greytHR vs Zoho People (2026): Payroll, Compliance, Price and Which to Choose

greytHR and Zoho People are two of the most common names on Indian HRMS shortlists, and they're often compared with each other. But they come from different starting points. greytHR grew up around Indian payroll and statutory compliance. Zoho People is an HR product within the wider Zoho ecosystem, with payroll sold separately as Zoho Payroll.

That difference shapes almost everything else: pricing, setup, and which kind of company each one suits. This guide compares them on what matters to Indian companies — payroll, PF, ESI, Professional Tax, TDS, attendance, price and ecosystem — and helps you decide which to shortlist.

Updated 30 September 2026. Both vendors change their plans and features regularly — confirm the current details on greythr.com and zoho.com before you decide.

The short answer

• Choose greytHR if Indian payroll and statutory compliance — PF, ESI, Professional Tax, LWF, state rules — are your top priority, and you want payroll and HR in one product.
• Choose Zoho People if you already use Zoho CRM, Books or other Zoho apps, value those integrations, and want a highly customisable HR platform. Add Zoho Payroll for payroll.
• Compare total cost fairly: greytHR's payroll-inclusive price against Zoho People plus Zoho Payroll.
• Consider a third option if you want HR and payroll in one simple per-employee price with little setup — an all-in-one tool like PeopleVio.

greytHR vs Zoho People at a glance

	greytHR	Zoho People
Origin	Indian payroll and compliance	HR within the Zoho ecosystem
Payroll	Included in the product	Separate product: Zoho Payroll
PF, ESI	Yes	Via Zoho Payroll
Professional Tax, LWF	Yes, state-wise	Via Zoho Payroll; check state coverage
TDS and Form 16	Yes	Via Zoho Payroll
Attendance and leave	Yes	Yes, strong and customisable
Customisation	Moderate	High — custom forms, fields, workflows
Ecosystem	Standalone, with integrations	Deep integration with Zoho apps
Free plan	Has offered a free plan at small headcounts	Has offered a free plan at small headcounts
Best for	Compliance-heavy Indian SMEs and mid-size firms	Zoho users; companies wanting customisation

Payroll and compliance

This is the biggest difference.

greytHR is built around Indian payroll. PF, ESI, Professional Tax and LWF calculations, statutory reports and returns are core to the product. Companies with employees in several states often choose it for exactly that reason.

Zoho People doesn't run payroll itself. Zoho Payroll does, and it covers Indian statutory requirements. The two products integrate, so attendance and leave from Zoho People flow into payroll — but it's two products, two subscriptions and two places to configure.

What to test: run one month's payroll in each, including a mid-month joiner, a leaver and two loss-of-pay days. Generate the PF ECR and ESIC return and compare them with your current files.

Attendance and leave

Both handle attendance and leave well. Zoho People is particularly strong on customisation: you can model unusual leave policies, custom approval flows and forms. greytHR covers the standard Indian requirements — leave types, holidays, attendance, biometric integration — with less configuration.

What to test: set up your actual leave policy and approval chain in each, and approve a request on a phone as a manager.

Pricing: comparing like with like

The most common mistake is comparing greytHR's price, which includes payroll, with Zoho People's price, which doesn't.

Calculate:

1. greytHR at your headcount, on the plan with the features you need.
2. Zoho People + Zoho Payroll at your headcount, on the plans you need.
3. Any add-ons (biometric integration, extra modules) for each.

Do it at today's headcount and at 1.5×. Very small teams may find free plans from either vendor cover what they need — check exactly what's included, especially for payroll.

Ease of setup

greytHR is generally quicker to get running for a standard Indian payroll. Zoho People's flexibility takes more time to configure well, and adding Zoho Payroll means configuring a second product. A company with a dedicated HR person who enjoys designing processes may prefer Zoho; a company where HR is a part-time responsibility may prefer something more opinionated.

Which should you choose?

Your situation	Better fit
Employees in several states; PT and LWF must be calculated	greytHR
Company runs on Zoho CRM / Books	Zoho People + Zoho Payroll
HR wants custom forms and workflows	Zoho People
Payroll is the main job; HR is part-time	greytHR (or a simpler all-in-one)
Tight budget, very small team	Compare both free plans
Want one simple price for HR, payroll, PF and ESI	Consider an all-in-one such as PeopleVio

A third option: PeopleVio

If neither fits perfectly — you want HR and payroll in one product like greytHR, but simpler to set up and at a published per-employee price — PeopleVio is worth a demo.

What's included in one price:

• Payroll driven directly by attendance and leave, with loss of pay and mid-month proration.
• PF (EPF, EPS, EDLI, VPF) and ESI through the EPFO and ESIC modules, with ECR and ESIC return files.
• TDS with declarations and Form 16.
• Geofenced mobile check-in and ZKTeco/eSSL biometric integration.
• Leave, comp off, expenses, assets and offer letters.

What it doesn't do: Professional Tax or LWF calculation (greytHR is the better fit if you need those), performance reviews, recruitment, overtime rules, or Zoho integrations.

Active employees	Monthly billing	Yearly billing (per month)
25	₹1,475	₹1,225
50	₹2,450	₹2,050
100	₹4,900	₹4,100
300	₹11,700	₹9,900

Prices exclude GST; payroll and compliance included. See the pricing page.

A worked example

Company A: 70 employees across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. No Zoho apps. HR is one person. Must-haves: PF, ESI, PT in three states, TDS. → greytHR is the natural first choice because of state-wise PT. An all-in-one without PT would need PT handled separately.

Company B: 45 employees in Delhi (no PT). Uses Zoho CRM and Zoho Books heavily. HR wants custom onboarding forms. → Zoho People + Zoho Payroll makes sense; the ecosystem is a real advantage.

Company C: 40 employees in one city, field sales team, no Zoho apps. Wants to be running payroll within a week. → Demo greytHR and an all-in-one like PeopleVio; decide on price and how well geofenced attendance works for the field team.

Questions to ask both vendors

• What is the total monthly price at my headcount, including payroll?
• Which features are on which plan?
• Are there setup or implementation fees?
• Can I run one real payroll month on my data before paying?
• How do I export my data if I leave?

Frequently asked questions

Is greytHR better than Zoho People? For Indian payroll and statutory compliance, greytHR is usually the stronger single product. For companies in the Zoho ecosystem, or those wanting heavy customisation, Zoho People (with Zoho Payroll) can be the better fit.

Does Zoho People include payroll? No. Payroll is a separate product, Zoho Payroll.

Which is cheaper, greytHR or Zoho People? Zoho People alone can look cheaper, but it doesn't include payroll. Compare greytHR with Zoho People plus Zoho Payroll at your headcount.

Do both support biometric attendance? Both support biometric integration; check support for your specific machine brand.

Is there an alternative to both? Yes — compliance-focused tools like factoHR, broad suites like Keka, and simple all-in-one tools like PeopleVio.

The bottom line

greytHR and Zoho People solve slightly different problems. greytHR is payroll-and-compliance first; Zoho People is HR-first inside a wider ecosystem. Decide which matters more to you, compare the full cost including payroll, and test both on one real payroll month.

If you want a simpler all-in-one to compare against them, see PeopleVio's pricing or book a demo.

Related reading: Best Zoho People alternatives · Best greytHR alternatives · PeopleVio vs greytHR · PeopleVio vs Zoho People