All the compliance. None of the ₹9,999 floor.
Keka is a serious HR platform. But it was built for large HR departments, not for the 22-person IT firm that needs to bill clients accurately. Workclave fills exactly that gap.
| Feature | Workclave | Keka |
|---|---|---|
Session-based tracking Links time to projects, not just presence | Full session intelligence | Clock-in/out only |
Approval workflows Manager reviews before sessions close | Built-in, one-click approval | Manual process, not session-linked |
AI session analytics Automated insights on utilisation and billing | Powered by LLM, auto-generated | No AI features |
Pricing & minimums What you pay before adding your first user | ₹0 to start. ₹199/user. No floor. | ₹9,999/month base fee minimum |
What a team actually pays: Workclave vs Keka
Keka's entry plan starts at a base fee of ₹9,999/month that covers a block of employees, regardless of how many you actually have. For a small team, that base fee dominates the maths. Workclave has no base fee at all.
| Team size | Workclave | Keka |
|---|---|---|
| 10-person team | ₹1,990/mo (₹199 × 10) | ₹9,999/mo base fee |
| 20-person team | ₹3,980/mo (₹199 × 20) | ₹9,999/mo base fee |
| 50-person team | ₹9,950/mo (₹199 × 50) | ₹9,999/mo base fee |
Workclave: free up to 5 users, then ₹199/user/month with no base fee. Competitor pricing is approximate, as of July 2026 — always confirm current pricing on the vendor's own page. Keka's base plan covers up to a fixed employee block; per-employee charges and add-ons (payroll, PMS, recruitment) apply beyond it. Source: keka.com/pricing · Full breakdown: Keka pricing explained
An honest read on Keka
- Deep payroll engine — statutory compliance (PF, ESI, PT, TDS) handled end to end
- Mature HRMS breadth: recruitment, performance, expense claims, org management
- Well-established in India with a large customer base and partner ecosystem
- Strong fit for HR-led organisations of 100+ employees
- ₹9,999/month floor makes it expensive per head for teams under ~50
- Attendance is presence-first: clock-in/out with no project or client context
- Timesheets and attendance live in separate modules — billing needs manual reconciliation
- No manager approval step between logged time and billable records
Migrating from Keka to Workclave
Most teams complete the switch inside one billing cycle. No hardware, no implementation project.
- 1Export your employee list from Keka
A simple CSV of names and emails is all Workclave needs. Departments map to teams.
- 2Invite the team to Workclave
Employees get a link, sign in, and can self check-in from the browser the same day. No hardware.
- 3Create your projects and clients
Add the projects you bill against. From now on every session is linked to one at check-in.
- 4Run both tools for one payroll cycle
Keep Keka for the current cycle while Workclave builds the session history. Compare registers at month end.
- 5Switch the source of truth
Point payroll and invoicing at Workclave's approved-session exports, and drop the Keka subscription when the cycle closes.
What teams say when they switch from Keka
They were paying ₹9,999/month just to keep attendance compliant, and still fought billing disputes every month because project context was missing from timesheets.
They moved to session-linked check-ins and started each work block with a client tag. Disputes dropped and monthly tooling cost dropped with them.
Keka for payroll and Toggl for projects meant double entry every Friday. Team leads spent hours merging data before invoicing.
With Workclave, project context and approvals sit in the same flow. Friday reconciliation shrank from hours to minutes.
Workclave vs Keka: common questions
Is Workclave a good Keka alternative for small teams?
For teams under about 50 people whose main need is attendance, time tracking, and client billing — yes. Workclave has no base fee (₹199/user/month, free up to 5 users), while Keka starts at ₹9,999/month before the first user. If you need a full payroll and HRMS suite, Keka remains the stronger fit.
How much cheaper is Workclave than Keka for a 20-person team?
Roughly 60% at list prices as of July 2026: ₹3,980/month on Workclave (20 × ₹199) versus Keka's ₹9,999/month base fee — before Keka add-ons.
Does Keka link attendance to projects?
Keka records clock-in/clock-out attendance and has a separate timesheet module. There is no session-level link where attendance itself carries project and client context. In Workclave, every check-in is tied to a project at the moment it starts.
Can I migrate from Keka to Workclave without losing data?
Yes. Export your employee list as CSV, invite the team, and run both tools in parallel for one payroll cycle before switching the source of truth. Historical Keka records stay exportable from Keka for your archives.
Does Workclave handle payroll like Keka?
Workclave produces approved, project-linked session records and attendance registers that feed payroll — it does not replace a payroll engine. Many teams pair Workclave with a lightweight payroll service and still spend less than the Keka base fee.