Zoho People and Keka are two of the most-evaluated HRMS platforms by Indian SMBs in 2026. Zoho People wins on price (~₹50-100 vs Keka's ₹6,999/month flat for 100 employees) and Zoho ecosystem integration. Keka wins on modern UX, performance management depth, and Indian payroll polish. Here is the honest breakdown.
For small companies under 50 employees, yes — significantly. Zoho People at 30 employees is ₹1,500/month vs Keka Foundation at ₹6,999/month (4.5x more). At 100 employees, they're roughly equal (₹5,000 vs ₹6,999). Above 100 employees, Zoho People scales more cheaply because Keka adds per-employee charges above 100.
Yes, meaningfully. Keka Strength plan (₹9,999/month) includes continuous feedback, 360 reviews, OKRs, and goal-setting cadences as core features. Zoho People Professional has similar capability but feels less polished in the review workflow. For companies doing serious performance management, Keka is the better tool.
Keka — by a small but real margin. Keka's mobile app is the most modern in the Indian HRMS market and is genuinely popular with millennial employees. Zoho People's mobile app is solid but feels more functional than delightful. For SMBs where employee adoption is a concern, Keka has an edge.
Yes. Both vendors support CSV/Excel exports of employee data. Migration is mostly a one-time data load: employee master, leave balances, salary structures, attendance history, and document storage. Typical migration takes 2-4 weeks including parallel-run period.
Yes, scales fine. Above 250 employees, Zoho People Premium (₹165/employee) is typically used. For 1,000+ employee enterprises with complex multi-state operations and advanced talent management needs, the cheaper Zoho People is no longer the clear winner — Keka, GreytHR Enterprise, or even Darwinbox should be evaluated.
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