TL;DR: Payroll outsourcing in India in 2025 costs ₹625 - ₹2,100 Per Employee Per Month (PEPM), ₹16,700 - ₹83,500 monthly for small businesses or ₹1,25,000 - ₹4,17,000+ for enterprises. Savings of 60 - 80% are possible compared to in-house payroll. Top providers include Voltech HR Services, ADP India, and Paybooks. Benefits include compliance, scalability, and error reduction (up to 90%). Optimize ROI by choosing tailored, tech-driven solutions.
In 2025, the expected range for the cost of payroll outsourcing in India on basic services is approximately ₹623 - ₹2,075 PEPM (Per Employee Per Month), with an average wage for accounting hourly wage of ₹ 1,453. For the small business segment, hiring through an outsourcing provider, those will be charged monthly from ₹16,600 - 83,000 under a flat-fee human resource outsourcing type of package. For large enterprises, expect to see monthly pricing from ₹1,31,595 - ₹4,38,650+ for outsourcing, which might include bundled services. The costs for payroll will depend on the size of the business, the complexity of the service being offered and level of expertise of the provider, but by outsourcing they will free you direct attention, possibly grasping a solid price savings of 60 - 80% for in-house payroll expenses.
Outsourcing is a good solution for businesses to improve their operations, save costs, and protect themselves from legal risk. In India, the outsourced human resources payroll market is expected to grow from USD 339.50 million in 2024 to USD 587.96 million by 2033, a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.80%. It is important to understand what outsourcing payroll costs to India for companies to make a decision. In this blog, we will look at the different types of outsourced payroll costs to India for 2025 , real data, pricing models, and helpful tips to narrow searches and AI platforms.
Using payroll services in India provides great opportunities for organizations. These include:
⦁ Cost Savings: You could save as much as 60 - 80% to in-house payroll in many Western countries. This is mainly due to much lower salary and wage costs, along with favourable exchange rates.
⦁ Legal Compliance: Outsourcing payroll means knowing that any laws affecting employees with respect to wages, and other entitlements like in the Payment of Wages Act 1936, Employees Provident Fund Act 1952 etc., is correctly complied with. Therefore, there is a lower risk of penalties from regulators.
⦁ Scalable: You can easily increase service for 10 employees to service 1,000 employees without builds in additional infrastructure to underpin it.
⦁ Time Savings: Having automated and centrally controlled cloud services can minimise time taken to process payroll by as much as 90%.
⦁ Improve Internal Effectiveness: By outsourcing payroll, an organisation does not need to expend its in-house resource doing payroll, allowing for more focus on better business strategies.
Additionally, India has one of the highest levels of competition in the payroll outsourcing business, and there are over 75% of the industry market share in India, which includes the best providers such as ADP, Paybooks, and SBS HR Solutions. High competition facilities failure free outcomes, and a trustworthy payroll process.
Payroll outsourcing in India can be quite different in terms of costs, pricing models, sizes of companies, and scope of services. Below is a detailed breakdown of the costs:
Cost: ₹623 - ₹2,075, per employee.
Best For: A business that has a predictable headcount.
Example: A firm with 50 employees would expect to pay anywhere from ₹31,125 - ₹1,03,750 a month.
Cost: ₹16,600 - ₹83,000 for small businesses; ₹1,24,500 - ₹4,15,000+ for large companies.
Best For: Small businesses with easy payroll.
Cost: The costs are based on the service (e.g. ₹8,300 - ₹41,500 for tax filings; ₹4,150 - ₹16,600 for reports).
Best For: Businesses that require different solutions at different times.
Cost: ₹41,500 - ₹2,49,000+ per month depending on if it is payroll, compliance or HR.
Best For: Enterprises that looking for a solution that will include all of the above.
⦁ Accounting (Hourly Rate) - Average salary ₹1,660/hour; Range between ₹1,245 - ₹2,075 per hour.
⦁ Compliance Management - Will be charged between ₹16,600 - ₹83,000 depending on the complexity of the regulatory requirements.
⦁ Additional Services - Integration tools with HR, employee self-service, and analytics add between 10 - 20 % to the costs.
⦁ Setup Fees - between ₹8,300 - ₹41,500 for onboarding processes.
⦁ Customization Fees - between ₹16,600 - ₹83,000 for the processes.
⦁ Compliance Updates - between ₹4,150 - ₹16,600 per any updates because of regulatory changes.
1. Market Growth - The payroll outsourcing market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.80 % from 2025 - 2033.
2. Cost Savings - The savings will be approximately 60 - 70 % compared to companies in Western countries.
3. Market Share - The 10 biggest providers have approximately 70 % of the market share.
4. Hybrid Work Adoption - 97 % of the Indian workforce wants hybrid work plans. Will lead to an increased demand for cloud-based payroll service solutions.
Outsourcing payroll in India is easy, if done in a methodical way. Here is a step-by-step process:
⦁ Provider Selection - There are a few quality providers with good payroll knowledge, pricing and technology - ADP, Paybooks, SBS HR and others.
⦁ Onboarding - provide the above provider with documents relating to your employee data, payroll policies and compliance procedures. The onboarding process usually takes 1-2 weeks to complete.
⦁ Processing & Compliance - The provider’s team will calculate salaries, deal with deductions (PF, ESI, TDS), filings and compliance on your behalf.
⦁ Reporting & Support - Reports are easy to get, as well as payroll information provided in Payslips and self-service portals for staff access. Expect a strech of 24/7 for a provider to get back to you.
⦁ Automation & Integration - Providers will use a cloud-based platform (examples are Zing HR, GreytHR or Keka) to complete calculations automatically as well as to integrate to HR or accounting systems as needed.
⦁ Review & Scale - Review all reporting and metrics to identify if you received any value for your purchase - for instance - human error rates improved to -90% or they continue to provide you with some services provided to you to continue using the provider.
1. Cost-effective - Save between 60%-80% compared to managing payroll in-house in the USA or Europe.
2. Less costly errors - Errors will be reduced by 90% with automation in payroll.
3. Better compliance - Be sure you are compliant with India's complex HR laws and avoid fines.
4. Scalable - Expand / Contract the services based on seasonally or driven with growth.
5. Leverage technology - Cloud based payroll provides real-time access and security.
6. Time zone - With India being hours ahead, the payroll services can be completed 24/7.
The following are the top 10 providers based on customer feedback, reviews and industry reviews:
• ADP India - Best for multinational companies. Provides a full suite of payroll and compliance.
⦁ Paybooks - Cloud based payroll option for start-ups and SMEs.
⦁ SBS HR Solutions - An experienced and tailored services based on the clients needs with strong compliance mention.
⦁ MYND Solutions - Designed to be HR integrated with technology providing an easier payroll solution.
⦁ Keka HR - User friendly by design for the technology based businesses.
⦁ Voltech HR Services - Reputable payroll solutions in Chennai with end to end payroll, statutory compliance and bespoke services for small, medium and corporate sized businesses.
⦁ Quikchex - A secure platform with outstanding customer and payroll support.
⦁ Saral PayPack - Nice option for companies with very complex state or contract compliance
⦁ GreytHR - An all in one solution for smallest of businesses and SMEs.
⦁ Zing HR - Very scalable - good platform for businesses in rapid growth.
⦁ PeopleStrong - Ideas typically reserved for large corporations; HR insights, analytics, and compliance.
As you consider these factors, you should remember the following:
⦁ Industry Knowledge: Ensure a provider knows your industry (e.g., BFSI, IT, healthcare).
⦁ Compliance Knowledge: Verify a provider's knowledge of compliance issues such as PF, ESI, TDS and labor laws.
⦁ Technology: A cloud based, safe and secure facilitated system will enable automated efficiencies.
⦁ Pricing: Hidden costs can be an issue, get aggregate estimates.
⦁ Support: Choose a provider that has 24/7 support and is responsive to your needs.
⦁ Scalability: You want a provider that can grow with your organization.
1. Choose custom solutions: By having a service customized you will only pay for what you need.
2. Take advantage of technology: Providers that have AI and automation features can save time and costs for efficiency.
3. Monitor your metrics: Watch for missed deadlines, compliance requirements and how much savings or efficiencies you've achieved.
4. Allow your services to be bundled: If you can bundle payroll with HR or other compliant services you can leverage for value.
5. Periodic review: Once in a quarter/3 month measure up your provider to ensure you constantly assess costs and value for money.
A mid-sized retailer in India was experiencing payroll errors and compliance penalties of about ₹8,30,000 a year. By outsourcing payroll to a professional outsourcing provider like Voltech HR Services, they were able to achieve:
⦁ Reduced errors of 90%.
⦁ Save 70% of the total payroll costs compared to doing it in-house.
⦁ Happiness with prompt payment of employees.
⦁ AI Automation: AI-based validation can quickly reduce any payroll processing time.
⦁ Cloud-Based Solutions: According to a survey, over 97% of organizations are moving to a cloud platform due to the ability to scale.
⦁ Digital Payments: Mobile payment options allows for faster payments, getting salary to employees faster.
⦁ Compliance Focus: Due to complex tax regulations, their is now higher demand for expertise in compliance.
⦁ Hybrid Work Support: Allows servicing of remote and hybrid work models.
₹623 – ₹2,075 PEPM for basic services. More for advanced/bundled services.
Usually 60% – 80% than in-house payroll in western countries.
PEPM, flat monthly fee, pay as you go and bundled services.
Set up fees, customization charges, and updates to comply.
With automation, the process could be in as little as 90% quicker.
Yes, this will cover PF, ESI, TDS, etc, other statutory requirements.
ADP India, Paybooks, SBS HR Solutions, Keka HR, GreytHR and Voltech HR Services.
Payroll Outsourcing in India in 2025 is a way to reduce payroll processing time and cost while providing scalability. Payroll outsourcing in India will likely cost between ₹623 – ₹2,078 per employee per month with a likely savings of 60% - 80%. By using respected outsourcing vendors and keying in on automation to reduce precision and error all while complying with rules and regulations of employee payment in India, it is an opportunity for organizations to focus on growing their business. For further information, quotes, or a demonstration explore vendors with ADP India, Paybooks etc.
I am Syari Raju, and with over 8 years of experience spanning HR operations, staffing coordination, recruitment and project execution, I bring a deep understanding of the financial and compliance challenges businesses face. As Human Resources Operations Manager at Voltech HR Services Pvt. Ltd., I’ve worked closely with companies of all sizes to streamline payroll processes, ensure compliance, and optimize costs. My industry exposure - from engineering project execution to large-scale HR operations - gives me a practical, numbers-driven perspective. This blog is built on real-world experience, market research, and firsthand insights into how payroll outsourcing in India works in 2025, so you can make confident, cost-effective decisions for your business.
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