Choosing an HRMS for your Indian business is a long-term decision. The platform handles payroll compliance, employee data, and HR workflows — getting it wrong means months of pain to migrate out. This comparison covers the five most commonly evaluated platforms for Indian businesses in 2025.

What to look for in India-specific HRMS

India payroll compliance built-in — EPF, ESIC, TDS, Professional Tax, Form 16, Form 10E
Support for India and UAE if you have cross-border operations
Transparent pricing — per employee per month, no hidden implementation fees
Self-service portal for employees to access payslips, leave, and documents
Biometric integration for attendance tracking
API access for integration with accounting tools (Tally, QuickBooks, Zoho Books)

The platforms

1. Peymatrix

Best for: Companies wanting full HR automation with India + UAE compliance and AI-native features.

Pricing: Starting at ₹49/employee/month (min ₹3,999/mo)

India compliance: EPF, ESIC, TDS, Form 16, Form 10E, Professional Tax, POSH

UAE compliance: WPS, End of Service gratuity, MOL reports, multi-currency

AI features: AI Decision Engine, anomaly detection, policy assistant

Free trial: 14-day full trial, no credit card

2. Keka

Best for: Mid-size to large Indian companies wanting a polished HR product.

Pricing: Starts at ₹6,999/month for up to 100 employees (flat fee model)

India compliance: Good coverage — EPF, ESIC, TDS, Form 16

UAE compliance: Limited — primarily India-focused

AI features: Some analytics, limited automation

Note: Strong UI, widely used, but pricing increases sharply at scale

3. Greythr

Best for: Small businesses and traditional organisations comfortable with an established (though older) platform.

Pricing: Starts at ₹3,495/month for up to 25 employees

India compliance: Strong legacy compliance features, regularly updated

UAE compliance: Available but limited compared to India focus

AI features: Limited — traditional HR tooling

Note: Good for compliance but UI feels dated; limited mobile experience

4. Darwinbox

Best for: Enterprise companies (500+ employees) wanting a feature-rich enterprise platform.

Pricing: Enterprise pricing, not publicly listed — typically ₹150–300+/employee/month at enterprise scale

India compliance: Enterprise-grade compliance

UAE compliance: Available

AI features: AI analytics and recommendations

Note: Significant implementation cost and timeline; not suitable for SMEs

5. Zoho People

Best for: Businesses already in the Zoho ecosystem wanting basic HR features.

Pricing: Starts at ₹48/employee/month (Essential)

India compliance: Requires Zoho Payroll as a separate add-on

UAE compliance: Limited

AI features: Basic (Zia assistant)

Note: HR and payroll are separate products — integration between them is not as seamless as a unified platform

Quick comparison table

Feature	Peymatrix	Keka	Greythr	Darwinbox	Zoho People
India payroll compliance	✓	✓	✓	✓	Add-on
UAE payroll compliance	✓	~	~	✓	~
AI automation	✓	~	✗	~	~
Free trial	14 days	✗	✗	✗	✓
Starting price	₹49/emp	₹6,999 flat	₹3,495 flat	Custom	₹48/emp
Biometric integration	✓	✓	✓	✓	~
Suitable for SME	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓

Bottom line

For SMEs and growing companies needing India compliance + modern UX + transparent pricing, Peymatrix and Keka are the strongest options. For large enterprises with budget for implementation, Darwinbox is feature-rich. Greythr works for cost-conscious businesses comfortable with a more traditional platform.

If your company also operates in the UAE, Peymatrix is currently the only platform in this comparison that handles both India and UAE compliance natively in a single product.

Try Peymatrix free for 14 days

Full access — payroll, attendance, leave, compliance, and AI. No credit card required.

Start free trial →

Best HRMS Software in India for 2025 — Compared