Best Payroll Software in India for 10, 25, 50, 100 & 500 Employees (2026)

The right payroll software at 10 employees is usually wrong at 100. What costs nothing at 10 people costs ₹7,000/month at 50. What’s built for 500 people has an implementation timeline and a sales process that a 30-person company has no patience for. This guide cuts through that best option at each headcount, with actual pricing and an honest note on what each one gets right and where it falls short.

Pricing at a Glance All Major Tools by Headcount

Zoho Payroll pricing marked * is estimated from per-user rates confirm directly. Waggex free plan covers up to 10 employees, all features included. Darwinbox minimum is ~200+ employees. Pricing from public sources, August 2026.

Under 10 Employees Free Is the Right Answer

Two tools offer genuinely free payroll for companies under 10 employees: Waggex (free for up to 10, all features attendance, leave, shifts, payroll, PF/ESI/TDS/PT) and greytHR (free for up to 25 employees). Both include full statutory compliance, not a stripped trial.

Waggex is the better fit if any of your team works in the field or across locations GPS and face attendance are included free. greytHR is the better fit if compliance depth and a larger support community matter more than attendance features. Either way, paying for payroll software at under 10 employees isn’t necessary.

What to avoid: RazorpayX Payroll’s ‘free’ plan requires a RazorpayX business account. Kredily’s free plan covers basics but statutory compliance is limited. Confirm what’s actually included before signing up.

10–25 Employees Still Free or Very Low Cost

greytHR remains free up to 25 employees one of the best value offers in Indian payroll software. It handles PF, ESI, TDS, and Professional Tax correctly, generates Form 138 (quarterly TDS) and Form 130 (annual), and the compliance engine is the most tested in the Indian market.

Waggex at ₹1,499/month for up to 25 employees is the better choice if attendance is part of the problem. GPS check-in for field staff, FaceLens face recognition, shift management all connected to payroll. If everyone is in one office and you just need payroll, greytHR’s free plan saves you ₹18,000 a year.

Keka at ₹6,999/month for either of these sizes is hard to justify you’re paying ₹280–₹700 per employee per month for a platform built for 100+ people.

25–50 Employees The Decision Gets Real

At this size, the free plans end (greytHR moves to paid) and the question becomes which platform earns its cost. Three honest options:

Waggex ₹2,499/month for up to 50 employees. The attendance-to-payroll connection is the main reason to pick this over greytHR at this size. LOP, OT, and shift data flow directly into payroll without a manual export step. Dedicated account manager for the first month’s setup. No implementation fee.

greytHR ₹3,495/month for up to 50 employees. Strongest compliance engine, 30,000+ companies on it, good track record for statutory filings. UI isn’t as modern as Waggex or Keka. No GPS attendance if your team is mobile or distributed, you’ll need a separate tool.

Pocket HRMS ₹2,999/month for up to 50 employees. AI chatbot (smHRty) handles employee queries automatically leave balance, payslip requests, attendance corrections. Useful if HR is one person managing 50 people. Not the strongest compliance depth.

50–100 Employees Attendance, Performance, and Compliance All Matter

This is where Keka starts making sense but only if performance management is a real operational need, not just annual appraisals. At ₹6,999/month for up to 100 employees, it’s ₹70/employee/month, which is reasonable. Modern UI, native payroll, OKRs and 360 feedback built in.

Waggex at ₹3,999/month for up to 100 employees is still the better pick if field staff, GPS attendance, or tight payroll-attendance integration are the priority. At ₹40/employee/month it’s also significantly cheaper than Keka. What it doesn’t have: performance management, OKR tracking, or a structured appraisal module.

greytHR’s paid plans scale reasonably at this size and remain the safest choice for multi-state compliance complexity. HROne (~₹85/employee/month) is worth considering if timesheet-to-billing matters common in IT services companies at this headcount.

100–500 Employees Platform Matters More Than Price

At this size, the cost per employee matters less than whether the software can handle the complexity. Multi-state Professional Tax, large variable payroll runs, performance cycles, recruitment integration, and compliance audit trails these are the things that matter.

Keka is the default recommendation for 100–300 employees in IT and product companies. Good UI, native payroll, actual performance management. Implementation takes weeks, not months.

Darwinbox starts making sense above 300–500 employees where enterprise features configurable workflows, global payroll, compliance across multiple entities are actually used. Implementation is 3–6 months. Pricing is custom but typically works out to ₹200–₹400/employee/month at this scale. Don’t use it at 100 employees you’ll pay enterprise prices for features you won’t touch.

factoHR for manufacturing, construction, and any company with daily wage workers, contract labour, and rotating shifts at this scale. Keka and Darwinbox don’t handle daily wage payroll well. factoHR does.

The Simple Decision

Under 10 employees: Waggex free plan or greytHR free. No reason to pay.

10–25 employees, field staff or GPS needed: Waggex ₹1,499/month.

10–25 employees, office only, compliance priority: greytHR free.

25–50 employees: Waggex (₹2,499) or greytHR (₹3,495) depends on whether attendance or compliance depth is the bigger concern.

50–100 employees, performance management matters: Keka. Otherwise: Waggex or greytHR.

100–300 employees: Keka or HROne. Manufacturing/daily wages: factoHR.

300+ employees: Darwinbox, SAP SuccessFactors, or Oracle HCM enterprise implementations.