TalentHR vs Zoho People (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Zoho People: it is first in our ranking of HR software (TalentHR is third), though TalentHR grades higher (2.6 against 2.4) on value for money and the free plan.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Zoho People grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
TalentHR
HR records, time off, hiring and reviews for small teams
Zoho People
Low-cost HR records, attendance, shifts and reviews from Zoho
Which one is for you
Pick TalentHR if
- Fits if you are a team of 10 or fewer and need HR records and time off without paying
- Works for a team of 15 or more that wants cheap HR with mobile apps
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you are 11 to 14 people, because the free plan stops at 10 and paid plans start at 15 users
- Pricey if you want performance reviews, goals or time tracking, which are Premium at $4
- Watch out: the AI HR assistant is marked beta on the pricing page
- Watch out: Essential adds only assets, Safe voice and custom fields over the free plan
Pick Zoho People if
- Fits if you already use Zoho apps for hiring, expenses or payroll
- Works for staff who clock in at a kiosk or a biometric device
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you need both attendance and reviews, as that means Enterprise at $8 a user
- Skip it if you want payroll in the same app, as Zoho sells it separately
- Not for you if you're more than 3 people and hoping to stay free
- Pricey if you want recruiting and expenses too, as the People Plus bundle is $9 a user a month
- Watch out: Essential HR at $3 leaves out time off, and firms over 500 users must ask for a quote
How we grade them
| 2.6GPATalentHRGood | 2.4GPAZoho PeopleFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$2 a user a month on yearly billing for Essential and $4 for Premium, both inside the cheapest quarter. Paid plans need 15 users, so the floor is $30 a month. | 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 | BFree for up to 10 users with the employee database, time off, reports, onboarding lists and applicant tracking. A 14-day trial of Premium features is offered on top. | 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 | CHR records, time off, hiring, reviews and an AI assistant. Performance, goals, time tracking, surveys and document signing are Premium only, and the AI assistant is marked beta. | 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 rating is on record, but the listing shows accounts to set up and records to load before use. | 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, iOS and Android, with Google Workspace, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zapier and others listed. No desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, QuickBooks, Slack and Zoho's own apps. No desktop app. |
| Best for | a free HR system for up to 10 people | small businesses already on other Zoho apps |
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: TalentHR and Zoho People. How we grade
Price against what you get
TalentHR starts at $2 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoho People starts at $3 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Zoho People scores higher, and starts $1 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other HR software on the chart, none scores higher than TalentHR for less, and none scores higher than Zoho People for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- TalentHR also covers time tracking, surveys and applicant tracking.
- Zoho People also covers reports, shift scheduling and time clock.
At a glance
| TalentHR | Zoho People | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2 per user / month, billed annually ($2.40 billed monthly) | $3 per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free plan for up to 10 users with the employee database, time off tracking, file storage, reports, onboarding and applicant tracking. | Free for up to 3 users: employee database, time off and vacation planning, and document management. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Premium features for new users | 30-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | TalentHR | Zoho Corporation |
| Price read from | talenthr.io | zoho.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
TalentHR
- Paid plans need at least 15 users and change in steps of 5, so a team of 11 to 14 has no paid option.
- Performance management, goals, time tracking, surveys and document signing are Premium features.
- The free plan stops at 10 users, and the AI HR assistant is marked as a beta feature on the pricing page.
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
TalentHR
- Employee records and files
- A central employee database with file storage that tracks document expiry dates, plus custom fields on paid plans.
- Time off tracking
- Employees request leave and managers approve it, with accruals and calendar sync to Google and Outlook.
- Hiring and onboarding
- Applicant tracking with a careers page and AI job description writing, plus onboarding and offboarding task lists.
- Performance and engagement
- Goal setting, 360-degree reviews and employee surveys, which the pricing page places on Premium.
- People analytics
- Reports on headcount, gender ratios, departments and salary distribution, with custom report exports.
- AI HR assistant
- An assistant for TalentHR and company questions, plus CV summaries and candidate suitability scoring.
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
TalentHR
Free$0
Up to 10 users, with core HR records, time off, reports, onboarding lists and applicant tracking.
Essential$2
per user / month, billed annually ($2.40 billed monthly)
Adds asset management, Safe voice and custom fields. Minimum of 15 users, in steps of 5.
Premium$4
per user / month, billed annually ($4.80 billed monthly)
Adds performance management, goals, time tracking, surveys and document signing. Minimum of 15 users.
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
TalentHR
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
The pricing page toggle shows annual billing saving 20% against monthly: Essential $2.00 vs $2.40 and Premium $4.00 vs $4.80 per user a month.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, TalentHR or Zoho People?
As of Nov 12, 2026, TalentHR is cheaper to start with: $2 a month for each person, against $3 a month for each person for Zoho People. TalentHR starts at $2 per user / month, billed annually ($2.40 billed monthly), and Zoho People starts at $3 per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, TalentHR or Zoho People?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both TalentHR and Zoho People have 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.