GreytHR is the stronger choice for companies where payroll and compliance are the primary requirement. It has been handling Indian statutory payroll for over 20 years, now processes payroll for 30,000+ companies worth $23 billion annually, and costs approximately 25–35% less than Keka for the same headcount. There is no cancellation penalty, and you can start free for up to 25 employees.
Keka wins when payroll is not the only requirement. If you need modern performance management, OKR tracking, a UI that employees actually open on their phones, and strong attendance workflows alongside payroll, Keka is the more complete platform. The pricing premium is real. So is the feature gap above 100 employees.
The deciding question: Is this purchase primarily about getting payroll right, or about transforming your HR operations end to end?
This is the most consequential difference between these two platforms. GreytHR offers a genuinely useful free tier and costs significantly less at every headcount level. Here is what the numbers actually look like.
Keka: Keka requires a 12-month minimum contract with no publicly stated exit clause for the base tier. Custom pay components, such as LTA, food allowance, or variable pay structures, cannot be configured through the platform interface. They must be added via a support ticket. This creates a dependency on Keka’s support team every time your pay structure changes — a friction point that is nowhere disclosed in the sales process. Additionally, shift management and API access are paid add-ons on all base plans.
GreytHR: GreytHR advertises no cancellation fee, which is accurate and a genuine differentiator. What is less visible is the performance management module. It exists on the platform but is basic enough that it should not factor into your buying decision if HR workflows beyond payroll matter to you. GreytHR’s HR modules were added to a payroll product. They work but they are not the reason to choose it.
| Feature | GreytHR | Keka |
|---|---|---|
| Core HR | ||
| Employee profiles & org chart | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Document management | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Employee self-service portal | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Multi-entity / multi-company | ✓ Included | △ Add-on |
| Onboarding workflow | △ Basic | ✓ Strength plan+ |
| Exit / offboarding workflow | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
|
Category winner: Keka — stronger onboarding and multi-entity handling on higher plans
|
||
| Feature | GreytHR | Keka |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll & Compliance | ||
| Indian payroll automation | ✓ Yes (20+ years) | ✓ Yes (6-step wizard) |
| PF & ESIC automation | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Multi-state PT (Professional Tax) | ✓ Native, auto | △ Manual setup needed |
| ECR (Electronic Challan) filing | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Form 24Q generation | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Full & Final settlement workflow | ✓ Dedicated module | △ Via payroll module |
| Custom pay components (self-serve) | ✓ Self-serve | ✗ Via support ticket |
| Arrears calculation | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Salary revision workflow | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Payslip generation & distribution | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Labour Welfare Fund (LWF) | ✓ Yes | △ Limited states |
|
Category winner: GreytHR — deeper compliance coverage, self-serve pay components, dedicated FnF module
|
||
| Feature | GreytHR | Keka |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance & Leave | ||
| Biometric device integration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Geo-fencing / GPS clock-in | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Selfie attendance | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Shift management | ✓ Basic included | △ Add-on required |
| Custom leave policies | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Comp off tracking | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Holiday calendar management | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Overtime calculation | ✓ Yes | ✓ Growth plan+ |
|
Category winner: Keka — stronger overall attendance management, particularly for complex shift-based setups
|
||
| Feature | GreytHR | Keka |
|---|---|---|
| Performance & Engagement | ||
| Goal / OKR management | △ Basic | ✓ Growth plan+ |
| 360-degree reviews | ✗ Not available | ✓ Growth plan+ |
| Appraisal / review cycle | △ Basic workflow | ✓ Configurable |
| Bell curve management | ✗ Not available | ✓ Yes |
| Employee engagement surveys | ✗ Not available | △ Basic |
| Succession planning | ✗ Not available | ✗ Not available |
|
Category winner: Keka — significant gap; GreytHR is not a performance management platform
|
||
| Feature | GreytHR | Keka |
|---|---|---|
| Technology & Integrations | ||
| Mobile app (iOS + Android) | △ Limited vs desktop | ✓ More complete |
| API access | ✓ Included | △ Paid add-on |
| Native integrations | Multiple | 34+ |
| SSO support | ✓ Yes | ✓ Strength plan+ |
| Free plan availability | ✓ Up to 25 employees | ✗ Trial only |
| Contract lock-in | ✓ No cancellation fee | △ 12-month minimum |
| Data export | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
|
Category winner: GreytHR — API included, free plan, no lock-in. Keka wins on mobile app completeness.
|
||
Payroll is the most consequential function in any HRMS. A calculation error means wrong salary credits. A compliance gap means EPFO penalties. Both platforms are used by thousands of Indian companies for payroll. But they handle it differently, and the differences matter depending on your situation.
GreytHR was purpose-built for Indian payroll and has been doing this since 2003. The platform currently processes payroll for 30,000+ companies, with annual throughput of approximately $23 billion. Multi-state Professional Tax (PT) is handled natively — Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal all have different slabs, and GreytHR calculates each automatically based on employee work location. The Full & Final settlement module is a dedicated workflow, not bolted onto the payroll module. ECR (Electronic Challan cum Return) generation is a one-click process once the data is prepared.
Keka’s payroll engine is genuinely strong, particularly for companies with clean, standard pay structures. The 6-step payroll wizard is beginner-friendly and handles mid-month joiners through automatic proration. PF and ESIC filings are automated. Where Keka requires more work: multi-state PT setup requires manual configuration per state, custom pay components cannot be added through the UI and require a support ticket to the Keka team, and the Full & Final settlement process runs through the payroll module rather than a dedicated workflow.
GreytHR: Multiple Capterra reviewers (2024–2025) note that when payroll-specific queries arise, support agents often cannot explain formula logic behind calculations. For complex edge cases — multi-state arrears, FnF disputes, retroactive PF adjustments — you may need to resolve issues independently or engage a CA alongside the software. This does not affect the platform’s compliance accuracy, but it affects your ability to get help when something goes wrong.
Keka: If your company processes payroll across multiple Indian states with different PT slabs, verify the multi-state configuration process before signing. This is not self-serve. It requires implementation support from the Keka team, and response times on custom configuration requests vary significantly based on your plan tier and account manager assignment.
Both vendors quote 2–4 weeks implementation. The actual experience, based on G2 and Capterra review patterns from 2024–2026, varies significantly — particularly for Keka.
Keka’s implementation timeline shows a bimodal distribution in user reviews. Companies with simple, standard pay structures and responsive account managers go live in 6–8 weeks. Companies with custom pay components or complex attendance rules, where support responsiveness becomes a bottleneck, report 3–6 month timelines. One verified G2 reviewer (2025): “We started working with Keka HRMS in August, and to this day, we have been unable to implement the tool in our company due to their consistently delayed responses and poor coordination between their internal teams.” This is not the median experience, but it is documented and not rare.
For companies with employees across multiple states requiring different PT slabs, add 1–2 weeks to the GreytHR timeline for configuration and testing. The platform handles this natively, but setting up each state correctly and validating the output requires dedicated testing time before going live.
Both platforms have documented support gaps. They just have different ones. Knowing which gap matters more for your situation is part of choosing correctly.
Keka provides no phone or chat support from Friday 6 PM to Monday 10 AM. This is not disclosed in any marketing or sales material. It is documented in multiple G2 reviews. One verified 2025 review states: “From Friday evening 6PM to Monday morning 10AM there is no source of support from KEKA, Telephonic communication to a POC during emergency is not possible.” If your team finalises payroll on Saturday, or if a salary credit error surfaces over the weekend, your only option is to wait until Monday morning. For companies with Monday payroll run dates, this is an operational risk that should be explicitly clarified with Keka before signing.
GreytHR’s general support (leave, attendance, ESS, employee data) is fast and competent per multiple reviewers. The documented gap is specifically with payroll query depth. Veena N., HR Manager at a 51–200 employee IT services company (Capterra, August 2025): “For employee information and leave modules the support is quick and correct, but when it’s payroll module, many of the support agents not trying to understand.” This is not a universal experience, but the pattern appears in enough reviews to flag as a known issue.
The reviews below are sourced from Capterra and G2 (2024–2026). They are reproduced verbatim where quoted, with source and reviewer metadata included.
“Key software limitations were not clearly communicated, creating mismatch between expectations and functionality.”
“From Friday evening 6PM to Monday morning 10AM there is no source of support from KEKA, Telephonic communication to a POC during emergency is not possible.”
“For employee information and leave modules the support is quick and correct, but when it’s payroll module, many of the support agents not trying to understand.”
“When issues arise related to calculations or formula errors during salary processing, getting a timely response is difficult.”
Across 40+ reviews of both platforms (G2, Capterra, Techjockey, 2023–2026), a consistent pattern emerges. Keka gets strong ratings from IT, product, and services companies where performance management and employee experience matter and payroll is relatively straightforward. Complaints cluster around support availability gaps and implementation delays on complex setups. GreytHR gets strong ratings from manufacturing, construction, and compliance-heavy organisations where statutory accuracy is the primary requirement. Complaints cluster around payroll support depth and limited HR module functionality. The platforms have genuinely different strengths, and most dissatisfied users on either platform are companies that chose the wrong tool for their primary requirement.
You are buying a payroll and compliance tool, not an HR transformation platform. You want to stop worrying about PF/ESIC filings, multi-state PT, and payroll accuracy. You want the most cost-effective option with no lock-in. GreytHR has 20 years of Indian payroll experience and 30,000+ companies using it. That track record is hard to match.
You want one platform for payroll and everything above it: OKRs, performance reviews, attendance, employee self-service, and a modern UI. You have a growing HR team and a stable headcount. You can absorb the higher cost. Keka’s strengths in performance management and employee experience are real and not available in GreytHR.
The most common mistake in this comparison is choosing Keka for its completeness but primarily needing payroll, or choosing GreytHR for its price but needing performance management. Before your final decision: identify the three HR functions your team uses daily and check which platform handles each better. If two of those three are payroll-related, GreytHR likely wins. If they span payroll, performance, and attendance, Keka is worth the premium.
Book a free 30-minute consultation. No vendor referral fees. No sales pitch. Just an independent call to help you make the right decision for your team’s specific requirements.
Free 20-min call. No sales pitch.