PunchMe vs Keka: attendance and payroll compared for Indian SMBs (2026)
9 November 2026
Short answer: pick Keka if you want a full HR suite in one place, with hiring (ATS), OKRs and 360-degree reviews, timesheets and project billing, SSO, an API and integrations with biometric machines. Pick PunchMe if your main problem is getting honest attendance from shop-floor, site and field staff and turning it into a correct payroll, at a published price of ₹29 per active employee per month with a 30-day free trial and no card. Keka is the broader HRMS. PunchMe is narrower and focuses on checking every punch with face match, GPS geofence and device binding, at a price you can see before you talk to anyone.
Prices and features as published on official websites in November 2026; check the vendor for current details.
At a glance
| PunchMe | Keka | |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | SMBs with floor, site, retail and field staff | Companies that want one HRMS for HR, payroll, hiring, performance and projects |
| Face recognition | Yes, on every phone punch, with liveness steps | "Facial recognition" listed as a capture mode |
| Selfie punch | Face match replaces the selfie (no photo is stored) | "Selfie attendance" listed |
| GPS and geofence | Yes, GPS geofence on each punch, fake GPS blocked by default | Geofencing listed (Strength plan) |
| Device binding | Yes, one phone per employee, HR resets it | Not listed on the website |
| Shared tablet kiosk | Yes, face kiosk with employee-code backup | Not listed on the website |
| Biometric machine integration | No | Yes, "1000+ biometric device integration" |
| Offline punch | Yes, syncs within 72 hours, flagged for review | Not listed for the app (Keka can recover offline logs from biometric devices) |
| IP restriction | No | Yes |
| Field tracking | Yes, route, distance and client visits while checked in | "Continuous location punching" (Strength plan) |
| Shifts, holidays, overtime | Yes | Yes (overtime automation, shift management) |
| Leave | Yes | Yes |
| Expenses | Yes | Yes (expense management in Foundation) |
| Payroll with PF, ESI, PT, TDS | Yes, plus LWF, arrears, loans, full and final | Yes, PF with ECR, ESI, PT, LWF, TDS, Form 16 |
| Payslips | In the employee app | Payslip generation (app access not described on the page) |
| Android app | Live on Google Play | Yes |
| iPhone app | Coming soon (kiosk works on iPad meanwhile) | Yes |
| Separate manager app | Yes, PunchMe Manager | Not listed as a separate app |
| Recruitment (ATS) | No | Yes, Keka Hire |
| Timesheets and projects | No | Yes, Keka PSA |
| SSO | No | Yes (Strength plan and up) |
| Public API | No | Yes, API and webhooks (Growth plan) |
| Pricing model | ₹29 per active employee per month + 18% GST, prepaid wallet | Plans listed, prices not published |
| Starting price | ₹29 per employee per month | Price on request |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card needed | "Free Trial" button on HR plans, length not stated |
Attendance fraud prevention
This is where the two products differ most in approach.
Keka lists many ways to capture attendance: biometric machines, facial recognition, selfie, geofencing, IP restrictions and remote clock-in. That range is useful if you already own biometric machines across offices, or if your staff work at desks on a known office network.
PunchMe takes a narrower path and stacks checks on each phone punch:
- Face match with liveness. The phone matches the employee's face and asks for two random liveness steps, so a photo held up to the camera fails. No selfie is uploaded; only an encrypted set of numbers. See Face check.
- GPS geofence. The punch must come from inside the office area you drew, and fake GPS apps are blocked by default. See Geofence and GPS.
- Device binding. Each employee can punch from one phone only, so a colleague cannot punch for them from another phone.
- Flagged punches. Punches that break a rule but are allowed through, such as weak GPS or an offline punch, go into a review queue for HR to keep or reject.
For staff without smartphones, a shared Android tablet works as a face kiosk, with an employee code as backup. For basements, warehouses and rural sites, the app saves the punch offline and syncs it within 72 hours.
If buddy punching and fake locations are your main headache, PunchMe's per-punch checks are the reason to look at it. If you need to connect existing biometric machines, Keka's published integrations are a real advantage.
Payroll
Both products run Indian payroll with the main statutory items.
Keka's payroll page lists PF calculations with ECR-ready reports, ESI, state-wise professional tax, LWF, TDS with quarterly reports, and Form 130 (earlier Form 16). Its pricing page also lists gratuity.
PunchMe calculates salary straight from attendance and leave, with PF, ESI, PT, LWF and TDS, plus arrears, loans and advances, and full and final settlement at exit. It produces the PF ECR file, ESI file, TDS annexure, bank upload file and payslips that employees see in the app. PT rules are set up for Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat; in other states, check PT yourself before you finalise. See Payroll.
Neither tool replaces your CA for filing. PunchMe does the arithmetic and makes the files; it does not file returns or pay authorities for you.
To check figures quickly, try our PF calculator, ESI calculator, salary calculator and gratuity calculator.
Pricing: 25 and 100 employees
Keka's official pricing page lists its Foundation, Strength and Growth plans with features, but shows no prices. It asks you to call or start a trial. So for Keka, the price is on request, and we have not quoted figures from third-party sites.
PunchMe publishes one price: ₹29 per active employee per month, plus 18% GST, charged monthly from a prepaid wallet. See Pricing.
| Team size | PunchMe per month (before GST) | With 18% GST | Keka |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 employees | ₹725 | ₹855.50 | Price on request |
| 100 employees | ₹2,900 | ₹3,422 | Price on request |
All PunchMe features, including payroll, field tracking and the kiosk, are in that one price. Employees who leave are not billed from the next renewal, and archived employees are not counted. There is no auto-debit; you top up the wallet when you choose.
Where Keka is stronger
Being fair, Keka covers much more ground than PunchMe:
- Hiring. Keka Hire is a full applicant tracking system with job requisitions, resume parsing, interview scheduling and offer letters. PunchMe has no recruitment module.
- Performance and growth. Keka's Growth plan lists OKRs, 360-degree reviews, calibration, promotions, PIPs and skills tracking. PunchMe has review cycles and goals, but a smaller set.
- Timesheets and projects. Keka PSA covers timesheets, project management, resource planning and client billing. PunchMe has none of this.
- Integrations. Keka lists an API, webhooks, SSO and integrations, plus links to over 1,000 biometric devices. PunchMe has no public API, no SSO and no biometric machine link.
- iPhone. Keka has an iOS app today. PunchMe's iPhone app is coming soon.
- Wider HR tools. Travel desk, asset tracking, e-sign (Keka Sign), people analytics and multiple legal entities are listed on Keka's plans.
If your company is mostly office staff and you want one system for the whole employee life cycle, Keka is the more complete choice.
Where PunchMe is stronger
- Checks on every punch. Face match, geofence and device binding run together on each phone punch, with a review queue for anything unusual.
- Built for staff away from desks. Shared face kiosk with code backup, offline punch with 72-hour sync, and field tracking with routes and client visits that runs only while the employee is checked in and has agreed. See Field tracking.
- Published, simple pricing. One rate per active employee, every feature included, no sales call needed.
- Prepaid wallet, no card mandate. You control when money leaves your account, and you get a GST invoice from Hostspica each month.
- A separate manager app. Owners and HR approve leave, corrections and expenses, and review flagged punches from PunchMe Manager.
- Try before you pay. 30 days free, no card.
See the full list on Features.
What PunchMe does not do yet
So you can decide with clear eyes: PunchMe has no public API, no SSO, no recruitment or ATS, and no timesheets or project tracking. The apps are in English only. The Android app is live; the iPhone app is coming soon.
FAQ
Does Keka publish its prices?
Not on its official pricing page as of November 2026. The page lists plans and features and asks you to call or start a trial. Ask Keka for a quote for your headcount.
Can PunchMe connect to my biometric machine?
No. PunchMe uses phone punches with face match and GPS, and a shared tablet kiosk for staff without phones. If you must keep existing biometric machines, Keka lists integrations with over 1,000 devices.
Is PunchMe enough if I only need attendance and payroll?
For most small and mid-sized teams, yes. It covers attendance, shifts, overtime, leave, expenses, corrections, payroll with PF, ESI, PT and TDS, payslips and full and final. It is not a hiring or project tool.
Does PunchMe work on iPhone?
The iPhone app is coming soon. Until then, iPhone users can punch on an office kiosk, which also runs on iPad.
How do I try PunchMe?
Start a 30-day free trial from the pricing page. No card is needed. Set up one office, a geofence and a shift, and watch a week of punches come in.
Sources
- Keka pricing: https://www.keka.com/pricing
- Keka attendance management: https://www.keka.com/attendance-management-system
- Keka payroll software: https://www.keka.com/payroll-software
- PunchMe pricing: https://punchme.online/pricing
- PunchMe help center: https://punchme.online/docs