Best Payroll Software for India in 2026

greytHR is one of India's most widely used payroll and HR platforms, purpose-built for the Indian compliance environment. The platform handles PF ECR (Electronic Challan cum Return) generation and EPFO portal submission, ESI contribution calculations and challan generation, professional tax for all levying states with correct slabs and filing frequencies, and TDS calculation under Section 192 including investment proof collection and Form 16 generation.

greytHR automates the Indian CTC (Cost to Company) salary structure, splitting compensation into basic salary, HRA, LTA, special allowance, and other components, and calculates the tax-saving effect of each component. The platform generates all statutory reports: Form 24Q for TDS, PF annual returns (Form 3A and Form 6A), ESI Returns, and LWF (Labour Welfare Fund) contribution files for each applicable state.

greytHR is best suited to Indian companies with 10 to 2,000 employees that want a cloud-based payroll solution that eliminates reliance on a CA or payroll bureau for routine compliance. The platform's onboarding wizard and pre-configured statutory rules reduce setup time significantly compared to configuring a generic HRMS for India.

Keka is a modern Indian HCM platform combining payroll, attendance, leave management, and performance management in a single product. The payroll engine handles all Indian statutory requirements: PF with EPF and EPS split, ESI, TDS under Section 192 with the new tax regime (2023 onwards) and old regime calculations, professional tax across states, and LWF contributions. Keka's compliance module auto-updates when statutory rates or slab structures change.

Keka's payroll differs from older Indian platforms through its employee self-service capabilities: employees can submit investment declarations, view pay slips, download Form 16, and manage reimbursement claims without HR intervention. The platform supports flexi-benefit plans and component-wise salary structuring that is standard in Indian tech companies.

Keka is particularly well suited to Indian startups and mid-market IT/ITES companies with 50 to 5,000 employees. Its clean interface, employee self-service portal, and integration with popular Indian HRMS workflows (ESOP management, variable pay automation) make it a preferred alternative to legacy Indian payroll software.

Razorpay Payroll (part of the RazorpayX business banking suite) offers automated Indian payroll with direct salary disbursement through Razorpay's payment infrastructure. The platform handles PF, ESI, TDS, and professional tax calculations, generates Form 16 and quarterly returns, and disburses employee salaries directly to bank accounts through the same platform — eliminating the need for a separate salary transfer process.

Razorpay Payroll's integration with RazorpayX current accounts means payroll approval and disbursement happen in a single workflow, with automated challan payments for PF and ESI remitted to the relevant government portals directly from the payroll run. The platform also handles contractor payments and compliance (TDS under Section 194C) alongside regular employee payroll.

Razorpay Payroll suits Indian startups and SMBs that already use Razorpay for payments and want to consolidate business banking and payroll on one platform. Companies that do not use Razorpay for other financial operations will find the integration advantage less compelling.

Deel's EOR service in India handles PF registration and contributions, ESI deductions for eligible employees, TDS calculations under Section 192, and professional tax filings across all Indian states where the company has employees. Foreign companies can hire Indian workers through Deel without establishing a private limited company or LLP in India.

For companies with an existing Indian entity, Deel's global payroll product integrates with local payroll processors to provide a consolidated multi-country view. The platform generates Form 16 for employees and handles quarterly TDS return filing through its local partners.

Rippling's global payroll extends to India through local payroll processor integrations, giving US-headquartered companies a single platform for managing both US and Indian payroll. The system handles the standard Indian statutory deductions — PF at 12% employee and 12% employer contribution, ESI at 0.75% employee and 3.25% employer for eligible employees, and TDS based on the employee's declared investment proofs.

Rippling supports the CTC (Cost to Company) salary structure that is standard in India, breaking compensation into basic salary, HRA, special allowance, and other components. The platform calculates tax-saving declarations under Section 80C, 80D, and HRA exemptions to determine monthly TDS withholding.

ADP has a long-established presence in India and processes payroll for enterprise clients with thousands of employees spread across multiple states. The platform handles the full spectrum of Indian statutory compliance: PF with both EPF and EPS split, ESI including the 2019 wage ceiling changes, professional tax for all levying states, Labour Welfare Fund contributions, and TDS with automated investment proof collection.

ADP's India payroll engine handles complex scenarios that smaller platforms struggle with — inter-state employee transfers that change professional tax jurisdiction, arrear calculations with revised tax treatment, gratuity provisions under the Payment of Gratuity Act, and bonus calculations under the Payment of Bonus Act.

Workday HCM integrates with certified Indian payroll partners to process INR payroll for multinational corporations. Companies already running Workday globally can extend it to India without maintaining a separate HRIS, and employee data flows automatically from Workday's core HR module to the local payroll engine.

The platform supports Indian CTC structures, statutory compliance reporting, and Form 16 generation through its localization partners. Workday's value for Indian payroll is in consolidated global reporting and workforce analytics rather than direct payroll processing.

Paylocity's global payroll capability covers India through local processing partners, allowing mid-market US companies to add Indian payroll without switching from their existing Paylocity setup. The platform handles basic Indian statutory compliance including PF, ESI, and TDS, with consolidated reporting across US and Indian payroll.

For companies with 20-200 employees in India, Paylocity offers a more affordable entry point than enterprise platforms like ADP or Workday while still providing multi-country visibility. The depth of Indian payroll handling depends on the local partner's capabilities.

Paychex offers international payroll services covering India through its partner network, giving small US businesses a single vendor for domestic and Indian payroll. The managed service handles PF registration, ESI compliance, TDS filing, and monthly INR salary processing.

For companies with fewer than 20 employees in India, Paychex provides a managed approach that avoids the complexity of setting up direct relationships with Indian payroll providers. The trade-off is limited configurability for complex Indian compensation structures.

ADP Workforce Now connects to ADP's Indian payroll infrastructure, giving mid-market companies an integrated HR and payroll platform that handles Indian statutory compliance. The platform supports PF ECR generation, ESI returns, professional tax across states, and TDS quarterly filings.

Companies with 50-500 employees in India benefit from Workforce Now's direct connection to ADP's local payroll engine, which has years of Indian compliance logic built in. The platform handles CTC breakdowns, investment declaration workflows, and Form 16 generation.

Workday's global payroll platform provides the analytics and reporting layer for Indian payroll processed by certified local partners. Enterprises with operations across Asia-Pacific can use Workday to consolidate payroll cost reporting, workforce planning, and compliance dashboards for India alongside other countries.

The platform does not process Indian payroll directly but provides the upstream workforce data management, compensation structures, and approval workflows that feed into local payroll execution. For companies already invested in Workday, this avoids maintaining parallel systems.

TriNet Zenefits does not offer full Indian employee payroll processing, but its platform can manage contractor payments to Indian workers. Small US businesses that engage Indian contractors for specific projects can process payments through the platform while managing their US employees' payroll and benefits in the same system.

For actual W-2 equivalent employee payroll in India, businesses would need to pair TriNet Zenefits with a dedicated Indian payroll provider or use an EOR service. The platform's value for India is limited to contractor management and basic international payments.