Zoho People vs Zoho Recruit
We give Zoho People a 2.4 GPA and Zoho Recruit a 2.6, out of 4.0. Zoho Recruit grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Zoho People
Low-cost HR records, attendance, shifts and reviews from Zoho
Zoho Recruit
Per-recruiter ATS and recruitment CRM with a free one-job plan
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAZoho PeopleFair | 2.6GPAZoho RecruitGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BStandard is $25 a recruiter a month on yearly billing ($30 monthly), so a ten-person company with one recruiter pays $25 for 10 active jobs, a branded careers site and premium boards. That's in the cheaper quarter, but hiring managers need licences sold in packs of 10. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CA free plan with 1 active job per recruiter licence, candidate and email management and interview scheduling. The branded careers site and premium boards start on Standard. The 15-day trial needs no card and drops you onto the free plan. |
| Features | 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. | BPosting to a careers site, 75+ job boards and social media, a candidate CRM, Blueprints and workflows, portals for managers, clients and candidates, and AI matching. The whole job, though AI and automation need Enterprise. |
| Ease of 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. | CNo App Store rating on record, and Blueprints, portals and licence packs take some learning. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, QuickBooks, Slack and Zoho's own apps. No desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with 200+ integrations such as Google Meet, Teams, Slack, Mailchimp and TestGorilla. No desktop app. |
| Best for | low-cost HR for small businesses | low-cost hiring for teams already on Zoho |
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: Zoho People and Zoho Recruit. How we grade
Where they differ
- Zoho People starts at $3 per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly). Zoho Recruit starts at $25 per recruiter / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly).
- Zoho People also covers shift scheduling, time clock, employee records and time off.
- Zoho Recruit also covers workflow automation, applicant tracking, job board posting and skills tests.
At a glance
| Zoho People | Zoho Recruit | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $3 per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly) | $25 per recruiter / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free for up to 3 users: employee database, time off and vacation planning, and document management. | Forever Free: 1 active job per recruiter license, with candidate and email management, interview scheduling and 8/5 support. No add-ons. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial | 15-day free trial of Enterprise features, no credit card required; it then drops to the free plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Zoho Corporation | Zoho Corporation |
| Price read from | zoho.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Zoho Recruit
- Small HR teams that want a free or low-cost ATS
- Staffing agencies that need client and vendor portals
- Teams hiring for several roles at once on a per-recruiter budget
Worth knowing
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.
Zoho Recruit
- Active jobs are capped per recruiter license: 1 on Free, 10 on Standard and 20 on Enterprise.
- Hiring manager and employee licenses are sold only in packs of 10, and video interviews are charged per job opening.
- AI candidate matching, automation, custom reports and Teams or Meet links need Enterprise.
Key features
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.
Zoho Recruit
- Job distribution
- Publishes openings to a customizable careers site, 75+ free, paid and premium job boards, and social media.
- ATS and candidate CRM
- Tracks applicants through hiring pipelines and keeps a candidate relationship database for future roles.
- Blueprints and workflows
- Automates candidate emails, offer approvals and other steps with Blueprints, workflows and custom functions on Enterprise.
- Portals
- Separate portals for hiring managers, clients, vendors and candidates; the vendor portal and employee licenses are paid add-ons.
- AI help
- AI drafts job descriptions, emails and assessments and, on Enterprise, matches candidates to openings.
- 200+ integrations
- Connects out of the box with over 200 apps, such as Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Mailchimp and TestGorilla.
Plans
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.
Zoho Recruit
Free$0
1 active job per recruiter license, candidate and email management and interview scheduling.
Standard$25
per recruiter / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
10 active jobs per recruiter license, sourcing, premium job boards, a branded careers site, referrals, assessments, reports and 50+ integrations.
Enterprise$50
per recruiter / month, billed annually ($60 billed monthly)
20 active jobs per license, AI candidate matching, candidate and staffing portals, Blueprint, automation, custom reports, SMS and Teams/Meet.
Ways to pay less
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.
Zoho Recruit
- Annual discount
Save up to 16% with yearly billing
Zoho Recruit's pricing page says yearly billing saves up to 16%: Standard is $25 per recruiter a month billed annually against $30 billed monthly.
