# Best staff attendance apps for Indian small businesses (2026)

> Staff Khata, PagarBook, SalaryBox, Kredily, Zoho Payroll, greytHR and Attendo compared on free plans, pricing, attendance methods, payroll and languages.

Checked 8 November 2026. Prices exclude GST.

For a shop, factory or field team that wants attendance and payroll in Hindi or another Indian language at a low price, Staff Khata is the cheapest paid option here at ₹0.50 per employee per day (about ₹15 a month) and the only one in 55 languages; its free plan covers biometric attendance for up to 50 staff. Kredily has the most generous free payroll but only web clock-in. PagarBook suits very small teams that want face recognition on a phone. Zoho Payroll and greytHR go deeper on compliance for office teams with an HR person.

## Comparison

| | Staff Khata | PagarBook | SalaryBox | Kredily | Zoho Payroll | greytHR | Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free forever up to 50 staff: attendance from 1 Realtime biometric machine and daily reports (no payroll or mobile app) | Free to start | No free plan (7-day trial) | Free forever, unlimited employees (web clock-in only) | Free up to 10 employees | No free plan (7-day trial) | No free plan |
| Paid pricing | Growth ₹0.50 per employee per day (about ₹15/month): payroll, mobile app, selfie + GPS, leave, shifts. Pro HRMS ₹1/day adds live field tracking | [3P] ₹499/staff/year (app) or ₹699 (app + web); own iD device ₹18,000 + GST | Starter ₹1,500/month + ₹30/user (no payroll); Business ₹3,000/month + ₹75/user | Payroll OS ₹1,249/month for 25 staff; Professional ₹1,749/month for 25 | Standard ₹1,000/month for 25 staff (annual); Premium ₹4,000/month for 50 | Growth ₹4,495/month for 50 staff, then ₹85 each; GPS tracking add-on ₹140/user/month | Flat yearly fee, no per-employee charge (Petpooja blog: ₹9,000 + GST first year) |
| Attendance methods | Selfie + GPS radius punch, QR code that rotates every 40 seconds, Realtime biometric machines | Face recognition (Lens), selfie + GPS, geofence, own face + fingerprint device | Selfie, GPS, QR, geofence; face recognition and kiosk on Business plan | Web clock-in on free plan; selfie + GPS on Professional; face recognition add-on | Leave and attendance only on Premium; field attendance through Zoho People | Biometric devices, web, geofence, selfie, face recognition on mobile or kiosk | Fingerprint, NFC card, face, passcode, mobile punch with photo and geofence |
| Biometric hardware | Works with Realtime biometric machines you buy from any Realtime dealer | Own PagarBook iD device | Own biometric device add-on | Biometric integration mentioned, brands not named | Through Zoho People integrations | Third-party devices | Own devices only |
| Payroll and compliance | Growth plan and above: monthly and weekly payroll, PF, ESI, professional tax, advances, payslip PDFs | PF, ESI, PT, LWF, TDS / Form 16, gratuity, statutory registers, payslips | Business plan and above: EPF, ESI, PT, LWF, challans, payslips | PF, ESI, PT, TDS and payslips on the free plan; challans and Form 16 on paid plans | EPF, ESI, state PT, LWF, TDS worksheet and payslips, even on the free plan | Full payroll processing | PF, ESIC, PT, TDS, LWF; monthly, weekly, daily and hourly pay cycles |
| Field staff tracking | Pro HRMS plan (₹1 per employee per day): live map, customer stops with notes and bills, trip replay, fake-GPS detection | PagarBook Geo: live location, routes, tasks | Paid add-on: live location ₹100/user/month | Paid add-on (Android only) | Not verified | Paid add-on | Geo Track field attendance |
| Owner alerts | Punch alerts and daily summaries on WhatsApp or SMS | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Languages | 55 languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali | 10+ languages | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Employee app in 11 Indian languages |
| Platforms | Web, Android, iOS | Android, iOS, web, desktop | Android, iOS, web | Android, iOS, web | Web, Android, iOS | Web, Android, iOS | Web, Android, iOS |
| Best for | Shops, factories and field teams of 10–500 staff who want attendance and payroll in their own language at a low per-employee price | Very small teams that want face recognition on a phone and are happy with PagarBook hardware | Teams of 20–200 that want face recognition and kiosk attendance and will pay for payroll | Office teams that clock in from a computer and want free payroll | Businesses already on Zoho Books that mainly need compliant payroll | Mid-size companies with an HR team that need a full HRMS | Restaurants and outlets that want hardware included in one flat fee |

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is the best free attendance app for small business in India?

Staff Khata is free forever for up to 50 staff for attendance from a Realtime biometric machine with daily reports. Kredily is free for unlimited staff with payroll, but the free plan only has web clock-in. Zoho Payroll is free for up to 10 employees. For phone attendance plus payroll, Staff Khata Growth costs ₹0.50 per employee per day.

### Which attendance app works in Hindi?

Staff Khata works in 55 languages including Hindi and Marathi. PagarBook supports 10+ languages and Attendo's employee app supports 11 Indian languages.

### Do I need a biometric machine for staff attendance?

No. Biometric attendance is not legally required for most private businesses. Selfie + GPS punches on staff phones stop proxy attendance without hardware. A biometric machine helps at factory gates with many workers.

### Which attendance app is best for field staff?

Look for route replay and fake-GPS detection, not just a GPS punch. Staff Khata's Pro HRMS plan (₹1 per employee per day, about ₹30 a month) includes a live map, customer stops with notes and bills, and trip replay. In SalaryBox (₹100/user/month), greytHR (₹140/user/month) and Kredily, live location is a paid add-on.

## Sources

- PagarBook: https://pagarbook.com
- SalaryBox: https://salarybox.in/pricing
- Kredily: https://kredily.com/pricing/
- Zoho Payroll: https://www.zoho.com/in/payroll/pricing/
- greytHR: https://www.greythr.com/pricing/
- Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll): https://attendohr.com
- Staff Khata: https://staffkhata.com/pricing

Page: https://staffkhata.com/compare/best-attendance-apps-india