Compare › AiroHR vs Zoho Payroll
AiroHR vs Zoho Payroll
Zoho Payroll is a strong choice if you already use Zoho, and it is free for very small teams. AiroHR puts payroll, attendance and HR in one product for shift and contract workforces. Here is how they compare.
Checked on 30 October 2026, from public pages. Prices and features change.
Which one suits you?
Choose AiroHR if
- You want attendance, payroll and HR in one product. Zoho lists attendance only in its Premium plan, or through Zoho People.
- You want recruitment and performance in the same product. They are not on the Zoho Payroll pages we read.
- You want face attendance on an Android tablet, included in every plan.
- Your staff are on contract or at client sites, and you need contract staff by firm, duty-based pay and read-only logins for principal employers.
- You use Tally rather than Zoho Books.
Choose Zoho Payroll if
- You have 10 employees or fewer. Zoho Payroll has a free plan with EPF, ESI, PT and LWF. AiroHR has no free plan.
- You already use Zoho Books, Zoho People or Zoho One, and want everything linked.
- You need payroll only, for around 25 people. Zoho Standard is ₹1,250 a month for 25 employees.
- You need Form 130 and Form 138 now. Zoho lists Form 130 with digital signature from Standard. AiroHR's annexure is still in the Form 16 layout.
- You want tax worked out for you. Zoho lists an automatic TDS worksheet, while in AiroHR HR enters monthly TDS.
- You want salaries paid from inside the software. Zoho lists online salary payments through HSBC and ICICI Bank.
What it costs at list price
Worked out from each company's own pricing page. Plans do not cover the same things, so read the note under each name.
| Plan | 20 employees | 50 employees | 100 employees | 200 employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AiroHR StarterUp to 25 employees. No employee app or portal. | ₹980 | — | — | — |
| AiroHR ProfessionalUp to 500 employees. Adds the employee app and portal. | ₹1,800 | ₹4,500 | ₹9,000 | ₹18,000 |
| Zoho Payroll StandardBilled monthly. 25 employees included. | ₹1,250 | ₹2,500 | ₹5,000 | ₹10,000 |
| Zoho Payroll ProfessionalBilled monthly. 50 employees included. | ₹3,750 | ₹3,750 | ₹7,500 | ₹15,000 |
| Zoho Payroll PremiumBilled monthly. Lists leave and attendance. | ₹5,000 | ₹5,000 | ₹10,000 | ₹20,000 |
Monthly billing. AiroHR and Razorpay Payroll add 18% GST, and Zoho prices exclude GST. greytHR's page does not state GST. — means the plan does not go that far. Zoho's annual billing is lower: Standard ₹1,000, Professional ₹3,000 and Premium ₹4,000 a month. Its free plan covers up to 10 employees. Zoho People is a separate product, so ask Zoho for its price.
AiroHR and Zoho Payroll compared
"Not on the pages we read" does not mean they lack it. Ask them if it matters to you.
| Feature | AiroHR | Zoho Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ₹90 per employee a month on Professional, with no base fee. Starter is ₹49, for up to 25 employees, with no employee app or portal. 18% GST extra. | Free up to 10 employees. Paid plans have a flat fee with 25 or 50 employees included, then ₹50 to ₹100 each. Prices exclude GST. |
| PF, ESI, PT and LWF | Calculated from your statutory settings. | EPF, ESI, state PT and LWF, even on the free plan. |
| Statutory filing | Prepares the EPFO ECR file, ESIC data and bank files. You upload and file them on the portals yourself. | Form 138 and TDS challan recording from Standard. PF and ESI files are not on the pages we read. |
| TDS | HR enters each employee's monthly TDS and payroll deducts it. Employees can compare the two tax regimes. | Automatic TDS worksheet on every plan. |
| Year-end tax certificate | Form 16 Part B as a PDF. The new Form 130 layout is not built yet. | Form 130 with digital signature, from Standard. |
| Labour Codes | 50% wage check and an LWF return from locked payroll. | Not on the pages we read, beyond keeping up with labour laws in general. |
| Statutory bonus | Register under the Code on Wages, with the ₹21,000 test, your minimum wage and rate, in Form C and Form D layouts. | Statutory bonus, from Standard. |
| Gratuity | Register and exit calculation, including one-year gratuity for fixed-term staff. | Not on the pages we read |
| Attendance | Geo-fenced selfie punch, shifts, rosters and biometric log import. | Leave and attendance are listed in Premium, or through Zoho People. Check-ins through the employee portal. |
| Face attendance kiosk | Airo Lens turns an Android tablet into a kiosk. Included in every plan. | Not on the pages we read |
| Contract labour | Contract staff by firm, client sites, and read-only logins for principal employers. | Contractor Payroll from Standard, for paying contractors. Contract labour registers are not on the pages we read. |
| Factory registers | Muster roll and overtime reports, and Form 22 for Karnataka. | Not on the pages we read |
| Recruitment | Careers page, résumé reading, hiring pipeline and offer letters. | Not on the pages we read |
| Performance | Goals, appraisal cycles and 360 feedback. | Not on the pages we read |
| Expenses | Claims with bills, monthly caps and approvals, paid with salary. | Reimbursement approvals in Payroll, and a link to Zoho Expense. |
| WhatsApp alerts, along with SMS, push and email. | Payslips and payroll alerts on WhatsApp, from Standard. | |
| Accounting | Payroll journal for Tally, or as CSV for other software. | Links with Zoho Books. |
| Mobile apps | Employee and HR apps for Android and iPhone. The employee app and portal start at Professional. | Apps on Google Play and the App Store. |
Common questions
Is AiroHR cheaper than Zoho Payroll?
It depends on what you compare. For payroll alone, Zoho Standard costs less than AiroHR Professional at every size in our table, and Zoho is free up to 10 employees. Zoho lists attendance in Premium, which costs more than AiroHR Professional at every size in our table.
Does Zoho Payroll include attendance?
Its pricing page lists leave and attendance management in the Premium plan. Zoho also connects Payroll with Zoho People for attendance and loss-of-pay data.
Does Zoho Payroll cover several companies on one licence?
Zoho's pricing page says each legal entity needs a separate payroll licence, while branches of one entity can share one.
Does AiroHR have a free plan?
No. Zoho Payroll is free for up to 10 employees. AiroHR Starter is ₹49 per employee a month, for up to 25 employees.
How was this comparison made?
We read Zoho Payroll's India pricing and features pages on 30 October 2026. We could not open the Zoho People pricing page, so we quote no prices for it. Anything the pages do not mention is marked as not on the pages we read.
Where this comes from
We read these pages on 30 October 2026. Check each company's own site before you decide. Found a mistake or something out of date? Write to admin@airohr.com and we will fix it. Keka, greytHR, Zoho and Razorpay are trademarks of their owners, and AiroHR is not connected with them.
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