greytHR is genuinely good software. It has been in the Indian market for 15 years, is used by more than 30,000+ companies, and has strong statutory compliance. There’s a reason it has become a go-to recommendation for most Indian SMEs.
That said, a few things come up regularly in user feedback on Reddit and other review platforms. The UI can feel dated compared with newer HR platforms, the mobile app is fairly limited, and making custom changes often means going through support. Pricing can also add up quickly, especially when you add attendance to a paid plan and the cost starts increasing with every employee.
If you’re just here exploring alternatives, this isn’t about saying greytHR is a bad product honestly it’s pretty darn good and gets the job done. The question you should be asking is whether it’s the right fit for where your company is right now. Different companies have different priorities, and you may want something that’s easier to customise, has better attendance features, offers a stronger mobile experience, or gives you more features without increasing the cost too much.
The six tools below cover different parts of the market. All of them support Indian payroll compliance, but they differ in their pricing models, attendance features, ease of use, and what you get without having to pay extra.
1. Keka Best If Performance Management Matters
Starting price: ₹6,999/month flat for up to 100 employees. Best for: 50–500 employees, product and tech companies, teams running OKRs.
Keka is what you switch to when attendance and payroll alone aren’t enough when you also need performance reviews, goal-setting, and OKR cycles in the same system. The interface is modern. Employee self-service actually gets used. Payroll is native, not an add-on, and handles PF, ESI, TDS, and multi-state PT correctly.
When to choose it over greytHR: you’re above 50 employees and performance management is a real operational priority. When to stick with greytHR: you’re under 50 and paying ₹6,999/month flat is hard to justify.
✓ Works well
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2. Waggex Best for Small Teams Who Want Everything Connected
Starting price: Free for up to 10 employees. ₹699/month onwards. Best for: 5–100 employees, startups, first-time payroll software users.
The core thing Waggex does differently is simple: attendance connects directly to payroll, without a manual step in between.
Employees can check in using GPS or FaceLens face recognition, with the face verification handled server-side rather than simply trusting the phone. That attendance data then flows directly into payroll at the end of the month. LOP is calculated automatically, OT is flagged when someone crosses their shift end time, and payslips can be generated for the entire team at once. There’s no need to reconcile attendance and payroll separately before salary day.
For companies switching from greytHR because the mobile experience feels limited or because attendance and payroll feel like separate processes, Waggex addresses both. The free plan for up to 10 employees includes all features: GPS attendance, FaceLens, shifts, leave management, full payroll, PF/ESI/TDS/PT automation, and the employee self-service app. It’s not a stripped-down trial with the important features locked away. New companies also get a dedicated account manager to help with the first month’s payroll setup and run.
Full disclosure: We developed Waggex, and it’s included in this list. We’re not presenting it as an independent third-party recommendation, but we’ve included it because it’s a genuine alternative to greytHR for companies looking for a simpler attendance and payroll setup. We’ve tried to keep the comparison focused on the actual differences between the products so you can decide whether Waggex is the right fit for your needs.
When to choose it over greytHR: You’re under 50 employees, need GPS or face-based attendance connected directly to payroll, and don’t want to pay ₹3,495/month for greytHR’s paid plan.
When to stick with greytHR: You have 200+ employees and need the compliance depth, established processes, and track record that come with 15 years of Indian payroll processing.
✓ Works well
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3. Zoho People Best If You’re Already in the Zoho Ecosystem
Starting price: ₹48/user/month (Essential HR). Zoho Payroll free up to 10 employees. Best for: 10–300 employees already using Zoho CRM, Books, or Projects.
Zoho People’s biggest advantage has nothing to do with HR features it’s the native connection to the rest of the Zoho stack. If your company runs on Zoho CRM and Zoho Books, adding People means employee data, expense approvals, and payroll all talk to each other without custom integration work. The per-user pricing also makes it genuinely cheaper than greytHR for smaller teams.
The important caveat: Zoho People doesn’t include payroll. You need Zoho Payroll separately. Once you add that, the combined cost rises. If you’re not in the Zoho ecosystem, the reason to pick it over greytHR weakens considerably.
✓ Works well
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4. Pocket HRMS Best If You Want AI to Handle Routine HR Queries
Starting price: ₹2,999/month for 50 employees. Best for: 50–500 employees where HR inbox volume is a problem.
Pocket HRMS’s standout feature is smHRty an AI chatbot that handles routine employee queries automatically. Leave balance, payslip download, attendance correction requests employees ask the chatbot, get an answer immediately, without creating an HR ticket. For a 100-person company with a 2-person HR team drowning in repetitive queries, this feature measurably reduces daily inbox load.
When to choose over greytHR: your HR team is small relative to headcount and query volume is the specific pain point. When to stick with greytHR: compliance accuracy is the priority and chatbot features don’t change the calculation for you.
✓ Works well
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5. HROne Best for Mid-Market Companies Above 100 Employees
Starting price: ~₹85/employee/month. Best for: 100–2,000 employees, IT services, manufacturing, multi-entity companies.
HROne is frequently compared to greytHR at the mid-market level. Its payroll depth is strong multi-state PT, LWF, FBP, CTC revisions and it handles timesheet-to-billing integration that IT services firms billing clients by the hour find genuinely useful. The UI is modern and the WhatsApp-based attendance option is practical for support staff who are less comfortable with dedicated apps.
When to choose over greytHR: you’re 100+ employees, need timesheet data to feed both payroll and client billing, and want a newer interface. When to stick with greytHR: the compliance track record and community depth of 15 years matters to you more than UI modernity.
✓ Works well
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6. factoHR Best for Complex Shift and Contract Labour
Starting price: Custom contact vendor. Best for: 100–2,000 employees, manufacturing, companies with agency or contract staff.
factoHR wasn’t built for office-based knowledge workers it was built for manufacturing, where rotating shifts, contract labour compliance, and biometric attendance are the norm. If you’re running a factory with permanent employees, contract workers from an agency, and housekeeping on another contractor’s rolls, factoHR handles all three in one payroll run including the CLRA (Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act) compliance that most HRMS platforms ignore.
When to choose over greytHR: your company has complex shift patterns, contract labour, or factory compliance requirements. When to stick with greytHR: you’re an office-based company factoHR’s complexity isn’t needed and the interface reflects that manufacturing focus.
✓ Works well
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Quick Comparison All Six at a Glance
| Tool | Starting Price | Free Plan? | Best Headcount | Indian Compliance | Pick It If… |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keka | ₹6,999/mo flat | No | 50–500 | Strong | You need performance + payroll together |
| Waggex | ₹699/mo (free up to 10) | Yes full features | 5–100 | Full auto | You want attendance linked to payroll, low cost |
| Zoho People | ₹48/user/mo | No (Zoho Payroll free up to 10) | 10–300 | Strong (with Zoho Payroll) | You’re already in the Zoho ecosystem |
| Pocket HRMS | ₹2,999/mo (50 emp) | No | 50–500 | Strong | You want AI chatbot to reduce HR queries |
| HROne | ~₹85/emp/mo | No | 100–2,000 | Very strong | Mid-market with complex payroll structure |
| factoHR | Custom | No | 100–2,000 | Deepest | Complex shifts, contract staff, manufacturing |
Pricing from vendor websites and public sources, July 2026. Always verify current pricing directly with the vendor.
Which One to Actually Pick
Still happy with greytHR’s compliance but want a better mobile experience: Keka or Pocket HRMS. Both have stronger apps and more modern interfaces.
Small team (under 50), want attendance and payroll connected, tight budget: Waggex. Free up to 10, ₹699/month after that, full features on every plan.
Already using Zoho products: Zoho People + Zoho Payroll. The ecosystem integration alone justifies it.
100+ employees, IT services, timesheet billing matters: HROne. The timesheet-to-billing connection is the differentiator.
Factory, contract labour, complex shifts: factoHR. Built for exactly this and nothing else comes close on CLRA compliance.
Under 25 employees, only need payroll and compliance, cost is the priority: greytHR’s free Starter plan is still one of the best options at zero cost. Switching away from it for a worse deal doesn’t make sense.