Sesame HR vs Zoho People
We give Sesame HR and Zoho People the same GPA: 2.4 out of 4.0. 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.
Sesame HR
Modular HR from Spain built around clock-ins, time off and shifts
Zoho People
Low-cost HR records, attendance, shifts and reviews from Zoho
How we grade them
| 2.4GPASesame HRFair | 2.4GPAZoho PeopleFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEssential is $3.75 an employee a month on yearly billing, but with a 15-employee minimum, a ten-person company pays at least $56.25 a month, for time tracking, time off and shifts. That's under this category's middle, and smaller firms are sent to sales. | CWorkforce is $5 a user a month on yearly billing, the cheapest plan with time off, so a ten-person company pays $50. It adds attendance and timesheets too. That's under this category's middle; Essential HR is $3 but leaves time off out. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no commitment. | CFree for up to 3 users, with records, time off and documents. Fine for a look around, but a ten-person team is well past it. There's also a 30-day trial. |
| Features | BClock-ins with overtime and remote work, time off, shifts, documents, onboarding, contracts and e-signatures on every plan, then recruiting, surveys and reviews higher up. The whole job, with a lean towards time tracking. | BRecords, onboarding, documents, an HR help desk, time off, attendance by kiosk or biometric device, shift rosters, timesheets, goals, appraisals and courses. The whole job, though payroll and hiring are separate Zoho apps. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record, and setting up shifts, clock-in rules and overtime takes time. | CNo App Store rating on record, and with features split between Workforce and Talent, you'll need to think before you pick a plan. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with an API on Scale or a custom plan. No integrations are on record, and there's no desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, QuickBooks, Slack and Zoho's own apps. No desktop app. |
| Best for | teams that must record working hours | low-cost HR for small businesses |
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: Sesame HR and Zoho People. How we grade
Where they differ
- Sesame HR starts at $3.75 per employee / month, billed annually ($5.25 billed monthly), 15-employee minimum. Zoho People starts at $3 per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly).
- Zoho People has a free plan. Sesame HR does not, though it has a free trial.
- Sesame HR also covers applicant tracking.
- Zoho People also covers reports.
At a glance
| Sesame HR | Zoho People | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $3.75 per employee / month, billed annually ($5.25 billed monthly), 15-employee minimum | $3 per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Free for up to 3 users: employee database, time off and vacation planning, and document management. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no commitment | 30-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Sesame Labs, S.L. | Zoho Corporation |
| Price read from | sesamehr.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Sesame HR
- Companies with 15 or more staff that must record working hours
- Teams that plan shifts and need clock-in records
- Employers in Spain, Latin America or elsewhere in Europe
Zoho People
- Small businesses that want HR at a low price per user
- Companies already using Zoho apps such as Recruit, Expense or Payroll
- Employers that track attendance with kiosks or biometric devices
Worth knowing
Sesame HR
- Billing is per active employee with a 15-employee minimum; smaller companies are asked to contact sales.
- It has country sites for the US, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Spain, France, the UK, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal.
- The API and single sign-on come only with Scale or a custom plan; prices exclude taxes.
- On monthly billing Essential costs more per employee ($5.25) than Connect ($5.00), as the page shows.
Zoho People
- The free plan stops at 3 users in the US (5 elsewhere) and covers only records, time off and documents.
- Payroll and recruiting are separate Zoho products; the People Plus bundle with Recruit, Expense, Sign and others is $9 per user a month billed annually.
- Workforce and Talent each cover half the toolset: getting both attendance and performance reviews means Enterprise.
- Companies with more than 500 users are asked to request a quote.
Key features
Sesame HR
- Time tracking and clock-ins
- Employees clock in and out from the web or app, with overtime management and remote-work tracking, kept for legal compliance.
- Time off and shifts
- Holiday and leave requests with approvals, and shift planning for teams on rotas, included from the cheapest plan.
- Core HR
- Every plan has a 3 GB document manager, org chart and directory, onboarding and offboarding, contract management, team chat and desk booking.
- Digital signature
- Core includes one signature per employee a month for contracts and documents.
- Recruitment, surveys and performance
- Higher plans add a recruiting pipeline, internal communication, employee surveys and performance reviews.
- Payroll data and Sesame AI
- Gathers absences, advances and incentives for payroll and sends payslips to the app; Enterprise tiers add AI, automations and advanced permissions.
Zoho People
- Employee records and documents
- A central employee database with self-service profiles, multi-entity management, onboarding and offboarding flows, exit interviews and document storage.
- Attendance and time off
- Staff check in on the web, the mobile app, a face-recognition kiosk or a biometric device, with IP and location limits, leave policies and accruals.
- Shift rosters and timesheets
- Create shifts, rotate them automatically, take shift-change requests, and log time against jobs and clients for approval.
- Goals, appraisals and training
- The Talent plan adds OKRs, appraisals with feedback, and a learning management system for courses.
- Zia AI
- Zoho's assistant answers employees' questions, carries out HR tasks and analyzes people data.
- HR help desk and surveys
- Employees raise cases with HR in a help desk, and HR runs eNPS, pulse and engagement surveys.
Plans
Sesame HR
Essential$3.75
per employee / month, billed annually ($5.25 billed monthly)
Core plus time tracking, time off and holidays, and shifts. Minimum 15 employees ($56.25 a month).
Connect$4.25
per employee / month, billed annually ($5.00 billed monthly)
Essential plus tasks, recruitment and internal communication. Minimum $63.75 a month.
Growth$6.25
per employee / month, billed annually ($6.75 billed monthly)
Enterprise tiers of Core, time tracking and time off, plus culture and performance modules. Minimum $93.75 a month.
Scale$7.00
per employee / month, billed annually ($8.00 billed monthly)
Growth with Enterprise internal communication and performance, single sign-on and the API. Minimum $105 a month.
Custom planCustom
Pick the modules and add-ons you need with an adviser, and pay only for those.
Zoho People
Free$0
Up to 3 users, with the employee database, time off and documents.
Essential HR$3
per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly)
AI agent, onboarding and offboarding, documents, benefits and compensation planning, engagement surveys, HR help desk and reports.
Workforce$5
per user / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)
Essential HR plus time off, attendance for full-time staff and timesheets with overtime rules.
Talent$5
per user / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)
Essential HR plus OKRs, performance evaluations and a learning management system.
Enterprise$8
per user / month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)
Essential HR, Workforce and Talent together, plus a sandbox and premium support.
Ways to pay less
Sesame HR
- Annual discount
Lower per-employee price with annual billing
The page labels annual billing as saving 20%; the gap varies by plan, from $3.75 against $5.25 on Essential to $6.25 against $6.75 on Growth.
Zoho People
- Annual discount
Over 20% off with yearly billing
Zoho says yearly billing saves more than 20%: Essential HR is $3 a user a month billed yearly against $4 monthly.
