Keka vs WappBlaster, HRMS, Payroll and Attendance Compared (2026)
Keka is a comprehensive Indian HRMS suite covering recruitment, onboarding, performance, payroll, attendance, leave and expense, priced per employee per month (typically Rs. 6,999–Rs. 9,999 per month base + per-employee). WappBlaster focuses on attendance, field tracking, payroll, leave, expense and reports, on published Attendance Suite tiers (from ₹2,100/year for 7 staff on attendance; field per-user). If you need full-stack HRMS including recruitment and performance management, Keka is the broader product. If you need attendance + field + payroll without the recruitment / performance / engagement modules, WappBlaster is dramatically cheaper and stronger on field workforce.
At a glance
- Starting price
- From ₹2,100/yr (7 staff) + tiers From ~Rs. 6,999/month base + per-employee
- HRMS breadth
- Attendance + Field + Payroll + Leave + Expense + Task + Reports Full HRMS (recruitment, performance, engagement, OKR)
- Pricing basis
- Published tiers, attendance bundle + field per-user Monthly base + per employee
- Field workforce
- Full Field Tracker, anti-spoof GPS Limited
- Recruitment / ATS
- Not included Built-in
- Performance / OKR / 360
- Not included Built-in
- UAE WPS
- Built-in SIF for all major UAE banks Limited
- Target segment
- SMB 10–500 staff, owner-led Indian mid-market 100–5,000+ staff, HR-led
Feature by feature
Keka HR vs WappBlaster
Every row is a capability we can demonstrate live. Nothing is marked as supported unless it ships today.
| Feature | Keka HR | WappBlaster |
|---|---|---|
| Selfie / face attendance | Yes | Yes, AI liveness anti-spoof |
| GPS + geofence | Yes | Yes, mock-loc + root detection |
| Anti-fake-GPS depth | Basic | Mock-loc + root + emulator + physics |
| Multi-shift / rotating / split | Yes | Yes, flexi + grace + auto OT |
| Field staff live tracking | Limited | Full Field Tracker |
| Visit forms + DSR + photo proof | Not core | Dynamic forms with photo + GPS |
| Auto distance reimbursement | Not core | Auto-calc from Field Tracker route |
| Payroll, India PF/ESI/PT/TDS/LWF | Built-in | Built-in |
| Payroll, UAE WPS SIF | Limited / via partner | Built-in for major UAE banks |
| Daily-wage worker payroll | Possible, config-heavy | Native, same cycle as monthly staff |
| Leave management | Built-in | Built-in, WhatsApp approval |
| Expense + receipt OCR + GPS-stamp | Built-in (basic) | GPS-stamped, OCR, multi-level approval |
| Task management with photo proof | Not core | Built-in |
| Recruitment / ATS | Yes | No |
| Performance / OKR / 360° | Yes | No |
| Engagement / pulse surveys | Yes | No |
| Onboarding workflows | Yes | Basic |
| WhatsApp report delivery | Limited | Auto daily PDF on WhatsApp |
| Payslip on WhatsApp | Email portal | Native encrypted PDF on WhatsApp |
| Hindi + regional + Arabic UI | English-first | EN, HI, GU, MR, TA, BN, AR |
| Unlimited employees pricing | No, per-employee | Yes, from ₹2,100/yr (7 staff) + volume tiers; not per-seat HRMS |
| Onboarding support | Paid implementation team | Free onboarding call |
| Free trial | Demo on request | 3-day self-serve, no card |
Where Keka HR wins
Full-stack HRMS for mid-market
If you need recruitment / ATS, performance management, OKRs, 360° reviews, engagement surveys, employee onboarding workflows and a polished HR business-partner workflow, Keka is the broader product and meaningfully better than WappBlaster on these modules.
- Built-in recruitment / ATS with candidate pipeline.
- Performance reviews, OKRs, 360° feedback.
- Engagement and pulse surveys with HR analytics.
- Mature onboarding-workflow builder.
Polished HR UX
Keka's UI is one of the best in Indian HRMS. For an HR team running 100+ desk-based staff with dedicated HR business partners, the UX investment matters.
- Modern, well-designed HR dashboards.
- Strong self-service portal for employees.
- Established mid-market brand with case studies.
Where WappBlaster wins
Price, 90%+ cheaper for typical SMBs
Keka pricing usually starts around Rs. 6,999 / month base + per-employee fees. For a 50-employee SMB that's commonly Rs. 90,000+/year. WappBlaster totals depend on your attendance bundle + field users, see the live pricing table.
- Unlimited employees on a flat plan.
- No per-module add-on fees.
- Predictable annual spend.
- All field + attendance + payroll + leave + expense + reports included.
Field workforce coverage
Keka is HR-team-led and desk-staff-centric. WappBlaster is built ground-up for field and blue-collar workforces, anti-spoof GPS, dynamic visit forms, distance reimbursement, photo + GPS proof.
- Anti-fake-GPS via mock-loc + root + emulator + physics checks.
- Dynamic visit forms, DSR, order capture, install proof.
- Auto km reimbursement.
- Daily-wage workers + monthly staff in same payroll cycle.
UAE WPS and GCC labour-law native
Keka's UAE coverage is limited or partner-driven. WappBlaster has UAE WPS SIF generation, gratuity, leave encashment, AED currency, Arabic UI and GCC public holiday presets built-in.
- UAE WPS SIF file for Emirates NBD, ADCB, FAB, DIB, Mashreq.
- End-of-service gratuity per UAE Labour Law.
- Arabic UI for GCC workforces.
- Multi-country payroll in one cycle.
WhatsApp-first owner experience
SMB owners read WhatsApp, not HR portals. Daily attendance summaries, anomaly alerts and payslips go to WhatsApp directly.
- 9 AM daily attendance summary PDF on WhatsApp.
- Anomaly AI alerts to owners on WhatsApp.
- One-tap WhatsApp leave approval for managers.
- Encrypted payslip PDF on each employee's WhatsApp.
Multilingual UI for blue-collar adoption
Keka is English-first. WappBlaster ships seven languages (EN, HI, GU, MR, TA, BN, AR) with auto-switch by device locale and voice prompts for low-literacy users.
- Adoption rates 95%+ across blue-collar workforces.
- Driver / mason / security-guard friendly UI.
- Voice prompts in each language.
- Under 5 MB data per employee per month.
Pricing
What each one actually costs
| Feature | Keka HR | WappBlaster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From ~Rs. 6,999 / month | From ₹2,100 / year |
| Billing basis | Monthly base + per-employee add-on | $30 / year base covers 7 staff on attendance. Field staff: from ₹180/user/month or ₹2,000/user/year (up to 10 users). See the live table below. |
Keka HR
- Pricing scales with headcount and modules selected.
- Implementation usually paid and timed (4–8 weeks).
- Add-on modules (recruitment, performance) typically priced separately.
- Demo + sales-led trial.
WappBlaster
- Attendance: ₹2,100/yr includes 7 staff; ₹300/staff/year for staff 8–20; ~20% discount on incremental seats above 20; kiosk / one-device (up to 100 employees): ₹7,000/yr ($100/yr). Larger rollouts: contact us.
- Field tracking: ₹180 ($3)/user/month or ₹2,000 ($25)/user/year, up to 10 field users, contact us beyond that.
- Task, expense, payroll, leave and reports are included in the same Attendance Suite subscription (no separate module fees).
- 3-day free trial, no credit card.
Switching
Migrating from Keka HR
We run the migration with you on a call. No data entry on your side.
- 1
Export Keka data
Export employees, shifts, attendance, leave balances and salary history from Keka, we provide an import template matching WappBlaster fields.
- 2
Configure WappBlaster
Re-create shifts, leave policies, geofences, approval chains and payroll components on a single call.
- 3
Enrol faces + roll-out
60-second face enrolment per employee via WhatsApp install link.
- 4
Parallel + cut over
Run a parallel attendance + payroll cycle to reconcile, then switch over for the next month.
Frequently asked questions
Is Keka better than WappBlaster?
Keka is better if you need full HRMS, recruitment, performance management, OKRs, engagement surveys and a polished HR business-partner workflow. WappBlaster is better if your priority is attendance, field tracking, payroll, leave, expense and reports at a fraction of the cost. The two products overlap on attendance and payroll but diverge on HR breadth vs field-workforce depth.
Link to this answerWhy is WappBlaster so much cheaper than Keka?
WappBlaster does not include recruitment, performance management, OKR or engagement modules, focusing instead on attendance, field tracking, payroll, leave, expense, task and reports. That narrower scope, plus SMB-oriented suite tiers (from ₹2,100/year for 7 on attendance), typically undercuts full HRMS per-employee pricing for comparable headcount.
Link to this answerCan WappBlaster replace Keka entirely?
If your Keka usage is mainly attendance + payroll + leave + expense, yes. If you use Keka heavily for recruitment, OKR, performance reviews or 360° feedback, keep those modules and add WappBlaster for attendance + field + payroll if you have field staff, the integration is straightforward.
Link to this answerDoes WappBlaster have an employee self-service portal?
Yes, employees see attendance history, leave balances, payslips and expense submissions through the mobile app, in seven languages. Payslips also land on WhatsApp encrypted.
Link to this answerHow long does it take to switch from Keka?
A typical SMB switch takes 7–10 days: 1–2 days to export and reconcile, 1 day to configure, 3–5 days to enrol faces and run a parallel attendance week, then 1 day to switch over and run the first WappBlaster-driven payroll cycle.
Link to this answerIs WappBlaster's payroll really at parity with Keka's?
On the modules we cover, yes, India PF, ESI, per-state PT, TDS (old + new regime), LWF, ECR PF challan, Form 16, Form 12BA, and UAE WPS files for the major banks are all built-in. Keka has comparable depth on India payroll plus broader add-ons like performance-linked variable pay that WappBlaster does not include.
Link to this answerWhich is stronger for field sales / MR / service teams?
WappBlaster by a significant margin. Anti-spoof GPS, geofence visits, dynamic DSR / order forms, photo + GPS proof, distance reimbursement and offline buffer are all built-in. Keka does not have field-tracking depth at this level.
Link to this answerDoes WappBlaster integrate with Keka if I keep recruitment / performance there?
Yes, WappBlaster can sync employees with Keka via CSV / API integration. Most customers run attendance + payroll on WappBlaster and keep Keka for recruitment and performance, with a daily sync of the employee master.
Link to this answerStill not answered?
Ask a real person. We reply on WhatsApp, usually within the hour.
See it on your own data
A 20-minute call on AnyDesk, Google Meet or Zoom. We set it up with your real team and your real numbers, then you decide.