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New: HelloTime now integrates with HelloBooks — sync clients, hours, invoices and payroll.

HelloTime: an honest Zoho People alternative for India teams

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TL;DR

  • Zoho People is the HR + attendance module of the Zoho One bundle. At ₹48 / user / mo for Essential it is the cheapest entry point in this comparison, but the full payroll + books loop requires Zoho Payroll (separate add-on) and Zoho Books — most India SMBs end up at ₹150+ per employee per month all-in.
  • HelloTime is a time-tracking and attendance product whose hours, leave and allowances flow into HelloBooks Payroll for the same India statutory loop, and HelloBooks GST books on the same tenancy — without three bundled subscriptions.
  • Pick Zoho People if you are already deep on the Zoho One suite (CRM, Mail, Books, Desk, etc.) and want HR in the same vendor. Pick HelloTime if you want attendance + desk productivity + payroll + GST books on one tenancy, plus a desktop productivity tracker (Zoho People does not ship one) and WhatsApp / SMS clock-in for staff without smartphones.
Try HelloTime freeBook a demoVisit Zoho People's site →
HQ
Chennai, India
Country focus
Global — strongest in India / SEA, part of the Zoho One suite
Entry pricing
From ₹48 / user / mo (People Essential, annual; Payroll add-on separate)
Free tier
Yes (up to 5 users on Free plan, basic features)

Feature-by-feature: HelloTime vs Zoho People

CapabilityHelloTimeZoho People
Pricing (entry plan)From ₹49 / user / mo (Attend tier)₹48 / user / mo (People Essential, annual; Payroll add-on separate)Real all-in cost is People + Payroll + Books, which lands around ₹150 / user / mo for the full India loop.
Free tier7-day free trial of full Premium, no credit cardFree plan up to 5 users (basic features)Zoho's free tier is genuinely useful for very small teams; ours is a 7-day full-Premium trial.
Self-serve signupYes — under 60 seconds, no cardYes — Zoho People supports self-serve signup
Country focusIndia / Global — INR-native, GST-readyGlobal — strongest in India / SEA
Data residencyAzure Central IndiaZoho India data centres available — verify per-account
Face-recognition attendance (with anti-spoof)Yes — Azure Face + on-device liveness on Attend tier ₹49Selfie at clock-in via mobile app; anti-spoof depth lighter than Truein / Jibble
GPS geofence + kiosk modeYes — PWA kiosk, GPS geofence, photo-at-clock-inYes — mobile GPS punch + geo-restrictions; kiosk via Zoho People Plus tier
Offline clock-inYes — Flutter + SQLite mobile queue, IndexedDB on kioskPartial — mobile app needs connectivity for sync; offline support varies
Desktop productivity (screenshots, app / URL)Yes — consent-based desktop tracker, opt-in screenshots, AI anomaly surfacing via MunimjiNo — Zoho People is HR + attendance + performance; no desktop tracker (Zoho Workplace tracks separately, not employee monitoring)
WhatsApp / SMS clock-inYes — for staff without smartphones; geofence + selfie verifiedNo — Zoho's portal needs a smartphone or browser
India payroll (PF / ESI / PT / TDS / LWF)Native via HelloBooks Payroll — Form 24Q quarterly, Form 16 annual auto-file (included in Business tier)Via Zoho Payroll add-on (~₹50 / employee / mo, India-only) — Form 16, Form 24Q, PF, ESI, PT supported
Native GST books / accountingHelloBooks — one tenancy, one bill, GSTIN / HSN / SAC invoicesVia Zoho Books — separate subscription in the Zoho One bundle
Performance reviews / OKRsNo — out of scopeYes — included in People Professional and above
Recruitment / ATSNo — out of scope (HelloGrowth CRM covers hiring pipeline on roadmap)Via Zoho Recruit — separate Zoho product in the bundle
SSO (SAML / OIDC) + SCIMOn roadmap — not shipped todayYes — Zoho One SSO across all bundled appsPer the 2026-05-22 integration audit (§10), SSO is the single biggest enterprise blocker we have not closed yet.
Bundle / suite playHelloBooks + HelloTime + HelloGrowth CRM on one tenancy — a small, focused suiteZoho One bundle (~$45 / user / mo all-apps) covers 50+ apps from HR to CRM to Mail to Sites

Pricing and feature parity check on 2026-05-13. Vendors update plans frequently — see Zoho People's site for the current list.

When to choose HelloTime

  • You want attendance + desk productivity + payroll + GST books on one tenancy and one bill — not People + Payroll + Books bundled separately.
  • You need a desktop productivity tracker for hybrid / remote staff — Zoho People does not ship one.
  • Even a third of your team is field, factory or contract — face-rec, kiosk, WhatsApp / SMS clock-in matter, and Zoho's HR portal does not reach them.
  • You want a focused suite of attendance + books + CRM rather than committing to a 50-app HRMS-and-everything bundle.

When to choose Zoho People

  • You are already deep on Zoho One (CRM, Mail, Books, Desk, Projects) and want HR + attendance in the same vendor and SSO.
  • You need a full HRIS — onboarding workflows, performance reviews, OKRs, recruitment via Zoho Recruit — not just time + payroll.
  • Your IT team standardises on Zoho's One sign-on across 50+ apps and adding a HelloTime tenancy is a procurement hurdle.

HelloTime vs Zoho People: FAQ

Is HelloTime actually cheaper than Zoho People?

On the People-only line item, no — Zoho People Essential at ₹48 / user / mo is slightly cheaper than HelloTime Attend at ₹49. On the full India loop (attendance + payroll + books), HelloTime + HelloBooks at ₹49–₹199 / seat covers ground that Zoho needs People + Payroll + Books for — typically ₹150+ / user / mo all-in. Once you add a desktop tracker (Zoho doesn't ship one), the gap widens further.

Does HelloTime have all of Zoho People's HR features?

No — and we're honest about it. HelloTime ships attendance, time tracking, shift scheduling, leave management, mileage, expense claims, payroll-loop-via-HelloBooks. Zoho People also ships performance reviews, OKRs, onboarding workflows, employee handbook, organisation charts and integrations into Zoho Recruit. If those are decisive, Zoho is the better fit.

Can HelloTime feed Zoho Payroll instead of HelloBooks Payroll?

We export approved timesheets in standard CSV; Zoho Payroll accepts imports. For the native, no-CSV-bridge path the answer is HelloBooks Payroll on the same tenancy.

Does Zoho People have a desktop productivity tracker?

No. Zoho's monitoring product is sold separately for IT admin use, not employee productivity tracking. HelloTime's consent-based desktop tracker (opt-in screenshots, app / URL summaries, Munimji AI surfacing patterns) is unique in this comparison.

Can I migrate from Zoho People to HelloTime?

Yes. Employees, departments, leave balances, holiday calendar and historical attendance import via CSV. If you also want to move payroll to HelloBooks Payroll, we coordinate that. Free migration on Business plans and 100+ seat accounts.

What about WhatsApp / SMS clock-in for our blue-collar staff?

HelloTime ships both — WhatsApp Business API based clock-in with selfie + geofence validation, and SMS clock-in for staff without smartphones. Zoho People does not have an equivalent — its portal needs a browser or the mobile app, which excludes a meaningful share of India's deskless workforce.

Does HelloTime offer SSO like Zoho One?

Not yet. Per the 2026-05-22 integration audit, SSO (SAML / OIDC) and SCIM are on the roadmap, not shipped. If your IT team relies on Zoho One SSO across 50+ apps, Zoho wins this row today.

Where is HelloTime data hosted?

Azure Central India region — data stays in country.

HelloTime features

Time tracking, timesheets, productivity insights, leave and approvals — the full product surface.

Learn more →

HelloBooks integration

The native payroll sync — STP Phase 2 lodgement, leave accruals and allowances without a connector.

Learn more →

Pricing

Per-seat pricing, AU rates, free trial details and volume discounts.

Learn more →

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HelloTime vs greytHR

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HelloTime vs Jibble

From $2.49 / user / mo (Premium, annual) — about ₹207 at today's USD

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