Free Payroll Software India 2026: 7 Options Compared (Hidden Costs Revealed)

Quick Answer

Truly free (forever):

1. Zoho Payroll — 25 emp, ₹0 (no PF filing)
2. Vyapar — 10 emp, ₹0 (basic payslips only)

Free trial → paid: 3. PeopleVio — 14 days free, then ₹2,999/mo (full HRMS) 4. GreytHR — 30 days free, then ₹4,500/mo

Forever free for tiny teams: 5. Keka — 5 emp free 6. SumHR — 10 emp free

"Free" with catch: 7. Paybooks — Free if CA partner

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Detailed Comparison

1. Zoho Payroll — Best Free Option

Free plan:

• 25 employees (forever free)
• ✅ Payslip generation
• ✅ Salary structure (basic + allowances + deductions)
• ✅ TDS calculation
• ❌ No PF/ESI e-filing (manual only)
• ❌ No attendance integration

Paid plan: ₹600/mo (25 emp) — Adds PF/ESI e-filing.

Hidden cost: If you need PF e-filing → ₹7,200/year (not free anymore).

When worth it:

• <25 employees
• Don't need PF e-filing (file manually via EPFO portal)
• Or willing to pay ₹600/mo for filing

Try: Zoho Payroll Free

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2. Vyapar — Simplest Free

Free plan:

• 10 employees (forever free)
• ✅ Basic payslips (salary breakdown)
• ❌ No statutory compliance (PF/ESI/PT/TDS)
• ❌ No leave/attendance integration

Paid plan: ₹4,999/year — Still no PF/ESI (accounting software, not HRMS).

When worth it:

• <10 employees
• Just need payslip PDF (no compliance)
• Very small businesses (shop, clinic)

Not for: Anyone needing PF/ESI filing.

Try: Vyapar Free

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3. Keka — 5 Employees Free

Free plan:

• 5 employees (forever free)
• ✅ Payslips
• ✅ Attendance
• ✅ Leave management
• ❌ No PF/ESI filing (read-only reports)

Paid plan: ₹4,999/mo (50 emp) — Adds PF/ESI filing.

When worth it:

• Very small team (3-5 people)
• Need HRMS, not just payroll

Catch: Outgrow 5 employees → ₹60K/year jump.

Try: Keka Free

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4. SumHR — 10 Employees Free

Free plan:

• 10 employees (forever free)
• ✅ Payslips
• ✅ Attendance
• ✅ Leave management
• ❌ No PF/ESI filing

Paid plan: ₹2,500/mo (50 emp) — Adds PF/ESI filing.

When worth it:

• <10 employees
• Need basic HRMS

Catch: Same as Keka (jump from ₹0 to ₹30K/year at 11 employees).

Try: SumHR Free

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5. PeopleVio — 14-Day Free Trial

Free trial:

• 14 days (unlimited employees)
• ✅ Full HRMS (payroll, attendance, leave, PF/ESI filing)
• ✅ Mobile app
• ✅ Biometric integration

After trial: ₹2,999/mo (50 emp).

Not forever free, but:

• Best trial (full features, no limits)
• Cheapest paid option (₹36K/year vs ₹60K Keka, ₹78K GreytHR)

When worth it:

• 10+ employees
• Need full HRMS with PF/ESI filing

Try: PeopleVio 14-Day Trial

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6. GreytHR — 30-Day Free Trial

Free trial:

• 30 days (unlimited employees)
• ✅ Full HRMS (payroll, attendance, compliance)

After trial: ₹4,500/mo (50 emp).

When worth it:

• Enterprise features (document vault, helpdesk)
• 30-day trial good for testing

Not recommended for budget-seekers: 2× cost of PeopleVio.

Try: GreytHR 30-Day Trial

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7. Paybooks — "Free" with CA Partner

Free plan:

• ₹0 if your CA is Paybooks partner
• ✅ Full payroll + PF/ESI filing
• ✅ CA does payroll for you

Catch:

• CA must be Paybooks partner (most aren't)
• CA charges you separately (₹2-5K/mo)

When worth it:

• Your CA already uses Paybooks
• You outsource payroll to CA

Not DIY: You don't run payroll yourself.

Try: Ask your CA if they use Paybooks.

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Feature Comparison

Software	Emp Limit	Payslips	PF/ESI Filing	Attendance	Cost
Zoho Payroll	25	✅	❌ (₹600/mo)	❌	₹0
Vyapar	10	✅	❌	❌	₹0
Keka	5	✅	❌	✅	₹0
SumHR	10	✅	❌	✅	₹0
PeopleVio	Trial 14d	✅	✅	✅	₹2,999/mo*
GreytHR	Trial 30d	✅	✅	✅	₹4,500/mo*
Paybooks	Unlimited	✅	✅	❌	₹0**

*After free trial
**If CA is partner

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Hidden Costs

1. PF/ESI E-Filing

Free software limitation: Most generate PF/ESI reports (Excel) but don't file online.

Manual filing:

• Download Excel from software
• Log in to EPFO portal
• Upload Excel
• Time: 2 hours/month

Auto-filing (paid):

• Software files directly
• Time: 0 hours

Cost to add filing:

• Zoho: +₹600/mo
• Keka: +₹4,999/mo (no à la carte, must upgrade)
• SumHR: +₹2,500/mo

Verdict: "Free" becomes ₹7.2K-60K/year if you need filing.

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2. Employee Limits

Growth trap:

Year 1: 8 employees → Use Zoho Free (25 emp limit, fine).

Year 2: 30 employees → Zoho Free no longer works → Pay ₹1,200/mo (₹14.4K/year).

Year 3: 50 employees → ₹2,000/mo (₹24K/year).

Verdict: Free good for 1-2 years. Then paid.

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3. Support

Free plan support:

• Zoho: Email only (48-hour response)
• Keka Free: Community forum (no direct support)
• SumHR Free: Email (72-hour response)

Paid plan support:

• Phone + email (2-hour response)
• Dedicated account manager (enterprise)

When support critical: Compliance deadline (PF due 15th, software bug) → free plan = risky.

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4. Attendance Integration

Free software: Most don't integrate attendance → manual entry.

Manual attendance:

• Download biometric punch data (Excel)
• Upload to payroll software
• Time: 1 hour/month

Auto-integration (paid):

• Biometric device → software (real-time)
• Time: 0 hours

Cost: PeopleVio FREE, GreytHR ₹2K/mo, Keka ₹2K/mo.

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Decision Framework

By Company Size

1-5 employees: → Keka Free (5 emp, basic HRMS)

6-10 employees: → SumHR Free (10 emp, basic HRMS)

11-25 employees: → Zoho Payroll Free (25 emp, payroll-only)

26+ employees: → No forever-free option. Go paid: PeopleVio (₹36K/year, cheapest full HRMS).

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By Compliance Need

No PF/ESI (proprietorship, <20 emp): → Zoho Free or Vyapar Free

With PF/ESI (Pvt Ltd, 20+ emp): → No free option with e-filing. Go paid: PeopleVio (₹36K/year).

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By Features Needed

Just payslips: → Vyapar Free (10 emp)

Payslips + attendance + leave: → SumHR Free (10 emp) or Keka Free (5 emp)

Full HRMS + compliance: → PeopleVio (₹36K/year, cheapest paid option)

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True Cost of "Free" (3-Year Example)

Scenario: 20 Employees, Need PF/ESI Filing

Option A: Zoho Payroll Free

Year 1:

• Software: ₹0 (free)
• Manual PF filing: 2 hrs/mo × 12 mo × ₹225/hr = ₹5,400
• Total: ₹5,400

Year 2-3:

• Grow to 30 employees → Zoho Free caps at 25 → Pay ₹1,200/mo = ₹14,400/year
• Total (3 years): ₹5,400 + ₹14,400 + ₹14,400 = ₹34,200

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Option B: PeopleVio (Paid)

Year 1-3:

• Software: ₹2,999/mo = ₹35,988/year
• Auto PF filing: Included
• Biometric integration: Included
• Total (3 years): ₹35,988 × 3 = ₹1,07,964

Difference: PeopleVio costs ₹73,764 more over 3 years.

But: PeopleVio includes attendance, leave, mobile app, biometric integration, auto-filing.

Zoho Free: Just payroll. Need separate tools for attendance (₹600/mo), leave (manual Excel).

Total Zoho stack cost (with add-ons): ₹34,200 + ₹21,600 (attendance) = ₹55,800

Difference shrinks to: ₹52,164 over 3 years (₹1,449/month for full HRMS vs piecing together free tools).

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FAQs

1. Is "free forever" really free?

Mostly yes, with limits:

• Zoho Payroll: 25 emp (forever)
• Keka: 5 emp (forever)
• SumHR: 10 emp (forever)

Catch: Outgrow limit → pay.

Reality: 80% of startups outgrow free plan in 2-3 years.

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2. Can I export data if I switch?

Free plans:

• Zoho: ✅ Export (Excel)
• Keka: ✅ Export
• SumHR: ✅ Export

No lock-in: Can switch anytime.

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3. Free trial vs free forever?

Free trial:

• Full features (PF/ESI filing, attendance, leave)
• Time-limited (14-30 days)
• Then pay

Free forever:

• Limited features (no PF filing)
• Employee cap (5-25)
• Free indefinitely

Which better: Depends.

• <10 emp, no PF → free forever

• 10 emp, need PF → free trial, then pay

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4. Can I use Excel instead?

Yes. Excel payroll:

• ₹0 cost
• Manual calculations (risk of errors)
• No auto-filing (manual EPFO upload)
• Time: 4 hours/month (vs 30 min with software)

When Excel makes sense:

• <5 employees
• Same salary every month (no variables)

When software better:

• 5 employees

• Variables (overtime, reimbursements, loans)
• Need PF/ESI filing

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5. What about open-source (OrangeHRM, Odoo)?

Free download, but:

• Server cost: ₹5,000/mo (AWS/DigitalOcean)
• Setup: ₹30K (one-time, developer)
• India compliance: You code PF/ESI updates (risky)
• Maintenance: ₹30K/year

Total Year 1: ₹30K + ₹60K + ₹30K = ₹1,20,000

vs PeopleVio: ₹36K/year (auto-updates, support included).

Verdict: Not worth it for <100 emp.

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6. CA charges ₹2K/mo for payroll. Why pay for software?

CA does:

• Run payroll
• File PF/ESI
• Handle compliance

Software does:

• Same as CA
• Employee self-service (download payslips)
• Real-time data (CA sends payslips email, 2-day delay)

When DIY makes sense:

• 20 employees (CA charges ₹100/emp/mo = ₹2K/mo vs software ₹2,999/mo for 50 emp)

• Need self-service

When CA better:

• <10 employees (CA ₹1K/mo vs software ₹2,999/mo)
• Don't want to manage payroll

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7. Can I switch mid-year?

Yes.

Process:

• Export data from old software (Jan-Jun payslips)
• Import to new software
• Continue from July

No penalty, but:

• Form 16 (annual) needs full-year data → switch after March (post-tax season).

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8. Free plan → paid. Can I negotiate?

Sometimes.

Tactics:

• Annual payment (vs monthly): 10-15% discount
• Multi-year: 20% discount (rare)
• Referral: Free month

Example:

• PeopleVio: ₹35,988/year (monthly billing)
• Annual: ₹32,389 (10% off)

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9. What if software shuts down?

Free software risk: Company pivots, shuts down free plan.

Mitigation:

• Export data monthly (Excel backup)
• Choose established vendor (Zoho = 25 years, Keka = 10 years)

Historical shutdowns:

• Zimyo Free (2023): Shut down, users migrated to paid
• PayDay Free (2022): Acquired, free plan discontinued

Safer bets: Zoho (profitable, unlikely to shut down).

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10. Best free payroll for specific industries?

Retail (shifts): → Keka Free (5 emp) or PeopleVio (paid, ₹36K/year for shift roster)

IT/startups (<25 emp): → Zoho Payroll Free (25 emp)

Manufacturing: → No free option (need contractor tracking). Go paid: FactoHR (₹58K/year).

Services (<10 emp): → SumHR Free (10 emp)

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Our Recommendation

Best Free Payroll Software India 2026:

For <25 employees, no PF e-filing:
→ Zoho Payroll Free

For <10 employees, need HRMS:
→ SumHR Free

For 10+ employees, need PF e-filing:
→ No free option. Go PeopleVio (₹2,999/mo, cheapest full HRMS).

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Why PeopleVio (Paid) Often Better Than Free:

3-year cost:

• Zoho Free + add-ons: ₹55,800
• PeopleVio: ₹1,07,964

PeopleVio extras:

• Biometric integration (FREE, vs ₹24K/year GreytHR)
• Mobile app (4.6★)
• Auto-compliance updates (same-day PF/ESI rule changes)
• Support (2-hour response vs 48-hour free plan)

ROI: ₹52K extra over 3 years = ₹1,449/mo for full HRMS vs piecing together free tools.

Try Free: 14-Day Trial

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Summary

Truly free (forever):

• Zoho Payroll: 25 emp, no PF filing
• Vyapar: 10 emp, payslips only
• Keka: 5 emp, basic HRMS
• SumHR: 10 emp, basic HRMS

Hidden costs:

• PF e-filing: +₹600-2,000/mo
• Outgrow employee limit: +₹2,500-4,999/mo
• Manual filing time: 2 hrs/mo = ₹5,400/year

When paid worth it:

• 25 employees

• Need PF/ESI e-filing
• Need full HRMS (attendance, leave, mobile)

Cheapest paid: PeopleVio (₹35,988/year, full HRMS).

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Questions? Email free@peoplevio.in

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Last Updated: January 2026
Author: PeopleVio Team

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Disclaimer: We're PeopleVio (paid software). This comparison is honest — free plans work for tiny teams, but most outgrow them in 2-3 years.