The best payroll software for an Indian business depends on headcount and how much statutory compliance you want to hand off. Startups under 20 people usually do fine on a free tier like Kredily. Growing SMBs lean on greytHR or Zoho Payroll. Mid-market companies tend to pick Keka or HROne. Large enterprises with multi-state, multi-entity payroll go with Darwinbox, PeopleStrong, or ADP India.
Below is a working comparison of 12 platforms that are actually active in the Indian market in 2026, what each one is genuinely good at, roughly what it costs, and where it falls short. No filler, no recycled marketing copy.
Quick Picks by Business Size
- Under 20 employees, budget-conscious: Kredily (free tier) or Saral PayPack if you want a compliance-first tool a CA already knows.
- 20 to 200 employees: greytHR, Zoho Payroll, or Pocket HRMS. All three have mature India-specific compliance handling at a reasonable per-employee cost.
- 200 to 1,000 employees: Keka or HROne. Both combine payroll with a fuller HRMS without enterprise-level implementation overhead.
- 1,000+ employees or multi-entity: Darwinbox, PeopleStrong, or ADP India. Expect custom pricing and a real implementation project, not a self-serve signup.
- Contractor-heavy or fintech-adjacent teams: RazorpayX Payroll, built on top of Razorpay’s banking rails, is worth a look specifically for that use case.
How We Evaluated These Platforms
We looked at statutory compliance coverage first (PF, ESI, professional tax, TDS, gratuity, and the labour codes), because a payroll tool that gets this wrong creates real liability, not just inconvenience. After that: how transparent the pricing is, whether HRMS features come bundled or cost extra, and what actual users report about implementation time and support responsiveness.
A platform being popular doesn’t mean it’s right for you. A 15-person startup and a 3,000-person manufacturing company have almost nothing in common in what they need from payroll software, and most “best of” lists gloss over that.
Payroll Software in India: Quick Comparison
| Platform | Best For | Starting Price | Free Trial/Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kredily | Startups, very small teams | Free (core HR + payroll) | Free forever plan |
| Saral PayPack | CA firms, compliance-first SMBs | From roughly ₹53,700/year (license) | Demo available |
| greytHR | SMBs, 20 to 500 employees | From roughly ₹3,495/month | Yes |
| Zoho Payroll | Teams already on Zoho Books/People | Per-employee pricing, low entry cost | Yes |
| Pocket HRMS | SMBs wanting AI-assisted payroll | From roughly ₹2,995/month | Yes |
| RazorpayX Payroll | Startups, contractor-heavy teams | From roughly ₹29,988/year | Yes, up to 100 employees |
| factoHR | Field-force and multi-location teams | Custom, per-employee | Demo available |
| Keka | Mid-market, 200 to 1,000 employees | Custom, per-employee | Demo available |
| HROne | Mid-market cloud HR + payroll | Custom, per-employee | Demo available |
| Darwinbox | Large enterprise, multi-entity | Custom enterprise pricing | Demo only |
| PeopleStrong | Large enterprise, complex org structures | Custom enterprise pricing | Demo only |
| ADP India | Multinational companies, global payroll | Custom, varies by scale | Demo only |
Prices change often and vary by employee count and modules selected. Treat these as a starting reference and confirm current numbers directly with each vendor before budgeting.
The 12 Best Payroll Software Platforms in India (2026)
11. ADP India
The India arm of the global payroll giant, and the natural pick for multinational companies that need payroll consistency across countries, not just compliance within India. Offers both a full human capital management suite and RUN, a simpler product aimed at small businesses. Enterprise pricing varies by scale and region.
What Payroll Software Actually Costs in India
Most platforms price per employee per month, typically ₹40 to ₹200 depending on features, with a base platform fee layered on top for some vendors. A 50-person company on a mid-tier plan usually lands somewhere between ₹3,000 and ₹10,000 a month total, though enterprise platforms with custom implementation can run well beyond that.
Two things worth knowing before you start comparing quotes. First, “free” plans almost always cap out at a small headcount or a limited feature set; read what happens when you cross that line before you build a team around a free tool. Second, implementation and data migration costs are frequently quoted separately from the subscription price, and they can be substantial for larger companies moving off spreadsheets or an older system. Ask about this explicitly during your first vendor call.
Compliance Features Worth Checking Before You Commit
Every vendor claims to be “fully compliant.” The honest way to verify that is to ask specific questions rather than trust the marketing page:
- Does it auto-generate Form 16 and 24Q at year-end, or do you export data and file separately?
- How does it handle professional tax when you have employees across multiple states with different PT slabs?
- Can it calculate gratuity automatically per the Payment of Gratuity Act, including for employees who exit mid-year?
- Does it update statutory rates automatically when the government revises PF, ESI, or TDS thresholds, or is that a manual update on your end?
- What’s the actual support response time when a payroll run has a compliance error the night before salary day? This is the question most buyers forget to ask, and the one that matters most the first time something goes wrong.
A clear understanding of how payroll processing actually works makes these vendor conversations far more productive, since you’ll know which claims to press on. It’s also worth checking how the platform’s payroll module talks to your broader time and attendance system, since disconnected attendance and payroll data is one of the most common sources of pay errors we see reported.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best payroll software for a small business in India?
For teams under 20 employees, Kredily’s free tier covers the basics without a subscription. For 20 to 200 employees, greytHR, Zoho Payroll, and Pocket HRMS are all solid, India-focused options with mature compliance handling.
How much does payroll software cost in India?
Most platforms charge ₹40 to ₹200 per employee per month, sometimes with an additional base platform fee. A 50-person company typically spends ₹3,000 to ₹10,000 a month on a mid-tier plan.
Is there free payroll software available in India?
Yes. Kredily offers a free-forever plan covering core HR and payroll for small teams. Most other vendors offer a free trial rather than a permanently free tier.
Does payroll software handle PF, ESI, and professional tax automatically?
Most established Indian payroll platforms calculate and file these automatically, but coverage quality varies, especially for professional tax, which differs by state. Confirm the specific states you operate in are supported before signing up.
What’s the difference between payroll software and an HRMS?
Payroll software focuses specifically on salary calculation, statutory deductions, and payslip generation. An HRMS is broader, covering payroll plus attendance, leave, recruitment, and performance management in one system. Many vendors on this list, like Keka and HROne, sell both together.
How long does it take to implement payroll software?
For SMB-focused tools like greytHR or Zoho Payroll, expect a few weeks from signup to your first live payroll run. Enterprise platforms like Darwinbox or PeopleStrong involve a longer implementation project, often two to three months, particularly for multi-entity or multi-country setups.
Can payroll software calculate gratuity and full and final settlement?
Most mid-market and enterprise platforms handle this automatically per the Payment of Gratuity Act. It’s worth confirming directly for smaller or budget-tier tools, since this is sometimes a paid add-on rather than a default feature.
Should a startup use payroll software or outsource payroll entirely?
Under about 20 employees, either works. Software gives you more control and is usually cheaper; outsourcing removes the compliance burden entirely but costs more per employee. Most companies switch from outsourced to in-house software once headcount and internal HR capacity both grow.
If you’re evaluating tools beyond payroll specifically, hrsoftware.in’s HR software comparisons also cover recruitment, attendance, and performance management for the Indian market.