If your team is between 50 and 500 employees and you’re evaluating an HRMS in 2026, four names dominate every shortlist we see: BambooHR, HiBob, Keka, and VeloHR. We’ll publish the comparison the way buyers actually need it: by what’s included, not by glossy capability lists that all four marketing pages claim.
The fast verdict
- BambooHR — best brand recognition; strong core HR + onboarding; payroll requires a bolt-on for non-US; AI features lag (mostly “assistants”).
- HiBob — best looking product; engagement + performance built-in; pricing requires sales calls; international payroll via partners.
- Keka — deepest India coverage of the three incumbents (PF, ESI, TDS, Form 16); UX still feels like a traditional HRMS; modules priced separately.
- VeloHR — everything (including AI, engagement, hiring, multi-country payroll) in one product at one price; designed AI-native from day one; India + US + UK payroll shipped.
What’s included at the ‘Pro’ tier
The single most useful comparison axis is what shows up in the box before the upsell starts. The four products diverge here more than their pricing pages suggest.
- Core HR + Leave — all four include this.
- Payroll — included in Keka (India) and VeloHR (India, US, UK). BambooHR Pro is +$60 base/mo per country. HiBob via Bob Payroll partners (extra fee).
- Performance reviews + goals — included in HiBob and VeloHR. BambooHR Performance is a separate SKU. Keka Performance is a separate module.
- Engagement + surveys + kudos — included in HiBob and VeloHR. BambooHR + Keka rely on a bolt-on (Officevibe, Culture Amp).
- Recruiting / ATS — included in VeloHR only. BambooHR Hiring is +$8/recruiter/mo. Keka Hire is separate. HiBob via Greenhouse partnership.
- AI features at every tier — included in VeloHR. BambooHR ‘Ask BambooHR’ is gated to Pro+. HiBob ‘Bob AI’ is an add-on. Keka AI is patchy across modules.
India-market fit
If you’re hiring in India, the bar is statutory completeness: PF, ESI, professional tax (state-wise), TDS slabs with old vs new regime, Form 16 generation, gratuity, ECR challan files, NACH/NEFT bank file output. Of the four:
- Keka and VeloHR handle the full statutory stack native, including 24Q and Form 16. Keka has the deeper history here; VeloHR ships the same surface plus the multi-country architecture.
- BambooHR sells India payroll via partners. Expect a separate vendor in the renewal cycle.
- HiBob uses external payroll partners for India.
Pricing models compared
All four list per-employee monthly pricing publicly to varying degrees. The structures matter more than the dollar amounts because bundles + bolt-ons hide real cost.
- BambooHR: tiered (Essentials / Advantage / Pro) + per-module add-ons (Payroll, Hiring, Time Tracking, etc.).
- HiBob: opaque — sales call required. Public benchmarks place mid-market deals around $14–20 per employee per month before performance/comp add-ons.
- Keka: tiered (Foundation / Strength / Growth) + per-module add-ons (Hire, Performance).
- VeloHR: flat by headcount only. Up to 5 employees → free forever. 6–30 → ₹5,000/month total. From the 31st employee → ₹150/employee/month. 200+ → enterprise quote. Every feature included at every tier.
When to pick which
- BambooHR — US-only, sub-200 employees, you value brand and account-mgmt over included AI / payroll breadth.
- HiBob — design-conscious mid-market, mostly Europe / global, willing to pay for premium UX and partner-payroll glue.
- Keka — India-only, you want a familiar traditional HRMS UX and don’t need engagement / hiring in the box.
- VeloHR — you want India + US + UK payroll on one platform, real AI shipped in every module, and predictable per-headcount pricing with no per-module upsell ever.
We’re biased; we built one of the four. But the comparison-axis answers above (what’s included, India fit, pricing model) are checkable on each vendor’s own pricing page. Demand the box before you compare the brochure.