An honest comparison
Kuzhu vs Keka
Pick Keka if you have a few hundred employees, a dedicated HR team and want a mature performance and OKR suite with a large partner ecosystem around it. Pick Kuzhu if you are a company of 10 to 500 people that wants attendance, leave, payroll and the operational modules on one record, priced per employee with no monthly minimum, in a database of your own, with a team that runs a parallel payroll before you switch.
About Keka: Keka is a widely used Indian HRMS from Hyderabad, known for a polished interface, a mature performance-management suite and payroll built for Indian compliance. It serves growing and mid-size companies with a dedicated HR function. Plans are company-level tiers with a monthly minimum. Their site.
Kuzhu is best for
Companies of 10 to 500 employees consolidating HR, payroll and operations
Keka is best for
Mid-size and larger companies with an HR team and a performance-management focus
Side by side
What each one does
The Keka 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 We do not quote competitor prices for the same reason.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 tiers with a monthly minimum; free trial rather than a free plan |
| 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 |
| Attendance sources | Biometric devices, web clock and GPS-tagged mobile punch, all into one muster | Biometric, 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 scheduling |
| Beyond HR | Expenses on Growth; assets, procurement, CRM, support desk and invoicing on Enterprise, all on the same employee record | Expenses and an HR helpdesk; 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; exports through reports |
| Implementation | Two to four weeks, including one parallel payroll reconciled to the rupee | Guided onboarding; timeline depends on plan and headcount |
| Support | Phone and WhatsApp in Hindi and English; priority queue on Growth, a named contact on Enterprise | Ticket and chat support; 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 Keka if
- You need a deep performance and OKR suite today
- You want a large marketplace of integrations and implementation partners
- Your headcount is well past the point where a company-level tier costs less per head
- Your HR team already knows Keka and relearning would cost more than the saving
Choose Kuzhu if
- You want to pay per employee with no monthly minimum
- You want a database of your own, hosted in India, with a full export at any time
- You also run expenses, assets, procurement, a support desk or a CRM and want them on the same record
- You want a parallel payroll reconciled to the rupee before you switch
Moving from Keka
What changes, and how long it takes
- Employee, attendance and payroll data imported from your export
- Approval chains rebuilt the way you already run them
- Your own database and your own domain, from day one
Typical time: 4 weeks. You keep: Everything you can export, which is everything.
Questions people ask about Kuzhu and Keka
Is Kuzhu cheaper than Keka?
For small and mid-size companies, usually, because Kuzhu is priced per employee with no monthly minimum and the Basic plan is free for life up to 15 employees. At a few hundred employees the two converge, and Keka’s company-level tier can work out cheaper per head. Ask for a quote on your actual headcount rather than trusting either page.
Can I migrate from Keka to Kuzhu?
Yes. Export employees, attendance and payroll history from Keka; we import and validate them, rebuild your approval chains the way you already run them, and run one parallel payroll reconciled to the rupee before you switch. Most companies are live in four weeks.
Does Kuzhu have Keka’s performance management and OKRs?
Kuzhu has performance management on Growth: goals with weights, review cycles on a timetable, self, manager and skip-level reviews with calibrated ratings, and increment recommendations flowing into salary revisions. Keka’s suite goes deeper on OKR trees and continuous feedback. If that depth is the deciding factor, Keka is the better choice today.
What does Kuzhu have that Keka does not?
The operational modules on the same record as HR and payroll: procurement, CRM, invoicing and a support desk alongside expenses and assets. A dedicated database per company rather than a shared one. White-label branding on your own domain. And a pricing model with no monthly minimum, so a 20-person company pays for 20 people.
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 Keka is the better fit for you.
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