Attendance is free forever for up to 50 staff. View plans

StaffKhata

Comparison · checked 8 November 2026

Staff Khata vs Zoho Payroll

Zoho Payroll is excellent compliant payroll and is free for up to 10 employees, but leave and attendance are only on its Premium plan (₹4,000 a month for 50 staff); phone and field attendance need Zoho People. Staff Khata is built around attendance first: selfie + GPS, a rotating QR and Realtime biometric machines feed payroll directly, at ₹0.50 per employee per day (about ₹750 a month for 50 staff). Choose Zoho if you already use Zoho Books and mainly need payroll filing.

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Staff Khata vs Zoho Payroll: Free plan, Paid pricing, Attendance methods, Biometric hardware, Payroll and compliance, Field staff tracking, Owner alerts, Languages, Platforms, Best for
FeatureStaff KhataZoho Payroll
Free planFree forever up to 50 staff: attendance from 1 Realtime biometric machine and daily reports (no payroll or mobile app)Free up to 10 employees
Paid pricingGrowth ₹0.50 per employee per day (about ₹15/month): payroll, mobile app, selfie + GPS, leave, shifts. Pro HRMS ₹1/day adds live field trackingStandard ₹1,000/month for 25 staff (annual); Premium ₹4,000/month for 50
Attendance methodsSelfie + GPS radius punch, QR code that rotates every 40 seconds, Realtime biometric machinesLeave and attendance only on Premium; field attendance through Zoho People
Biometric hardwareWorks with Realtime biometric machines you buy from any Realtime dealerThrough Zoho People integrations
Payroll and complianceGrowth plan and above: monthly and weekly payroll, PF, ESI, professional tax, advances, payslip PDFsEPF, ESI, state PT, LWF, TDS worksheet and payslips, even on the free plan
Field staff trackingPro HRMS plan (₹1 per employee per day): live map, customer stops with notes and bills, trip replay, fake-GPS detectionNot verified
Owner alertsPunch alerts and daily summaries on WhatsApp or SMSNot listed
Languages55 languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, BengaliNot verified
PlatformsWeb, Android, iOSWeb, Android, iOS
Best forShops, factories and field teams of 10–500 staff who want attendance and payroll in their own language at a low per-employee priceBusinesses already on Zoho Books that mainly need compliant payroll

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

Does Zoho Payroll include attendance?

Only on the Premium plan, which is ₹4,000 a month for 50 employees on annual billing. Mobile and geofenced attendance are part of Zoho People, a separate product (vendor pricing page, checked 8 November 2026).

Is Zoho Payroll free?

Yes, for up to 10 employees, including EPF, ESI, professional tax, LWF, a TDS worksheet and payslips.

Which is better for a factory with a biometric machine?

Staff Khata, if the machine is a Realtime device: punches sync over the cloud in real time and flow into shifts, overtime and payroll. With Zoho you need Zoho People and a supported device integration.

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