Top 10 Payroll Software in India: Features, Pricing and Best Fit

Introduction

Payroll in India covers a lot more than crediting salaries on the last working day. Each pay run has to account for Provident Fund, ESI, TDS, professional tax that varies by state, Labour Welfare Fund, gratuity and bonus, and every one of these has its own rates, ceilings and filing dates. For a company with employees in three or four states, a single month can involve dozens of separate statutory calculations.

The four Labour Codes added another layer. They took effect on 21 November 2025, and the Code on Wages now requires basic pay plus dearness allowance to make up at least half of total remuneration. That change raises the base for PF, gratuity and leave encashment, so many HR teams have had to rebuild salary structures that worked for years.

This is why choosing the right payroll software in India has become a finance and compliance decision as much as an HR one. The guide below compares ten widely used platforms on statutory coverage, pricing, integrations and best fit, so you can shortlist the tools that suit your team size and growth plans.

India Payroll Market at a Glance

Demand for payroll management software in India keeps rising with the size of the formal workforce. Mordor Intelligence estimates the India payroll services market at USD 1.91 billion in 2026, growing at a 7.41% CAGR to USD 2.74 billion by 2031. Large enterprises held 47.92% of the market in 2025, while small companies are the fastest-growing segment at a projected 16.39% CAGR as cloud tools lower the cost of getting started.

The global picture points the same way. Allied Market Research, as cited by Capterra India, projects the HR payroll software market to reach USD 55.69 billion by 2031 at a 9.2% CAGR. For Indian buyers, the practical result is a crowded field of HR and payroll software, ranging from free tools for ten-person teams to enterprise platforms that run payroll for lakhs of employees.

Key Takeaways

• The best payroll software in India for most growing companies is a platform that automates PF, ESI, TDS, professional tax and LWF across states and keeps pace with Labour Code changes.
• greytHR, Keka and HROne lead for SMB and mid-market teams; Darwinbox and ADP India suit large enterprises and multinationals.
• Zoho Payroll and Kredily offer free tiers, which makes them practical starting points for very small teams.
• Superworks and RazorpayX Payroll fit SMBs that want payroll bundled with attendance, loans or salary payouts in one place.
• Pricing usually runs per employee per month, so model the total cost at your expected headcount two years out, not today’s.

How the Top 10 Were Selected

The ten platforms below were picked for visibility and fit. Each one appears repeatedly across top-ranking payroll software comparisons for India, holds a review presence on G2, Capterra India or Gartner Peer Insights, and runs Indian statutory payroll natively. The list was then balanced across company sizes so that a 15-person startup and a 5,000-employee enterprise can both find a realistic option.

Four criteria shaped the order and the notes on each tool:

1. Statutory depth: PF, ESI, TDS, professional tax, LWF, gratuity, Form 16 and readiness for the Labour Code wage rules.
2. Fit by company size: how well the product suits startups, SMBs, mid-market firms or large enterprises.
3. Pricing transparency: whether plans are published and how cost scales with headcount.
4. Integrations and ecosystem: links to attendance, accounting, banking and the wider HR suite.

Pricing below reflects publicly listed starting plans at the time of writing and excludes GST. Vendors revise plans often, so confirm the current figure on each pricing page before you budget.

Top Payroll Software in India: Quick Comparison

List of Top 10 Payroll Software in India

Each profile below follows the same format, so you can compare the tools side by side.

1. Superworks

Type: SMB HRMS suite · Founded: 2017 · Headquarters: Gujarat · Starting price: From ₹3,499/month for 50 employees

Superworks offers a cloud HRMS built for small and mid-sized businesses, with payroll at its core. Its G2 profile lists modules for recruitment, payroll, assets, project management, employee monitoring, chat and surveys, and reviewers rate it 4.8 out of 5, often noting how easy it is to use.

The payroll module goes beyond salary runs. It covers payslips, employee loans and investment declarations, which many SMBs otherwise track in spreadsheets.

Core payroll capabilities

• Flexible salary structures with auto TDS calculation and Form 16
• Loans and advances managed inside payroll
• Selfie attendance, geo-fencing and shift rosters linked to the pay run
• Payroll verification and statutory reports

Best for: SMBs that want HR, payroll, attendance and employee loans managed together at a predictable monthly price.

2. Keka

Type: HRMS with payroll · Founded: 2015 · Headquarters: Hyderabad · Starting price: From ₹9,999/month for up to 100 employees

Keka was founded by Vijay Yalamanchili and stayed bootstrapped until 2022, when it raised USD 57 million from WestBridge Capital. Entrackr reported that Keka was running payroll for more than 1.5 million employees a month at the time, for clients such as upGrad, Razorpay, Dream11 and Hitachi.

The platform puts payroll inside a broader HR suite with performance, recruitment and engagement modules, and it is known for a clean interface that employees find easy to use.

Core payroll capabilities

• Automated payroll with statutory deductions and filings
• Expense and reimbursement handling inside the pay cycle
• Attendance, leave and shift data linked to payroll
• Employee self-service with a well-reviewed mobile app

Best for: Growing mid-market companies, typically between 50 and 2,000 employees, that want payroll and people management on one platform.

3. Zoho Payroll

Type: Payroll-first tool · Founded: 1996 (Zoho Corporation) · Headquarters: Chennai · Starting price: Free for up to 10 employees; paid plans from ₹40 per employee per month

Zoho Payroll is the payroll product within Zoho’s large business software suite. Its Capterra India listing notes compliance with Indian, UAE, Saudi and US tax laws, multi-state support and a free plan for small teams.

Its main advantage is the connection to Zoho People for attendance and leave, and to Zoho Books for automatic payroll accounting entries.

Core payroll capabilities

• EPF, ESI, TDS and professional tax handling
• Payslips and tax declarations through employee self-service
• Direct sync with Zoho People and Zoho Books
• Multi-location payroll from one account

Best for: Startups and small businesses already using Zoho products that want affordable, simple payroll.

4. Darwinbox

Type: Enterprise HCM · Founded: 2015 · Headquarters: Hyderabad · Starting price: Custom quote

Darwinbox was founded in August 2015 by Rohit Chennamaneni, Jayant Paleti and Chaitanya Peddi. It became a unicorn in 2022 and has since expanded across Southeast Asia, the UK and the US.

The platform covers the full employee lifecycle, from hiring to exit, and payroll is one module within that enterprise suite. Large Indian groups use it to consolidate HR across many business units and countries.

Core payroll capabilities

• Multi-country and multi-entity payroll with Indian statutory coverage
• Configurable pay structures for complex enterprise CTC designs
• Integration with attendance, expenses and people analytics
• Mobile-first experience for large, dispersed workforces

Best for: Large enterprises that want payroll inside a full human capital management platform.

5. RazorpayX Payroll

Type: Payroll with salary payouts · Founded: 2017 (as Opfin) · Headquarters: Bengaluru · Starting price: From ₹2,499/month for up to 20 employees

Razorpay acquired payroll startup Opfin in November 2019, as Inc42 reported, and relaunched it as RazorpayX Payroll. The product sits inside Razorpay’s business banking stack, so salary calculation and the actual money transfer happen in one flow.

That payments link is its standout feature. It handles TDS, PF, PT and ESIC payments and filings alongside salary disbursal.

Core payroll capabilities

• One-click payroll with automatic salary transfers
• Statutory payments and filings for TDS, PF, PT and ESIC
• Contractor payments alongside employee payroll
• Leave and attendance with location-wise holiday calendars

Best for: Startups and small teams that want payroll and payouts in a single tool, especially those already on Razorpay.

6. greytHR

Type: HR and payroll suite · Founded: 1994 · Headquarters: Bengaluru · Starting price: Free starter tier; paid plans from ₹2,495/month

greytHR, built by Greytip Software, is one of the longest-running HR and payroll platforms in the country. CB Insights lists its 1994 founding in Bengaluru and its customer base across manufacturing, SaaS, healthcare, hospitality, education and retail.

The product grew up around Indian statutory payroll, and that heritage still shows in how it handles state-wise rules and filings. It also serves customers in the Middle East and Singapore.

Core payroll capabilities

• PF, ESI, PT, LWF and TDS calculation with statutory reports
• Payslips, Form 16 and full and final settlements
• Leave and attendance feeding directly into the pay run
• Employee self-service portal and mobile app

Best for: Small and mid-sized businesses that value a long compliance track record and published, pay-as-you-go pricing.

7. HROne

Type: HRMS with payroll · Founded: 2016 · Headquarters: Noida · Starting price: Per employee per month, by quote

HROne was founded by Karan Jain in 2016 and grew from a bootstrapped start to a Series B company. Its customers include brands such as Bikanervala and Haier.

The platform covers hire-to-retire HR and has built a strong reputation for customer satisfaction on review sites, particularly among mid-market HR teams.

Core payroll capabilities

• India statutory engine for PF, ESI, PT, LWF and gratuity
• Multiple legal entities managed from one instance
• CTC calculators and formula-based pay components
• Optional outsourced payroll service

Best for: Mid-market organisations running payroll across several entities or locations.

8. Pocket HRMS

Type: HRMS with payroll · Founded: 2013 · Headquarters: Navi Mumbai · Starting price: Subscription priced by modules and users

Pocket HRMS is a Mumbai-region HR software provider that CB Insights describes as focused on small and mid-sized businesses and startups. It was an early adopter of AI features in Indian HR software.

Its AI chatbot answers routine employee queries, and its machine-learning payroll module flags anomalies before the pay run closes.

Core payroll capabilities

• ML-assisted payroll processing and error checks
• Statutory compliance for PF, ESI, PT and TDS
• AI chatbot for employee payroll and leave queries
• Mobile app for attendance and payslips

Best for: SMEs that want AI-assisted payroll and pick-and-choose modules.

9. ADP India

Type: Global payroll and managed services · Founded: 1949 (ADP); India operations since 1999 · Headquarters: Roseland, New Jersey (global); Hyderabad (India) · Starting price: Custom quote

ADP is one of the world’s largest payroll and HR technology companies, headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey. Its India arm runs large operations in Hyderabad and Pune and supports both global and India-specific payroll products.

For multinationals, ADP’s value lies in running Indian payroll inside the same governance framework used for other countries, often as a managed service.

Core payroll capabilities

• Indian statutory payroll within a global payroll platform
• Managed and bureau-style payroll services
• Consolidated reporting across countries
• Enterprise-grade security and audit controls

Best for: Multinationals that want India payroll aligned with their global payroll standards.

10. Kredily

Type: Freemium HRMS and payroll · Founded: 2017 · Headquarters: Bengaluru · Starting price: Core HR and payroll free

Kredily was founded by Devendra Khandegar in 2017 with the aim of offering HR and payroll free to small businesses. It earns revenue through Kredily Bazaar, a marketplace of financial products for employees, rather than through software fees.

That model makes it one of the few options where core payroll costs nothing regardless of headcount.

Core payroll capabilities

• Payroll automation with PF, ESI and TDS compliance
• Salary slips and statutory reports
• Attendance and leave tracking
• Employee data management and offboarding

Best for: Micro and small businesses that need compliant payroll with minimal spend.

How to Choose the Right Payroll Software for Your Business

The right payroll software in India depends on your headcount, how many states you operate in, and the systems payroll needs to talk to. Use the checks below to narrow the list to two or three tools before booking demos.

1. Statutory coverage across your states. Confirm the tool calculates professional tax and LWF for every state where you have employees, and that it supports the Labour Code wage definition. Ask the vendor how quickly it shipped updates after the November 2025 changes.
2. Integration with attendance and accounting. Payroll errors usually start upstream, in attendance or leave data. A tool that pulls biometric or app-based attendance directly, and pushes journal entries to Tally, Zoho Books or your ERP, removes most manual reconciliation.
3. Scale and multi-entity support. If you run separate legal entities, need different pay cycles, or plan to expand abroad, check how the platform handles them before you sign. Switching payroll systems mid-year is painful.
4. Employee self-service and mobile access. Employees should be able to download payslips, submit tax declarations and raise queries without emailing HR. This cuts month-end ticket volume noticeably.
5. Support model. Month-end and tax season are when support matters most. Ask about response times, whether you get a named account manager, and whether support is by phone or ticket only.
6. Total cost at future headcount. Many plans bundle a base number of employees and charge extra per head beyond that. Model your cost at today’s headcount and at your two-year projection, and include add-ons such as recruitment or performance modules.

A short paid pilot with one month of parallel payroll is the most reliable test. Run it alongside your current process and compare every payslip before you switch fully.

Off-the-Shelf vs Custom Payroll: When to Build Beyond an HRMS

Packaged payroll software works well for most Indian businesses, and every tool above can run a standard monthly cycle with full compliance. Some organisations, however, reach a point where configuration stops covering what they need.

The four most common triggers are listed below.

• Unusual pay structures. Piece-rate wages, project-based incentives, shift differentials across plants, or commission models tied to live sales data.
• Deep system integration. Payroll that has to read from a legacy ERP, a custom attendance system or a field-force app, and write back to finance in real time.
• Multi-country teams. Companies with employees in India, the US, the UK and the Gulf that want one consolidated view rather than four separate payroll tools.
• Automated checks at scale. Large workforces where AI can flag anomalies, duplicate payments or compliance gaps before a pay run is approved.

In these cases, a common approach is to keep a proven payroll engine for statutory calculations and build custom layers around it. InnovationM, a Noida-based digital engineering company with offices in the USA and UK, partners with enterprises on exactly this kind of work. Its software development services in India cover custom HRMS modules, payroll integrations and legacy modernisation.

InnovationM also builds AI layers on top of existing HR systems. Its intelligent workflow solutions automate approvals and exception handling, while its enterprise AI integration work connects payroll data with analytics and finance platforms. The result is a payroll stack shaped around how the business actually runs, rather than around the limits of a packaged tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best payroll software options in India?

The most widely used payroll software in India includes greytHR, Keka, Zoho Payroll, Darwinbox, RazorpayX Payroll, Superworks, HROne, Pocket HRMS, ADP India and Kredily. Small teams often start with Zoho Payroll, Kredily or Superworks, mid-market firms lean toward greytHR, Keka or HROne, and large enterprises tend to choose Darwinbox or ADP India.

How much does payroll software cost in India?

Most tools charge a monthly base fee that covers a set number of employees, plus a per-employee fee above that. Entry plans range from free (Zoho Payroll up to 10 employees, Kredily’s core plan) to roughly ₹2,500–₹10,000 a month for 20–100 employees, while enterprise platforms are priced by quote. GST at 18% is added on top.

Which payroll software is best for small businesses in India?

Small businesses usually get the best value from tools with free or low-cost entry plans and simple setup. Zoho Payroll suits teams already on Zoho, Kredily works for very tight budgets, RazorpayX Payroll fits startups that want salary payouts built in, and Superworks suits SMBs that want payroll, attendance and loans together.

Does payroll software handle PF, ESI, TDS and professional tax automatically?

Yes. Every platform in this list calculates PF, ESI, TDS and professional tax automatically and generates the related statutory reports. Coverage of state-specific rules such as LWF varies, so confirm the tool supports every state where you have employees.

How do the Labour Codes affect payroll processing?

The Code on Wages requires basic pay plus dearness allowance to be at least 50% of total remuneration, which raises the base for PF, gratuity and leave encashment. Payroll software needs updated wage calculations and salary structure checks, and most leading vendors have released these changes since the Codes took effect in November 2025.

Should a business choose a standalone payroll tool or a full HRMS?

A standalone payroll tool is enough if you only need salary processing and compliance, and it is usually cheaper. A full HRMS makes more sense once you want attendance, leave, performance and onboarding in the same system, because shared employee data reduces errors in every pay run.

Conclusion

Payroll software in India has matured into a well-served category, with strong options at every company size and budget. The Labour Codes have raised the bar for compliance, which makes a dependable statutory engine more valuable than ever.

For most SMBs, greytHR, Zoho Payroll, Superworks and Kredily offer a quick and affordable start. Growing mid-market teams will find Keka and HROne a good fit, startups that want payouts built in can look at RazorpayX Payroll, and Pocket HRMS suits SMEs interested in AI-assisted payroll. Large enterprises and multinationals are best served by Darwinbox or ADP India. Shortlist two or three tools that match your headcount and state footprint, then run a parallel pilot before you commit.

Build Payroll Around the Way Your Business Works

When packaged tools cover most of your needs but not all of them, a custom layer can close the gap. InnovationM helps enterprises integrate payroll with existing ERP and finance systems, build custom HRMS modules, and add AI-led checks to large pay runs. To explore what that could look like for your organisation, connect with the InnovationM team.