules that feed payroll.
Price: the Core plan, which includes attendance and leave and payroll, is ₹4,999 a month for up to 50 employees and ₹99 for each additional employee, billed quarterly. Premium is ₹5,999 and ₹119. The pricing page says annual billing saves 15%. A free plan for up to 20 employees covers employee data, letters and payslips.
7. Qandle
Qandle's leave page covers policies by role, level or location, unlimited leave types including comp off and maternity, seniority-based accruals and probation rules, and carry forward and encashment policies. Approvals can be single or multi-level with replacement approvers and reminders. On the payroll side it calculates leave without pay automatically, processes encashment within payroll and reverses cancelled leave in the salary run.
Price: the Foundation package, which covers leave, attendance, payroll and employee self-service, is ₹2,950 a month for up to 50 employees and ₹59 for each additional employee on monthly billing, or ₹2,450 and ₹49 on yearly billing.
8. Kredily
Kredily's leave page lists accrual schedules (annual, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly), pro-rata credit for mid-year joiners, carry forward with caps, encashment or lapse at year end, calendar-year or financial-year leave cycles, a configurable sandwich rule, calendar-day or working-day counting for each leave type, and probation and negative-balance controls. It also handles restricted holidays chosen by employees, comp off with an expiry, and an audit trail of every balance edit.
Price: the Free Forever plan is ₹0 for unlimited employees, subject to Kredily's active usage policy, and includes payroll, HR, attendance and leave with one customisable leave and attendance rule set. Payroll OS is ₹1,249 a month for up to 25 employees and ₹50 for each one after that, and Professional, with unlimited leave rules, is ₹1,749 a month and ₹70 for each employee after 25.
Our broader lists cover more vendors by module: best HR software in India, best payroll software in India and best attendance management software in India. This one keeps to leave.
How do these leave management tools compare on features and price?
Every tool here links leave to payroll and offers a mobile app, so those no longer separate them. The differences that matter are how the price is built, whether payroll comes in the same plan, and which India-specific leave rules each vendor chooses to name on its own pages.
| Software | How the price is built | Payroll in the same plan | India-relevant leave features named by the vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engage HRMS | Per employee: ₹60 (Essential) or ₹100 (Growth) a month; 20% less yearly | Yes, both plans | Location and department policies, comp offs, holiday calendar by location, year-end lapse and carry forward, leave encashment in F&F |
| greytHR | Base fee covers 50 employees, then per employee | Yes, Essential | Multiple leave schemes, year-end processing, carry forward, holiday lists |
| Keka | Per additional employee, base fee on request | Yes, leave integrated with payroll | Group-wise policies, paid and unpaid leave types |
| Zoho People | Per user; free edition up to 5 users | Through Zoho Payroll | Accrual on days worked, LOP report, holiday lists by location or shift |
| HROne | Base fee covers 50 users, then per user | Yes, Basic | Auto leave credit, short leave, floating and restricted holidays |
| factoHR | Base fee covers 50 employees, then per employee, billed quarterly | Yes, Core | Sandwich policy, pro-rating, encashment and carry forward rules |
| Qandle | Base fee covers 50 employees, then per employee | Yes, Foundation | Probation rules, LOP and encashment in payroll, cancelled leave reversal |
| Kredily | Free plan; paid plans cover 25 employees, then per employee | Yes, all plans | Calendar or financial leave year, sandwich rule, comp off expiry |
Two things to check before comparing totals. First, whether a plan is billed monthly, quarterly or yearly, because the yearly figure is usually lower. Second, whether GST is included. Zoho states that taxes are extra; for the others, ask for a quote that shows GST separately.
How do you choose leave management software?
Feature lists look alike, so judge each tool on whether it can run your actual leave policy for your actual workforce. These are the criteria we would use, with what to ask for in a demo.
| Criterion | Why it matters in India | What to ask for in the demo | Section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Several policies at once | OSH Code workers, managers and Shops Act staff can have different leave rights in one company | Assign two policies to two employees at the same site and show both balances | 5 |
| Accrual on days worked | Annual leave is one day for every 20 days of work, with 180 days needed in the calendar year | Credit leave from attendance data for a worker with 179 and 180 days | 5, 6 |
| Mid-year joiner rule | A worker joining after 1 January qualifies after working one-fourth of the remaining days | Run test case 1 | 6 |
| Carry forward and refused leave | Carry forward is capped at 30 days, but leave applied for and refused carries forward without limit | Run test case 2 and look at the closing balance | 5, 6 |
| Holiday calendars by state | National and festival holidays differ by state and by site | Load two state calendars and apply each to one location | 5 |
| Sandwich settings by leave type | Holidays inside or at either end of a worker's annual leave are excluded from the leave count | Book annual leave on a Friday and a Monday and check the days deducted | 5 |
| Comp off with a deadline | Comp off owed under the OSH Code must be given within the month or the next two months | Credit a comp off and show when it expires | 5 |
| Payroll link | LOP, unpaid leave and encashment must match the salary register | Approve leave after the attendance cut-off and show how payroll picks it up | 7 |
| Exit encashment speed | Leave wages on resignation or dismissal are due within two working days | Run test case 3 and time it | 6 |
| Registers and audit trail | The OSH Code requires a register of leave and leave wages, which can be electronic | Export the leave register for one worker and the log of balance edits | 5 |
Also check the plain things: whether employees can apply in their own language, how the app works on a low-end Android phone, and whether you can import opening balances from a spreadsheet in one step.
Which leave rules must the software handle under the Labour Codes?
Section 32 of the OSH Code gives annual leave with wages to every worker in an establishment covered by the Code. A worker is anyone employed to do manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work, but the definition leaves out people employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity and supervisors drawing more than ₹18,000 a month. An establishment generally means a place with ten or more workers. The Ministry of Labour and Employment FAQ (question 211) confirms that the leave provisions apply to workers, including sales promotion employees, and to supervisors earning up to ₹18,000 a month. Leave for everyone else comes from the state Shops and Establishments Act, where it applies, and the employment contract.
| Rule | What the law says | Source | What the software must do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligibility | 180 days or more worked in the calendar year | OSH Code s.32(1)(i); MoLE FAQ 207 | Count days worked per calendar year |
| Rate | One day for every 20 days of work; one for every 15 for adolescents and below-ground mine workers | s.32(1)(ii) | Accrue on days worked, by worker category |
| Days that count but do not earn | Layoff, maternity leave and annual leave count towards the 180 days but earn no leave | s.32(1)(iii) | Keep these in the eligibility count and out of the accrual |
| Holidays during leave | Holidays falling within the leave, or prefixed or suffixed to it, are excluded from the leave availed | s.32(1)(iv) | Turn the sandwich rule off for statutory annual leave |
| Mid-year joiners | Entitled at the same rate if they work one-fourth of the days left in the calendar year | s.32(1)(v) | Prorate the eligibility test for joiners |
| Exit | Wages for leave to credit, paid before the second working day ends on discharge, dismissal or quitting, and within two months on superannuation or death | s.32(1)(vi) | Produce the encashment figure on the exit date |
| Carry forward | Up to 30 days; leave applied for and refused carries forward without limit | s.32(1)(vii); MoLE FAQ 212 | Cap normal carry forward and track refused leave separately |
| Encashment | On the worker's demand at the end of the calendar year, and for leave above the 30-day carry forward | s.32(1)(viii), (ix); MoLE FAQ 216 | Support year-end encashment requests |
| Comp off | Where an exemption takes away a weekly holiday, an equal number of compensatory holidays within that month or the next two | s.26(3) | Credit comp off with an expiry date |
| Maternity leave | Up to 26 weeks, no more than 8 before the expected delivery; 12 weeks with two or more surviving children, on adoption of a child below three months and for a commissioning mother; 80 days worked in the 12 months before the expected delivery | Code on Social Security s.60 | Hold maternity as its own leave type with the 80-day check |
| Records | A register of leave, leave wages, overtime and attendance in the prescribed form, electronically or otherwise | OSH Code s.33(a) | Export the leave register on demand |
Three practical points follow from the table.
The statutory leave year is the calendar year. Many companies run leave from April to March to match the financial year, which is allowed for policy leave, but the 180-day test, the 30-day carry forward and year-end encashment for workers are all framed on the calendar year. Ask whether the tool can run a calendar-year cycle for one policy and a financial-year cycle for another.
State laws still apply. Casual leave, sick leave and festival holidays mostly come from state Shops and Establishments Acts and holiday Acts, and the MoLE FAQ (question 215) says an employee keeps a state benefit that is more favourable than the Code. Our leave policy requirements guide covers the state figures, and the state holiday lists give you each state's calendar to load.
The sandwich rule needs care. Section 32(1)(iv) means a worker who takes annual leave on a Friday and a Monday uses two days, with the weekend excluded. A sandwich rule on casual or sick leave is a different question, covered in our sandwich leave policy guide. For comp off and maternity, see the comp off rules and maternity leave rules posts.
Three leave cases to run in a software demo
Ask each vendor to set up these three cases in a trial account. They are ordinary situations, and a wrong answer in any of them would show up as a wrong balance or a late payment.
Test case 1: a mid-year joiner
Anjali joins a Pune plant as a machine operator on 1 September 2026. The days left in the calendar year are 122 (30 in September, 31 in October, 30 in November and 31 in December). One-fourth of 122 is 30.5, so she qualifies once she has worked 31 days. By 31 December she has worked 100 days.
Correct result: 100 ÷ 20 = 5 days of annual leave for 2026. A tool that applies only the 180-day test will show zero.
Test case 2: leave that was refused
Ravi is a warehouse supervisor on ₹16,500 a month, so he is a worker under the Code. He starts 2026 with 24 days carried forward, works 260 days and earns 13 days (260 ÷ 20). He takes 3 days. In October he applies for 6 days and the request is refused because of peak season. His unused leave at 31 December is 24 + 13 - 3 = 34 days, of which 6 were refused.
Correct result: all 34 days carry forward into 2027, being 28 days within the 30-day cap and the 6 refused days outside it. A tool that applies a flat 30-day cap will lapse 4 days that Ravi is entitled to keep. To get this right, the tool has to record a refused application as refused leave, separate from a cancelled or withdrawn one.
Test case 3: wages for leave at exit
Ravi resigns and his last working day is Wednesday, 9 December 2026, with 34 days to his credit. Under section 32(1)(vi), wages for those 34 days are due before the expiry of the second working day after he quits. If Thursday and Friday are working days, that is by the end of Friday, 11 December 2026.
Correct result: the encashment amount is ready in the full and final settlement on 9 December, with the 34 days already reconciled. The leave encashment calculator gives a quick check on the amount, and the full and final settlement guide covers the rest of the exit payment.
How should leave software connect to attendance and payroll?
Most leave errors surface in payroll. A leave approved after the attendance cut-off, a half day recorded as a full day of absence, or a cancelled leave that never reaches the salary sheet all end up as a wrong deduction. So the link between leave, attendance and payroll deserves as much attention in a demo as the leave screens themselves.
Check four things:
- One employee record. Leave, attendance and payroll should read the same joining date, location and policy, so a transfer from Pune to Chennai changes the holiday calendar and the leave policy on the same day.
- Cut-off handling. Leave approved after the payroll cut-off should either adjust the current run or carry as an arrear or recovery into the next one, with the reason visible.
- LOP divisor. The loss of pay figure depends on whether your policy divides by 30, 26 or calendar days. Our LOP calculation guide walks through the effect of each divisor.
- Attendance policy. Late marks, half days and regularisation requests should follow the rules in your attendance policy and post to leave or LOP automatically.
If attendance capture is the bigger problem in your company, start with the attendance management module, because leave balances can only be as accurate as the attendance records they are calculated from.
Is free leave management software enough for a small business?
For a team of five to fifteen people with one leave policy and one office, often yes. Zoho People's free edition covers up to 5 users with time-off management, and Kredily's Free Forever plan covers payroll, attendance and leave with one leave and attendance rule set. A shared spreadsheet also works at that size if one person owns it.
The case for a paid tool grows with headcount and with variety. Once you have workers covered by the OSH Code alongside managers, more than one state, shift staff with rotating weekly offs or a monthly payroll that depends on LOP figures, each extra policy is another place for a free plan's limits or a spreadsheet's formulas to slip. Engage is built for that stage, at companies with 50 or more employees. Our guide to HR software for small businesses covers the smaller end in more detail.
How do you move leave balances to new software?
Switch at the start of a leave year if you can. The calendar year suits statutory annual leave, and 1 January also avoids carrying a half-year of accruals across two systems. If you have to switch mid-year, follow these steps.
- Freeze leave applications in the old system for the last two days before cut-over.
- Export closing balances by employee and leave type, and split earned leave into the normal balance and any refused leave carried forward outside the cap.
- Load each employee's leave policy, location and holiday calendar before you load balances, so the opening figures land in the right policy.
- Import opening balances and the days worked so far in the calendar year, which the 180-day test needs.
- Run one payroll cycle with LOP figures from both the old and the new system, and reconcile any difference before you switch off the old one.
- Keep the old leave register as a record. The law requires the register, and an export from the old tool is your evidence for balances carried in.
Leave management software FAQs
Which is the best leave management software in India?
It depends on your size and how many leave policies you run. For companies with 50 or more employees that want leave, attendance and payroll in one system, Engage is built for that. greytHR, Keka, Zoho People, HROne, factoHR, Qandle and Kredily are all used by Indian employers, and their published prices and leave features are compared in sections 2 and 3.
What features should a leave management system have?
Multiple leave policies, accrual on days worked, carry forward with a cap and a separate count for refused leave, state-wise holiday calendars, comp off with expiry, a mobile app for applying and approving, a leave register you can export, and a direct link to payroll for LOP and encashment.
Is there free leave management software in India?
Yes. Zoho People has a free edition for up to 5 users that includes time-off management, and Kredily has a Free Forever plan that includes leave, subject to its active usage policy. factoHR's free plan covers up to 20 employees for employee data, letters and payslips.
How much does leave management software cost in India?
Published prices on 14 November 2026 start at ₹48 per user a month (Zoho People, billed yearly), ₹60 per employee a month (Engage Essential, which also includes payroll and attendance) and ₹2,495 a month for 50 employees (greytHR Essential). Check GST and the billing cycle in each quote.
How is earned leave calculated under the OSH Code?
A worker who has worked 180 days or more in a calendar year earns one day of annual leave for every 20 days of work. A worker who joins mid-year qualifies after working one-fourth of the remaining days in that year.
How many days of leave can be carried forward?
Up to 30 days into the next calendar year under section 32(1)(vii) of the OSH Code. Leave that the worker applied for and was refused carries forward without any limit, so the software must track it separately.
Can leave management software handle different states?
Most of the tools here let you assign leave policies and holiday calendars by location. Load each state's holiday list and its Shops Act entitlements as a separate policy, then test one employee from each state before go-live.
Does the sandwich rule apply to annual leave?
Not for workers under the OSH Code. Section 32(1)(iv) excludes holidays that fall within, before or after annual leave from the leave count. Whether a sandwich rule can apply to casual or sick leave depends on the state Act and your standing orders.
How does Engage handle leave management?
Engage runs leave on the same employee database as attendance and payroll, for companies with 50 or more employees. You can set up leave policies by location, function or department, create as many leave types as your policy needs, assign holiday calendars by location, credit comp offs and run year-end lapsing and carry forward. Employees apply, check balances and request comp offs on the mobile app, and managers approve through multi-level workflows.
Approved leave and loss of pay days go straight into the payroll run, and at exit, leave encashment is worked out with gratuity and notice recovery in the full and final settlement. Leave is part of both the Essential and Growth plans, with no setup fee. You can see what each plan includes on the Engage pricing page.
Sources
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. Gazette of India, as hosted by DGFASLI, Ministry of Labour and Employment. Section 2(1)(zzl) on workers; section 26(3) on compensatory holidays; section 32 on annual leave with wages; section 33 on registers.
- Notification S.O. 5321(E), 21 November 2025. Ministry of Labour and Employment. Brings the OSH Code into force from 21 November 2025.
- Code on Social Security, 2020. Section 60 on maternity benefit.
- Ministry of Labour and Employment, Compilation of FAQs on Four Labour Codes and Central Rules (as on 25 October 2026). Questions 207 and 211 to 216 on annual leave, carry forward and encashment.
- greytHR leave management software and greytHR pricing, 14 November 2026.
- Keka leave management system and Keka pricing, 14 November 2026.
- Zoho People leave management and Zoho People pricing, 14 November 2026.
- HROne leave management and HROne pricing, 14 November 2026.
- factoHR leave management system and factoHR plans, 14 November 2026.
- Qandle leave management system and Qandle pricing, 14 November 2026.
- Kredily leave management and Kredily pricing, 14 November 2026.
