Truein's Base Fee Is ₹69,000.
You Only Need Attendance.
Truein charges ₹69,000/year plus ₹290/employee/year. For 50 employees, that's ₹83,500/year before add-ons. AttendFirst does attendance and leave at ₹11,960/year for 50 employees. If payroll is not your primary problem, you're paying for a solution you don't need.
Free forever for up to 10 employees. All features included: GPS, selfie, QR, leave management, reports. No base fee, no add-ons.
The short answer
Truein is an enterprise workforce management platform built around payroll, compliance, and HR. AttendFirst is an attendance and leave tool. They're different products for different scales.
- Choose Truein if: You have 200+ employees, need payroll + compliance automation, and want an integrated HR suite. You have a dedicated HR team.
- Choose AttendFirst if: You only need attendance tracking and leave management. Your accountant handles payroll separately. You want GPS + selfie verification on the free plan.
The Honest Cost Comparison
Truein's pricing has two components: a ₹69,000 base fee plus per-employee charges. Here's what 50 employees actually costs.
| Cost item (50 employees) | Truein | AttendFirst |
|---|---|---|
| Base/platform fee | ₹69,000/year | ₹0 |
| Per-employee charge | ₹14,500 (₹290x50) | ₹11,960 ((50-10)x299) |
| Year 1 total | ₹83,500+ | ₹11,960 |
| GPS check-in | Included | Included (free) |
| Selfie verification | Included | Included (free) |
| QR code check-in | Not available | Included (free) |
| Leave management | ₹60/user add-on | Included (free) |
| Payroll | Included | Not included (by design) |
Truein pricing: ₹69,000 base + ₹290/employee/year based on publicly stated pricing. Leave add-on at ₹60/user is additional.
You save ₹71,540 every year.
Free for the first 10 employees. No payment, no contract, no payroll complexity.
What Each Product Actually Does
Attendance Tracking
Truein
GPS and selfie check-in included in the platform. Enterprise-grade workforce management built around attendance.
- ✓ GPS check-in (included)
- ✓ Selfie clock-in (included)
- ✗ QR code
- ✓ Native Android 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
Truein
Leave management available as add-on at ₹60/user/year. Full HR suite with compliance built in.
- ✓ Leave management (add-on)
- ✓ Half-day leaves
- ✓ Manager approval
- ✓ Payroll integration
AttendFirst
Unlimited leave types, half-day leaves, pro-rated quotas, manager approval workflow — all on the free plan. Not integrated with payroll.
- ✓ Unlimited leave types (free)
- ✓ Half-day leaves (free)
- ✓ Pro-rated mid-year joiners (free)
- ✓ Manager approval workflow (free)
Payroll
Truein
Full payroll automation with statutory compliance. This is Truein's core product offering for enterprise clients.
- ✓ Full payroll (included)
- ✓ PF/ESI/TDS compliance
- ✓ Payslip generation
- ✓ Bank file export
AttendFirst
No payroll. Never. We give you clean attendance data in Excel. Your CA or payroll tool uses that. If payroll is your primary need, Truein is the right choice.
- ✗ No payroll (by design)
- ✓ Excel export with attendance data
- ✓ Clean data for your CA
- — PF/ESI not applicable
Reports & Export
Truein
Advanced workforce analytics and custom reports. Part of the enterprise platform offering.
- ✓ Advanced reports
- ✓ Custom report builder
- ✓ People analytics
- ✓ Payroll reports
AttendFirst
Daily attendance, monthly summary, late arrivals, absent count — all included on free plan. Excel export with one click.
- ✓ Daily + monthly reports (free)
- ✓ Late/absent/present tracking (free)
- ✓ Excel export one-click (free)
- ✓ No data limits (free)
Which One Is Right for You
Choose Truein if:
- → You have 200+ employees
- → You need payroll, PF/ESI/TDS compliance automation
- → You want one platform for HR + payroll + attendance
- → You have a dedicated HR team and IT infrastructure
- → You're already using Truein and it works for your scale
Truein starts at ₹69,000/year plus per-employee charges. For 100 employees, that's ₹98,000+/year before add-ons.
Choose AttendFirst if:
- → You only need attendance tracking and leave management
- → Your accountant handles payroll separately
- → You want all features on the free plan: GPS + selfie + QR
- → You have field workers, multiple locations, or retail stores
- → You want to pay 85-90% less for exactly what you need
AttendFirst is ₹11,960/year for 50 employees. Free for 10. GPS + selfie + QR on every plan.
Common Scenarios
"I have 30 employees, my CA does payroll monthly"
Use AttendFirst. ₹5,970/year for attendance + leave. Your CA continues with payroll. Truein at ₹69,000 + ₹8,700 = ₹77,700/year for 30 employees is massive overkill.
"I have 250 employees and need integrated payroll"
Use Truein. You have the scale where integrated payroll and compliance automation makes sense. PF/ESI filing alone is worth the price at this employee count.
"I have 75 employees at factories across 5 locations"
Use AttendFirst. GPS tells you which factory each employee checked in from. Multi-location visibility on the free plan. ₹19,435/year vs Truein's ₹90,750+/year.
"I'm using Truein for payroll, want better attendance"
Keep Truein for payroll, add AttendFirst for attendance. Export AttendFirst attendance as CSV, import into Truein. Best of both worlds, simpler attendance.
Switching from Truein
The switch is straightforward. No technical migration needed.
- 1
Export your data from Truein
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 10 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
What is Truein and how does it compare to AttendFirst? +
Truein is a workforce management platform with attendance, payroll, and HR features starting at ₹69,000/year plus ₹290/employee/year. AttendFirst focuses only on attendance and leave at ₹299/employee/year. For businesses that only need attendance tracking, Truein's pricing is 10-20x higher than necessary.
Is Truein better for large enterprises? +
Truein targets mid-to-large enterprises with complex workforce needs. If you have 200+ employees and need integrated payroll, compliance, and HR workflows, Truein may be appropriate. For small-to-mid businesses (10-100 employees) that only need attendance, AttendFirst is significantly cheaper and simpler.
Can I use AttendFirst if I already use Truein for payroll? +
Yes. Many businesses use AttendFirst for attendance tracking and a separate tool for payroll. Export attendance data as CSV from AttendFirst and import it into Truein or any payroll tool. This keeps attendance simple without disrupting your existing payroll workflow.
What's the real cost difference for a 50-person company? +
Truein: ₹69,000 + (50 x ₹290) = ₹83,500/year. AttendFirst: (50-10) x ₹299 = ₹11,960/year. That's a ₹71,540 difference — Truein costs 7x more. The gap grows wider as employee count increases.
Does AttendFirst do payroll like Truein? +
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 accountant or payroll software uses that. If you need a full HR suite with payroll, Truein is the right choice.
How does Truein's selfie attendance compare to AttendFirst's? +
Both offer selfie check-in. Truein includes it as part of their workforce platform. AttendFirst offers selfie + GPS + QR on the free plan. For field teams or multi-location businesses, getting all three verification methods on the free tier covers more ground than Truein's selfie-only verification.
What about Truein's base fee of ₹69,000? +
Truein's ₹69,000 base fee covers the platform infrastructure. This is in addition to ₹290/employee/year. For a 25-person company, that's ₹69,000 + ₹7,250 = ₹76,250/year before any add-ons. AttendFirst is ₹4,485/year for the same attendance features.
Also comparing AttendFirst to:
Most teams look at a few tools before deciding. Here are the closest.
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If you only need attendance and leave, pay a fraction of what Truein costs. Free for 10 employees, forever.