Factorial vs Zelt (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Factorial grades higher than Zelt: 2.0 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Factorial grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Factorial
HR, time, shifts, expenses and IT for small firms, quoted by module
From $8/mo
Which one is for you
Pick Factorial if
- Fits if your staff work shifts and clock in by QR code or location
- Works for firms that want HR, expenses and company devices in one place
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a full price on the page, as only $8 and up is published
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as no trial is on record
- Pricey if you add lots of modules, since each one is quoted on top
- Watch out: monthly plans bill for everyone on staff at the start of each month
- Watch out: the site gives both 12 and 120 customer countries and doesn't list where payroll works
Pick Zelt if
- Fits if you are a UK company with 20 or more staff wanting HR and payroll together
- Works for teams that also want laptops and app access managed
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you have fewer than 20 people, as every module has a 20-seat minimum
- Watch out: audit trails, API access and data residency are Pro, which is sold through sales
- Tight if you stay on Core, which caps items like active jobs at 1 to 3
- Skip it if you are not in the UK, as payroll is UK-focused
- Skip it if you want an Android app, as only iOS is listed
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFactorialFair | 1.6GPAZeltWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFactorial starts at $8 a user a month, so a ten-person company pays $80 and up, right on this category's middle. That's for Core, with records, onboarding, payslips and e-signatures; any modules you add are quoted on top. | CThe pricing page publishes no table; only its title says plans start from £5 a month. With a 20-seat minimum, the floor is higher than that. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan, and the trial links on its pages led to a missing page, so no trial is on record. | FNo free plan and no trial on record in the listing, and a money-back guarantee would not count as one. |
| Features | BRecords, documents and e-signatures, time off, clock-ins by location or QR code, shift planning, hiring, reviews, training, expenses and device management. The whole job, with a fair bit more besides. | CRecords, time off, payroll, expenses, attendance, hiring, reviews and device management. Core caps things like absence policies, onboarding workflows and active jobs at 1 to 3. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record, and picking modules with sales, then setting up shifts and policies, takes a while. | CNo store rating on record. An all-in-one system takes time to configure. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Google Workspace, Zapier, DATEV, Sage 200, Okta and Power BI. No desktop app. | CWeb and an iPhone app, with only Xero listed as an integration. |
| Best for | shift-based teams wanting HR and rotas together | UK HR and payroll with a 20-seat minimum |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Factorial and Zelt. How we grade
Where they differ
- Factorial also covers time tracking, expense tracking and shift scheduling.
- Zelt also covers surveys, payroll and time clock.
In commonWebiOSApplicant trackingEmployee recordsTime off
At a glance
| Factorial | Zelt | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $8 per user / month and up, by quote | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Factorial | Zelt |
| Price read from | factorial.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Factorial
- Only the $8 starting figure is published; the real price comes in a quote that depends on the modules and the headcount.
- Monthly plans bill for the employees present at the start of each month; annual plans bill extra only in months above the agreed count.
- Offices are in Spain, Germany and Mexico; the about page says both 12 and 120 countries for its customers and does not list where payroll works.
- The free-trial links on its pages lead to a missing page, so a trial could not be confirmed.
Zelt
- The pricing page publishes no price table; only its page title says plans start from £5 per month.
- Every module has a 20-seat minimum on both Core and Pro.
- Core caps items such as absence policies, onboarding workflows and active jobs at 1 to 3; Pro is unlimited.
- Audit trails, API access and data residency control are Pro features, and Pro is sold through sales.
Key features
Factorial
- Core HR and documents
- Every plan has the employee directory, onboarding and offboarding, payslip distribution, bulk document sending, fillable PDFs and legal e-signatures.
- Time off and time tracking
- Unlimited time-off policies and custom absence types, plus clock-ins by geolocation or QR code with overtime compensation.
- Shift planning
- Build shifts in bulk, set rotating patterns or generate them automatically, and share the schedule with staff.
- Recruiting, reviews and training
- Post jobs to several boards with AI CV parsing, run 360-degree performance reviews, track goals and manage training with certificates.
- Expenses, projects and IT
- Read receipts with OCR, route expenses through multi-step approvals, log hours to projects, and manage devices and SaaS licenses.
- One, the AI assistant
- An AI agent that searches and analyzes company data, builds reports and prepares policies, contracts and payroll documents for review.
Zelt
- Employee records and time off
- The People module holds the employee and document databases, onboarding and offboarding, contract signing, a team calendar and custom approval rules.
- Payroll, expenses and benefits
- The Money module covers payroll, expenses, contractors, benefits and payments, with payroll tied to the same people data as the HR records.
- Attendance and shift planning
- Clock in and out, geo-fencing, overtime rules, pay multipliers and shift planning sit in the Attendance module.
- Hiring
- The Talent module lists automatic job board posting, custom application forms, candidate scoring, an anonymous hiring mode and custom hiring stages.
- Reviews, surveys and goals
- The Growth module includes performance reviews with 360 feedback, engagement surveys with heatmaps, and goal tracking.
- Devices and app access
- The Tech module keeps an asset register, handles device lock and wipe, and manages access to company apps when people join or leave.
Plans
Factorial
Tailored plan$8
per user / month and up
Factorial Core (directory, onboarding, payslip delivery, bulk documents, e-signature) plus the modules chosen. Quoted and sold through sales.
Zelt
Pricing could not be confirmed. See zelt.app.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Factorial or Zelt?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Factorial starts at $8 per user / month and up, by quote, and Zelt has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Factorial or Zelt?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Factorial nor Zelt has a free plan.
Which platforms do Factorial and Zelt run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Factorial lists an Android app. Both list a web app and an iOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.