SalaryBox Adds Payroll.
You Just Need Attendance.
SalaryBox charges ₹30/user/month (Starter) or ₹75/user/month (Business) plus a ₹1,500-3,000/month base fee. For 25 employees, that's ₹27,000-58,500/year. AttendFirst does attendance + leave at ₹10,485/year for 25 employees. If your CA handles payroll, you're paying for features you don't need.
Attendance and leave sit in one record, with Indian holidays and weekly offs already set up. Teams of 4-10 pay ₹3,000/year flat, and up to 3 employees costs nothing. All features included: GPS, selfie, QR, leave management, reports. No add-ons.
The short answer
SalaryBox is a workforce management platform: attendance, payroll, rosters, compliance in one app. AttendFirst is an attendance and leave tool with no payroll. The overlap is attendance - everything else is not what you're buying.
- Choose SalaryBox if: You process payroll in-house, want attendance + salary disbursement in one app, and need AI anti-spoofing on selfies.
- Choose AttendFirst if: You only need attendance tracking and leave management. Your CA handles payroll. You want GPS + selfie + QR on the free plan.
The Honest Cost Comparison
SalaryBox has a monthly base fee plus per-user charges. For 25 employees, here's what it actually costs.
| Cost item (25 employees) | SalaryBox (attendance only) | SalaryBox (+ payroll) | AttendFirst |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cost | ₹27,000 (Starter) | ₹58,500 (Business) | ₹10,485/year |
| Free plan | - | - | All features |
| GPS check-in | Included | Included | Included (free) |
| Selfie verification | AI anti-spoofing | AI anti-spoofing | Included (free) |
| QR code check-in | - | - | Included (free) |
| Leave management | Basic | Basic | Full (all plans) |
| Payroll | - | Included | - |
SalaryBox pricing: ₹1,500/month base + ₹30/user/month (Starter) or ₹3,000/month base + ₹75/user/month (Business). All prices exclusive of GST.
You save ₹17,015-48,515 every year.
Free for the first 3 employees. No payment required to start.
What Each Product Actually Does
Attendance Tracking
SalaryBox
AI-powered selfie with anti-spoofing (liveness detection) on Business plan. GPS and geofencing on Starter. Works on mobile app. No QR code check-in.
- ✓ GPS check-in (Starter+)
- ✓ AI selfie with anti-spoofing (Business)
- ✗ No QR code
- ✓ Native mobile app
AttendFirst
GPS, selfie, and QR code on the free plan. Works in any phone browser, no app download needed.
- ✓ GPS check-in (free)
- ✓ Selfie verification (free)
- ✓ QR code check-in (free)
- ✓ Works on any phone browser
Leave Management
SalaryBox
Basic leave tracking. Limited half-day leave support. No pro-rated quota calculation for mid-year joiners. No manager approval workflow depth.
- ~ Basic leave tracking
- ~ Limited half-day support
- ✗ No pro-rated quotas
- ~ Basic manager approval
AttendFirst
Unlimited leave types, half-day leaves, pro-rated quotas, manager approval workflow - all on the free plan.
- ✓ Unlimited leave types (free)
- ✓ Half-day leaves (free)
- ✓ Pro-rated mid-year joiners (free)
- ✓ Full manager approval workflow (free)
Payroll
SalaryBox
Salary calculation and bank transfer built in. Attendance feeds into payroll automatically. PF/ESI compliance handling. One app for both.
- ✓ Salary calculation
- ✓ Bank transfer to employees
- ✓ PF/ESI compliance
AttendFirst
No payroll. Ever. We give you clean attendance data in Excel. Your CA or payroll tool uses that. If payroll is your primary need, SalaryBox has it.
- ✗ No payroll (by design)
- ✓ Excel export with attendance data
- ✓ Clean data for your CA
Which One Is Right for You
Choose SalaryBox if:
- → You process payroll in-house and want it automated
- → You need salary disbursement to employee bank accounts
- → AI anti-spoofing on selfies is important (prevents photo fraud)
- → You want one app for attendance + payroll
- → You process salaries yourself and want convenience
SalaryBox Starter starts at ₹1,500/month + ₹30/employee/month. Business plan with payroll: ₹3,000/month + ₹75/employee/month.
Choose AttendFirst if:
- → You only need attendance tracking and leave management
- → Your CA handles payroll separately
- → You want all features on the free plan (GPS + selfie + QR + leave)
- → You have field workers, multiple locations, or retail stores
- → You want to pay 2-3x less for exactly what you need
AttendFirst is ₹10,485/year for 25 employees. Free for 3. GPS + selfie + QR on every plan.
Common Scenarios
"I have 20 employees, my CA does payroll monthly"
Use AttendFirst. ₹7,990/year for attendance + leave. Your CA continues with payroll. SalaryBox Starter at ₹27,000/year for 25 employees costs far more for features your CA already handles.
"I need payroll + attendance in one app"
Use SalaryBox. Payroll with bank transfer and PF/ESI built in. AttendFirst doesn't do payroll by design. If you process salaries in-house, SalaryBox is the better fit.
"I have 12 employees at retail stores across 3 locations"
Use AttendFirst. ₹3,998/year for 12 employees. GPS tells you which store each employee checked in from. Multi-location visibility on every plan.
"I have a factory with 50 workers and need anti-spoofing"
Use SalaryBox if AI anti-spoofing on selfie is critical. SalaryBox's Business plan has liveness detection. AttendFirst has selfie verification but not AI-grade anti-spoofing.
Switching from SalaryBox
The switch is quick. No data migration, no downtime.
- 1
Export attendance data from SalaryBox
Download attendance records as CSV. Most businesses start fresh in AttendFirst from the switch date - no import needed.
- 2
Sign up for AttendFirst
30 seconds at app.attendfirst.com/register. Free for the first 3 employees.
- 3
Add your employees
Add them manually or share the self-join link on WhatsApp. Employees sign up themselves, you approve in one tap.
- 4
Start tracking
Print your QR codes, share the link with your team. They're checking in by afternoon. Continue payroll through your CA as before.
Average switchover time: half a day. No consultants, no data migration project, no downtime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SalaryBox better than AttendFirst?+
SalaryBox bundles payroll at ₹30-75/employee/month (Starter at ₹30/user, Business at ₹75/user) with a monthly base fee. AttendFirst focuses on attendance + leave without payroll. If you need payroll and process salaries yourself, SalaryBox makes sense. If your CA handles payroll and you just need attendance, AttendFirst is 5-6x cheaper.
Does AttendFirst do payroll like SalaryBox?+
No. AttendFirst will never do payroll - this is a deliberate product decision. We give you clean attendance data (present days, late count, leave taken) in Excel. Your CA or payroll software uses that. If payroll is a core need, SalaryBox has it.
What's the real cost difference for 25 employees?+
AttendFirst: ₹10,485/year for 25 employees (first 3 free, 4-10 at ₹3,000/year flat, then ₹499/employee/year above 10). SalaryBox: ₹27,000/year (Starter plan for 25 employees). Business plan with payroll: ₹58,500/year. AttendFirst is consistently cheaper for attendance-only use.
Does SalaryBox have a free plan?+
No. SalaryBox has no free plan at all - not even a limited trial. AttendFirst is free forever for up to 3 employees with all features included (GPS, selfie, QR, leave management).
Can I use AttendFirst if my CA handles payroll?+
Yes. That's the ideal use case. Export monthly attendance as CSV from AttendFirst, hand it to your CA. ₹10,485/year for 25 employees vs SalaryBox Starter at ₹27,000/year for the same attendance tracking, without paying for payroll features your CA already handles.
Also comparing AttendFirst to:
Most teams look at a few tools before deciding. Here are the closest.
Ready to Simplify?
If you only need attendance and leave, pay a fraction of what SalaryBox costs. Free for up to 3 employees, forever.