Overview

Keka brings employee records, HR workflows, payroll, and project operations together in a cloud platform. It is best suited to organizations that want recruiting, attendance, performance, and employee self-service connected to HR data, especially those handling India payroll. Its breadth is useful, but custom pricing and distinct plan lines make it important to match the package to the work you actually need.

Key features

Employee records and organizational structures underpin workflows across the employee lifecycle. Hiring links job posting and candidate sourcing with interviews, offers, and preboarding, then ties that process to employee records. That continuity suits teams that want recruiting to hand off into HR operations; organizations seeking only a standalone applicant tracker may find the broader system unnecessary.

For India payroll, Keka brings attendance, leave, and salary inputs together to calculate TDS, PF, ESI, and PT. That is a concrete fit for employers managing those obligations, not a reason to assume the same payroll coverage in other countries. Attendance supports biometric, GPS, and mobile check-ins, with leave and overtime policies applied automatically—a useful combination for varied workforces, though organizations should choose capture methods that suit their own operations.

Performance management connects goals, reviews, continuous feedback, and one-on-ones, making it relevant to teams that want those processes alongside core HR. Project operations add planning, resource allocation, utilization, timesheets, and billing; this is valuable when workforce administration and project delivery need to intersect, but may be extra scope for an HR-only buyer.

Employees can use the mobile app for leave, clocking in and out, expenses, payslips, tax details, and helpdesk requests. Keka also says it integrates with more than 100 tools, including Salesforce, Jira, Xero, and Stripe. Its marketplace and developer portal provide integration options, while TLS for portal sessions, firewalls, DDoS defenses, and hosting providers certified for SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 support its security posture. Its privacy policy also cites ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and SOC 2 Type II or comparable attestations covering its services.

Pricing

Keka offers a free plan and free trials. The US plans are shown as free trials, with custom pricing rather than a public numeric price. No seat caps, trial duration, or renewal terms are stated.

Foundation (HRMS & Payroll): Core HR, time tracking, payroll and expenses, and employee self-service. This is the most focused fit for organizations prioritizing core workforce administration and payroll.
Strength (HRMS & Payroll): Adds advanced HR, asset tracking, custom reports, and Slack and MS Teams integration to Foundation. It suits teams that need those additional controls and reporting, but the added scope has no public price to compare.
Pro (Hiring): Recruitment, candidate management, interview scheduling, preboarding, and offers. Choose this for a hiring-led need; it is distinct from the HRMS & Payroll tiers.
Advanced (Projects & Timesheets): Includes Pro features, project health, surveys, and advanced approval flows. It fits organizations needing broader project oversight and approvals.
Pro (Projects & Timesheets): Adds resource planning, utilization tracking, revenue reporting, and opportunities to basic features. It is aimed at project operations rather than the separately named hiring Pro plan.

Because each tier is custom pricing, buyers should confirm the exact package, seat terms, and trial conditions before committing.

Platforms

Keka supports web, Android, iOS, macOS, API, and extension access. The employee mobile app adds self-service for common tasks, while API documentation and marketplace integrations give teams routes to connect other tools.

Who it's for

Keka is a strong candidate for organizations that want HR, hiring, attendance, performance, and project operations tied together, and particularly for employers with India payroll requirements. It is less compelling for teams needing only one narrow HR function or those that require transparent per-seat pricing before evaluating a product.

Pros and cons

Pro: Hiring flows into employee records and preboarding, reducing the separation between recruiting and HR administration.
Pro: India payroll calculations cover TDS, PF, ESI, and PT using attendance, leave, and salary inputs.
Pro: Mobile self-service covers leave, time clocking, expenses, payslips, tax details, and helpdesk requests.
Pro: Project planning, utilization, timesheets, and billing extend the platform beyond standard HR workflows.
Con: Public numeric prices, trial length, and seat limits are absent, making budget and eligibility difficult to assess upfront.
Con: Its broad mix of HR, payroll, and project tools may be more than a single-purpose buyer needs.

Alternatives

Zoho People is worth considering for teams seeking a freemium HR platform with a free tier for up to five users; its paid tiers require a minimum of five users. Teammeter is another freemium option, with a free core version and web, API, and self-hosted platforms. Cornerstone Learning is a paid, quote-based option for organizations choosing a learning-focused product. PeopleFluent Recruiting is an enterprise recruiting ATS with pricing on request, making it a narrower alternative when recruiting is the priority.

Korn Ferry Assess, Ramco HCM, and CatalystOne are also alternatives; their pricing is on request or unstated. StaffCircle offers a core module with optional add-ons and volume discounts as headcount grows, with a stated annual plan at 3.85 GBP per year.

For broader category browsing, see HR Software, Talent Management Software, and Leave Management Software.

Verdict

Choose Keka if you want one platform connecting HR records to hiring, India payroll, attendance, performance, and project operations. Its strongest case is the breadth of linked workflows, particularly for employers with India payroll needs. Look elsewhere if you need a focused single-purpose tool or cannot evaluate a product without public pricing and clear seat and trial terms.

	AnnualLeave.com	Keka
Free plan	No	No
Free trial	No	Yes
Paid from	—	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Web	Android, api, extension, iOS, macOS, Web
Free plan	No	No
Approval workflows	Yes	—
Accrual rules	custom	—
Employee self-service	Yes	—
Mobile apps	—	Yes

AnnualLeave.com vs Keka

AnnualLeave.com

Keka