Let’s be honest, handling payroll in India can feel like navigating a maze. With a complex web of regulations like PF, ESI, and TDS that change frequently, manual processing on spreadsheets is a recipe for disaster. In fact, a recent report found that 44% of employees were paid late by their employers, and nearly half of those payments were for the wrong amount. This is where finding the right payroll software becomes a game changer.

The good news is that modern software can automate these complex calculations, guarantee compliance, and free up your HR team to focus on what matters most: your people. The top 10 payroll software in India include solutions like Zoho Payroll, greytHR, Keka, and RazorpayX Payroll, each catering to different business needs. This guide will walk you through the key factors to consider and explore these and other leading platforms to help you make the perfect choice for your business.

Quick Comparison of Top Payroll Platforms

For those in a hurry, here’s a quick look at some of the leading contenders in the Indian market. For deeper checklists and templates, explore our HR and payroll resource library.

How to Choose the Right Payroll Software: Key Factors

Before diving into the list of the top 10 payroll software in India, it’s crucial to understand what makes a platform great. Here are the essential criteria to evaluate.

Must Have Statutory Compliance (PF, ESI, TDS)

This is non negotiable. Any payroll software for India must have ironclad support for all statutory requirements. This includes automated calculations and report generation for:

• Provident Fund (PF): Calculating employee and employer contributions.

• Employee State Insurance (ESI): For employees under the salary threshold.

• Professional Tax (PT): Handled automatically based on state specific slabs.

• Tax Deducted at Source (TDS): Accurate income tax calculations and deductions.

• Form 16 and Form 24Q: Effortless generation of year end tax forms for employees and quarterly TDS returns for the authorities.

A good system stays updated with the latest labor law changes automatically, saving you from costly penalties and reputational damage.

Seamless Attendance and Leave Integration

Your payroll calculations are only as accurate as your attendance data. Look for software that integrates directly with your HRMS, leave, and attendance management systems. This real time data sync eliminates the headache of manual data entry and reconciliation, ensuring that monthly salary processing requires minimal intervention.

Empowering Employee Self Service (ESS)

An employee self service (ESS) portal is a must have feature in modern payroll software. It empowers your staff to access their payslips, view tax deduction summaries, submit investment proofs, and download documents 24/7 without needing to ask HR. This improves transparency, builds trust, and significantly reduces the administrative burden on your HR team.

Cloud Accessibility and Scalability

Your business is going to grow, and your software should be ready to grow with you. Cloud based payroll solutions offer the flexibility to access data from anywhere, which is perfect for remote or hybrid teams. Ensure the platform can handle an increasing number of employees, multi state compliance, and varied salary structures without requiring a painful reimplementation.

Transparent Pricing and Free Trials

Understand the pricing model before you commit. Most cloud solutions charge on a per employee per month basis. Watch out for hidden costs for essential features like tax filing or support. Opt for vendors that offer transparent pricing and, ideally, a free trial or demo. Many providers offer 14 to 30 day free trials, which are perfect for evaluating their capabilities.

A Detailed Look at the Top 10 Payroll Software in India

With those criteria in mind, let’s explore some of the best payroll solutions available in the Indian market. This list of the top 10 payroll software in India covers options for every business size and need.

1. Zoho Payroll: Simple and Compliant for Small Businesses

Zoho Payroll is a fantastic choice for startups and small businesses, especially those already using other Zoho products. It excels at simplifying payroll by automating all salary calculations and statutory deductions like PF, ESI, TDS, and Professional Tax. Its biggest advantage is the seamless integration with Zoho People (HRMS) and Zoho Books (accounting), which creates a unified system where data flows effortlessly. With a clean interface and a 30 day free trial, it’s a trusted and straightforward solution.

2. greytHR: The Trusted Veteran for SMEs

greytHR is one of India’s most established and reliable HR and payroll platforms, trusted by over 30,500 businesses. It offers end to end payroll processing, handling everything from salary calculations to statutory filings with precision. The platform processes an incredible ₹1.8 lakh crore in annual salaries, proving its capability at scale. With a highly rated mobile app (over 1 million downloads) for employee self service and robust reporting features, greytHR is a powerhouse for SMEs looking for a plug and play suite.

3. Keka HR: Modern HRMS with Great Employee Experience

Keka is more than just payroll software; it’s a complete “HR engine” designed for modern workplaces. Its strength lies in its all in one approach, where attendance and leave data feed directly into the payroll module, reducing manual effort. Keka is known for its beautiful user interface and a strong focus on employee experience, offering excellent self service features through its mobile app. It handles all Indian compliance needs and can scale from a 50 person startup to an organization with over 1,000 employees.

4. RazorpayX Payroll: Perfect for Startups with Integrated Banking

From the fintech giant Razorpay, RazorpayX Payroll is built for startups and tech savvy businesses. Its standout feature is the tight integration with Razorpay’s business banking, allowing for direct salary disbursements to employees and contractors from one platform. It automates all compliance payments for PF, TDS, and ESI, making it incredibly convenient. With a free plan for very small teams and affordable tiers for growing companies, it’s an appealing choice for founders who want to manage finance and payroll in a single dashboard.

5. Kredily: India’s Free Forever HR & Payroll Platform

Kredily has disrupted the market by offering a full featured HR and payroll platform that is completely free forever. This model has attracted over 17,000 businesses. The platform includes modules for attendance, leave, and payroll processing, with all essential compliance features built in, including auto calculation of PF, ESI, and TDS. Employees get a mobile app to manage their HR tasks, and since the software costs nothing, it has removed the barrier to entry for any small company looking to automate its payroll.

6. Qandle: Modular and Highly Configurable HRMS

Qandle is an end to end HR solution known for its user friendly interface and modular setup. Businesses can pick the modules they need, such as payroll, and add others later. Qandle excels at flexibility, allowing for unique pay structures and custom rules. It handles all statutory compliance like PF, ESI, and TDS effortlessly and even offers payroll advisory for complex situations. It’s a great fit for mid sized businesses that need a customizable payroll system that can evolve with them.

7. Runtime HRMS: All in One Solution for Modern India

Runtime HRMS is a fully loaded HR and payroll solution trusted by over 20,000 users. Its cloud based payroll module automates the entire cycle, saving companies hundreds of hours each month. A key strength is its flexibility in setting up salary structures, allowing calculations based on days worked, hours, or even units produced. It handles all statutory and custom deductions, offers a 7 day free trial, and provides competitive pricing, making it a strong contender for small to mid size businesses.

8. HROne: Full Scale HRMS with a Highly Rated Payroll Module

HROne is a comprehensive HR software with a powerful and highly rated payroll system. One of its unique offerings is the option for managed payroll services, where HROne’s in house experts can run payroll for you on their platform. This is a huge benefit for companies without dedicated payroll expertise. The software is fully compliant, integrates with biometric devices, and features a modern UI with an AI chatbot for HR queries. Its robust feature set makes it another excellent choice when evaluating the top 10 payroll software in India.

9. Zimyo: Fast Growing with an Employee Experience Focus

Founded in 2018, Zimyo has quickly become a popular choice for startups and midsize companies. It offers over 50 modules, including a feature rich payroll system that automates salary calculations, compliance, and final settlements. Zimyo puts a strong emphasis on employee engagement with features like 360 degree feedback and recognition tools. With transparent and competitive pricing, a modern interface, and responsive support, Zimyo is a dynamic HRMS that meets the needs of India’s modern workplaces.

10. sumHR: Affordable Payroll with Startup Friendly Plans

sumHR is designed to simplify payroll for startups and SMEs. Its biggest draw is its flexible pricing, which includes a Startup Plan that is free forever for up to 10 employees. Despite its affordability, it’s packed with features like multi currency payroll, automated salary calculations, and a comprehensive employee self service portal. It also offers built in support for income tax (ITR) filing, making tax season easier for everyone. For small companies on a budget, sumHR is an excellent and cost effective choice.

Other Notable Payroll Solutions in India

While the list above covers our top picks, the Indian market is full of great options. Here are a few other strong contenders worth knowing. If you’re planning cross-border hiring, our complete guide to global payroll processing breaks down models, compliance, and tooling.

• For Enterprises: For large organizations needing immense scale and power, PeopleStrong and Darwinbox are leaders. PeopleStrong serves over 500 top enterprises with an AI powered, “zero touch” payroll experience. Darwinbox is a homegrown unicorn HR tech company whose platform is used by over 4 million employees across 130 countries.

• For Global Teams: BambooHR is a globally popular HR software with a user friendly interface. While its native payroll is not India specific, many companies use it for core HR and integrate it with a local payroll provider.

• Established and Reliable: Veterans like Spine Payroll, Paybooks, and Quickchex have been serving the Indian market for years. Spine Technologies has been trusted since 2001 for its rock solid compliance and reliability.

• Full Suite HRMS: Platforms like Pocket HRMS and factoHR offer comprehensive HR suites where payroll is a tightly integrated module. Pocket HRMS is trusted by well known brands and offers unique integrations with tools like WhatsApp and Zoom.

• Innovative Startups: A new wave of platforms like Asanify, Craze, and SuperWorks are building all in one systems that merge HR, payroll, and finance. Asanify uses AI and chatbots to simplify tasks, while Craze aims to be a single “People Operating System”.

For Growing Businesses: The Power of an Integrated Platform

As your business scales, especially if you plan to hire globally, juggling different systems for HR, payroll, and compliance becomes a major challenge. This is where an all in one platform like Bolto truly shines. Bolto combines core HR and payroll into a single, seamless workflow designed for speed and simplicity.

New hires can be added to payroll automatically without duplicate data entry, ensuring accuracy from day one. What sets it apart is its global reach; you can manage your domestic Indian payroll and later expand to hiring in over 150 countries through its Employer of Record (EOR) services. If you’re looking for a solution that simplifies today’s payroll and scales for tomorrow’s global growth, you can schedule a free demo with Bolto to see how it can streamline your entire people operations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the best payroll software for a small business in India?

For small businesses, Zoho Payroll and RazorpayX Payroll are excellent choices. Zoho offers great simplicity and integration with its business suite, while RazorpayX provides seamless banking and payout features ideal for startups. If you’re still comparing options, see our complete buyer’s guide to the best payroll software.

Is there any free payroll software in India?

Yes, Kredily offers a “free forever” plan with core HR and payroll features. Additionally, sumHR has a free plan for companies with up to 10 employees, making it a great starting point for very small teams.

What are the essential compliance features in Indian payroll software?

Essential compliance features include automatic calculation and reporting for PF, ESI, Professional Tax, and TDS. The software should also be able to generate statutory forms like Form 16 for employees and Form 24Q for TDS returns.

Why is integration with attendance systems important for payroll?

Integration with attendance and leave management systems is critical for accuracy. It ensures that data on work days, overtime, and unpaid leave is automatically synced to the payroll system, eliminating manual entry errors and saving a significant amount of time during the monthly payroll run.

Conclusion

Choosing the right platform from the many options for the top 10 payroll software in India comes down to your company’s unique size, complexity, and growth plans. By prioritizing statutory compliance, integration, scalability, and employee self service, you can find a solution that not only pays your employees accurately and on time but also frees up your team to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Take advantage of free trials and demos to see which software feels right for you. A great payroll system is an investment that pays for itself through time saved, errors avoided, and happier, more confident employees. For a truly unified experience that grows with you from local to global, consider an integrated platform like Bolto. Explore our customer stories to see how teams like yours use Bolto.