Keka vs Zoho People: Which HRMS Is Right for You? (2026)

Keka and Zoho People come from different starting points — Keka as a dedicated HR platform, Zoho People as part of the much broader Zoho software ecosystem — which shapes how each is priced and who it tends to fit best.

Pricing and feature details below reflect each vendor's publicly listed information at the time of writing. Vendor pricing changes — confirm current numbers directly with each vendor before deciding.

Pricing model: flat-tier vs per-user with a genuine free option

Keka prices in flat monthly tiers, each covering up to a set employee count, with higher tiers adding performance management, OKRs, and recruitment.

Zoho People prices per-user across five published tiers — a genuine Free plan (covering teams up to roughly 50 users with basic records and leave tracking), then Essential HR, Professional, Premium, and Enterprise, each layering in more functionality (attendance, performance management, advanced analytics, HR help desk) at increasing per-user rates, published starting around $1.25/user/month at the entry paid tier and rising through the tiers.

Feature and ecosystem positioning

Keka functions as a standalone, comprehensive HR platform not tied to a broader software suite — what you see in its pricing tiers is the full scope of what it offers.

Zoho People is one module within the much larger Zoho ecosystem (Zoho Books, Zoho CRM, Zoho Payroll as separate products). This is a genuine consideration: if you're already using other Zoho products, People can integrate naturally within that ecosystem — but payroll specifically is a separate Zoho product (Zoho Payroll) with its own pricing, not bundled into Zoho People itself.

Who each is generally better suited for

Keka suits companies wanting one platform covering the full HR-to-performance-management scope without needing to assemble separate tools. Zoho People suits companies already invested in the Zoho ecosystem, or very small teams that can genuinely operate on its free tier — with the caveat that payroll specifically requires a separate purchase (Zoho Payroll) to get full HRMS-equivalent functionality.

The payroll consideration specifically

This is worth being explicit about: Zoho People's own pricing tiers don't include payroll processing as a bundled feature — running payroll on the Zoho platform means adding Zoho Payroll separately, with its own cost. If you're comparing "Keka's all-in-one price" against "Zoho People's price," make sure you're comparing equivalent scope by including Zoho Payroll's cost in that comparison if payroll is a genuine need.

Where PeopleVio fits in this comparison

PeopleVio is a single per-employee price (₹59/month, ₹49 billed annually) with payroll, attendance, leave, expenses, assets, offer letters, and org structure included in that one number — no separate payroll product required to get full functionality, unlike the Zoho ecosystem's module-based structure.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Zoho People's free tier if I need payroll? The free tier itself doesn't include payroll — you'd need Zoho Payroll as a separate product regardless of which Zoho People tier you're on, which changes the "free" comparison once payroll is a genuine requirement.

Is Keka a better standalone choice than Zoho People if I don't use other Zoho products? If you have no existing Zoho ecosystem investment, Keka's standalone comprehensive scope may be simpler to evaluate — the Zoho ecosystem's advantage is specifically for companies already using other Zoho tools.

Does Zoho People's per-user pricing end up cheaper than Keka's flat tiers? Depends entirely on your headcount and required feature tier — get current quotes at your actual headcount from both before comparing, since flat-tier and per-user models cross over differently depending on scale.

Is Zoho People's AI assistant (Zia) a meaningful differentiator? It's a genuine feature not present in Keka's offering as described in published materials — whether it's meaningful depends on whether you'll actually use an AI HR assistant day to day, worth testing directly rather than assuming from the feature list alone.

The bottom line

Keka offers one comprehensive platform at flat tiers; Zoho People offers modular, per-user pricing with a real free option but payroll sold separately. The right choice depends on whether you value Zoho ecosystem integration and are comfortable adding Zoho Payroll separately, versus wanting one all-inclusive platform from Keka.