Best Free HR Software for Indian Companies in 2026
Looking for free HR software in India? Here's what's actually free, what's a free trial, and which tools give you the most without charging a rupee.
Amol Gupta
3 April 2026
"Free HR software India" is one of the most searched terms by small business owners — and for good reason. When you have 10–20 employees, spending ₹10,000/month on HR software feels hard to justify. You'd rather solve the problem for free and pay later when you've grown.
The reality: there are genuinely free HR tools available in India. But most come with significant limitations. This guide tells you exactly what's free, what's a free trial disguised as "free," and what to expect.
What Does "Free HR Software" Actually Mean?
There are three types of "free" in the HR software market:
- Genuinely free forever — core features available at no cost, with paid upgrades for advanced features (freemium model)
- Free trial — 14 or 30 days free, then you pay. Not actually free.
- Free up to X employees — free below a certain team size, then pricing kicks in
Most Indian SMBs looking for free HR software actually need option 1 or 3 — a product that stays free for a small team with the option to upgrade later.
Best Free HR Software for Indian Companies
1. JambaHR — Free for up to 10 employees
JambaHR's Starter plan is permanently free for teams up to 10 employees. No credit card required, no expiry.
What you get free:
- Employee directory with org chart
- Leave management (CL, SL, EL, custom policies)
- Indian holiday calendar
- Announcements / company notices
- Employee self-service portal
- Default leave policies auto-configured on signup
What requires an upgrade:
- Documents & acknowledgment tracking (Growth — ₹500/emp/month)
- Performance reviews & OKRs (Growth)
- Training & compliance (Growth)
- Payroll with Indian tax calculations (Business — ₹800/emp/month)
- Full hiring pipeline / ATS (Business)
Best for: Startups and very small businesses under 10 employees who need basic HR without paying anything.
2. greytHR — Free for up to 25 employees (payroll-focused)
greytHR offers a free plan for up to 25 employees that covers basic payroll, leave, and attendance. It's one of the most widely used payroll tools among Indian accountants.
What you get free:
- Basic payroll processing
- Leave management
- Attendance tracking
- Employee self-service (limited)
Limitations of free plan:
- No performance reviews
- No document management
- No hiring features
- UI is not modern
- Customer support is limited on the free tier
Best for: Very small teams where payroll accuracy is the only priority.
3. Zoho People — Free for up to 5 users
Zoho People has a permanently free tier for up to 5 users. It covers basic HR features and integrates with other Zoho tools.
What you get free:
- Employee database
- Leave management
- Basic self-service
Limitations:
- 5-user cap is extremely restrictive
- Payroll requires a separate Zoho Payroll subscription
- Indian compliance features are limited on free tier
Best for: Solo founders or micro-teams already using Zoho products.
4. Factorial HR — Free trial only (not truly free)
Factorial offers a 14-day free trial. After that, pricing starts at around ₹250–400/employee/month. It is not a free product — don't be misled by "start free" messaging.
5. Spreadsheets + Google Forms — Actually free, but not scalable
Let's be honest: many Indian SMBs under 20 employees are still running HR on Google Sheets. It works until it doesn't:
- Leave tracking in a shared sheet — works until two people edit at the same time
- Payroll in Excel — works until the formula breaks or someone changes a cell
- Offer letters via email — works until you hire 5 people in a month
- Employee documents in a Google Drive folder — works until you need to prove someone acknowledged a policy
The real cost of free spreadsheet HR is founder and admin time. If HR admin takes 10 hours a month at ₹2,000/hour opportunity cost, that's ₹20,000/month — far more than any HR software costs.
What Free HR Software Can and Can't Do
| Feature | JambaHR Free | greytHR Free | Zoho People Free |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee limit | 10 | 25 | 5 |
| Leave management | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Payroll | ❌ | ✅ Basic | ❌ |
| Indian PF/PT/TDS | ❌ | ✅ Basic | ❌ |
| Performance reviews | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Document management | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Hiring / ATS | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Employee self-service | ✅ | ✅ Limited | ✅ Limited |
| Modern UI | ✅ | ❌ | ⚠️ |
When to Move from Free to Paid
The free tier is the right place to start. Here's when you know it's time to upgrade:
Move to a paid plan when:
- Your team crosses 10 employees and leave management is getting messy
- You're running payroll manually and it's taking more than 2 hours a month
- You're hiring and tracking candidates across 3 email inboxes
- A compliance audit is coming and you have no documentation trail
- Employees are asking about their leave balances more than twice a week
At 15–20 employees, the time savings from paid HR software typically outweigh the cost within the first month.
How to Get Started with Free HR Software Today
For most Indian startups, here's the recommended path:
- Start with JambaHR free — covers your core HR needs for up to 10 employees at zero cost
- Set up your employee directory, leave policies, and holiday calendar — takes less than an hour
- Invite your team — employees can apply for leave, view policies, and update their own profiles
- Upgrade to Growth when you hit 10 employees — adds documents, reviews, training, and more
- Upgrade to Business when you start hiring actively — adds full payroll and the JambaHire ATS
No spreadsheets. No WhatsApp approvals. No chasing people for signatures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there truly free HR software in India with no hidden charges? Yes. JambaHR's Starter plan is permanently free for up to 10 employees with no credit card required. greytHR's free tier is also genuinely free for up to 25 employees.
Can free HR software handle Indian payroll compliance? greytHR's free tier handles basic payroll. For full Indian compliance — PF, state-wise Professional Tax, and TDS under the new tax regime — you'll need a paid plan. JambaHR's Business tier handles all of this natively.
What happens when my team grows beyond the free limit? On JambaHR, once you cross 10 employees you'll be prompted to upgrade to a paid plan. Your data is preserved — you just unlock more features and capacity.
Is open-source HR software a good option for Indian companies? Open-source HR tools like OrangeHRM exist but require self-hosting, technical setup, and ongoing maintenance. For a startup without a dedicated IT team, the operational overhead usually outweighs the cost savings compared to a freemium SaaS tool.