Factorial vs ZenHR (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Factorial and ZenHR share a 2.0 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
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 ZenHR if
- Fits if you run payroll in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt or Jordan
- Works for firms that need attendance clock links
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price on the page, since both bundles are quote-only
- Not for you if you run payroll outside the 11 MENA countries
- Tight if you need SSO, salary scales or open APIs, which are Advanced only
- Watch out: the Value bundle keeps only 6 months of activity logs
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFactorialFair | 2.0GPAZenHRFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CNo price published: both bundles are Contact Sales, quoted by headcount, countries and bundle. |
| 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 or trial; the call to action is a demo or quote. |
| 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. | BLocalized payroll, attendance with geolocation, self-service, hiring, evaluation and links to government portals, covering the job for the region. |
| 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. A quote and rollout come before use. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Google Workspace, Zapier, DATEV, Sage 200, Okta and Power BI. No desktop app. | BWeb plus iPhone and Android, with Slack, NetSuite, SAP, QuickBooks, Xero and ZKTeco. No desktop app. |
| Best for | shift-based teams wanting HR and rotas together | HR and payroll across MENA countries |
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 ZenHR. How we grade
Where they differ
- Factorial also covers time tracking, expense tracking and shift scheduling.
- ZenHR also covers reports and payroll.
In commonWebiOSAndroidAI featuresApplicant trackingEmployee recordsTime off
At a glance
| Factorial | ZenHR | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ZenHR |
| Price read from | factorial.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
ZenHR
- No prices are published: both bundles are Contact Sales, with quotes based on headcount, countries and bundle.
- The Value bundle keeps 6 months of user activity logs; single sign-on, salary scales, cost centers, company expenses and open APIs are only in the Advanced bundle.
- Built for 11 MENA countries; the vendor's pages do not describe use for payroll elsewhere.
- No free plan or trial is listed on the pricing page; the call to action is a demo or price quote request.
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.
ZenHR
- Localized payroll
- Multi-payroll and multi-branch runs with local rules, WPS and bank salary files, end-of-service calculations and loans linked to payroll.
- Time and attendance
- Geolocation check-ins from the mobile app, fingerprint and face devices such as ZKTeco, shift planning and rule-based disciplinary suggestions.
- Employee self-service
- A mobile app for leave, payslips, attendance, approvals, HR letters, air ticket and business trip requests.
- Employee management
- Directory, org structure, onboarding and offboarding, asset tracking, task management and approval cycles.
- Government portal links
- The site names native integrations with Mudad, Muqeem, WPS and GOSI for Saudi Arabia, and MOHRE and WPS reporting for the UAE.
- AI connection
- Connects HR data to an outside AI model so questions about workforce, leave and compliance can be asked in plain language.
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.
ZenHR
Pricing could not be confirmed. See zenhr.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Factorial or ZenHR?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Factorial starts at $8 per user / month and up, by quote, and ZenHR has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Factorial or ZenHR?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Factorial nor ZenHR has a free plan.
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.