Keka

Keka is a broad people-operations platform for organizations that want HR records, payroll, attendance, and talent processes connected. It suits growing, distributed, and multi-site employers willing to buy through custom pricing and guided implementation. Its strongest case is replacing several workforce systems with one operating layer; its weakest is the lack of published prices for direct comparison.

Overview

Keka’s PeopleOS combines employee administration, payroll, time and attendance, and talent workflows. The HR foundation stores employee records, organizational structures, documents, and lifecycle processes from onboarding through exit. Leave management and time tracking sit alongside those records, helping employers keep workforce data and attendance inputs together.

Payroll draws on attendance, leave, and salary information to calculate TDS, PF, ESI, and PT, then produces filing-ready returns. That is a practical fit for employers whose payroll changes with shifts, absences, and variable schedules. The platform also spans hiring, sourcing, screening, interviews, engagement, learning, performance reviews, goals, and recognition, so it is considerably broader than a payroll-only or applicant-tracking product.

Key features

HR and employee lifecycle

Employee records, org structures, documents, onboarding, and exit workflows cover the administrative backbone. The Foundation plan includes core HR, onboarding, leave, attendance, payroll automation, and a mobile app. Strength adds advanced onboarding, asset tracking, people analytics, employee pulse, and advanced attendance; Growth adds workflow automation plus goals and performance management.

Attendance and payroll

Attendance can cover offices, shifts, and field teams using biometric, GPS, and mobile check-ins. Connecting those records to leave and salary inputs gives payroll a coherent source for statutory calculations and filing-ready returns. Employers with complex physical or mobile workforces have a clearer reason to choose Keka than teams needing only basic timesheets.

Talent and project work

Recruiting includes sourcing, screening, interviews, engagement, learning, reviews, goals, and recognition. The Pro hiring plan permits up to five talent pools, while Advanced removes that cap with unlimited pools; recruiting organizations with many segmented pipelines should therefore examine Advanced rather than assume Pro will scale.

Separate plan tracks extend into project operations. Pro includes projects and timesheets, revenue intelligence, and a lightweight CRM; Basic focuses on project and task management, timesheets, and client and project reports; Advanced adds smart resource allocation, advanced analytics, and approval flows. These additions suit service businesses that need workforce and delivery oversight together, but they may be unnecessary for an HR department buying Keka solely for employee administration.

Integrations, security, and service

Keka says its marketplace has more than 100 integrations, including Slack, Teams, Google Workspace, and accounting applications. API and webhooks are paid add-ons, an important cost and architecture consideration for teams planning deeper integrations. The company describes in-transit encryption, firewalls, DDoS defenses, and infrastructure providers with SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications. It states availability above 99.9%, with multiple online data replicas and additional snapshots.

Implementation includes a named team, guided configuration, live training, and handover. Support channels include a help center, chat, support, email, and phone access for enterprise customers. That onboarding model is valuable for organizations without spare HRIS implementation capacity, though it also reinforces that Keka is a managed purchase rather than a self-serve tool.

Pricing

Keka has no free plan, but a free trial is available. Pricing is on request, so every plan carries custom pricing rather than a published amount.

• Foundation: Core HR, employee onboarding, leave management, attendance tracking, payroll automation, and mobile app. It is the sensible starting point for employers that need a unified workforce core without the higher-tier people and workflow features.
• Strength: Adds advanced onboarding, asset tracking, people analytics, employee pulse, and advanced attendance. Choose it when employee operations and workforce insight matter beyond basic records and payroll.
• Growth: Includes all Strength features plus workflow automation, goals, and performance management. It fits organizations formalizing performance processes and recurring HR workflows.
• Pro: Adds project and timesheet features, revenue intelligence, and lightweight CRM. It targets service-oriented organizations connecting people administration with project delivery; its hiring configuration allows five talent pools.
• Basic: Project and task management, timesheets, and client and project reports. It is a narrower project-management option for teams that do not need Pro’s revenue intelligence or CRM.
• Advanced: All Pro project features plus smart resource allocation, advanced analytics, and approval flows. It is the stronger choice for larger delivery operations and recruiting teams that need unlimited talent pools.

Buyers should confirm whether API and webhooks, required talent-pool capacity, and the desired project or performance modules are included or priced as add-ons before committing.

Platforms

Keka supports Android, iOS, web, browser extensions, and API access. That combination covers mobile employees, desktop administrators, browser-based workflows, and system integrations.

Who it's for

Keka is aimed at small businesses, enterprises, and global companies, with stated coverage for technology, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, retail, and construction. It is particularly well matched to distributed or multi-site employers that need attendance, payroll, and employee lifecycle data connected. Organizations seeking only a focused recruiting, payroll, or scheduling product may find its breadth and custom buying process excessive.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Broad HR, payroll, attendance, and talent coverage in one platform; statutory payroll calculations for TDS, PF, ESI, and PT with filing-ready returns; biometric, GPS, and mobile attendance options; more than 100 named integrations; structured implementation and enterprise support; mobile, web, extension, and API access.
• Cons: No free plan and no published prices; API and webhooks are add-ons; Pro hiring is capped at five talent pools; the platform can be more extensive than needed for a single-function purchase.

Alternatives

Choose Qualtrics instead for a freemium survey product: its free plan supports one user, three active surveys, and 500 total responses. Pick Avature, Eightfold Talent Intelligence, or iCIMS when a paid recruiting-focused platform is the priority. Workday Paradox Candidate Experience Agent is another paid candidate-experience option with demo-based pricing.

inploi uses custom pricing based on hiring size rather than per application or hire. Sense is a paid messaging specialist with no free plan or trial; its SMS/WhatsApp plan starts at $500 a month. Talview offers tailored, unit-based pricing with a typical minimum commitment of approximately 150 to 200 candidates.

For category-specific comparisons, see Candidate Experience Software, Agency Project Management Software, Interview Scheduling Software, Talent Management Software, HR Case Management Software, and HR Software.

Verdict

Keka is a strong choice for growing or distributed employers that want HR administration, statutory payroll, attendance, and talent management connected, with implementation help rather than a self-serve rollout. Choose it when breadth and operational integration outweigh the need for simple, transparent buying. Look elsewhere if you need published prices, a free tier, or one tightly focused recruiting or payroll capability.