Our Full Review
Zoho People is part of Zoho's sprawling suite of business applications. It offers comprehensive HR functionality at a price point that makes competitors look expensive. The catch: the interface is dated, and the learning curve is steep.
After extensive testing, our verdict: Zoho People is the best value HRIS if you're willing to trade polish for price. Especially compelling if you already use other Zoho products.
Who Should Use Zoho People?
- Existing Zoho users (CRM, Books, Recruit, etc.) wanting unified ecosystem
- Budget-conscious companies needing full HRIS without high costs
- Tech-savvy HR teams comfortable with configuration and customization
- Global companies needing multi-country, multi-currency support
Who Should Look Elsewhere?
- Teams prioritizing UX — interface is clunky compared to BambooHR or HiBob
- Non-technical HR teams — steep learning curve can be frustrating
- Companies wanting quick setup — configuration takes time
- Those outside Zoho ecosystem — key value is integration with other Zoho products
Core HR Features
Zoho People covers comprehensive HRIS needs:
- Employee database — unlimited custom fields, document storage
- Org charts — visual hierarchy with filtering
- Employee self-service — portal for info updates, requests
- Leave management — complex policy support, accruals, approvals
- Time tracking — timesheets, attendance, shift scheduling
- Case management — employee inquiries and HR ticket system
Performance Management
Performance features are robust (included in Professional tier):
- Customizable review cycles
- 360-degree feedback
- Goal setting and OKR tracking
- Continuous feedback
- Competency frameworks
- Appraisal workflows
More comprehensive than most competitors at this price point.
Customization & Workflows
This is where Zoho People shines (and overwhelms):
- Create custom modules (e.g., asset tracking, travel management)
- Custom fields of any type (text, dropdown, formula, lookup)
- Workflow automation (approvals, notifications, field updates)
- Custom forms and portals
- Blueprint workflows for complex processes
You can build almost anything. The downside: it takes time and technical understanding.
Zoho Ecosystem Integration
If you use multiple Zoho products, this is powerful:
- Zoho Payroll: Seamless payroll integration
- Zoho Recruit: ATS data flows directly into People
- Zoho Books: Financial data syncing
- Zoho CRM: Employee roles tied to customer data
- Zoho Projects: Task and project assignments
- Zoho Desk: Employee IT helpdesk
The integrations are native and well-built. For Zoho shops, this is a huge workflow advantage.
Mobile App
Mobile apps are functional:
- Clock in/out
- Request and approve leave
- Submit timesheets
- Access employee directory
- Fill out forms
The app works but feels dated. Gets the job done without being delightful.
Reporting & Analytics
Reporting is comprehensive but complex:
- Pre-built reports for common metrics
- Custom report builder
- Charts and dashboards
- Scheduled report delivery
- Export to Excel, PDF, CSV
Powerful if you know how to use it. Overwhelming if you don't. Expect a learning curve.
International Features
Zoho People has strong global support:
- Multi-currency support
- Multi-language interface (15+ languages)
- Country-specific compliance features
- Global payroll integrations
- Localized date/time formats
Better international support than most US-centric HR platforms.
Pricing
Zoho People's pricing is remarkably affordable:
Essential: $1.50/employee/month (annual)
- Employee database
- Leave management
- Time & attendance
- Employee self-service
- Files & documents
Professional: $2/employee/month (annual)
- Everything in Essential
- Performance management
- Custom modules
- Advanced workflows
- Mobile app
Premium: $3/employee/month (annual)
- Everything in Professional
- Custom dashboards
- Advanced analytics
- Sentiment analysis (beta)
Enterprise: $4.50/employee/month (annual)
- Everything in Premium
- Sandbox environment
- Dedicated account manager
- Premium support
Example costs:
- 50-employee company on Professional: $100/month ($1,200/year)
- 200-employee company on Premium: $600/month ($7,200/year)
Compare to BambooHR (50 employees): ~$400-600/month. Zoho is 80-85% cheaper.
Support & Documentation
Support is hit-or-miss:
- Email and chat support
- Extensive documentation and forums
- Video tutorials
- Community support
Response quality varies. Free/low-tier plans get slower support. Documentation is comprehensive—you'll use it often.
The Bottom Line
Zoho People offers enterprise-level features at startup pricing. The value is undeniable—$1.50-4/employee/month is 70-80% cheaper than BambooHR, HiBob, or Personio.
The trade-off: dated interface, steep learning curve, and complexity. You're saving money by doing more configuration work yourself.
Best for:
- Zoho ecosystem users who want unified HR
- Budget-conscious companies with technical HR teams
- Global companies needing multi-country support
Not ideal for:
- Teams wanting modern, intuitive UX
- Quick implementations with minimal configuration
- HR teams without technical skills
If you're willing to invest time in setup and training, Zoho People delivers exceptional value. If you want polish and simplicity, pay more for BambooHR or HiBob.