Overview

Keka is a cloud HR and payroll platform that brings employee records, workforce workflows, and project operations into one product. It suits teams looking to connect HR processes with payroll and project work, particularly those that need India payroll calculations or mobile employee self-service. Its breadth is a strength, though teams should confirm which named plan covers their needs and budget for custom pricing.

Key features

Keka links employee records and organizational structures to lifecycle workflows, so HR changes can connect to onboarding and related processes instead of remaining isolated records. Its hiring flow spans job posting, candidate sourcing, interviews, offers, and preboarding, making it a closer fit for teams that want recruiting connected to employee data than for those seeking a standalone applicant tracker.

For India payroll, Keka syncs attendance, leave, and salary inputs and calculates TDS, PF, ESI, and PT. This is a specific advantage for teams handling those payroll obligations; it should not be mistaken for a claim about payroll coverage in other countries. Attendance capture supports biometric, GPS, and mobile check-ins, with leave and overtime policies applied automatically. That can reduce manual policy handling, while the available capture methods make the product relevant to distributed or mobile workforces.

Performance management connects goals, reviews, continuous feedback, and one-on-ones. Project operations extend the product beyond HR with planning, resource allocation, utilization, timesheets, and billing. These joined-up workflows may suit organizations managing both people operations and project delivery in Keka, but the range also makes plan fit an important purchasing question.

Keka says it integrates with more than 100 tools, including Salesforce, Jira, Xero, and Stripe. Its marketplace exposes app integrations, while its developer portal provides API documentation for custom integrations. That combination gives teams both packaged connections and a documented route for building their own, though the fit of any particular integration depends on the tools involved.

Security measures Keka describes include TLS encryption for portal sessions, web and network firewalls, DDoS defenses, and hosting with providers certified for SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. Its privacy policy also states that it maintains ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and SOC 2 Type II or comparable attestations covering its services. Those controls give security-conscious buyers concrete points for review, but do not replace their own compliance assessment.

Pricing

Keka uses a freemium model, offers a free plan, and labels its named US plans “Free Trial.” The plans below have custom pricing, so teams should confirm the price, trial terms, and any seat or usage limits before committing.

Foundation (HRMS & Payroll): Core HR, time tracking, payroll and expenses, and employee self-service. It is the entry point for teams prioritizing core workforce administration and payroll; it gives up the advanced HR, asset tracking, custom reports, and collaboration integrations in Strength.
Strength (HRMS & Payroll): Includes Foundation features, plus advanced HR, asset tracking, custom reports, and Slack and MS Teams integration. It better suits teams needing broader HR administration and reporting without moving to a separate hiring or project tier.
Pro (Hiring): Recruitment, candidate management, interview scheduling, preboarding, and offers. It fits teams seeking a defined hiring workflow; it does not promise the project capabilities described in the Projects & Timesheets plans.
Advanced (Projects & Timesheets): Includes Pro features, project health, surveys, and advanced approval flows. It is aimed at teams that need more oversight and workflow controls around project operations.
Pro (Projects & Timesheets): Basic features, resource planning, utilization tracking, revenue reporting, and opportunities. It fits teams focused on capacity and project revenue, with no stated project-health, survey, or advanced approval additions.

The free plan and free trials create a lower-commitment path to evaluate Keka, but no numeric prices, trial lengths, renewal terms, seat counts, or free-plan caps are stated. Buyers should establish those terms directly, especially when comparing plans across HR, hiring, and project work.

Platforms

Keka supports web, Android, iOS, macOS, an API, and an extension. Its mobile app lets employees request leave, clock in and out, submit expenses, view payslips and tax details, and send helpdesk requests. That makes it more practical for teams whose employees need routine HR access away from a desktop, while the API and extension broaden options for fitting it into an existing stack.

Who it's for

Keka is best suited to organizations that want HR, payroll, hiring, attendance, and project workflows under one roof, particularly teams with India payroll needs and employees who rely on mobile self-service. Its API documentation and integrations make it worth considering for teams that need connections to existing tools. It is less compelling for buyers who need only a narrow HR utility or who cannot proceed without transparent numeric pricing and clearly stated plan limits.

Pros and cons

Pro: Connected employee records, recruiting, and lifecycle workflows can reduce separation between HR data and related processes.
Pro: India payroll calculations cover TDS, PF, ESI, and PT and draw on attendance, leave, and salary inputs.
Pro: More than 100 integrations, a marketplace, and API documentation offer multiple ways to connect Keka to a team's stack.
Con: The named plans have custom pricing, with no numeric prices, seat limits, or trial terms stated, making budget and plan comparison harder.
Con: Keka's broad scope spans HR, hiring, and project operations; teams buying for one narrow use case may not need that range and should verify the relevant plan carefully.

Alternatives

If your need is a focused HR category rather than a broader platform, compare HR Software, Talent Management Software, or Leave Management Software. These category lists are useful starting points when selecting for a narrower workflow.

For a different product category, Bandizip is a freemium option with a free plan for macOS and Windows. PowerArchiver offers a free, non-commercial option and a Business plan at 22.95 USD per once. 7-Zip is free and available on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Accessibility Test Framework for Android is a free option available on Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Ark is a free desktop application for Linux and Windows. B1 Archiver is free for personal and commercial use across Android, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows. bzip2 is a free option for Linux and Windows. IZArc is a free Windows archive manager.

Verdict

Choose Keka if your team wants connected HR and payroll workflows, mobile employee self-service, and the option to tie those processes to hiring or project operations. Its India payroll coverage, integrations, and API documentation are the clearest reasons to consider it. Look elsewhere if you need a narrower tool or require published numeric prices and plan limits before engaging with a vendor.

	HollyHR	Keka
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	£2/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Web	Android, api, extension, iOS, macOS, Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Employee records	—	Yes
Time-off management	—	Yes
Employee onboarding	—	Yes
Performance management	—	Yes
Time tracking	—	Yes
Mobile apps	—	Yes

HollyHR vs Keka

HollyHR

Keka