Keka is a genuinely well-built HRMS, so why do so many founders end up comparing Keka alternatives? Ask any HR lead who’s used it and you’ll mostly hear good things about the interface and the payroll accuracy. The complaint, when there is one, is almost never about the product — it’s about the invoice. Keka charges a flat monthly fee rather than a clean per-employee rate at every tier, and for a 15-person startup, that fee can feel disproportionate to what you’re actually using.
So the real question isn’t “is Keka good” — it mostly is. It’s “does the pricing make sense for where you are right now.” Here’s how three alternatives stack up at different team sizes.
What Keka Actually Costs
Keka’s published pricing starts around ₹6,999/month for its base plan, scaling with employee count and the modules you turn on (performance management, time tracking, and so on are often separate add-ons). At 15 employees, that’s close to ₹467/employee/month if you’re only using the base tier — a number that looks very different once you cross 50 or 100 employees and the per-head cost drops.
That’s the pattern worth understanding before switching anything: Keka gets more cost-efficient as you grow, and less efficient the smaller you are. A 15-person startup and a 150-person company are not paying the same effective rate.
Keka Alternatives Compared
| EzNxT | Kredily | Zoho People | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free — 10 users, full HRMS + ATS + CRM + Accounting | Free core HR; payroll is a paid add-on | Free up to 5 employees |
| Paid plan starts at | ₹80/employee/month | Payroll add-on priced per employee, contact for rate | ~₹60–100/employee/month (varies by plan) |
| PF / ESI / TDS compliance | Native | Via paid payroll add-on | Yes, built in |
| ATS included | Yes, native | No | No (separate Zoho Recruit) |
| CRM / Accounting included | Yes, native | No | No (separate Zoho apps) |
| Best for | Startups wanting HR + hiring + sales in one login | Teams that mainly need free core HR, light on payroll complexity | Teams already using other Zoho apps |
Pricing based on publicly listed vendor rates as of October 2026 and may change — verify on each vendor’s site before deciding.
Where Each One Actually Fits
Kredily’s free core-HR tier is a real option if payroll complexity is low and what you mainly need is leave tracking, attendance, and a document repository. The catch: payroll, when you need it, is a separate paid layer, so “free” doesn’t fully cover the HR stack most startups eventually need. If leave is your main concern, start with our leave policy guide for small businesses in India.
Zoho People fits naturally if you’re already paying for Zoho CRM or Zoho Books — the ecosystem logic that makes Zoho appealing elsewhere applies here too. Outside that context, it’s one more Zoho subscription, priced and administered separately from the rest of your stack.
EzNxT’s case rests on the same login as your ATS and CRM. When someone’s hired through the ATS, their HRMS record exists already — no re-typing name, role, or contact details into a second system. Free for the first 10 employees, which covers most startups at the exact size where Keka’s flat fee feels heaviest. See HRMS for small business, HR software for startups and free HRMS software in India for the details, and our post on why Indian startup founders need one business management platform for the reasoning behind the single-login approach.
Worth saying plainly: Keka has more HR-specific depth — performance review cycles, more granular time-tracking rules, a longer track record with larger Indian companies. If your 60-person team needs that depth, the math may already favor Keka’s per-head efficiency at that size, and switching away from a working setup rarely pays for itself just to save on a subscription.
Comparing more tools beyond HR? Our roundup of the best free business software for small businesses in India is a useful next read.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what team size does Keka start making more financial sense?
Based on Keka’s published flat-fee-plus-scaling model, the per-employee cost generally improves past the 40–50 employee mark. Below that, a true per-user free tier (like EzNxT’s first 10 users) or a cheaper per-head alternative is usually the better deal.
Is there a genuinely free HRMS alternative to Keka for Indian startups?
EzNxT is free for up to 10 employees with HRMS, ATS, CRM, and accounting included. Kredily’s core HR features are free, but payroll — the part most startups actually need — is a separate paid add-on.
Does an alternative to Keka still handle PF, ESI, and TDS correctly?
EzNxT and Zoho People both handle PF, ESI, and TDS natively. Kredily requires its paid payroll module for full compliance coverage.
Can I move from Keka to another HRMS without losing employee records?
Yes — export employee master data, leave balances, and payroll history from Keka as CSV/Excel before switching, and bring it into the new system from an agreed cut-off date. Keep the Keka export for compliance reference even after migrating.
See the direct feature-and-price breakdown: EzNxT vs Keka, or explore EzNxT HRMS for small business.