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    Buyer's guide

    HR and payroll software for growing companies in India: 2026 buyer's guide

    Updated 9 min readBy the flowwork.ai team

    Short answer

    For a growing Indian company (roughly 50–500 employees), the shortlist usually comes down to an all-in-one HRMS with Indian payroll: Keka, greytHR, Zoho People with Zoho Payroll, and flowwork.ai are common options. Check four things before you buy: statutory payroll (EPF, ESI, PT, LWF, TDS under both tax regimes) updated for the November 2025 labour codes and the ₹25,000 EPF wage ceiling from 17 September 2026; whether leave and attendance feed loss of pay automatically; whether prices are published; and whether you can start with one module and add the rest later.

    Who this guide is for

    Founders, HR heads and finance teams at Indian companies with roughly 50 to 500 employees who are moving off spreadsheets, a payroll-only tool, or a CA-run payroll, and want HR, leave, attendance and payroll in one system.

    This guide is written by flowwork.ai, one of the products compared. Competitor facts are taken only from their public pricing pages, with links and the date we checked them at the end. If something has changed, tell us at /contact and we'll correct it.

    What HR and payroll software in India must cover in 2026

    • Core HR: employee records, documents, org structure, and an audit trail of changes.
    • Leave and holidays: leave types and policies, multi-level approvals, balances that carry forward correctly at year end.
    • Attendance: web and mobile check-in, shifts and weekly offs, and geofencing if you have field or multi-office teams.
    • Indian payroll: salary structures, EPF, ESI, Professional Tax (state slabs), Labour Welfare Fund, and TDS on salary under both the new and the old tax regime, with employee tax declarations.
    • Loss of pay (LOP) from leave: unpaid leave approved in the HR system should reach payroll without retyping.
    • Approvals and payout: a maker-checker approval of each pay run, payslips, and a bank transfer file.
    • Onboarding and offboarding: pre-joining document collection, exit checklists and clearances (IT, admin, finance).
    • Performance and hiring (as you grow): review cycles, OKRs or KRAs, and an applicant tracking system, ideally on the same employee record.

    Two regulatory changes make 2026 a good moment to check any vendor's payroll engine:

    • Labour codes (in force since 21 November 2025): one definition of "wages" now applies to PF, ESI, gratuity and bonus. Excluded allowances (HRA, conveyance and similar) can't exceed 50% of total remuneration; anything above 50% is added back to wages for statutory calculations.
    • EPF wage ceiling raised to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026 (from ₹15,000). The maximum employee PF contribution at the ceiling rises to ₹3,000 and the employer's EPS share to ₹2,083. September 2026 is a split month.

    Ask every vendor to show you both changes working in a sample pay run before you sign.

    How HR and payroll pricing works in India

    • Per employee per month: typical for HRMS modules (core HR, leave, attendance, performance).
    • Per organisation plus per extra employee: common for payroll (a base price that includes, say, 25 or 50 employees, then a fee per additional employee).
    • Published or on request: some vendors publish prices; others quote after a demo. Published prices make it easier to budget as you grow.
    • Setup fees and minimums: check for one-time implementation fees, minimum employee counts and annual-only billing.

    The main options compared

    flowwork.aiKekagreytHRZoho People + Zoho Payroll
    Prices publishedYesNo (quote; nominal setup fee)YesYes
    Free planYes: HR up to 5 employees, payroll up to 10 employeesFree trial7-day free trialFree editions (People; Payroll up to 10 employees)
    Core HR + leaveFrom ₹33 per employee/monthFoundation planEssential: ₹2,495/month incl. 50 employees, then ₹45 eachPeople Essential HR: ₹48 per employee/month
    Attendance with geofencingFlowPeople Professional ₹67 per employee/month (includes timesheets)Strength planGrowth: ₹4,495/month incl. 50 employees, then ₹85 eachPeople Professional: ₹96 per employee/month
    PayrollFlowPay Standard ₹699/month incl. 25 employees, then ₹28 per employee above 25Included in FoundationIncluded in EssentialZoho Payroll Standard ₹1,000/month incl. 25 employees, then ₹40 each (annual)
    Performance (OKRs, 9-box)FlowPerform from ₹49 per employee/monthGrowth planAdd-on / PremiumPeople Premium: ₹144 per employee/month
    Recruitment (ATS)FlowHire (separate module)Separate Hiring plansAdd-on (Recruit)Separate product (Zoho Recruit)

    Published prices as of 11 October 2026, excluding GST. Plans and limits change, so check each vendor's page.

    Worked example, 100 employees, core HR + leave + attendance + payroll (per month, list prices, excluding GST): greytHR Growth ₹8,745; flowwork.ai ₹9,499 (FlowPeople Professional ₹6,700, which also includes timesheets, + FlowPay Standard ₹2,799; billed annually); Zoho People Professional + Zoho Payroll Standard ₹13,600 (billed annually); Keka on request.

    Short profiles, based on each vendor's own pricing page:

    • Keka: HRMS and payroll in three plans (Foundation, Strength, Growth). Payroll and statutory compliance are in every plan; geofencing is in Strength; OKRs, 360-degree reviews, calibration and pre-boarding are in Growth. Hiring and project timesheets (PSA) are sold as separate plans. Prices are given on request, with a nominal setup fee.
    • greytHR: payroll-first HRMS. Essential (₹2,495/month including 50 employees) covers payroll, leave, core HR and self-onboarding/exit; Growth (₹4,495/month including 50 employees) adds advanced attendance, shifts and geofencing. Performance, expenses and recruitment are add-ons or part of the custom-priced Premium plan.
    • Zoho People + Zoho Payroll: two products. Zoho People editions go from Essential HR (onboarding, offboarding, leave) to Professional (attendance, timesheets, rosters), Premium (performance, OKRs, nine-box, compensation) and Enterprise (HR helpdesk, LMS). Zoho Payroll is priced per organisation with employees included. A good fit if you already use Zoho Books or other Zoho apps.
    • flowwork.ai: separate modules on one employee record. FlowPeople (core HR, leave, onboarding with a candidate portal, offboarding with clearances), FlowPay (Indian payroll), FlowAttend, FlowTime, FlowPerform, FlowHire, plus helpdesk, projects and documents. Every plan is priced at least 30% below the comparable Zoho plan, with free plans to start. See pricing.

    Where flowwork.ai fits, and where it doesn't (yet)

    • Good fit: companies that want HR, payroll, attendance, performance and hiring on one record without a large upfront commitment; teams that want to start with one module (for example leave and attendance) and add payroll later; teams that also want projects, timesheets or a helpdesk in the same workspace.
    • Payroll is India only. FlowPay calculates EPF, ESI, PT, LWF and TDS for Indian entities.
    • Not built yet in FlowPay: Form 16 / quarterly TDS return files, PF ECR and ESI return files, full and final settlement, off-cycle runs, arrears automation and reimbursements. If you need these on day one, ask us for dates or compare the alternatives above.

    Questions to ask every vendor

    1. Show a pay run for September 2026 with the EPF ceiling change, and one with allowances above 50% of CTC (labour code wages).
    2. How does approved unpaid leave become loss of pay? Is the days basis (calendar days, 30 days, working days) configurable?
    3. Can employees declare investments and choose the old or new regime, and can HR override?
    4. What does a pay run approval look like, and can you hold salary for an employee with missing bank details?
    5. Which statutory files and forms are generated (bank file, PF ECR, ESI, Form 16 / TDS returns)?
    6. What is the price at today's headcount and at 2× headcount? Are there setup fees or minimums?
    7. How do you export all data if we leave?

    Frequently asked questions

    What is the best HR and payroll software for a 100-employee company in India?

    It depends on what you need beyond payroll. Keka, greytHR, Zoho People with Zoho Payroll, and flowwork.ai all cover core HR, leave, attendance and Indian payroll. greytHR and flowwork.ai publish prices; Keka quotes on request. Compare them on the EPF ceiling and labour-code changes, LOP from leave, approvals, and the statutory files you need.

    How much does HR and payroll software cost in India?

    For 100 employees with core HR, leave, attendance and payroll, published list prices as of 11 October 2026, excluding GST, are: greytHR Growth ₹8,745 a month; flowwork.ai ₹9,499 (FlowPeople Professional, which also includes timesheets, plus FlowPay Standard; billed annually); Zoho People Professional + Zoho Payroll Standard ₹13,600 (billed annually). Keka quotes on request.

    Does payroll software need updating for the EPF wage ceiling change?

    Yes. From 17 September 2026 the EPF wage ceiling is ₹25,000 a month (previously ₹15,000). Where contributions are restricted to the ceiling, PF and EPS amounts change, and September 2026 is split between the two ceilings. Ask your vendor to show it in a sample run.

    Can I start with HR and add payroll later?

    With modular products, yes. flowwork.ai sells FlowPeople, FlowAttend, FlowTime, FlowPerform, FlowHire and FlowPay separately on one employee record, with free plans to start.

    Sources

    Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll correct it.

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