Search for "cloud-based HRMS India" and you'll get a dozen roundups naming the same handful of tools, usually without a single verified price among them.
Five platforms, covering the range Indian businesses actually consider: Keka, Zoho People, greytHR, Zimyo, and MedleyHR. The goal isn't to declare a winner — each is built for a different team — but to give you real numbers before you get on a sales call.
What We're Comparing
For each platform: who it's actually built for, how India compliance (PF, ESI, TDS, Form 16) is handled, verified pricing, and where it struggles. All prices below exclude 18% GST unless a vendor's own page states otherwise.
Keka
Keka is the most talked-about HR platform in the Indian mid-market, with a clean interface and a well-built employee mobile app. India compliance is handled natively.
Who it's built for
Companies with 50–500 employees and a dedicated HR team. The platform has real depth for complex payroll structures, but that depth means setup isn't a same-day exercise — most customers go through Keka's own implementation process.
Pricing
Not published. Keka's pricing page names three plans — Foundation, Strength, and Growth — but shows no rupee figure anywhere on the page, including the FAQ section. Every path leads to "Book a demo," "Take a tour," or a phone number. If you need an exact number to compare against a budget before you're willing to talk to sales, plan for that conversation.
Where it struggles
For teams under 30 employees, the setup overhead and lack of published pricing make it hard to evaluate quickly. You can't compare Keka against a competitor's listed price without first getting a quote — which adds a step most small teams don't have time for.
Zoho People
Zoho People is the HR module inside the broader Zoho ecosystem. If your business already runs on Zoho CRM or Zoho Books, there's real integration value here.
Who it's built for
Companies already in the Zoho ecosystem, or ones where payroll is handled separately (by an accountant or a payroll service) and only the HR operations side — leave, attendance, appraisals — is needed from the platform.
Pricing
Verified on zoho.com: ₹60/₹120/₹180/₹240 per user/month (Essential HR / Professional / Premium / Enterprise) billed monthly, or ₹48/₹96/₹144/₹192 billed annually — roughly a 20% saving. There's a free plan for up to 5 users. Payroll is not included in any of these tiers — it's a separate product, Zoho Payroll, billed on top.
Where it struggles
The People/Payroll split is the main catch. If you need PF, ESI, and TDS handled with precision — mid-year joins, LOP adjustments, arrears — that lives in a second product with its own pricing and its own configuration, not inside the plan you just priced out.
greytHR
greytHR is one of the longest-established payroll and HR platforms in India, with a straightforward, published pricing structure and a dedicated price calculator on its own site.
Who it's built for
Established small-to-mid-size businesses that want core payroll and HR without a lot of extra modules. The pricing structure — a flat base covering the first 50 employees — makes it most cost-efficient for teams already near that size.
Pricing
Verified on greythr.com: ₹2,495/month for the Essential plan (covers the first 50 employees, +₹45/employee above that) and ₹4,495/month for Growth (same 50-employee base, +₹85/employee above). The top Premium tier is quote-only. There is no free tier.
Where it struggles
The pricing is built around a 50-employee base whether you have 10 employees or 50 — a 15-person team pays the same ₹2,495/month base as a team more than three times its size. There's no lower tier that scales the base fee down for smaller teams.
Zimyo
Zimyo is a broader HR and engagement platform — core HR and payroll, plus recruitment, performance management, and employee engagement tools bundled into higher tiers.
Who it's built for
Mid-size companies that want engagement and performance features (surveys, recognition, OKRs) alongside core HR, not just payroll and compliance. The per-user pricing model rewards larger teams.
Pricing
Verified on zimyo.com: ₹80/₹160/₹240 per user/month for Basic, Standard, and Enterprise respectively — but every tier carries a 50-user minimum billing floor, regardless of actual headcount. Add-ons are priced separately: an ATS module at ₹4,000/recruiter/month, HR analytics at ₹20,000/license/month.
Where it struggles
The 50-user minimum means a 15-person team is billed as if it had 50 — ₹4,000/month minimum on the Basic plan even at a fraction of that headcount. It's not built for small teams even though the per-user rate looks affordable in isolation.
MedleyHR
MedleyHR is a self-serve HRMS built specifically for India-first compliance, with PF, ESI, TDS, PT, and Form 16 handled natively inside payroll rather than as an add-on.
Who it's built for
Companies between 5 and 200 employees that want to run HR and payroll themselves — without a consultant, an implementation manager, or a minimum headcount to unlock reasonable pricing.
Pricing
Free for up to 10 employees, including payroll, leave management, and employee self-service — no credit card, no minimum headcount. The Growth plan is ₹1,999/month with 25 employees included (₹80/additional employee). Scale is ₹3,999/month with 40 employees included (₹100/additional). No setup fee, no annual contract required.
Where it struggles
For companies with 300+ employees needing deep enterprise integrations — SAP, Workday, custom ERP connections — MedleyHR doesn't have that integration depth yet. It's also newer to the market than Keka or greytHR, so the third-party integration list is still growing.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Keka | Zoho People | greytHR | Zimyo | MedleyHR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target size | 50–500 | 20–200 | 50+ | 50+ | 5–200 |
| India payroll compliance | Native | Separate product | Native | Native | Native |
| Minimum billing | Not published | None (5-user free tier) | 50 employees | 50 users | None |
| Free plan | No | Yes (5 users, no payroll) | No | No | Yes (10 employees, full payroll) |
| Starting price | Not published | ₹48/user/mo (annual) | ₹2,495/mo (50 incl.) | ₹80/user/mo (50-user min.) | ₹1,999/mo (25 incl.) |
| Pricing published? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
How to Choose
- Under 50 employees, want to self-serve without a minimum headcount penalty: MedleyHR. The only platform here with a genuine free tier and no billing floor.
- Already deep in the Zoho ecosystem and payroll is handled elsewhere: Zoho People. Affordable per seat, but budget separately for Zoho Payroll if you need India statutory compliance inside the platform.
- At or near 50 employees and want an established, straightforward payroll platform: greytHR. The flat 50-employee base is efficient once you're actually near that size.
- Want engagement and performance tools alongside HR, and have 50+ people: Zimyo. The minimum billing makes it inefficient below that size.
- 50–500 employees with budget for a sales process and want a well-known mid-market platform: Keka. Get the exact price before comparing — it isn't on the website.
MedleyHR is a cloud-based HRMS built for Indian businesses from the ground up. PF, ESI, TDS, PT, and Form 16 are built in — not add-ons. No minimum headcount, no setup fee. Free for up to 10 employees, with paid plans starting at ₹1,999/month. Start free →
The Bottom Line
Three of these five platforms — Keka, greytHR, and Zimyo — are effectively built around teams of 50 or more, whether through an unpublished price, a flat base fee, or a hard billing minimum. Zoho People is affordable per seat but splits payroll into a second product. If your team is under 50 and you want India payroll compliance and a real free tier in one place without a minimum headcount, MedleyHR is the one built for that specific situation — but run the same evaluation for your own team size and compliance needs rather than taking any single comparison as the final word.