Honest comparison · Updated June 2026

Kredily vs Zoho Payroll: Free Plans, Pricing & Features — 2026

Zoho Payroll is free for up to 10 employees. Kredily is free for unlimited employees. Plus — payroll and HRMS are separate products in Zoho's world. Here's the full picture.

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TL;DR

Zoho Payroll is free for up to 10 employees; beyond that, you move to a paid plan — and HRMS (Zoho People) is a completely separate product with its own subscription. Kredily is free for unlimited employees with payroll and HRMS unified on one platform. Choose Kredily if you want a free, unified HR + payroll platform that scales beyond 10 people. Choose Zoho if you're already deep in the Zoho ecosystem (Books, CRM, People) and the integration value outweighs the cost of separate subscriptions.

At a glance

Kredily vs Zoho Payroll — side by side

	Kredily	Zoho Payroll
Free plan	✅ Free forever, unlimited employees	✅ Free — but capped at 10 employees
Payroll + HRMS together	✅ One unified platform	Zoho Payroll + Zoho People are separate products
Indian compliance (PF/ESI/PT/TDS)	✅ Built in	✅ Built in
AI co-pilot	✅ Payroll Agent, KredEYE, Magic Upload	Zia AI on Zoho suite (not payroll-specific)
Ecosystem play	Standalone — integrates via API	Zoho Books, CRM, People tight integration
Best free plan for teams >10	✅ Kredily — unlimited	✗ Requires paid plan above 10 employees
HRMS module cost	Included in Kredily free/paid	Zoho People = separate paid subscription
Best for	Any growing Indian team — free at any size	Zoho-stack businesses ≤10 or ecosystem-led buyers

Zoho pricing from 2026 third-party reports — verify at zoho.com/payroll/pricing before deciding.

Where Zoho is genuinely strong

The Zoho ecosystem is real

Fair section — why this page is trustworthy

If you're already in the Zoho stack, the integration matters

Zoho runs a tight ecosystem: Zoho Books (accounting), Zoho CRM, Zoho People (HRMS) and Zoho Payroll share data natively. If your business already uses several Zoho products — especially Zoho Books for accounting — the ledger-to-payroll sync is a real advantage. Zoho is also a well-established, trusted Indian software brand with a long track record. The honest caveat: you're paying for two products (Payroll + People) to get what Kredily bundles as one.

Where Kredily wins

One platform, unlimited employees, free

∞

Free for unlimited employees

Zoho Payroll's free plan caps at 10 employees. Kredily is free forever for any team size — 5, 50, or 500.

🔗

Payroll + HRMS in one

Zoho splits payroll and HRMS across two separate products (Payroll + People). Kredily is a unified platform — one subscription, one login, shared data.

⚡

Payroll-specific AI

Kredily's AI Payroll Agent and KredEYE face-recognition attendance are purpose-built for Indian payroll — not a general-purpose AI layer bolted onto a broad suite.

₹

Lower cost to cover both HR + payroll

One Kredily subscription covers everything. Getting payroll + HRMS from Zoho means paying for Zoho Payroll + Zoho People — two separate paid plans above 10 employees.

Which is right for you?

Choose based on your situation

Choose Kredily if…

You want one platform, free at any size

More than 10 employees (Zoho's free cap)
Want payroll + HRMS on a single platform
Cost-conscious: avoid two separate Zoho subscriptions
Built-in AI attendance and payroll automation

Choose Zoho if…

You're already in the Zoho ecosystem

Already using Zoho Books, CRM, or People
10 or fewer employees (Zoho Payroll is free)
Zoho Books ↔ Payroll ledger sync is critical
Comfortable managing two separate subscriptions

Switching from Zoho Payroll

Migration in 4 steps

Export from Zoho

Download employee records, salary structures and payroll history from Zoho Payroll and Zoho People.

Import with Magic Upload

Kredily's Magic Upload reads your spreadsheet export and auto-maps employees, salary heads and statutory settings.

Configure HR policies

Set up your leave types, attendance rules and org structure. The AI Setup Wizard guides you through each configuration.

Run parallel, then go live

One parallel payroll cycle for confidence before going fully live on Kredily.

Talk to us about switching

The AI stack

The AI stack you get with Kredily

Whichever way the feature tables lean, this layer comes standard with Kredily — not as a paid add-on.

Payroll Agent, auto-run

The AI Payroll Agent runs the monthly cycle on its own — salaries, LOP, arrears and statutory checks — and hands you a reviewed run to approve.

AI Copilot, 110+ skills

AI Copilot answers and acts across 110+ HR, payroll and leave skills in plain English — role-gated to each user’s permissions, with human approval on anything irreversible.

Workforce Intelligence

Workforce Intelligence turns your HR and payroll data into explainable, early-warning insights — headcount, cost, attrition and flight risk, with the drivers behind each.

FAQ

Kredily vs Zoho Payroll — questions answered

Is Zoho Payroll free?

Zoho Payroll has a free tier for up to 10 employees. Beyond 10 employees, it moves to a paid plan. Kredily is free for unlimited employees — no cap, no time limit.

Is Zoho Payroll the same as Zoho People (HRMS)?

No — Zoho Payroll and Zoho People are two separate products with separate pricing. Zoho Payroll handles payroll and compliance; Zoho People is the HRMS (leave, attendance, performance). You need both for complete HR + payroll. Kredily bundles everything on one platform.

Does Zoho Payroll handle PF, ESI and TDS?

Yes — Zoho Payroll handles Indian statutory compliance including PF, ESI, Professional Tax (state-wise) and TDS. Kredily covers the same statutory heads. Both are solid for Indian compliance.

What's the best Zoho Payroll alternative for a 50-person team?

Kredily is the strongest Zoho Payroll alternative for growing Indian teams. At 50 employees, Zoho's free plan ends (cap is 10), and you'd need both Zoho Payroll and Zoho People (two paid subscriptions). Kredily gives you payroll + full HRMS free for all 50 employees on a single platform.

Can I use Kredily if I use Zoho Books for accounting?

Yes — Kredily provides payroll journals and reports in standard formats that can be entered or imported into Zoho Books. If the tight native Zoho Books ↔ Payroll ledger sync is critical to your workflow, factor that in; if the accounting integration is a nice-to-have, Kredily's broader feature set and lower cost may be the better fit.

Explore Kredily

Payroll Software HRMS Pricing vs Keka vs GreytHR

One platform. Free for unlimited employees. No 10-person cap.

Payroll + full HRMS unified. PF, ESI & TDS handled. AI co-pilot included. Start free — no credit card.

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