An honest comparison
Kuzhu vs greytHR
Pick greytHR if payroll is the job, your accountant already knows it, and you want a product with decades of Indian statutory history behind it, or if you are very small and its free tier covers you. Pick Kuzhu if you want attendance, leave, payroll and the operational modules on one record rather than payroll with HR attached, a dedicated database of your own, per-employee pricing with no minimum, and a team that repoints your biometric devices and runs a parallel payroll before you switch.
About greytHR: greytHR, from Bengaluru, is one of India’s longest-running payroll and HR products, with statutory compliance at its core and a wide base of small and mid-size companies and their accountants. It covers payroll, leave, attendance, onboarding and employee self-service. Plans are company-level tiers with a per-employee rate, and there is a free tier for very small companies. Their site.
Kuzhu is best for
Companies of 10 to 500 employees that want HR, payroll and operations on one record
greytHR is best for
Payroll-first companies and their accountants who want a long-established statutory engine
Side by side
What each one does
The greytHR column describes their product as generally offered; plans change, so confirm the current detail on their site before deciding. We do not quote competitor prices for the same reason.
| Area |  Kuzhu |  |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per employee per month with no monthly minimum; Basic is free for life up to 15 employees | Company-level plans with a per-employee rate; a free tier for very small companies |
| Indian payroll compliance | PF, ESI, PT, TDS, Form 24Q, arrears and F&F computed inside the run, with challans and registers | Full Indian statutory payroll with a long history of returns and filings |
| Attendance sources | Biometric devices, web clock and GPS-tagged mobile punch, all into one muster | Biometric device integrations, web and GPS mobile punch |
| Leave and shifts | Policy-driven leave with accrual, carry-forward and encashment; rotating rosters with week-offs and night allowances | Leave policies and shift management |
| Beyond HR | Expenses on Growth; assets, procurement, CRM, support desk and invoicing on Enterprise, all on the same employee record | Expense claims; check current plans for assets; no procurement, CRM or invoicing |
| Data ownership | Dedicated database per company, hosted in India; full export at any time and for 90 days after cancellation | Shared multi-tenant cloud hosted in India; exports through reports |
| Implementation | Two to four weeks, including one parallel payroll reconciled to the rupee | Guided onboarding with a partner network; timeline depends on plan |
| Support | Phone and WhatsApp in Hindi and English; priority queue on Growth, a named contact on Enterprise | Email, chat and phone by plan — check current plans |
| Mobile app | Android and iOS: GPS punch, leave, payslips, expense claims and manager approvals | Android and iOS employee app |
| White-label | On Enterprise: your logo, colours and hr.yourcompany.com with managed SSL | Company logo in-app; check current plans for a custom domain |
Choose greytHR if
- Payroll and statutory filing are the whole requirement and you want the most established engine
- Your chartered accountant or payroll consultant already works in greytHR
- You are a very small company and its free tier is all you need for now
- You want a product with a long track record and a large user community to learn from
Choose Kuzhu if
- You want expenses, assets, procurement, a support desk and a CRM on the same employee record, not exports between modules
- You want a dedicated database of your own, hosted in India, with a full export at any time
- You want per-employee pricing with no monthly minimum, and a free-for-life plan up to 15 employees
- You want your biometric devices repointed, not replaced, and a parallel payroll before you switch
Moving from greytHR
What changes, and how long it takes
- Employee master, leave balances and salary history imported from your export
- One parallel payroll reconciled to the rupee before you switch
- Biometric devices repointed, not replaced
Typical time: 4 weeks. You keep: Your devices, your policies, your pay components.
Questions people ask about Kuzhu and greytHR
Is Kuzhu cheaper than greytHR?
Both have a free tier for a very small company, and greytHR’s may cover you for longer if payroll is all you need, since Kuzhu’s free Basic plan is core HR without payroll. Above that, Kuzhu is per employee with no monthly minimum, while greytHR sells company-level plans with a per-employee rate. Ask for a quote on your real headcount and the modules you will actually switch on.
Can I migrate from greytHR to Kuzhu?
Yes, and it is one of the moves we do most often. Employee master, leave balances and salary history come from your greytHR export; your biometric devices are repointed rather than replaced; and one parallel payroll is reconciled to the rupee before you switch. Four weeks is typical.
Does Kuzhu have greytHR’s statutory compliance and filings?
Kuzhu computes PF, ESI, professional tax by state, TDS under both regimes, LWF, gratuity and statutory bonus inside the payroll run, and produces ECR files, challans, registers and Form 24Q. greytHR has been filing Indian returns for far longer, and that history counts. The parallel run is how you check that the two agree on your payroll.
Will our biometric machine work with Kuzhu?
Almost certainly. ESSL, Realtime and any device that can push punches will keep working; it just sends them to Kuzhu instead. Punches land in the same muster as web and GPS mobile attendance, and the shift rules apply to all of them.
Decide on your numbers
See both on your own payroll
Bring last month’s salary sheet. We run it through Kuzhu in front of you, show the difference, and tell you plainly if greytHR is the better fit for you.
WhatsApp us