Comparison · checked 8 November 2026
Free attendance apps in India: what you actually get
"Free" means different things. Staff Khata is free forever for up to 50 staff with attendance from a Realtime biometric machine and daily reports. Kredily is free for unlimited staff with payroll, but attendance is web clock-in only. Zoho Payroll is free for up to 10 employees with payroll but no attendance. PagarBook says "free to start" without publishing the limits. If staff punch on phones and you need payroll, budget for a paid plan: Staff Khata Growth is ₹0.50 per employee per day.
| Feature | Staff Khata | Kredily | Zoho Payroll | PagarBook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free forever up to 50 staff: attendance from 1 Realtime biometric machine and daily reports (no payroll or mobile app) | Free forever, unlimited employees (web clock-in only) | Free up to 10 employees | Free to start |
| 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 | 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 | [3P] ₹499/staff/year (app) or ₹699 (app + web); own iD device ₹18,000 + GST |
| Attendance methods | Selfie + GPS radius punch, QR code that rotates every 40 seconds, Realtime biometric machines | 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 | Face recognition (Lens), selfie + GPS, geofence, own face + fingerprint device |
| Biometric hardware | Works with Realtime biometric machines you buy from any Realtime dealer | Biometric integration mentioned, brands not named | Through Zoho People integrations | Own PagarBook iD device |
| Payroll and compliance | Growth plan and above: monthly and weekly payroll, PF, ESI, professional tax, advances, payslip PDFs | 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 | PF, ESI, PT, LWF, TDS / Form 16, gratuity, statutory registers, payslips |
| Field staff tracking | Pro HRMS plan (₹1 per employee per day): live map, customer stops with notes and bills, trip replay, fake-GPS detection | Paid add-on (Android only) | Not verified | PagarBook Geo: live location, routes, tasks |
| Owner alerts | Punch alerts and daily summaries on WhatsApp or SMS | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Languages | 55 languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali | Not verified | Not verified | 10+ languages |
| Platforms | Web, Android, iOS | Android, iOS, web | Web, Android, iOS | Android, iOS, web, desktop |
| 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 | Office teams that clock in from a computer and want free payroll | Businesses already on Zoho Books that mainly need compliant payroll | Very small teams that want face recognition on a phone and are happy with PagarBook hardware |
Prices exclude GST and come from each vendor's pricing page on 8 November 2026; [3P] marks figures from a third-party listing. "Not listed" or "Not verified" means we could not find it on the vendor's site, not that the feature is missing. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Frequently asked questions
Which attendance app is free for 50 employees?
Staff Khata's Starter plan is free forever for up to 50 staff with one Realtime biometric machine. Kredily's free plan has no staff limit but only web clock-in.
Is there a free attendance app with payroll?
Kredily (unlimited staff, web clock-in) and Zoho Payroll (up to 10 employees, no attendance) include payroll on their free plans. Staff Khata's free plan is attendance only; payroll is on Growth.
Is a free attendance app safe for staff data?
Check where the data is stored, whether you can export it to Excel at any time, and whether the app sells or shares data. You should always be able to take your attendance and salary records with you.
Sources
- Kredily: https://kredily.com/pricing/ (opens in a new tab)
- Zoho Payroll: https://www.zoho.com/in/payroll/pricing/ (opens in a new tab)
- PagarBook: https://pagarbook.com (opens in a new tab)
- Staff Khata: staffkhata.com/pricing