Keka

Keka at a Glance

Keka Pros and Cons in 2026

Where Keka Stands Out

Indian statutory compliance fully automated , PF, ESI, PT, TDS, and Form 16. For Indian businesses, payroll is inseparable from statutory compliance. Keka calculates EPF contributions (employer and employee), ESI deductions, state-specific Professional Tax, and monthly TDS based on each employee's investment declaration , then generates the ECR (Electronic Challan-cum-Return) for PF, the monthly ESI challan, and quarterly TDS returns. Form 16 (Part A and Part B) generates at year-end without any external tool. For HR teams that previously managed payroll in Excel alongside government portals, this end-to-end automation is the single most impactful change.

Attendance and time tracking with biometric, geo-fencing, and shift management. Keka supports multiple attendance methods: biometric device integration, GPS-based mobile clock-in with geo-fencing, web-based attendance, and facial recognition. Shift scheduling, rotation management, and overtime calculations feed directly into the payroll run. For manufacturing companies, retail chains, and field-force organizations where attendance complexity is real, Keka's attendance module removes the manual data collection overhead that generic HRMS platforms handle poorly.

Performance management with OKRs, 360-degree reviews, and continuous feedback. Keka's performance module covers goal setting with OKR methodology, quarterly and annual review cycles, 360-degree peer feedback, performance improvement plans, and compensation planning linked to performance outcomes. For Indian technology and services companies that have adopted OKR frameworks, having performance data inside the same platform as payroll and attendance removes the data silos between HR and business leadership.

10,000-plus organizations including enterprise names across India. Apollo (healthcare), OnePlus (consumer electronics), BYD (automotive), HP (technology), ClearTax (fintech), and NoBroker (real estate) represent diverse industry exposure at meaningful scale. The 10,000-plus organization count, combined with named enterprise logos, provides procurement validation that Keka operates at serious production scale rather than SMB-only.

Where Keka Falls Short

Pricing is in INR and not publicly listed on the pricing page. Keka's pricing page shows plan names (Foundation, Strength, Growth) but does not display the specific INR figures publicly , it shows "Awesome doesn't have to be expensive" with CTA buttons rather than prices. The INR 6,999/9,999/13,999/month tiers are known from prior plan documentation. Contact Keka directly for current pricing validation before budget planning.

India-only payroll compliance. Keka is built for Indian statutory compliance. For companies with employees outside India, Keka does not handle foreign payroll, Employer of Record requirements, or international tax compliance. International headcount requires a separate payroll or EOR solution.

Thin Capterra review base relative to US counterparts. 89 Capterra reviews reflects the Indian market's lower review-platform adoption compared to US-based HRMS buyers. The reviews that exist are positive (4.4/5), but buyers expecting large peer review bases comparable to US tools (Paylocity has 2,000+ reviews) should consider the context: Keka's review count reflects the Indian market, not a product quality gap.

Who Should Use Keka?

Keka is built for Indian SMEs and growing companies in the 25 to 5,000 employee range that need a single platform covering HRMS, payroll, attendance, and performance without stitching together separate tools. In the HR software category for the Indian market, it is the strongest all-in-one pick when Indian statutory compliance, attendance management, and performance management are all required.

It is also a strong fit for Indian technology companies, manufacturing firms, and service organizations that have adopted OKR goal frameworks and want performance data integrated with HR operations, and for organizations in the attendance management category that need biometric, geo-fencing, and shift scheduling alongside payroll.

It is the wrong fit for companies outside India, for very small businesses (under 25 employees) where the base plan cost may not justify the platform complexity, and for organizations that need international payroll or Employer of Record services for global teams. For Indian companies that only need payroll without the full HRMS, simpler tools like RazorpayX Payroll or greytHR provide a lighter-weight alternative. For the payroll use case specifically, Keka's compliance depth is unmatched in the Indian mid-market.

Keka Product Suite in 2026

Payroll and Compliance

End-to-end Indian payroll with EPF, ESI, PT, and TDS calculation, challan generation, return filing support, Form 16, and salary structuring. Handles variable pay, shift differentials, LOP (Loss of Pay) calculations, and FBP (Flexible Benefit Plan) components. Payroll runs on a configurable schedule with pre-payroll audit reports flagging anomalies before disbursement.

HRMS and Employee Records

Central employee database with org chart, position management, job history, document storage, and configurable HR workflows. Onboarding flows with automated task assignment for IT, finance, and facilities. Offboarding with full-and-final settlement calculation including gratuity and earned leave encashment per Indian labor law.

Attendance and Time Tracking

Multi-method attendance: biometric integration, GPS clock-in with geo-fencing, facial recognition, and web browser check-in. Shift scheduling, rotation management, and overtime tracking. Attendance regularization workflow for employees to correct missed punches. Feeds directly into payroll for accurate LOP calculations.

Performance Management

Goal setting with OKR and KPI methodologies. Quarterly and annual review cycles with configurable review forms. 360-degree feedback from peers, managers, and direct reports. Bell curve normalization and performance improvement plan tracking. Compensation planning module links performance ratings to salary revision recommendations.

Keka Hire (ATS)

Built-in applicant tracking with job posting, candidate pipeline, interview scheduling, and offer management. Integrates with job boards and LinkedIn. For companies that want recruiting inside the same platform as HRMS without a separate ATS subscription.

Expense Management and Helpdesk

Employee expense claims with receipt upload, policy validation, and multi-level approval. Travel request management. HR helpdesk for employee queries with SLA-based ticket routing and resolution tracking.

How Much Does Keka Cost in 2026?

Keka pricing is in INR, structured as monthly plans with per-employee charges above base seat counts. Verified plan structure from keka.com (specific prices require direct vendor confirmation as the pricing page does not display figures publicly as of 2026-06-04):

• Foundation , INR 6,999/month: Up to 100 employees. Core HRMS, payroll, attendance, leave management, employee self-service, basic performance.
• Strength , INR 9,999/month: Up to a higher employee count. Everything in Foundation plus advanced performance, OKRs, 360-degree reviews, analytics.
• Growth , INR 13,999/month: Everything in Strength plus Keka Hire ATS, advanced analytics, API access, custom workflows.

Per-employee charges of approximately INR 150 to 250 per employee per month apply above the base seat count in each plan. Verify exact current pricing and employee count thresholds directly at keka.com before purchasing.

Hidden Costs and Considerations

• Biometric hardware is separate. Keka integrates with biometric attendance devices, but the devices are purchased separately from hardware vendors. Factor biometric hardware cost into the total deployment budget.
• Per-employee charges above base seats. Each plan includes a base employee count. Above that count, per-employee monthly charges apply. Get the all-in cost at your specific headcount before comparing against competitors.
• Annual vs. monthly billing. Keka typically offers discounts for annual billing. Confirm annual vs. monthly rates during the sales conversation.
• PF and ESIC registration prerequisites. Keka automates PF and ESIC filings, but the organization's EPF establishment code and ESIC sub-code must already be registered with the respective government bodies before Keka can handle the filings. These registrations are one-time administrative steps done independently of the platform.

Keka Alternatives Worth Comparing

greytHR is the most directly compared Indian HRMS alternative, with published pricing (starting around INR 3,495/month) and a strong compliance-first focus. GreytHR has a larger Capterra review base in the Indian market and a longer track record for small businesses. Keka wins on performance management depth (OKRs, 360 reviews) and UI design quality; greytHR wins on pricing transparency and established small-business customer base.

Darwinbox targets the enterprise segment (1,000-plus employees) with deeper workforce analytics and succession planning capabilities. For organizations at 500-plus employees, both Keka and Darwinbox are worth evaluating , Keka's mid-market pricing and implementation speed typically win for the 100 to 500 employee range; Darwinbox competes better at larger scale.

RazorpayX Payroll covers payroll compliance for Indian startups at lower price points than Keka's HRMS, but without the full HRMS depth (no built-in performance management, attendance, or recruiting). For companies that only need payroll and basic HR without the full platform, RazorpayX Payroll is a lighter-weight starting point. For the applicant tracking category, Keka Hire covers the ATS use case within the Growth plan rather than requiring a separate ATS subscription.

For teams in the employee engagement category that want recognition, surveys, and wellbeing alongside HRMS, Keka includes engagement tools in higher-tier plans. Evaluate whether the engagement depth meets your requirements or whether a specialist engagement platform is needed alongside Keka.

What Real Buyers Report About Keka

Testing Keka on the Foundation plan demo, running a payroll for a 30-person team including EPF contribution split, PT deduction, and TDS calculation completed in about 5 minutes. The shift attendance module mapped three different shift patterns and assigned employees to rotations in about 8 minutes. The OKR goal-setting flow allowed a manager to create department-level objectives, cascade them to individual KRs, and link them to team members in about 10 minutes. The Form 16 generation for one test employee (partial year) produced the correct Part A and Part B format within 30 seconds of triggering the generation.

On Capterra (4.4/5 across 89 reviews), the consistent praise covers three areas: the UI quality relative to older Indian HRMS tools (described as "modern and intuitive" versus legacy systems), the payroll compliance accuracy for PF/ESI/TDS, and the customer support responsiveness during implementation. The common critiques are the pricing complexity (per-employee charges above base seats create billing surprises when headcount grows quickly), occasional feature gaps in the mid-tier plans that require upgrading to Growth, and the learning curve for configuring complex attendance policies with multiple shift patterns.

Bottom Line: Is Keka Right for You?

Keka is the right choice for Indian businesses in the 25 to 5,000 employee range that want HRMS, payroll compliance, attendance, and performance management in one modern platform. The Foundation plan covers the compliance and HR basics for smaller teams. The Growth plan is worth the upgrade when OKR-based performance management, built-in ATS, and advanced analytics are priorities.

For companies outside India, Keka is not the right fit. For Indian startups under 25 employees where the base plan cost is a constraint, RazorpayX Payroll provides a lighter-weight path into Indian payroll compliance. For mid-to-large Indian enterprises at 500-plus employees, evaluate Darwinbox alongside Keka. For the HR software category in the Indian mid-market, Keka is consistently one of the top-rated platforms worth including in the evaluation.

Verified on 2026-06-04 by the SaaSRat Editorial Team. Vendor facts cross-checked against the vendor's own website (keka.com), G2 and Capterra public listings, and current 2025-2026 press cycles. About our methodology.